13 July 2022

On 1 July 2022, the ACT government introduced changes to the regulation of the real estate industry.

The reforms include changes to:

licence and registration categories
qualification and experience requirements for licences and registrations, and
restrictions on the activities each licence and registration group can undertake.

Summary of the reforms

The reforms to the regulation of the real estate industry will:

divide agent licences into two classes (class 1 and class 2)
require all licensees-in-charge of a real estate business to hold a class 1 agent licence
introduce a new land auctioneering licence which requires all individuals to hold a class 1 or class 2 agent licence and complete three auctioneer-specific units of competency
renames ‘salesperson’ as ‘assistant agents’ to better reflect the remit and responsibilities of this registration group
restrict assistant agents from conducting auctions, withdrawing trust money and entering into agency agreements
remove the unqualified salesperson registration pathway
update the mandatory qualification and experience requirements for licensed agents and registered assistant agents
allow the Commissioner for Fair Trading to grant exemptions from the prescribed training requirements in limited circumstances where the applicant holds a higher relevant qualification.