Australian Capital Territory Current Acts

CIVIL LAW (SALE OF RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY) ACT 2003 - SECT 33

    (1)     This section applies if—

        (a)     a public auction of residential property is held at which the property is not sold; and

        (b)     the last bid made before the auction stopped was a bid made by the auctioneer of the property for the seller of the property.

    (2)     In marketing the residential property, the seller or an agent must not state the amount of the last bid without also stating that it was a bid made for the seller of the property.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.

    (3)     A person who tells someone else the amount of the last bid to enable the amount to be published must also tell the other person that the bid was made for the seller of the property.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

    (4)     A publisher of property auction sales results must not publish the fact that the residential property was passed in for the amount of the last bid without also stating that the bid was made for the seller of the property.

Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

    (5)     An offence against this section is a strict liability offence.

    (6)     For subsection (2), a statement is made in marketing property if—

        (a)     it is made in an advertisement about the property published by the seller or an agent; or

        (b)     it is made (whether orally or in writing) to a prospective buyer of the property.

    (7)     Subsections (2) and (4) do not apply if the person making the statement or publishing the amount—

        (a)     was not present at the auction; and

        (b)     relied on a statement made by a person who purported to know what happened at the auction.

    (8)     It is sufficient compliance with subsections (2) and (4) if the amount is described as a ‘seller bid'.