In NSW, the guideline Fair Trading publishes for property agents says photos used to advertise a property must be accurate, clearly labelled and not misleading. It names the edits agents must not make: changing a photo so it no longer truthfully and fairly shows the property, digitally removing or adding features, and zooming in on a view so it looks closer. Adjusting the lighting only to make up for poor light may be acceptable.
General informationThis page reads NSW Fair Trading’s advertising guidelines for property agents and Consumer Affairs Victoria’s explanation of the national consumer law, as at October 2026. It is not legal advice. Whether a particular picture crosses a line depends on that picture; NSW Fair Trading or a solicitor can say how the rules apply to it.
The test a picture has to pass
NSW Fair Trading explains that a representation can be false or misleading if it leads to a reasonable belief that something exists when it does not. Photographs carry much of that weight. Buyers usually rely on online and printed advertising for information, photographs included, and a photo can leave them unsure of the property’s actual state unless they have enough information to understand what it shows.
The law beneath the guideline is national. Section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law bans misleading or deceptive conduct by anyone acting in trade or commerce, and section 30 applies those rules to the sale of land. In NSW, the guideline adds, any conduct in the photographic advertising of real estate that could give a wrong impression may breach the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002, the Fair Trading Act 1987 and the Australian Consumer Law.
Intent is not the measure. Consumer Affairs Victoria puts it this way: what a business does and says is what matters, and a business can mislead without meaning to.
The edits the guideline strikes out
The NSW guideline starts from a plain warning:
“Photographs of properties which have been touched up to hide undesirable characteristics or enhance other features could also mislead consumers.”
NSW Fair Trading, advertising guidelines for property agents
It then lists what agents must not do, and, among its examples of photographs likely to mislead, one that is about age rather than editing. Marked as a proof sheet would be:
- Must notChange a photograph of a property, or let it be changed, so the image no longer shows that property truthfully and fairly.
- Must notChange how a property looks by digitally removing features or adding them.
- Must notZoom in on a photo of the view from a property to make the view seem closer.
- Likely to misleadA photo taken long ago that no longer portrays the property accurately, because the property has deteriorated or changed significantly since.
- May be acceptableAdjusting the lighting effects, but only to make up for poor lighting.
The guideline sums up the duty in one line: agents must make sure photographs are not used in a way that could create implied representations that are false, misleading or deceptive. A picture can mislead by what it leaves out, too: NSW notes that representations can mislead through silence or omission.
Furniture in the frame
The official pages gathered for this guide do not mention virtual staging by name, and none of them says whether furniture drawn into a picture counts as a ‘feature’ in the NSW guideline’s sense. What they do give is the test the NSW guideline holds an agent’s photographs to: whether it still shows the property truthfully and fairly , and whether it leads a viewer to believe in a state of affairs that does not exist.
The NSW guideline itself is about photographs and the advertising they appear in. Consumer Protection WA, writing about advertising in general, makes a related point: a buyer should not have to read between the lines, because leaving relevant facts out can mislead as much as stating something wrong. A solicitor or the state’s fair trading body can say how that reasoning applies to a particular set of photographs.
When the home is rented
From 21 September 2026, NSW has new rules for photographs and videos of a rented property taken for publication, including in advertisements to sell or let it. For agents, the order runs like this:
- Notice first. The tenant is told before photos and videos are taken for publication.
- Time to move things. The tenant is allowed to move personal belongings out of shot.
- A copy, free of charge. If the photos or videos show the tenant’s personal belongings, or their dependent child’s, the agent gives the tenant a copy at no cost. This covers belongings seen inside or outside the property, in outdoor areas or through windows.
- Written consent, then publication. If the tenant’s belongings still show, the agent gets the tenant’s written consent before the images are published.
The rule is written for NSW agents. Its full text and the related guidance are on NSW Fair Trading’s advertising guidelines page.
Who answers for a picture
In NSW, agents are responsible for the representations they make in dealing with their clients, and cannot avoid liability simply by arguing that the buyer should have made enquiries and checked the information. Under section 53 of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002, a person may claim damages or other compensation for a misrepresentation or concealment when a property is bought or sold, whether an agency agreement has been signed or not.
Under the national law, Consumer Affairs Victoria explains, making false or misleading representations is an offence. As at October 2026, the maximum penalty it gives for a person is $2.5 million. For a body corporate, the maximum civil and criminal penalties are the greater of $50 million; three times the value of the benefit obtained, where a court can work it out; or, where it cannot, 30% of the body corporate’s annual turnover.
Consumer Affairs Victoria’s page on false or misleading representations lists other civil remedies, among them injunctions, damages and compensatory orders.