Every listing page on an agency’s website is an advertisement, and so is a developer’s project site. In Western Australia the rules for those advertisements sit in the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, the Code of Conduct made under it and the Australian Consumer Law, and Consumer Protection publishes guidance on what it expects to see.
For a website, that comes down to four things: who is advertising, who the people on the profiles are, what price wording appears, and whether each listing is still current. This guide sets out what to show for each, where it goes on the site, and how a listing feed keeps it right. Consumer Protection’s own pages are linked throughout and are the place to confirm the current requirements.
General information, not legal advice
This guide is about what to show on a website. Check the current requirements with Consumer Protection (1300 30 40 54) or your own adviser before you publish.
What a WA real estate advertisement shows
Details that identify the agent or developer. Section 62 of the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 is the Act’s rule on advertising by agents and developers. It says an advertisement for the business of an agent or developer is published only with their authority, and that it contains “such details as are sufficient to identify the agent or developer”.
Consumer Protection’s bulletin Do you know your advertising requirements? gives the regulator’s view of what that means in practice:
“The Department’s view on the minimum requirements within an advertisement is that the registered business name of the agency that is endorsed on their triennial certificate and the office telephone number are to be stated.”
The bulletin adds that an agent’s or sales representative’s mobile number, email or website can also be included. The table sets out each rule that touches a listing page, and what it means for the website.
| What to show or do | Where the rule sits | What it means on the website |
|---|---|---|
| Identify the agency or developer | Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, s 62(2), with Consumer Protection's bulletin | The endorsed business name and the office phone number in the header or footer of every page |
| Publish with the agency's authority | Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, s 62(1) | Listing pages come from the agency's own CRM, and the principal approves the site before launch |
| Advertise with the client's written consent | Code of Conduct 2016, rule 23(1) | A listing reaches the site only once the CRM marks it for publication, after the agency has the client's consent |
| Use the price and terms the client authorised | Code of Conduct 2016, rule 23(2) | The price text shows exactly as the CRM sends it, and a hidden price is never printed |
| Nothing misleading | Code of Conduct 2016, rule 11; Australian Consumer Law | Photos, captions and features match the property, and sold or leased listings come off the available list |
Every source is listed at the end of this guide.
Price wording on listing pages
The Code is the Real Estate and Business Agents and Sales Representatives Code of Conduct 2016. Its advertising rule says an agent or sales representative acting for a client must not advertise or offer real estate for sale or lease “at a price or on any other terms, other than as authorised by the client”. It applies to advertising to buy or lease at a price, as well as to sell.
Consumer Protection’s page on selling a property lists what an agent must not do. Two of the items are about price: misleading a seller about the estimated selling price of their property, and advertising or advising a prospective buyer “of a price less than your asking price, the agent’s estimated selling price.” The Australian Consumer Law also covers false or misleading representations about land, including its price.
For a website, the price wording is where a template can go wrong without anyone noticing:
- Show the CRM’s wording exactly. The agency enters the price text the client authorised. The website shows that text, and nothing else.
- Never print a hidden price. If the CRM marks a price as not for display, the page shows the price text instead, such as “Contact agent” or “Expressions of interest”.
- No added words. The template does not add “from”, “offers over” or “starting at”, and it does not turn a range into one figure.
- Filters need a decision. Agree with the principal whether a hidden price may be used in the site’s price search filters, because a filter can reveal a price range the page doesn’t show.
- Sold prices only when marked. Show a sold price only when the CRM marks it for display.
Appraisal pages and price estimates
Rule 26 of the Code covers the opinion of market price behind an appraisal. If an agent gives a person an opinion of the current market price of a property, the agent gives them, in writing, a statement of the opinion, the reasons it is based on and, if available, information about similar sales that supports it.
That shapes the appraisal page. A form that books an appraisal keeps the opinion with the agent, in writing, with the reasons and the comparable sales. It also gives the agency what it needs to follow up: the address, the seller’s timing and the reason for selling. An instant estimate tool works differently, and the agency should be comfortable with how it fits rule 26 before one goes on the site.
Who can be called an agent
The Act separates licensed agents from registered sales representatives, and the profiles on an agency site have to keep them apart. Consumer Protection’s bulletin says a licensee who holds a triennial certificate can be identified as an agent. A sales representative can use a title such as salesperson or sales consultant, and a representative restricted to property management will usually be called a property manager. The bulletin is direct about the line:
“sales representatives cannot advertise themselves using terms such as ‘agent’, ‘principal’ or ‘licensee’ as this suggests they are a licensed agent, which is not the case.”
Three practical points follow for the team pages:
- The right title on each profile. Check each person’s title against their licence or registration before launch.
- Take profiles down when people leave. A registered sales representative must not hold themselves out as working for a licensee unless the licensee is their employer, principal or partner. A profile left up after someone leaves says they still work there. Remove it, and reassign their listings in the CRM, the same week.
- One business name everywhere. An agent carries on business under one business name, endorsed on the triennial certificate. Use that name in the site’s text, the page titles, the Google Business Profile and the structured data.
The bulletin also says an agent may not be exercising the required care and diligence if they fail to confirm the accuracy of advertising their sales representatives issue to the public. On a website, that means the principal reviews the profile copy and any agent-written suburb pages before they go live.
Developer and project sites
Section 62 covers developers in the same words as agents. The Act defines a developer as a person whose business is to act on their own behalf in selling real estate. So a developer’s own advertising, including a project website, is published with the developer’s authority and contains details sufficient to identify the developer. A person selling for a developer needs to be registered as a sales representative, unless they are a licensed agent.
Consumer Protection’s guidance on marketing new property sets out what it expects:
- Pictures and price. Its bulletin on misleading advertising of house and land packages says a photo of a featured elevation comes with the relevant details of that elevation and its price, and packages are advertised only where the land is currently available. It says the same provisions apply to real estate agents and sales representatives.
