Brendan Wong
The incoming Liberal government will not change Labor’s implementation of national licensing for real estate agents, according to the National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA).
“Our stakeholder consultation indicates the Coalition supports the stated aims of national licensing,” a NOLA spokesperson told Real Estate Business.
“Our understanding is that the new government will work to ensure national licensing achieves its aims without reducing consumer protection or creating unreasonable new or additional requirements.”
However, the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) believes the Liberal government will provide greater opportunity for the industry’s concerns to be heard.
The institute recently received a letter from the Liberal Party which stated that while it supported the aims of national licensing, Labor’s implementation was “poor”.
“Labor has made little progress in relation to national licensing of property occupations, and there has been inadequate communication and collaboration with states and territories and key stakeholders,” federal campaign director Brian Loughnane said.
CEO of the REINSW Tim McKibbon told Real Estate Business that common sense would prevail.
“I’m more hopeful because the document says to me very clearly that they’re not very happy with the process and that gives me some hope to suggest that we can go back through [the Council of Australian Governments] and into NOLA and actually restructure it."
Mr McKibbon said he would be following up the letter with a request to meet with the prime minister’s department in Canberra once its members had been appointed.
President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia Peter Bushby said he was pleased that the government could now move forward following the election.
“We have certainly had a good hearing and we’ve been able to well brief our government, while in Opposition, on our concerns in relation to national licensing,” he said.
“We look forward to working with the government in terms of achieving appropriate outcomes we believe are important to the real estate industry and real estate consumers.”
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