2026 compliance guide for real estate professionals • Reviewed September 10, 2026
ACT property agents are regulated under the Agents Act 2003, alongside Australian Consumer Law. Access Canberra oversees real estate agent compliance.
ACT licensing and ACL remedies depend on the contravention. Qualifying ACL penalty provisions can carry the current national maximums, but no automatic virtual-staging penalty applies.
Assess the staged image, caption and listing together under the applicable property and consumer laws. No prescribed ACT virtual-staging label format was identified, and a disclosure cannot cure a false depiction of condition or features.
Explain exactly what has been added digitally. Buyers should not have to infer whether a photograph shows the current room, included furniture or a possible future arrangement.
Access Canberra handles complaints about real estate agent conduct. Keeping detailed records of original photos, staged versions, and all disclosure placements helps explain your decisions if questions arise; records do not make a misleading image compliant.
Canberra's property market includes significant apartment and townhouse stock. When staging these properties, ensure furniture scale accurately represents room sizes—compact living spaces are particularly sensitive to scale misrepresentation.
Describe the edits accurately and replace every bracketed placeholder. Check the required wording, image placement, MLS fields, and original-photo access described above. Use custom image labels only where permitted. A template does not authorise an otherwise prohibited or misleading alteration.
“The identified images have been digitally altered with virtual furniture and décor. These items are not physically present. View the corresponding original, unaltered photographs at: [PUBLIC ORIGINAL-IMAGE LINK].”
“Digitally altered / virtually staged image. The furniture and décor shown were digitally added and are not physically present. View the original, unaltered image: [PUBLIC ORIGINAL-IMAGE LINK].”
“This photograph has been digitally altered with virtual furniture and décor. These items are not physically present. Compare the clearly identified original, unaltered image shown alongside it or at: [PUBLIC ORIGINAL-IMAGE LINK].”
“DIGITALLY ALTERED / VIRTUALLY STAGED – Original image: [PUBLIC URL OR QR CODE]”
Guide reviewed September 10, 2026. Links below include legislation, regulator guidance, and board or MLS materials. Their scope differs: a board rule is not statewide law, and a regulator homepage is not proof that no other rules exist. This guide does not verify every local MLS policy. Confirm the current requirements before publishing.
© 2026 MappedBy Inc. All Rights Reserved