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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-05-04 Daily Xml
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REAL ESTATE LICENSING

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:32): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer Affairs a question relating to educational standards for sales reps.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: The Land Agents Act 1994 is committed to the minister. Through changes to the regulations under the Land Agents Act 1994, qualification levels for sales representatives have been significantly reduced by this government. Sales representatives were previously required to undertake a full certificate IV in training, and now they are required to undertake something less than a certificate IV.

Under the proposed regulatory scheme within the national occupational licensing scheme, real estate agents will no longer be required to undertake training to a diploma level. Similarly, sales representatives will be required to undertake only approximately one-third of the existing requirements.

These changes are being promoted in the name of national consistency and removing barriers to entry, yet the opposition is concerned that the race to the bottom on educational standards is occurring at the risk of the protection of South Australian consumers. My questions are:

1. Does the minister support the proposed changes to the educational standards?

2. Will the minister ensure that any nationally-agreed standards do not lead to the reduction of South Australian training standards?

3. Can the minister guarantee that consumers will not be worse off in South Australia following the proposed national occupational licensing scheme?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:33): I thank the honourable member for his questions. Indeed, this government has played a key role in bringing in major reforms to the area of real estate. Mr President, you might recall that we put in place a raft of reforms, so that we were able to virtually get rid of dummy bidding altogether—legislation we put in place to address problems that were being suffered by consumers that the opposition sat on their hands and did nothing about during their time in government.

We have been successful in bringing about a raft of different changes, which came into operation in July 2008. It was the most comprehensive overhaul of South Australia's real estate laws in over a decade—a comprehensive reform. One of the main changes introduced was the requirement for real estate sales representatives, including those involved in the leasing of commercial properties, to become registered with OCBA. That was a real first, and I think it was a step in the right direction.

Prior to the real estate legislation, sales reps had to meet the following requirements in order to act as sales representatives for a land agent: completion of an approved qualification; not been convicted of an indictable dishonesty offence or summary dishonesty offence within the last 10 years; and not suspended or disqualified from carrying on an occupation, trade or business in Australia.

It was the obligation of the land agent to check that their employees met these requirements, and registration was not required, so it was quite an ad hoc approach and there was no guarantee, or very minimal guarantees or assurances, that this was taking place. This government introduced changes following the introduction of the real estate reform legislation. All previous qualifications and requirements were retained, as well as the legislative requirement for a sales representative to be a fit and proper person.

So, in fact, we have lifted the bar, and to make an application for registration clients may either telephone OCBA or attend in person, using the assisted application process. An OCBA staff member asks a series of relevant questions, while any issues requiring clarification can also be addressed at the time. The completed application form is then provided to the client for checking, signing and lodgement, along with any other listed attachments, such as copies of their qualifications or a national police certificate. The AAP, as we know, has streamlined the application process, and I am advised that once lodged the matter is progressed very quickly.

So we can see that the reforms we have put in place in fact went a long way to requiring registration for the first time ever, and a fit and proper person test that had not been previously required as well. So I think that this government has certainly shown that it has a commitment to improving standards within the industry, whilst at the same time being very mindful not to put in place too much of an onerous system in terms of delivering too much red tape to the system that then is a disincentive to thriving business. I think that this government has got the balance right.

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