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Queensland’s peak body has called for a mandatory ongoing education scheme, which it said would help protect agents from litigation.
Antonia Mercorella, chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, said a compulsory professional development (CPD) scheme should be introduced to protect consumers.
The CPD scheme should, in turn, be linked to the renewal of real estate registration certificates and licences, she added.
“This will ensure consumers are only dealing with real estate practitioners who have up-to-date knowledge of legislative and industry changes,” Ms Mercorella said.
REIQ-accredited agencies have to undertake CPD to maintain their membership – and that should now apply across the industry, Ms Mercorella said.
“In today’s complex legislative landscape and highly litigious society, it’s naive to assume that initial training to obtain a licence or registration will suffice without further ongoing training,” she said.
“With the value of Queensland’s residential real estate climbing towards $1 trillion, it’s vital that industry professionals maintain their knowledge to minimise the risk of errors, claims and litigation.”
Industry education has been a hot news topic of late, with agents criticising low barriers to entry, the Real Estate Institute of Australia declaring war on “quickie courses” and the NSW body threatening to launch a political party if the state government fails to address its concerns about training.
Ms Mercorella said her organisation wants to work with Queensland’s lawmakers to develop higher educational standards.
“Educational requirements need to reflect the significance of the transactions carried out by agents and their importance to consumers,” she said.
“Now that a national licensing regime is no longer on the agenda, there needs to be a greater focus from Queensland’s lawmakers on this important issue.”
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