11 August 2023
Queensland Fair Trading has released a media statement on its website today, outlining an agent’s requirement to pay over $13,300 in fines and compensation after pleading guilty to a total of 13 charges laid by Fair Trading. The charges relate to trust account breaches and charging clients for unauthorised expenses.
Read More4 July 2023
A former Victorian agent’s decision to withdraw $105,915 in trust account money from their company’s trust account has landed them a two-year Community Corrections Order. They have also been ordered to complete 350 hours of community service. The sentence was handed down at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week after the former agent pleaded guilty to two charges under the Estate Agents Act 1980.
Read More30 June 2023
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) has banned a former agents representative from registering to work in the industry for ten years, in addition to ordering them to pay $2,500 in fines to the Victorian Property Fund.
This disciplinary action was handed down in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) after the agent representative was found to have transferred more than $17,000 in account funds to his personal bank account between February and July 2019. CAV began investigations into the individual’s conduct earlier this year.
Read More27 June 2023
In their latest Property Matters issue, NSW Fair Trading has reported on the outcome of a joint investigation undertaken with NSW Police. The investigation was carried out over a two-year period and was based on the suspected trust account fraud of an agent operating out of Penrith, NSW.
The offending agent has been sentenced to two years imprisonment and has been ordered to repay $164,554 to the compensation fund.
Read More16 June 2023
Just days after a Queensland agent was sentenced to eight years in jail for trust account fraud, a Victorian agent has received a 12-month prison sentence for the misuse of funds belonging to their clients.
Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) has reported that in addition to the 12-month prison sentence handed down by the Country Court, the former agent has been issued with a two-year Community Corrections Order.
The former agent’s breach of the Estate Agents Act 1980 was based on causing almost $1.6 million in trust account deficiencies and the fraudulent transfer of around $776,000 in trust funds for their own use.
Read More13 June 2023
Queensland Fair Trading and Queensland Police have investigated a Brisbane agent for fraudulent acts surrounding the use of trust account funds. The former agent, who was based in the Newmarket area, has today been sentenced to three years imprisonment by the Brisbane Supreme Court. The agent was sentenced to an additional five years imprisonment for other Queensland Police matters.
Read More10 May 2023
Western Australia Consumer Protection has reported details on its website today surrounding a WA agency’s failure to act in the best interest of its clients.
Consumer Protection carried out disciplinary actions on the agency by reprimanding its actions and issuing the agency $6,000 in fines for breaching the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 and the Code of Conduct under the Act. The agency’s principal was also reprimanded, in addition to being fined $4,000, “for failing to exercise due care, diligence and skill in her supervision of the agency in relation to the breach.”
Read More6 April 2023
An unlicensed individual acting as a property manager in Willetton, Perth has been ordered to pay costs of $5,718.16, in addition to being fined a total of $18,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court.
The individual is reported to have “entered into property management agreements, found tenants, negotiated and collected rents, paid water bills and carried out property inspections and repairs” as an unlicensed person, breaching the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 to a significant degree.
Read More8 March 2023
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Industry updates: WA agents may have their say on changes to real estate CPD, NSW Fair Trading inspectors to crack down on breaches in new rental bidding requirements.
Disciplinary action: Former WA real estate agent fined for personal use of trust account funds, Victorian estate agent has licence cancelled for various breaches.
Legislative changes: ACT Government announces plans to change property developer legislation.
Important dates: NSW CPD due 22 March, WA trust account audit reports due 31 March, NSW assistant agents - are you on track to complete your licence training?
24 February 2023
A former agent of Seymour, Victoria has had their licence revoked by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV). The licence cancellation was actioned as a part of disciplinary proceedings at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in 2021, where it was alleged that the agent:
failed to comply with a condition imposed on their licence;
failed to cause their trust accounts to be audited annually for the financial years from 2012 to 2021;
failed to, at all times, act fairly and honestly and to the best of their knowledge and ability in performing their functions as an agent; and
engaged in conduct that was unprofessional or detrimental to the reputation or interests of the agent’s industry.
20 February 2023
Western Australia Consumer Protection has published a recent court outcome on its website, outlining the misuse of trust account funds by a former East Perth agent. The former agent’s misconduct involved a deposit from a real estate sale being transferred to the general agency account, before being sent to two personal bank accounts: a personal credit card account and a home loan offset account.
Disciplinary action in the form of almost $4,000 in fines was administered by the Perth Magistrates Court for the unlawful withdrawal of funds from the agency’s trust account.
Read More16 January 2023
As an agent, being granted the authority to hold a client’s money in trust is not a privilege most take lightly. The Joondalup Magistrates Court of Western Australia has issued a former real estate agent and their company $6,500 in fines for breaching trust account obligations under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, reiterating the importance of the standards agents are expected to meet concerning the management of clients’ funds.
While the offending former agent’s actions did not result in any financial losses for the clients, the court clarified that the careless actions still carried a significant risk to the clients at the time.
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