The key issue with these guidelines and the legislation implemented (or proposed) supposedly to stop dummy bidding is how will it be policed? You can make all the statements in the world about what people should and shouldn't do but unless you effectively target those that don't play by the rules and punish them harshly enough to discourage the practice you are wasting your time. The dummy bidding legislation as far as I am aware will simply require the production of ID and holding of a paddle signifying registration. The obvious out on this is that the registered party that pulls out (the dummy bidder) was looking for a bargain and the price was to high.
I would like to find out on what legal basis the police have been kept out of such deception as dummy bidding.
Section 178BA of the NSW Crimes Act says;
"Whosoever by any deception dishonestly obtains for himself or herself or another person any money or valuable thing or any financial advantage of any kind whatsoever shall be liable to imprisonment for five years."
Deception is defined as, "Misleading by deliberate misrepresentation intentionally inducing in another a state of mind which the offender knows does not accord with fact." (Butterworths Australian Criminal Law Dictionary).
Now I haven't looked into this in depth. But on face value there would seem to be sufficient to suggest the practice of using dummy bidders at an auction could be an offence under this section.
There definately however has been no political will for this practice to be dealt with by way of criminal sanction. Why not? It smells like fraud to me.
My opinion for what it's worth.
. Can we now use non-Jenman agents and go to auction to sell our props 
