Before approving a property campaign, check the address and property facts, copy, images, floorplan, inclusions, price presentation, inspection times, contact details and links. Confirm the contract and Section 32 process with your conveyancer or legal practitioner, record every approval in writing, and hold the launch if a material fact or legal document remains unresolved.
1. Confirm the launch version and the people approving it
A campaign can involve portal listings, the agency website, social media, email, video, brochures and a signboard. The seller should approve one clearly dated master version before any channel goes live. Identify every registered owner or authorised decision-maker, the agent responsible for consolidating changes and the conveyancer or legal practitioner responsible for legal documents. An email thread with several conflicting attachments is not a reliable approval record.
Set a cut-off for corrections and a separate rule for urgent changes after launch. The approval should show what was reviewed, which changes were incorporated and which item is still pending. If an owner cannot approve on time, move the launch rather than assume consent. This checklist is an operational control, not a substitute for the sales authority or legal advice.
- Name the final approvers and the person controlling the master version.
- Date the copy, image set, floorplan and pricing files.
- Keep written approval with the campaign record.
2. Check every property fact against a source
Read the advertisement as though you have never visited the property. Verify the address, dwelling type, bedroom and bathroom description, car accommodation, land and floor-area wording, fixtures, heating and cooling, renovation claims, owners corporation references and any room labelled as accommodation. Approved plans, title material and other documents may help, but their legal meaning should be explained by the seller's professional adviser.
Do not infer approval status from current use or present a storage area as a bedroom without support. Check claims about views, access, school zones, stations, beaches, shops and future development from current sources. Consumer Affairs Victoria warns that property characteristics, location and potential must not be misrepresented. If a statement cannot be verified, remove it or qualify it accurately rather than making the language more confident.
- Match room labels across copy, photographs and floorplan.
- Verify measurements and state any appropriate qualification.
- Check inclusions and exclusions against the draft contract.
- Refer title, planning and approval questions to the relevant adviser.
3. Review images, floorplan, video and privacy
Inspect every asset at full size. Check that editing has not hidden an undesirable feature, created a view the property does not have or changed the apparent scale of a room. Confirm image order, captions, map pins and the relationship between lifestyle photographs and the actual address. A photograph of a beach, park or village should not imply an unverified proximity or outlook.
Look for personal information, vehicle registrations, alarm panels, keys, family photographs, certificates, mail and screen content. For a tenanted property, current Victorian rules allow a renter to object in writing to advertising photographs or video showing specified identifying, sensitive or valuable belongings. Resolve those issues before publication. Obtain permission for any people, artwork or third-party material that appears in the campaign.
4. Approve price information and offer instructions
Compare the proposed advertised price or range with the current estimated selling price, seller's written asking price and any relevant rejected written offer. Victorian underquoting rules govern the Statement of Information and advertising. A price range can be no more than 10 per cent, and qualifying expressions such as from, offers above or a plus symbol cannot be used. The Statement of Information must accompany online advertising and be available as required.
The seller should also confirm whether all offers are to be presented and how urgent offers will be handled. Agents generally must pass on verbal and written offers unless the seller instructs otherwise in writing. Record the contact path for an offer received after hours, the people authorised to give instructions and the requirement for written terms. Do not publish a price until the agent confirms that the current legal pricing checks are complete.
- Check the sales authority estimate and current Statement of Information.
- Confirm the approved advertised price presentation in writing.
- Record offer-reporting and decision-maker instructions.
5. Confirm legal material and mandatory links
The seller's conveyancer or legal practitioner should control the contract of sale and Section 32 statement. Consumer Affairs Victoria explains that the Section 32 statement must be provided to a prospective buyer before the contract is signed. Owners corporation properties require an owners corporation certificate and accompanying documents in the Section 32 statement. The campaign team should know where the approved legal pack is held and how a buyer requests it.
For residential property, the seller or agent must make the Consumer Affairs Victoria due diligence checklist available at open inspections and include the required link or copy on a website they maintain for the sale. Test the contract-request form, Statement of Information link, due diligence link, privacy notice and phone and email actions on desktop and mobile. A technically live page with a broken document link is not ready to launch.
6. Test the inspection and communication plan
Confirm the first inspection time, access arrangements, key and alarm responsibilities, pet plan, staffing and seller reporting time. Check that every published calendar shows the same information and accounts for building access or renter arrangements where applicable. Name the person buyers contact for property questions, document access and private appointments so an enquiry is not passed between several people.
Agree the first reporting point before the listing appears. Decide which measures matter: qualified enquiries, inspection groups, contract requests, repeat interest, buyer questions and written offers. Online views can provide context, but they should not be treated as buyers. A clear first review gives the seller a baseline and allows factual corrections to be separated from later strategic changes.
- Test every phone number, form, email and document link.
- Check inspection times across all campaign channels.
- Book the first seller update before launch.
7. Use a final stop-or-go question
The final question is not whether the advertising looks polished. It is whether a buyer can understand the property accurately, access the required information and contact the right person without creating an avoidable legal, privacy or security issue. If an important fact is disputed, a material disclosure is unresolved, the legal pack is not approved or a price check has failed, stop the launch and assign the decision to the qualified person.
Once approved, save a copy of the live listing and test it again. Distribution platforms can crop images, change line breaks or fail to carry an update. Corrections should be made promptly and recorded. The seller's approval does not transfer the agent's professional obligations, and the checklist does not make the seller responsible for technical legal compliance. It creates a disciplined opportunity for errors to be found before buyers rely on them.
Questions sellers ask
Does the seller need to approve property advertising in writing?
Written approval creates a clear record of the final facts, assets and price instructions. The agent still retains professional obligations and should explain the agency's current approval process.
What if the floorplan and copy show different room uses?
Hold the launch until the description is verified. Do not present unapproved or non-habitable space as approved accommodation; seek professional advice where status is unclear.
Must the due diligence checklist appear online?
For homes and residential property, Consumer Affairs Victoria says sellers or agents must include the prescribed link or a copy on a website they maintain and make the checklist available at open inspections.
Can campaign facts be corrected after launch?
Yes, and misleading or outdated material should be corrected promptly. Save the approved version, record the change and check every channel rather than assuming one update has propagated everywhere.
Talk to Jason about the property
Jason can turn the stages into one practical plan with decision dates, responsibilities and professional hand-offs made clear.
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