Victoria’s new reserve price rules: what Melbourne buyers need to know before 16 October

From 1 October 2026, a Victorian auction held on or after 16 October can’t go ahead unless the vendor’s reserve price has been published at least seven days beforehand. The rule also covers fixed-date sales, which is how most expressions of interest campaigns in Melbourne’s prestige market are run.

Buyers have spent years working back from price guides that often had little to do with the final result. Under the reforms, the number in the advertising has to be the one the vendor will accept. That helps, but it doesn’t tell a buyer what a property is worth or where bidding will finish.

Here is what changes, when, and how Melbourne buyers should adjust.

What changes, and when

The reforms, announced by Consumer Affairs Victoria, start in stages.

1 October 2026, for auctions and fixed-date sales on and from 16 October 2026. The Property Price Statement replaces the Statement of Information, and it has to appear prominently in online advertising. Agents can no longer put it at the bottom of the listing.

1 October 2026, for auctions and fixed-date sales on and from 16 October 2026. Reserve disclosure starts. Agents must publish the reserve as a single dollar figure, without “from”, “over”, “+” or “starting at”, and update all advertising, including the Property Price Statement, to match.

1 June 2027. Section 32 vendor statements must be available at least 14 days before an auction or fixed-date sale, and within 14 days of advertising for a private sale.

1 July 2027. The early deposit release process is repealed, and agents can no longer take commission directly from a deposit released before settlement.

1 December 2027. Sold price reporting to the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria begins.

Fixed-date sales include expressions of interest

According to CAV’s industry Q&As, if an agent invites offers by a certain date and time, the campaign counts as a fixed-date sale. The seller’s reserve then has to be disclosed for seven days before the sale can go ahead.

Expressions of interest with a closing date are common in suburbs such as Toorak, Brighton and Armadale, and in the past they often came with no firm price guidance. Buyers in the Inner East and Bayside should now expect a published reserve in these campaigns as well as at auction.

The reserve is the vendor’s minimum

A published reserve tells you the lowest price the vendor will sell for on the day. It doesn’t tell you where bidding will finish. A well-presented home with three motivated buyers will clear its reserve, sometimes by a wide margin.

For buyers, the risk moves. Under the old system, a low guide pulled buyers into campaigns they could never win. Under the new one, a published reserve can become the figure buyers anchor to, and they may treat it as the likely price instead of the minimum.

The answer is the same work it has always been: build your own comparable sales evidence and set a limit before the reserve is published, so the vendor’s number doesn’t set your valuation. If the reserve sits well below your comparables, expect competition. If it sits above them, the vendor may be testing the market, and the property could pass in.

Changing the reserve restarts the clock

CAV’s Q&As confirm that any change to the published reserve, up or down, restarts the seven-day period.

Vendors and selling agents now have a strong reason to set the reserve carefully the first time, because a late change pushes back the auction date. When a reserve is republished, buyers learn something too. A reduction usually reflects weak campaign feedback. An increase suggests the agent has more interest than expected.

Pre-auction offers still sit outside the rule

The Q&As treat pre-auction offers as private sales, and they can go ahead as normal without the seven-day requirement.

So a buyer can still try to secure a property before the reserve is published. Moving early can take a property off the market before other buyers have another chance, but you’re pricing it without the vendor’s disclosed number. That’s where independent comparable sales analysis and a clear negotiation strategy do most of the work.

Better comparable evidence over time

For metropolitan Melbourne, the Property Price Statement must use comparable properties of a similar standard or condition that sold in the last six months within two kilometres. Outside metropolitan Melbourne, the window is 18 months and five kilometres. If an agent can’t find three comparables, they have to list the one or two that exist.

The statement must also be updated with the sold price no later than seven days after the sale becomes unconditional, and stay publicly available for at least 18 months. CAV lists maximum penalties of 240 penalty units, currently $48,842, for agents who fail to publish sold prices as required.

Over time, buyers will be able to compare an agent’s disclosed reserve and comparables against what the property sold for. CAV has said it will keep monitoring online campaigns, reviewing sales files and attending auctions.

What the rules don’t change

The reforms cover disclosure. They don’t change how an auction plays out once bidding starts. Buyers will still overpay when an auction turns emotional, and a published reserve can make that more likely if it becomes the anchor for the whole room.

We would generally rather miss a property than overpay because an auction became emotional. That position doesn’t change on 1 October.

Frequently asked questions

Buying in Melbourne this spring

If you’re buying in Melbourne and want independent representation through an auction or fixed-date campaign, speak with Nicole Jacobs and the Cohen Handler Victoria team about your search, or read more about how we approach auction strategy.