Agency agreements vary, depending upon where you purchase them, or if you have had specific ones written for your agency. Pay particular attention to the area in relation to remuneration of commission in terms of who you calculate your commission (based on the range or the higher end of your range of your opinion of price). Also check the notice period for your clients to terminate a agreement, as the requirements vary between the different agency agreements that available to property agents in NSW.

As of 18 December 2022, a new Property and Stock Agents (Qualifications) Order has been tabled and there are new qualifications for both Class 2 and Class 1 Strata Managing Agents. The new CPP40521 Cert IV in Strata Community Management will be offered by ACOP from January 2023 for the Class 2 licence requirement and the new CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management – Strata) qualification will also be offered by ACOP from January 2023 for the Class 1 licence requirement for strata agents.

The Auditor’s Report Online portal will remain open to accept late audits for property services trust accounts in NSW until 31 December 2022. Audits submitted after the portal closes may be subject to higher penalties and licence suspension.

The short answer is definitely NO they cannot. The prohibition against sharing commission with unlicensed person is detailed in both the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 and the Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022. A licensee is prohibited from entering to any agreements which shall result in commission being shared with an unlicensed person. Some agents develop innovative ideas of how to increase their business opportunities and unfortunately, some of these ideas are non-compliant with the Act and the Regulation. In essence, some of these ideas are plainly ‘sharing commission’.

All windows coverings, such as curtains, shades and blinds that have cords and chains, can cause injury and death to young children and babies, if they become wrapped around their necks. Small children can even grab hold of these cords or chains and pull themselves out of their cribs and fall from the tops of the rungs.

The Regulation was amended on 23 March 2022. In relation to some strata issues – there are some minor changes only. There is a new rule in the Regulation (Schedule 4, part 1) that applies to strata managing agents and their assistant agents. Under the Regulation, you are now required to cooperate when transferring functions to a strata scheme or community land scheme. This applies in situations where the agent’s contract has ended and the scheme has decided to self-manage.

With the recent heavy deluges of rain, many lot owners have experienced significant water damage within their lots. Damages include the need for mould treatment, carpet damage, waterproofing deficiencies, and damage to floorboards and plasterboard. Bannermans Lawyers have extensive information on their website in relation to such claims and their outcomes and actions that can be taken by lot owners, owners corporations and strata managers in order to mitigate claims.

NSW Fair Trading are currently conducting a Strata Managing Agent compliance program and are targeting supervision requirements during inspections of NSW strata companies. Of the 44 inspections conducted during a recent one week operation, 86% (38 agencies) were found to be breaching their obligations under NSW property laws.

With changes to the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022, the Law Society of New South Wales has released a 2022 edition of the Contract for Sale and Purchase of Land in New South Wales.

In 2016, the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2015 Measures No. 6) Act 2016 (NO. 10, 2016) - Schedule 2, was introduced, which relates to the legislation where a purchaser has an obligation to withhold Capital Gains Tax on behalf of the vendor.