You’ve got a quote open in another tab: 30 five-star reviews for a one-off payment. Before you click pay, you want to know if it could land you in legal trouble.
In Australia, buying reviews from people who never used your business is illegal, because it misleads the customers who read them. Paying for help to Buy Google reviews Australia from your own real customers is legal. The law cares about one thing: is the review a true account from a real customer?
We run review outreach for Australian businesses at BuyReviews, so we deal with this line every day. What follows is general information in plain English, not legal advice for your specific case.
Is buying Google reviews illegal in Australia?
Yes, when the reviews are fake. No Australian law mentions Google by name, but a review is a public statement about your business, and a fake one gives customers a false picture.
The ACCC, which enforces consumer law, says fake online reviews breach the Australian Consumer Law. It also says businesses must not create fake or misleading reviews, or arrange for others to create them.
That last part is what catches people out. Paying a seller to post reviews for you counts as arranging it, even if you never typed a word yourself.
Which law covers fake Google reviews?
Two sections of the Australian Consumer Law do most of the work. It’s Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, and it applies to every business, from a sole trader to a national chain.
What does section 18 say?
Section 18 bans conduct that is misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive. You don’t need to have meant any harm. If a reasonable customer would be misled by reviews you paid for, that’s enough.
What does section 29 say?
Section 29 is more specific. It bans false or misleading statements about goods and services, and it names testimonials directly. A five-star review from someone who never bought from you is a false testimonial.
What are the penalties for fake reviews?
The maximum penalties went up sharply on 10 November 2022. For a company, the maximum is now the greater of $50 million, three times the benefit gained, or 30 per cent of turnover during the breach period. For an individual, it’s $2.5 million.
A local business won’t be fined $50 million over a handful of reviews. Courts set the amount to fit the conduct. Still, the size of those numbers tells you how seriously Parliament takes misleading customers.
Has anyone in Australia been penalised for fake reviews?
Yes. The best-known case involved two solar panel businesses trading as Euro Solar and Australian Solar Panel.
The Federal Court found that video testimonials on YouTube and written testimonials on a company website weren’t from real customers. The companies also made false claims about where their panels were made. The court ordered combined penalties of $125,000, and the sole director had to pay another $20,000 himself.
Two details from that case are worth remembering. The director paid personally, and the ACCC found out because competing businesses reported it. The ACCC also took action back in 2011 against a removalist business, Citymove, over misleading online reviews.
What does Google do on top of the law?
Google has its own rules, and it doesn’t wait for a court. If it decides a business broke its fake engagement policy, it can block new reviews for a set period, hide your existing reviews for a set period, and show a public warning that fake reviews were removed.
In our experience, owners worry about the ACCC and forget about Google. For most small businesses, the Google penalty arrives first and hurts sooner.
How do you get more Google reviews legally?
You ask real customers, and you make it easy. This is the whole method, and none of it carries legal risk.
- On a computer, sign in to the Google account that manages your Business Profile, then search your business name.
- Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews, then Copy. Google builds this link for you, so there’s no need for an outside Google review link generator.
- Ask every customer on the day you finish the job, not only the ones you think are happy.
- Send the link by text or email. If you want wording to copy, use a short review request email template that thanks them and asks for an honest review.
- Don’t offer a discount or gift for the review. Google bans it.
- Reply to each review within a day or two.
Asking everyone matters for legal reasons too. The ACCC says leaving out negative reviews can mislead people as much as posting fake ones, so a fair process includes the customers who might complain.
What can you do about fake reviews on your own profile?
Sometimes you’re the target. If a review breaks Google’s policies, you can report it.
- Open your Business Profile and select Read reviews.
- Select the three dots next to the review, then Report review.
- Choose the reason that fits.
- Check the result in Google’s Reviews Management Tool, and select Appeal eligible reviews if Google refuses and you have evidence.
You can only remove fake Google reviews this way. A real customer’s honest complaint stays up, and the right move is to answer it. When you respond to negative Google reviews, stay calm, say sorry if you got it wrong, and offer a direct phone number.
Where does BuyReviews stand on this?
We only contact your real customers. You give us your customer list, we send the requests and reminders, and each person writes what they honestly think. We don’t promise ratings, and we don’t sell reviews by the dozen.
That’s how we help clients get Google reviews without legal risk. To us, online reputation management in Australia means working inside consumer law, and it’s the only way to improve Google reviews that holds up if a competitor or the ACCC ever looks closely.
Frequently asked questions
Is it illegal to buy Google reviews in Australia?
Yes, when the reviews are fake. Paying for reviews from people who never used your business can breach sections 18 and 29 of the Australian Consumer Law, which ban misleading conduct and false testimonials. Paying a service to ask your own real customers for honest reviews is legal, because nothing about it misleads anyone.
Can a business owner be fined personally for fake reviews?
Yes. In the Euro Solar case, the Federal Court ordered the company’s sole director to pay $20,000 himself, on top of $125,000 in company penalties. The current maximum for an individual under the Australian Consumer Law is $2.5 million per breach. Running the business through a company doesn’t always shield you.
Is it legal to ask customers for Google reviews?
Yes. Asking real customers for an honest review is legal in Australia and encouraged by Google, which gives every Business Profile a review link and QR code for this purpose. Ask everyone, not only the happy ones, and don’t tell people what to write. The review has to be their own opinion.
Can I give customers a discount for leaving a review?
We’d avoid it. Google bans any reward in exchange for a review and treats it as fake engagement, even when the customer is real. The ACCC also expects businesses to be open about commercial relationships behind reviews. A plain request with your review link is safer and, in our experience, works well enough.
Who reports businesses for fake reviews?
Anyone can. The ACCC accepts reports about fake or misleading online reviews, and in the Euro Solar case it was competing businesses that raised the alarm. Customers and other users can also report suspicious reviews to Google directly. Assume that a rival who notices a sudden jump will say something.
What should you do next?
Close the tab with the review package. Then copy your review link from your Business Profile and send it to the customers you served this week.
If you’d like that done for you, send BuyReviews your customer list and we’ll help you get Google reviews from the people who’ve used your business.
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