Fake Google Reviews Australia: Spot, Remove, Respond Legally

A single one-star review from a person who never walked through your door can drop your average rating by half a point. For a Sydney café or a Melbourne tradie, that half point moves you from the top three map results to page two. The phone stops ringing. The owner checks the profile and sees a name they do not recognise, a job they never did, a detail that does not match any invoice. The review is fake. The process to remove it is not obvious.

What counts as a fake Google review in Australia?

Not every negative review is fake. A disappointed customer can leave a one-star rating and the platform will not remove it. A fake review is one that does not reflect a genuine customer experience or breaches Google's content policies. Sprintlaw Australia identifies the common categories: invented experiences where the reviewer was never a customer; malicious or coordinated posts from competitors or ex-employees; bot or bulk activity where near-identical reviews appear in a short window; conflicts of interest where someone with a financial stake manipulates the rating; irrelevant or mistaken reviews about a different business or matters outside your control. Red flags include multiple one-star reviews within minutes, generic language copied across different business profiles, and references to services or staff you do not have.

Can you remove a fake Google review Australia wide?

Yes, but removal is not automatic. You must report the review through your Google Business Profile and explain why it breaches policy. The practical steps: access your Business Profile and locate the review in the Reviews tab. Flag it as inappropriate using the three-dot menu. In the report, set out factually why the content is inauthentic: no matching appointment, no invoice, no support ticket. Monitor the outcome. Google's review can take days or longer. Keep screenshots and dates of every request. If the review remains and you believe it clearly breaches policy, raise a support case through your Business Profile help options and include your evidence timeline. Persistence helps. Documenting each step and keeping your tone factual increases your chances of a successful removal and also looks good to customers who are reading along.

What if Google refuses to remove the fake review?

It happens. Even when a review looks clearly fake to you, the platform may not remove it. Your next steps can include posting a brief, professional reply. Acknowledge the comment, note you cannot find a record of the interaction, and invite the reviewer to contact you directly. This reassures readers without escalating the situation. Collect evidence: save receipts, booking logs, call notes, and emails that show no interaction occurred. These records can support further complaints. Consider legal options where reviews are false, deceptive, or defamatory.

What are your legal options under Australian law?

Australia offers a mix of consumer protection and defamation laws that may apply to fake or misleading reviews. Under section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law, conduct in trade or commerce must not be misleading or deceptive. Fake positive reviews are illegal. Coordinated fake negatives orchestrated by a competitor may also amount to misleading conduct. Incentivised reviews require transparency: you can invite reviews and offer incentives provided they are properly disclosed and not contingent on leaving a positive rating. Conditioning incentives on "only five stars" risks breaching the ACL.

Defamation law protects your reputation. A review that contains false statements of fact that harm your business reputation may be defamatory. The threshold is serious harm: trivial damage is not enough. If you can identify the reviewer and the statements are false, a concerns notice under the Defamation Act 2005 (Cth) is the first formal step. Most platforms will not disclose reviewer identities without a court order, which adds cost and complexity. For most small businesses, the practical path is platform reporting, a calm public response, and building a volume of genuine reviews that dilute the impact of the fake ones.

How should you respond to a fake review publicly?

A simple response template you can adapt: "Thank you for your feedback. We have no record of a customer by this name or a job matching this description. We take all feedback seriously and would welcome the chance to resolve any genuine concern. Please contact us directly at [phone] or [email] so we can investigate." Keep it brief. Do not argue. Do not accuse. The audience for your response is not the fake reviewer: it is the next hundred people who read your profile. A calm, factual reply signals professionalism. A defensive or aggressive reply signals instability.

What internal processes protect your reputation long term?

Build a review request system that captures genuine feedback at the right moment: after a job is completed, after a positive interaction, when the customer has experienced the result. Make it easy: send a direct link to your Google review page via SMS or email. Do not incentivise five-star ratings. Incentivise the act of reviewing, disclosed transparently. Train your team to recognise and document suspicious review patterns: clusters of new accounts, similar language, timing around competitor activity. Keep a log with screenshots, timestamps, and your internal records showing no matching transaction. This log becomes your evidence file for platform escalation and, if necessary, legal action.

Common questions

Is it illegal to post fake reviews in Australia?

Yes. Posting or commissioning fake positive reviews breaches section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law for misleading or deceptive conduct. The ACCC has pursued businesses for this. Coordinated fake negative reviews by a competitor can also contravene the ACL and may constitute defamation.

Can I sue over a fake Google review?

You can, if the review contains false statements of fact that cause serious harm to your reputation and you can identify the publisher. Defamation actions are expensive and Google will not disclose reviewer identities without a court order. For most SMBs, the cost outweighs the benefit. Platform reporting and a professional public response are the practical first steps.

Does Google ever remove bad reviews?

Google removes reviews that violate its policies: spam, fake content, off-topic, hate speech, conflict of interest, illegal content. It does not remove reviews simply because they are negative or because you disagree with them. A genuine bad experience, honestly reported, will stay.

How do I encourage more genuine reviews legally?

Ask every satisfied customer. Send a direct link. Do not offer incentives contingent on a positive rating. If you offer an incentive: a discount on next visit, a small gift card: disclose it in the request and make it available regardless of the star rating. The ACCC has warned that "review gating" (only asking happy customers) can mislead.

Internal links used:

1. Google Business Profile optimisation → https://searchline.framer.website/blog/gbp-optimisation-australia-2025-playbook

2. handling Google review disputes → https://sprintlaw.com.au/articles/handling-google-review-disputes-essential-guide-for-australian-businesses/
   External links used:

3. Sprintlaw Handling Fake Google Reviews → https://sprintlaw.com.au/articles/handling-fake-google-reviews-australian-business-legal-guide/

4. ACCC misleading conduct → https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/misleading-conduct