Login
iscover
“Don’t compromise on quality or your qualifications could be going, going, gone,” real estate professionals in NSW have been warned.
Fair Trading NSW has put the state’s real estate and strata industry on notice, cautioning not to scrimp on quality when it comes to professional development and training.
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is currently conducting a nationwide audit into registered training organisations (RTOs) in the real estate sector, following reports that some students and professionals are not receiving adequate education or being given sufficient information regarding their legal and licensing requirements.
The NSW watchdog is supporting this effort, with NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann and NSW Strata and Property Services Commissioner John Minns providing intelligence to the investigators.
Together they are warning the industry that a failure to choose “trusted, quality-focused” organisations could result in professionals’ qualifications being challenged.
All licensed real estate and strata professionals in the state must currently undertake several units of continuing professional development per year to maintain their ability to practise. While the ASQA’s investigation is primarily focused on educators who provide the certificate IV in real estate practice, diploma of property (agency management) and certificate IV in strata community management, any findings against RTOs could cause questions about their larger educational offering and cause the organisation to be deregistered.
The NSW representatives are particularly concerned about providers who offer courses that claim a “fast track” for obtaining an NSW Fair Trading agent licence.
Mr Minns commented that such a claim is an indication that the educational facility might not be the quality institution that real estate professionals should be looking for.
“If a training provider is promising quick qualifications at a low cost, they are highly unlikely to deliver the skills needed to be a professional agent,” he said.
Mr Minns stressed that proper education is integral to keeping the state’s real estate sector strong.
“Organisations with unacceptable training standards compromise the trust and integrity of the industry.”
“We will continue to proactively improve the property and management industry to give consumers confidence they are dealing with experienced professionals,” he said.
Ms Mann echoed his comments, stating that “consumers, regulators and industry leaders expect to work with trusted and highly skilled professionals”.
The regulator said that the agency would be “watching the results of the ASQA audit very closely”.
“These organisations have an obligation to provide high-quality education to students. Providers found to have poor professional practice can expect a review of their status in NSW,” she stated.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
Newsletter
