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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (6 May) . . Page.. 1566 ..

MR STEFANIAK (continuing):

As I indicated, the community will be able to lodge grievances with the Commissioner of Fair Trading. If there are grounds for discipline, the matter will go to the new tribunal set up as a result of the act passed by the Assembly in the last proceedings in April.

Salespeople will be required to be registered. As to the standards here, there will be such things as a police check-and basic qualifications. This is to be set out by regulation. It has not been completely developed yet, I understand. I point out that all other jurisdictions are registered.

I understand there will be a two-year period, to give existing salespersons time to obtain any qualifications they need. Prior recognition will be taken into account. I believe that is essential in an industry like this. We have some very good, well-qualified and experienced people-indeed, the sort of people who might be running a few training courses for new people, if need be.

The training will include people such as property managers, which I believe is important. There has been training for real estate agents, although probably in a fairly ad hoc way. Back in 1994 I ran a course for real estate agents at the CIT. As I recall, there was a six-month agents course and I lectured in introduction to business law. To digress a little, my real estate agents were a classic bunch of people and it was a lot of fun doing the course.

I incorporated into my course a two-week period where I taught them how to complete claims in the Small Claims Court. Agents often have to do that, especially when it comes to trying to get bond money returned, which has been forfeited for various reasons in relation to real estate agreements et cetera.

No-one other than an insomniac goes to the Small Claims Court to watch a case in action. It is that not kind of place. But I took my class to the Small Claims Court. It was then in a courtroom in the AMP building. We happened upon a case which was very embarrassing for the agent representing the plaintiff, who was conducting the case, to try to ensure that some bond money was forfeited.

Imagine his surprise when about 20 of his colleagues descended on the court. We will call him Fred, although that is not his real name. Fred was incredibly embarrassed and turned a bright shade of red. I do not know if my class had any effect on the matter but, unfortunately, Fred subsequently lost the case. Maybe it did not, because the magistrate was not being terribly sympathetic as Fred was prosecuting his efforts to retain some of the bond money. The point there is that education is terribly important, as is recognition of prior learning. I believe that is something that will assist the industry.

Mr Speaker, I do not have any more to say in relation to this legislation. There are a number of things which still need to be worked out. Some of the on-the-spot fines still have to be worked out with the Real Estate Institute.

I do not have a problem with that. It shows the desirability, I suppose, of the consultation process-the way the department is working very closely with the industry to come up with an act that I feel not only greatly benefits the consumer but also imposes some logical obligations on agents-obligations which they themselves think are very important in properly regulating their industry. Other states are of course regulated.

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