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Selected cases

Federal Court of Australia · [2026] FCA 497

Consumer Affairs Victoria v White Ray

A Federal Court penalty case about misleading property price guides and a $600,000 Australian Consumer Law penalty.

Federal Court of Australia24 Apr 2026

Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Check the linked official source before you rely on a specific section, and get advice for your situation.

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Quick read

  • Advertising an indicative price below what the business actually expects can be misleading.
  • A Federal Court penalty case about misleading property price guides and a $600,000 Australian Consumer Law penalty.

Use this to check

  • Public price guides should match the business's real internal expectations.
  • Vendor instructions, internal emails and sales files can become evidence of what the business expected.
  • Small businesses still need systems for checking advertising claims before they go live.

Decision snapshot

  1. 1

    What happened

    • Consumer Affairs Victoria brought proceedings against White Ray (Oakleigh) Pty Ltd, a small real estate agency.
    • The case concerned public representations about nine residential properties marketed between February 2022 and November 2023.
    • The agency admitted that it had advertised indicative prices materially below the prices it actually expected the properties would sell for, with some gaps above 30 per cent.
  2. 2

    What the court had to decide

    • The Court had to decide whether agreed Australian Consumer Law contraventions justified the jointly proposed penalty for misleading property price representations.
  3. 3

    What the court decided

    • The Federal Court imposed $600,000 in pecuniary penalties, payable in two instalments.
    • The agency admitted contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law, and the Court accepted the jointly proposed penalty as appropriate.

Practical impact

Practical read

  • Advertising an indicative price below what the business actually expects can be misleading.
  • Sales teams need systems that keep public price guides aligned with vendor instructions and internal expectations.

Useful next steps

  • Public price guides should match the business's real internal expectations.
  • Vendor instructions, internal emails and sales files can become evidence of what the business expected.
  • Small businesses still need systems for checking advertising claims before they go live.
  • Compare every advertised guide price with vendor documents, internal estimates and sales-team expectations.
  • Require approval before changing advertised prices or price ranges.

Practical read

White Ray is useful because it is about a small business, not just a national brand. The agency marketed properties using indicative prices that did not match what it expected the properties would sell for. Those expectations appeared in vendor documents or internal communications, which made the gap between public price and internal expectation hard to explain away.

The Court accepted agreed facts and imposed a $600,000 penalty. The judgment records that the agency accepted it did not have adequate systems to ensure its property price representations complied with the Australian Consumer Law.

The lesson travels beyond real estate. If your business gives customers a guide price, estimate, quote range or headline saving, the public number should be backed by the same internal information your team is actually relying on.

Checks to run

Key points

  • Compare every advertised guide price with vendor documents, internal estimates and sales-team expectations.
  • Require approval before changing advertised prices or price ranges.
  • Keep a written reason for each pricing representation shown to customers.
  • Audit listings, ads, brochures and verbal scripts for consistency.

Key takeaways

  • Public price guides should match the business's real internal expectations.
  • Vendor instructions, internal emails and sales files can become evidence of what the business expected.
  • Small businesses still need systems for checking advertising claims before they go live.

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