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Licensing for business, real estate and stock and station agents

Access Canberra is responsible for licensing real estate, business, and stock and station agents under the Agents Act 2003 (the Act).

  • Business agents: represent the financial interests of their clients in the buying and selling of business shares, interest and stock.
  • Stock and station agents: act for another to sell, buy and lease rural property and livestock
  • Real estate agents act for another to sell, buy, lease or manage property. Real estate agents without conditional licences can also hold monies in trust and employ salespeople.

There are also 2 types of conditional real estate agent licences in the ACT:

  • Conditional real estate agent to sell land by auction: can only act as an auctioneer of land. These agents can’t employ assistant agents.
  • Conditional real estate agent to manage an owners corporation: can manage an owners corporation. If the agent is only managing an owners corporation, they don’t need to register their employees.

Comprehensive definitions for each agent type are in the Act.

Read about owners corporation managing agent licensing.

If you’re a real estate agent who employs assistant agents, they need to be registered.

Read about assistant agent registration.

Eligibility

To apply for an agent licence, you need to:

  • be at least 18 years old
  • have the qualifications for the licence you’re applying for
  • have not been disqualified from holding a licence.

A list of reasons a person is disqualified is at section 27 of the Act. Reasons include past offences, bankruptcy, and individual incapacity.

Generally, if a person is disqualified the Commissioner for Fair Trading will refuse the licence. In the case of disqualification due to bankruptcy, insolvency, administration or winding-up, if the Commissioner is satisfied a person took all reasonable steps to avoid it, the licence may be granted.

You can apply as an individual, a partnership or as a corporation.

If applying:

  • as a partnership both of you need to meet the criteria
  • as a corporation, none of the directors can have been disqualified, and at least one must already hold a licence of the same kind you’re applying for.

Qualifications

Each licence type has specific qualification requirements.

The requirements are listed in the Agents (Qualifications and Experience for Licences) Declaration 2022 (No 1).

All qualifications must be based on the ACT law. You can get your training in another jurisdiction if the training is equivalent to ACT law.

This can be indicated on the statement of attainment or in a supporting letter from the provider.

Apply for an agent licence

To apply for an agent licence:

  1. Complete the Real Estate, Business, Stock and Station and Employment Agent Licence form.
  2. Upload your supporting documents. What you’ll need depends on whether you’re applying as an individual, partnership or corporation.
  3. Pay the fee.

Apply for an agent licence

Applying as an individual or partnership

If you’re applying as an individual or partnership, you’ll need to upload:

  • your evidence of qualification attainment
  • your proof of identity (at least one primary and 2 secondary)
  • a police certificate for each applicant. This certificate must have been issued within 2 months of applying.

View acceptable proof of identity.

Applying as a corporation

If you’re applying as a corporation:

View acceptable proof of identity.

Notifying the public

Before granting the licence Access Canberra will notify the public of your application.

View notifications on the ACT Open Government website.

After 10 business days, if no one raises an objection with the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Access Canberra will grant the licence.

Once licenced your name will be listed on the relevant public register:

If you have an agent licence and your address changes, you'll need to update your address.

Continuing professional development

As a condition of your licence renewal, you need to undertake continuing professional development (CPD).

The CPD requirements are listed in the Agents (Continuing Professional Development) Guideline 2022 (No 2).

Renewing your licence

The renewal process has been updated for licences issued under the Agents Act 2003 (the Act). These changes affect people who currently hold a licence as an individual or a business.

At the time of renewal, all agent licence applications must include a name only police certificate issued by the Australian Federal Police or the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. If the licensee is a corporation or partnership, each director or partner of the corporation/partnership will need their own police check. This is in addition to a police check in the name of the corporation/partnership.

To obtain a name only police certificate, you can apply at either of the following links:

If you provide a police certificate and there are offences included, Access Canberra will contact you to discuss the next steps. It is important to note that not all offences will prevent you from renewing your licence.

You can renew online:

When renewing you can pay for either a 1-year or 3-year licence.

Paying annual fees

If you chose the 3-year option you can either pay the full sum, or annual instalments.

Make an annual payment

Trust account requirements

All licensed agents are required to either keep a trust account or hold a written exemption from keeping a trust account.

Trust accounts must be opened at an authorised deposit-taking institution in the ACT. The trust account name must include the name of the agent, or the business name, and must include the words 'trust account'. Agents must advise the authorised deposit-taking institution that the account is a trust account for the purposes of the Agents Act 2003.

Licensed agents must inform Access Canberra of the trust account details within 7 business days of opening the account via email to CITL@act.gov.au. Access Canberra must also be advised of trust account closures within 10 business days of the account being closed.

Licensed agents can hold more than 1 trust account (e.g. a trust account for sales and a trust account for property management).

Exemption from keeping a trust account

Licensed agents who do not receive or hold trust money and therefore do not have a trust account must apply for an exemption from keeping a trust account. An exemption can be applied for by emailing CITL@act.gov.au with the agent’s licence number and reason(s) for requesting an exemption.

Overdrawn trust account notifications

Licensed agents must notify Access Canberra of any overdrawn trust accounts within 5 business days from finding out the account is overdrawn.

Notifications must include details of the overdrawn account (account name, number, BSB), the amount by which the account is overdrawn, and the reason for the account being overdrawn.

Notifications can be sent to Agentcompliance@act.gov.au.

Trust account audits

Licensed agents who held trust money during an audit period (financial year) must have their trust account records audited by a qualified auditor by 30 September.

Audit reports can be submitted to Access Canberra using the Agents Trust Account Audit form.

Any enquiries about trust account audits can be sent to Agentcompliance@act.gov.au.

Mutual recognition

Only individuals can have their interstate real estate agent licence mutually recognised in the ACT.

The application process is the same as applying for an ACT licence, but Access Canberra will contact the relevant interstate authority to check whether you have any restrictions on your licence.

Read about automatic mutual recognition.

Reforms

From 1 July 2022, the ACT Government is changing the regulation of the real estate industry.

Find out more about reforms to the real estate industry.