Looming industry reforms set to take effect in less than 3 weeks

New South Wales will be the first state in Australia to implement the sweeping change of industry reforms which are focused on increasing real estate agent’s professionalism.

The new regulations are set to take effect on March 23, 2020 with the rest of Australia to follow suit before September 21, 2020.

The Real Estate Academy of Australia (REAA) CEO Brendon Walsh said the changes, which will affect new people joining the industry and some existing licence holders, will increase the training requirements and help enhance the standard of service within the industry.

“From a professional’s point of view, NSW has made a great leap forward and streamlined many of the licensing options,” Mr Walsh said. “Under the new reforms, all new agents entering the industry will now be required to complete more levels of training competency.

“One of the major reforms for NSW is that the ‘Assistant Agent’ will have to upgrade to a Class 2 License, which is currently referred to as a Full Agent License.

“In order to upgrade, they will be required to gain 12 months experience and complete an additional three units of competency per year from the Certificate IV qualification over a four-year period, which forms part of NSW’s Continuous Professional Development program.

“These changes are all about taking the industry to the next level and increasing the quality of education for real estate professionals so that they have a thorough understanding of the legislation, rules of conduct, effective business practices and customer service.

“In my opinion, these changes will generate an increase in consumer confidence and provide NSW sellers and buyers access to a bigger pool of quality agents who are highly skilled and capable of achieving a desirable result.

“As a registered RTO, it is our responsibility to make sure our training meets all guidelines and requirements, and we are ready to roll out the updated courses for NSW licencing.

“We’re happy to answer any questions agents might have about their license ahead of these impending changes and help them enrol in the new course on 23 March.”