You just shoot from the hip don't you syd?
http://www.reia.com.au/real-estate-australia-trade-practices-act.php is the website you need.
Yep ... you do need to be qualified in the RE game and yep there are laws in place protecting the consumer.
Misleading and deceptive conduct
3. The ACCC has advised REIA that whilst the majority of estate agents value their clients and act
accordingly, the ACCC is concerned by an increase in complaints about the conduct of some agents.
4. Moreover, the ACCC has stated that:
a. “Section 52 of the Trade Practices Act prohibits misleading and deceptive conduct. This
provision has been adopted by states and territories in their respective Fair Trading Acts.”
b. “Misleading and deceptive conduct is a very broad concept. It need not be overt, and can include
actions, not just words. Misleading conduct can also include acts of silence or omission. Conduct
can be misleading even if the agent doesn’t actually make any specific representation. It is not
necessarily relevant whether the agent actually intended to mislead anyone to establish negligence.
What is relevant is the overall impression created by the conduct, and its actual or likely effect on
the target audience.”
http://www.reia.com.au/userfiles/REIA_Guidelines_TradePracticesAct2004.pdf
Oh well .......
When I said
sell I should have said
spruiked.
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2013/10/the-free-for-all-of-property-advice/
To become a property investment adviser, what educational qualifications are required?
Diploma in Financial Services
Diploma in Real Estate
Bachelor of Business
Answer: none of the above.
That’s right, you can advise someone on buying a million dollar property and make tens of thousands of dollars in commission in this one transaction, yet you are not obligated to have any educational qualifications; not even completed Year 12.
The compulsory continuing professional development requirements for a property investment adviser are:
Attendance at the national conference (15 hours)
Equivalent of 20 hours which can include attendance at seminars, conferences, guest speaking
Equivalent of 30 hours which must include attendance at the national conference.
Answer: none of the above.
t makes sense, doesn’t it? Why would you have to do any ongoing training or development to keep up your skills if there was no minimum training or education requirements when you first started in the job?
The licensing requirements to become a property investment adviser include:
Police check
Minimum entry educational qualifications
Endorsement from two current property investment advisers
All of the above
Answer: none of the above.
A life insurance salesperson needs to be licensed. A real estate agent needs to be licensed. You would think that someone who is advising you on making one of the biggest decisions in your life is also licensed. Well, you thought wrong.
The regulatory body that oversees the property investment advice industry is:
Real Estate Institute of Australia
The Financial Advisers Commission
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
A and C
Answer: none of the above.
The simple answer is real property is not considered a “financial product” under the Corporations Act. Anyone can give advice on real property and is not obligated to abide by the Corporations Act nor do they come under the scrutiny of ASIC.