Legal Compliance for Property Agency in NSW: A Detailed Case Study

This case study addresses the legal compliance responsibilities within a small to medium-sized property agency in New South Wales. It includes the creation of a register encompassing all relevant State and Commonwealth legislation, a procedural document detailing how the register should be utilized by staff to ensure accuracy and adherence, and the design of checklists for three key office processes driven by compliance requirements. These checklists ensure that agents fulfill all obligations under the pertinent legislation, such as the Property, Stock, and Business Agents Act 2002, Trade Practices Act 1974, and the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. The study emphasizes the importance of maintaining up-to-date records, secure storage of agreements, and fair market value practices to comply with legal standards and avoid penalties.

Running Head: Legal Compliance
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Assignment Name:
Student Name:
Course Name and Number
Professor
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Contents
1.Register of all State and Commonwealth legislation applicable to the firm........................................................3
2. A document outlining how to process how this register can be used.................................................................3
3. Processes and the relevant legislation.................................................................................................................4
References...............................................................................................................................................................5

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1. Register of all State and Commonwealth legislation applicable to the firm
The list (register) of all State and Commonwealth legislation applicable to a property agency is as follows
 Commonwealth Legislation impacting the firm
 Copyrights Act 1968
 Corporations Act 2001
 Competition and Consumer Act 2010
 Freedom of Information Act
 Fringe Benefits Tax Act
 Managed Investments Act
 Native Title Act
 Privacy Act
 Trade Practices Act
 State Legislation is impacting the firm.
 Property, Stock, and Business Agents Act 2002 ( NSW)
 Residential Tenancies Act 2010
 New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal ( NCAT) 2014
2. A document outlining how this register can be used
This register can be used to understand all the legal compliances that the company needs to comply with to run
the property agency business (Gunning, 2018).All staff members, especially those dealing with government
agencies need to keep the following things in mind with regards to the register.
 Make a note of all the critical clauses of the legislation mentioned in the register which impacts our
industry.
 The cost of compliance with these legislations and the penalties, fines associated with noncompliance.
 Noting which government body or regulator is responsible for enforcement of compliance with the law.

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 Study the existing legislation, be alert to the changes happening to them and also keep on an eye on
whether any new legislation will impact the property agency industry. Accordingly update the register
every six months since the list is not static and one needs to add, modify or delete the list of legislation
as required(Hsieh, Hui & Zhang, 2015).
3. Processes and the relevant legislation
The three processes are as follows
 Ensuring all agency agreements are stored physically in a safe, secure place as well as electronically.
The checklist to ensure that this task is carried out in compliance with the law is that every agent has to
mandatorily enter the agreement details electronically in a database and ensure a physical copy is stored
at the specified location. Failure to do so can result in loss of the job. This process complies with Part 4
of Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002(Hsieh, Hui & Zhang, 2015).
 All contracts related to leases of land or buildings need to be documented and stored electronically for
the regulator to check. The checklist involved the agent to mandatory enter all contracts details in the
database and send the record to his/her senior at the end of the day. This process complies with Trade
Practices Act 1974(Gunning, 2018).
 All agents are given a list of the fair market value of all properties they deal in, and they must tell only
this value to all potential buyers. The checklist is that all agents are trained accordingly, and consumers
can file complaints against agents if found guilty. This process complies with the Competition and
Consumer Act 2010.

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References
Hsieh, C., Hui, K., & Zhang, Y. (2015). Analyst Report Readability and Stock Returns. Journal Of Business
Finance & Accounting, 43(1-2), 98-130. doi: 10.1111/jbfa.12166
Gunning, M. (2018). REIA - REIA Accreditation. Retrieved from https://reia.asn.au/agents/reia-accreditation