'It felt like my whole history had been erased': Perth residents speak out on duplicate image replacement

Dozens of Perth residents have come forward in recent weeks to describe the disorienting experience of logging into digital platforms — from real estate portals to local council heritage registers — and finding that photographs they uploaded or relied upon have been silently replaced by stock images or algorithmically selected duplicates. The issue, broadly described as duplicate image replacement, has surfaced across multiple platforms and is drawing particular concern in Western Australia's rapidly growing corridors north of the river.

The timing matters. Perth is in the middle of one of the most intense housing demand surges in its recent history, driven partly by AUKUS-linked defence workforce migration to suburbs near HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, and by Metronet construction activity reshaping neighbourhoods from Morley to Ellenbrook. In that environment, accurate photographic records — of properties, streetscapes, community facilities — carry real financial and legal weight. When those records change without notice, the consequences can extend well beyond inconvenience.

From Scarborough to Midland: who is affected and how

A community Facebook group based in Scarborough, which has more than 12,000 members, has been running a thread since late June collecting accounts from residents who noticed replacement images on documents submitted to the City of Stirling or posted to major real estate listing platforms. One thread alone, started on June 28, attracted more than 140 responses within five days. Residents described finding unfamiliar exterior photographs attached to their property listings, heritage nomination forms submitted through the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage portal, and insurance documentation stored on third-party platforms.

In Midland, members of the Swan Valley Residents Association raised the matter at their June monthly meeting, flagging concerns that images attached to development objection submissions on the City of Swan's online planning portal had been replaced with what appeared to be stock photographs of unrelated properties. The association's concerns centre on the integrity of public submissions during development assessment periods, where photographic evidence submitted by objectors can form part of the formal record considered by planning officers.

The State Records Office of Western Australia, which operates under the State Records Act 2000, sets out obligations for government agencies around the accuracy and preservation of digital records. Community members filing submissions through agency portals may not realise that the image management systems underpinning those portals are often operated by third-party software vendors rather than the agencies themselves — meaning a vendor update or deduplication algorithm can alter submitted files without any agency staff member making a deliberate decision.

What residents are being told to do

Consumer Protection WA, a division of the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, advises residents dealing with altered digital records to first request a formal audit trail from the platform operator. Under the Privacy Act 1988, individuals have the right to access personal information held about them, including metadata associated with uploaded files, and to request correction of inaccurate data. The Australian Information Commissioner's office handles complaints where platform operators fail to respond within 30 days.

For property-related records specifically, the Landgate registry — located on Midland Square, about 16 kilometres northeast of the Perth CBD — holds authoritative title and survey records that are not subject to the same third-party software vulnerabilities as planning portal submissions. Residents are being encouraged by community legal services, including the Welfare Rights and Advocacy Service on Lord Street in East Perth, to cross-reference any digital submission with a certified hard copy lodged directly with the relevant agency.

The practical advice from those who have navigated the issue is straightforward: download a timestamped copy of any photograph you upload to a government or commercial platform at the moment of submission, retain the original file with its metadata intact, and follow up with the agency in writing within seven days to confirm receipt and file integrity. Whether platforms update their deduplication protocols off the back of community pressure will likely depend on how many formal complaints reach the Information Commissioner's office in coming months — and residents in Perth's growth corridors are showing little sign of going quiet.