When a property licence is not required

This pages helps you know if a licence or certificate of registration is required for certain activities performed within an agency.

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This information is general advice only and it should not be relied upon in place of the legislation itself. To ensure you are compliant with the requirements of the law, you should always check the relevant parts of the legislation or obtain independent legal advice to account for your circumstances. Failure to comply with the law may result in a penalty.

There are a range of different roles within an agency business that may not require a licence or certificate of registration under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 (the Act).

For example, a person who does purely administrative work that supports the work of a licensed agent or certificate holder is unlikely to require a licence or certificate under the Act.

However, the law does not specifically mention all of these functions as it is primarily concerned with the functions that are regulated under the Act.

For this reason, an exhaustive list of functions that do not require a licence or certificate of registration will not be provided by NSW Fair Trading.

However, a set of case study examples below is designed to assist property professionals understand the scope of their functions, and some activities that may be undertaken without a licence or certificate of registration.

Example 1

Andre runs a property management agency and has several casual employees who do not hold a licence or certificate but assist with administrative support in the agency on an ad hoc basis.

The administrative support consists of sending work orders to contractors and providing details of tenants/owners to engaged contractors to assist the agency manage its portfolio.

The employees do not need to hold a certificate of registration or licence to do these tasks.

However, authorisation to carry out a work order must be provided by a licence or certificate of registration holder.

Example 2

Tania is a receptionist for a real estate agency and has worked in that role for several years.

Tania’s current administrative duties include responding to customer enquiries, issuing keys or access devices to tenants who are already under a residential tenancy agreement, receipting rent money from existing tenants under the instructions of the property manager and co-ordinating appointments for agents.

Under the Act, Tania would not be required to hold a certificate of registration or licence to undertake these administrative functions.

Tania also occasionally assists licensees and certificate of registration holders with open homes by providing logistical support - for example, setting up A-frames outside the house.

She can do those things without a licence or certificate of registration provided she does not undertake any real estate agent functions.

For example, Tania should not give advice to vendors or prospective purchasers or do anything which could be seen as attempting to induce a vendor into selling a property or a prospective purchaser into buying a property. These functions must be undertaken by an appropriately licensed real estate agent.

Example 3

Murray works for a stock and station agent in regional NSW and mainly assists with livestock sales by coordinating animals at the sales yard.

Murray occasionally provides assistance to prepare rural properties for sale and can sometimes be asked to coordinate inspections of properties by prospective purchasers.

Murray can coordinate animals at the sales yard without needing a certificate of registration or licence.

However, he should not be managing inspections for rural property sales or providing any advice to prospective purchasers. These functions can only be performed by an appropriately licensed stock and station agent.

Commercial property work exemptions

See also Commercial property work – exemptions for further information.

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