- Disclaimers don’t fix the picture. The same bulletin says fine-print disclaimers “will not negate the issue if the overall impression of the advertisement is misleading.”
- Marketing images. Its page on buying property off the plan gives the example of marketing images that do not accurately portray the finished product, and says buyers can act against traders, including developers, under the Australian Consumer Law.
Statements about the future, such as an expected completion date, need reasonable grounds under the Australian Consumer Law. On a project site, that means dates come from the developer’s programme, and the page says what they are: a target, a stage or a confirmed date.
- The developer named on every pageName and contact details in the header or footer, as text.
- Artist's impressions labelledA caption on every render that says it is an artist's impression.
- An availability list kept currentSold lots or apartments marked as sold the same week, so only available stock is advertised.
- Price beside the pictureWhere a house design is pictured, its details and price sit beside it, not in the fine print.
- Dates described as what they are"Construction expected to start" is a different statement from "Completion in" a given month.
Where the agency details go on a website
This is how I apply the rules above on an agency, agent or project site, so that every page that advertises a property identifies who is advertising it.
- The endorsed business name and office number on every pagePut the agency's business name, exactly as endorsed on the triennial certificate, and the office phone number in the header or footer, so every listing page carries both. That is Consumer Protection's stated minimum, applied site-wide.
- The same name everywhereUse that name in the site's text, the page titles, the Google Business Profile and the structured data, even if the logo is styled differently.
- The right title on each profileCall a licensee with a triennial certificate an agent. Give sales representatives a title such as salesperson or sales consultant, never agent, principal or licensee.
- Profiles that leave when people doRemove a departed agent's profile, and reassign their listings in the CRM, the same week.
- Price wording from the CRMShow the price text exactly as the CRM sends it, and never print a price the CRM marks as hidden.
- Sold and leased off the available listA property shown as available after it sells is still being advertised. Handle every listing status the CRM sends, and show a sold price only when it is marked for display.
- An appraisal form that books a visitThe opinion of price comes from the agent, in writing, with reasons.
- Text, in one placeWrite the agency details as text, not inside an image, so screen readers and search engines can read them. Keep them in one place in the site's code, so a change of name or number is a single edit.
Several of these depend on the listing feed doing its job. How listings get from the CRM to the agency’s website, and the status and price fields involved, are covered in REAXML explained.
Sources
The WA legislation and Consumer Protection’s own pages, each linked. Confirm the current version with Consumer Protection before you publish.
Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978
Advertising by agents and developers, business names and sales representatives.
Real Estate and Business Agents and Sales Representatives Code of Conduct 2016
Consent, authorised price, misleading conduct and market price opinions.
Competition and Consumer Act 2010, Schedule 2 (Australian Consumer Law)
Misleading conduct, representations about land, and future matters.
Do you know your advertising requirements? Real estate bulletin issue 98
The minimum details in an advertisement, and titles.
What an agent must not do, including on price.
Information on misleading advertising of house and land packages: Real estate bulletin issue 157
Pictured elevations, land availability and disclaimers.
Buying property "off the plan"
Marketing images and buyers' rights.
Where Kovus fits
A Kovus site for an agency, buyers agent or developer is built so the details WA’s rules expect are easy to show: the endorsed business name and office number on every page, the right title on each profile, price wording straight from the agency’s CRM, and listings that leave the available list when they sell. The agency, or its adviser, approves the final wording before launch. Website builds cost A$500 to A$1,000, with premium builds from A$1,000, and a listings feed is quoted per job.
What an agency, buyers agent or project site needs is on the real estate websites page, and the other professional fields are on professional services.
Frequently asked questions
What does a WA real estate website need to show about the agency?
Details that identify the agency on every page that advertises a property. Consumer Protection's view is that an advertisement states, at a minimum, the agency's registered business name as endorsed on its triennial certificate and the office telephone number. On a website, both belong in the header or footer so every listing page carries them, and the agent's mobile, email or website can sit alongside.
Where should the agency's details go on a real estate website?
In the header or footer, as text, on every page. Use the business name exactly as it is endorsed on the triennial certificate, and use that same name in the page titles, the Google Business Profile and the structured data, even if the logo is styled differently. Keeping the details in one place in the site's code makes a change of name or number a single edit.
How should price appear on a WA listing page?
Exactly as the client authorised it, in the wording the agency's CRM sends. The Code of Conduct allows a property to be advertised only at the price and on the terms the client authorised, and Consumer Protection's page on selling a property lists advertising a price below the seller's asking price or the agent's estimated selling price among the things an agent must not do. The website template should never add words such as from, turn a range into one figure, or print a price the CRM marks as hidden.
Can a sales representative be called an agent on the website?
Consumer Protection's bulletin on advertising says sales representatives cannot advertise themselves using terms such as agent, principal or licensee, because that suggests they are a licensed agent. A licensee who holds a triennial certificate can be called an agent. Give a sales representative a title such as salesperson or sales consultant, and a representative restricted to property management will usually be called a property manager.
What should a property developer's project site show?
The developer's name and contact details on every page, artist's impressions labelled as impressions, an availability list kept current, and the price and details of any pictured house design beside its picture. Consumer Protection's bulletin on house and land packages says fine-print disclaimers will not fix an advertisement whose overall impression misleads, so the main copy needs to be right on its own.
Should an agency website give an instant property value estimate?
A form that books an appraisal is the safer design. When an agent gives an opinion of a property's market price, the Code of Conduct expects the opinion in writing, with the reasons for it and, where available, information on similar sales. An appraisal request form keeps that opinion with the agent, and it gives the agency a seller's details and timing to follow up.