How to take and send property photos
Good photos help your valuer see the property's condition and features — and for CGT or SMSF valuations they become part of the evidence file. Follow these rules and our system does the rest automatically.
The golden rules
- Send the original photo file — not a WhatsApp or Messenger forward (messaging apps strip the hidden capture data), not a screenshot, and not a photo of a photo. Email attachments, file uploads and AirDrop keep the data intact.
- Turn location on for your camera before shooting (Settings → Privacy → Location → Camera → While Using). It stamps where the photo was taken.
- Any modern phone is fine — iPhone or Android. There is no required brand; what matters is the two rules above.
- Don't edit the photos — cropping and filter apps overwrite the capture data. Send them as taken.
- You confirm, you never type — when you upload, the system reads the capture details automatically and shows you what it found. If the data is missing you can enter it manually, and the photo is honestly recorded as "declared" rather than "verified-consistent".
For property owners
- Shoot the street front, each main room, kitchen and bathrooms, outdoor areas, and anything that affects value — renovations, damage, views.
- Old photos are welcome for retrospective valuations: original files from your camera roll keep their original dates, which the system reads automatically.
- Upload only via the secure link we send you — never through messaging apps.
For real-estate agents
- Professionally edited listing photos lose their capture data — they are still useful for condition evidence, but the system will grade them "declared".
- For inspection-fresh evidence, shoot on your phone per the golden rules and upload the originals from the same device.
For accountants and advisers
- Ask clients to use the file-share link, not chat apps — a forwarded-through-chat photo silently loses its capture data and downgrades the evidence grade.
- The portal shows a per-photo result at upload: found & consistent, found with warnings, or missing — declare manually. Nothing is rejected, but stronger grades make a stronger evidence file.
What our system checks automatically
- Reads the photo's embedded capture time and GPS position (when present) — you confirm, never type.
- Cross-checks the camera clock against satellite time recorded in the same photo.
- Checks the GPS position is within the property's vicinity.
- Notes signs of editing software.
- Freezes every accepted photo with a digital fingerprint at receipt, and archives it in secure Australian storage for the full retention period — so it can be located and produced years later if the ATO asks.
Photo data supports the valuation evidence file; the valuation itself always rests on the valuer's professional assessment.