Australian compliance overview • researched August 2026 • always confirm the current law before production use
Australia compliance layer

AI should know the property’s jurisdiction before it starts marketing.

The correct Australian product is not a generic “legal documents” folder. The app needs a rules engine that changes the sale workflow by state or territory, property type, sale method and whether a licensed agent is engaged.

Not legal advice: this is a product-design summary based on current official government and portal material checked in August 2026. Production rules should be maintained by Australian property lawyers/conveyancers and reviewed when legislation or portal terms change.
State examples

What the app should do differently.

VictoriaOwner sale permitted

Consumer Affairs Victoria says a property owner may sell without an agent. A Section 32 statement must be provided before the buyer signs, and sellers or their agent must make the due diligence checklist available at inspections. If a licensed estate agent is engaged, additional underquoting, advertised-price and Statement of Information obligations apply. The 2025 comparable-property guidelines tightened how agents select comparables for estimates. CAV seller guidance ↗

New South WalesContract before advertising

NSW says a contract of sale must be prepared before residential property is advertised, including private sales. The proposed contract and prescribed documents include title/search material, drainage and planning information. All NSW property settlements are completed electronically and sellers are represented by solicitors or conveyancers subscribed to eConveyancing. NSW also announced further underquoting/price-advertising reforms expected to start later in 2026. NSW steps to selling ↗

QueenslandSeller disclosure from 1 Aug 2025

Queensland’s Property Law Act 2023 seller disclosure scheme requires the seller to give the buyer the approved disclosure statement and prescribed certificates before the buyer signs the contract. The approved Seller Disclosure Statement is Form 2. Queensland forms ↗

South AustraliaForm 1 vendor statement

A Form 1 vendor statement is required with prescribed information including title, mortgages, easements, zoning, outgoings and cooling-off rights. A private seller can be responsible for making the required inquiries and ensuring the statement is complete and accurate if no agent is involved. SA selling guidance ↗

Western AustraliaNo general mandatory seller statement

WA allows owners to sell privately. Current Consumer Protection guidance says there is no general mandatory seller disclosure statement, although strata sellers have specific disclosure documents and licensed agents have material-fact and identity-verification obligations. WA does not have a mandatory cooling-off period for ordinary real estate contracts. WA seller guidance ↗

ACT / Tasmania / Northern TerritorySeparate rulesets

These jurisdictions also have their own legislation and contract/disclosure processes. The production app should not infer their requirements from another state. For the ACT, the Civil Law (Sale of Residential Property) Act 2003 remains in force and has current 2025/2026 republications. ACT legislation ↗

Portal rules

realestate.com.au

REA’s current support material says established residential sale listings are for licensed agents with a registered Australian real estate licence and a subscription, and that one-off listings are not supported. Its uploader program is built around agencies with REA subscriptions and authorised uploader arrangements.

Portal rules

Domain

Domain’s current API material is designed around CRM partners and agency/agent records. Its listing API examples use a Domain agency ID and agent contact IDs. This supports a ListDirectly integration architecture where AI prepares the campaign and a participating agency/CRM path publishes it.

Product guardrails

The app should block unsafe shortcuts.

No invented legal facts

AI may extract and organise source documents but should not fabricate title, planning, rates or disclosure information.

No unlicensed agency work

When an agent acts for a seller, the app should confirm licence, authority/agreement and state rules before enabling the relevant actions.

No portal bypass claims

Marketing should say ListDirectly prepares and routes campaigns through eligible partners, not that a private owner can directly bypass portal requirements.