Apartment with view singled out in government’s fight against deceptive ads – but real estate agent says photo is no fake.
The New South Wales government’s crackdown on “AI-doctored” rental listings has hit a wall, after it made an example of a supposedly manipulated ad that turned out to be a genuine photograph of a $5,000 courtyard mural of Bondi beach.
In a media release on Friday announcing protections against misleading rental ads, the state government provided a link to a property in Leichhardt, claiming it was an “AI-doctored rental listing in Sydney’s Inner West”.
A spokesperson confirmed the photograph shows a mural of Bondi beach on an internal courtyard wall visible through the unit’s windows, rather than a false digital depiction of coastal views.
When Guardian Australia visited 2/14 Norton Street, the artwork was not visible from the street.
Under the legislation, real estate businesses in NSW will face fines of up to $22,000 for failing to disclose digitally altered or AI-generated property images.
Tim McKibbin, the chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, said generative AI complicates pre-existing digital enhancement in the industry.
Stewart Bunn, of First National Real Estate, said consumer trust is being tested by poor industry examples, referencing a 2024 instance where an LJ Hooker branch used AI to generate a listing with nonexistent schools.
Public confidence remains fragile: a 2026 Cotality study showed only 40% of Australians trust AI-generated outputs, compared with 62% in Canada, 52% in the US, and 46% in the UK.