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A Victorian real estate agent will be suspended for three months after failing to audit their trust accounts.
Veteran real estate agent and owner of James Ferris Property, James Anthony Ferris, will have his licence suspended for three months starting 1 October.
Based in Williams Landing in Melbourne’s west, James Ferris Property was registered in 2016, though Ferris has worked in local real estate since the late 1990s.
The suspension follows Ferris’ failure to complete trust account audits between 2018 and 2023, despite repeated reminders and notices from Consumer Affairs Victoria.
In Australia, failing to audit trust accounts is a serious breach of the Estate Agents Act 1980.
In 2024, when Consumer Affairs Victoria investigated the matter, it was alleged that Ferris and his agency not only neglected their trust account responsibilities but also acted unfairly, dishonestly, and in a manner detrimental to the real estate industry’s reputation and interests.
The matter was escalated to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) where, according to the Herald Sun, Ferris claimed his failure to audit the trust account was due to feeling “overwhelmed”.
Ferris said that as an independent agency, he had to work alone without franchise support and was stretched with all the management tasks.
He told VCAT that at the time, he was struggling to cope and asked his GP and a psychologist for help.
During his March hearing, Ferris provided unaudited records to VCAT, which he said had anomalies due to poor recordkeeping rather than dishonesty.
The tribunal, however, said that the deficiencies cast doubt on Ferris’ accounting competence, stressing that timely audits could have resolved the issues.
In addition to his three-month licensing suspension, Ferris will also be required to complete 15 hours of professional training.
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