Statement of Information (VIC Agent Obligation)

Plain English Definition

The Statement of Information (VIC Agent Obligation) means a mandatory, standardised disclosure document that licensed Victorian estate agents must prepare and publish for any residential property offered for sale. Mandated under Section 47AF of the Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), the document provides prospective purchasers with an indicative selling price, suburb median sales data, and three comparable property sales from the surrounding area. Its statutory purpose is to curb underquoting by forcing agents to justify their marketing ranges with verifiable market evidence before a buyer enters negotiations or commits to a Victoria property contract.

Who This Affects

• Prospective buyers: Relies on the document to gauge realistic market value, plan borrowing limits, and decide whether to expend funds on professional due diligence before an auction or private sale.
• Vendors: Obligated to work with their appointed agent to ensure the indicative selling price accurately reflects their agreed minimum selling price recorded in the exclusive sale authority.
• Selling agents and auctioneers: Bound by strict statutory compliance rules overseen by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV), risking substantial financial penalties if they publish misleading price guides or cherry-picked comparable sales.

The Danger Zone: Buyer's Risk

• Artificially suppressed price bands: Unscrupulous agents occasionally manipulate the indicative price to sit just below a psychological threshold—such as quoting $750,000 to $825,000 when the vendor will not accept a cent under $880,000—leading buyers to waste money on pre-purchase building and pest inspections.
• Selective or skewed comparable sales: An agent might bypass a superior, identical property that sold two streets away last month for $950,000, choosing instead an inferior home on a main road sold five months ago for $810,000 to make the quoted range appear plausible.
• Failure to update quotes as vendor expectations rise: When an agent receives written offers during a private treaty campaign that the vendor rejects, Victorian law requires the agent to revise the Statement of Information within two business days; failing to do so leaves new buyers chasing an unattainable price.
• Misalignment between the quoted price and the auction reserve: While the indicative selling price must not sit below the vendor’s written reserve or asking price at the time of quoting, agents often quote low during the early campaign, only for the vendor to legally set a reserve well above the top of the range immediately prior to auction.
• Disregard for non-comparable asset characteristics: In fast-changing growth suburbs, agents sometimes compare standard block homes to properties encumbered by significant drainage easements, restrictive covenants, or bushfire overlays, distorting the fair market benchmark.
• Over-reliance on outdated median statistics: The required median suburb price often reflects a rolling historical window (three to twelve months); in volatile market conditions, this figure can significantly lag behind live auction results.

What to Check Before Signing

1. Verify the date and scope of comparable sales: Ensure the three listed comparable properties sold within the statutory timeframes—within the last six months for properties within two kilometres (in the Melbourne metropolitan area) or within eighteen months and five kilometres for regional Victoria.
2. Scrutinise physical and legal similarities: Cross-check the land size, bedroom count, structural condition, and zoning overlays of the comparable properties against the target address; do not accept a two-bedroom unrenovated unit as a comparable benchmark for a renovated three-bedroom townhouse.
3. Check the indicative price format: Confirm that the agent has quoted either a single figure or a price range where the difference between the lower and upper limits does not exceed 10% (for example, $700,000 to $770,000, not $700,000 to $800,000).
4. Compare against the Section 32 vendor statement: Examine the Section 32 / Contract of Sale to verify whether title covenants, easements, or local council planning controls on the subject property make it fundamentally less or more valuable than the properties cited in the Statement of Information.
5. Demand the latest version in writing: Request the most current Statement of Information directly from the selling agency before submitting an offer, ensuring no verbal or written offers have already been refused by the vendor above the current quoted ceiling.

Key Victoria Rules

The Statement of Information is governed by the Estate Agents Act 1980 alongside the Estate Agents (Infringement Notices) Regulations 2022, enforced actively by Consumer Affairs Victoria. Agents must display the document at open-for-inspections, include it on internet listings within one click, and provide a copy to any prospective buyer within two business days of an oral or written request. While the Statement of Information informs market pricing, it does not form a legal part of the Section 32 / Contract of Sale; therefore, a misstatement on the form does not grant an automatic statutory right to rescind an executed purchase contract or enforce a cooling-off extension under Section 31 of the Sale of Land Act 1962.

Real-Life Victoria Scenario

Lucas set his sights on a four-bedroom home in Point Cook, where the marketing agent issued a Statement of Information showing an indicative price range of $680,000 to $740,000. Relying on this published guidance, Lucas paid $660 for an urgent pre-auction building inspection and $330 for a conveyancer to review the Section 32 / Contract of Sale.

On auction day, bidding opened strongly at $740,000, yet the auctioneer announced the home was still not on the market; the property eventually sold for $865,000 under fierce competition. A subsequent compliance audit revealed the selling agent held an exclusive sale authority signed by the vendor two weeks prior with an agreed reserve of $820,000, rendering the initial price guide unlawful underquoting. Lucas could not void the eventual auction result or recoup his lost purchasing opportunity, but the offending agency was penalised over $11,000 by Consumer Affairs Victoria. Diligent independent price research remains a buyer's only true shield against campaign lowballing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does an agent have to provide three comparable sales in every Statement of Information?

No. If the selling agent reasonably believes that fewer than three comparable properties have been sold within the statutory distance and time parameters (two kilometres and six months in metropolitan Melbourne), they can legally declare that fewer than three comparable sales exist. However, Consumer Affairs Victoria regularly audits these declarations, and agents must maintain documentary records proving that a comprehensive search was carried out before making that claim.

Is the Statement of Information legally attached to the Section 32 vendor statement?

No, the Statement of Information is a marketing disclosure requirement under the Estate Agents Act 1980, whereas the vendor statement is a property title disclosure governed by Section 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962. While both must be available to purchasers, an error in the Statement of Information is an agent compliance offence and does not render the underlying Section 32 defective or allow a buyer to terminate an unconditional contract.

Can an indicative price range have a spread greater than 10%?

No. Victorian law strictly dictates that if a price range is used rather than a single figure, the difference between the lower and upper limits cannot exceed 10%. For instance, an agent may quote $900,000 to $990,000, but quoting $900,000 to $1,050,000 violates statutory requirements and exposes the agency to formal infringement notices and fines.

What happens if the vendor refuses an offer within the quoted price range?

If a vendor rejects a written offer at or above the top of the indicative selling range, the agent cannot continue advertising at that original figure. Under Victorian underquoting legislation, the agent must update the Statement of Information and all online advertising materials within two business days to reflect a revised price that is at least equal to the rejected offer.