Victorian agents should prepare for a seven-day reserve disclosure rule without pretending the rule has already arrived.
The Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 proposes that an auction reserve be published as a single dollar amount at least seven days before the auction. The bill has passed both houses in different forms, but amendments remain under consideration. As at 24 August, it is not settled law.
That parliamentary detail has been lost in some of the reporting. It should not be lost in an agency's compliance planning.
The final week would become a different campaign
Reserve-setting is often one of the last major vendor decisions before auction. Feedback from inspections, late buyer interest and comparable sales can all alter the conversation.
Under the proposed mechanism, changing the published reserve may restart the seven-day period. The Real Estate Institute of Victoria says the practical operation is unclear and has called for a delay or an alternative approach before a proposed 1 October commencement.
Its concern is not merely philosophical. A vendor who changes position late could face a postponed auction or a campaign that cannot proceed in the form originally planned.
Buyers would also behave differently once the vendor's minimum is public. Some campaigns may attract more confident participation. Others may lose buyers before auction day or encourage negotiations around the disclosed figure rather than the quoted range.
Agencies need two plans
The first plan is legal. Agencies should track the final bill, commencement date, regulations and official guidance. Training teams on a media summary is not enough.
The second is operational. Principals can already test a reserve-setting timetable, define who approves publication, record vendor instructions and establish what happens if the reserve changes. Marketing templates, auction terms, CRM fields and vendor reporting may all require revision.
Agents should also avoid promising buyers that the proposal will eliminate underquoting or guarantee a transparent result. A published reserve is one piece of information. Buyer competition, vendor decisions and negotiations can still move.
The bill may change again before it becomes law. That is exactly why agencies need disciplined preparation instead of confident assumptions.
The worst outcome would be to wait for commencement and discover that the final seven days of every auction campaign have no agreed workflow.
This article was independently written and edited by Real Estate Today. © Real Estate Today 2026 – All Rights Reserved.
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