Landgate conveyancing industry group: Settlement agents bulletin issue 63 (January 2017)

12 January 2017

From 2017 the Commonwealth Government is introducing new reporting requirements in relation to real estate property transfers in Western Australia.  

Landgate, the lead agency involved in the introduction of the new reporting requirements, will be developing a portal to allow for the input of the data.

This provides an opportunity for some re-design of the front end of the Electronic Advice of Sale (EAS) system.

Trust account audit due early 2017 - Real estate bulletin issue 131 (January 2017)

3 January 2017

Don’t leave it to the last minute to organise your annual trust account audit.  

By law all real estate agents (agents) who have held or received monies in trust are required to submit an annual audit report. 

The annual audit report for the year ending 31 December 2016 must be submitted to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection (the Commissioner) by 5pm on 31 March 2017.

Kick start 2017 by getting your CPD points early! - Real estate bulletin issue 130 (December 2016)

22 December

Compulsory Professional Development (CPD) is a legal requirement for all licensed real estate agents and business brokers, as well as all registered real estate sales representatives and property managers. Failure to complete your CPD requirements could result in your triennial certificate or registration not being renewed.

There is an important change to the 2017 CPD program with licensees and sales representatives able to select the most appropriate mandatory course relevant to their business activity.

Rules for co-operatives

The rules are one of the most important documents any co-operative will create. The rules form the basis of everything a co-operative does, so taking time to be thorough, thinking them through and getting them right will pay dividends.

The rules form a binding contract between the co-operative and its members. All members and office holders of the co-operative must agree to follow the rules.

The rules provide the foundation for the way in which a co-operative is to operate. They include information on (but are not limited to):

Winding up a co-operative

If a co-operative intends to cease its activities, winding up ensures its assets are distributed lawfully. A co-operative can be wound-up in four ways:

  1. Winding-up on Certificate of the Registrar;
  2. Winding-up by the Supreme Court;
  3. Voluntary Winding-up by a creditor; or
  4. Voluntary winding-up by members.

In most instances, a co-operative will be voluntarily wound up by its members, and the process to be followed will be the same as the process applying to the winding-up of a corporation registered under the Corporations Act 2001.

Extension of interim ban on decorative alcohol fuelled burners

EXTENSION OF INTERIM BAN ON DECORATIVE ALCOHOL FUELLED BURNERS

I, MICHAEL MISCHIN, Minister for Commerce, pursuant to section 111(2) of the Australian Consumer Law (WA) extend an interim ban on consumer goods of a kind specified below (which first came into effect on 21 December 2016), because it appears to me that these goods, or a reasonably foreseeable use of these goods, may cause injury to any person.

The effect of this Notice is to extend the ban on the supply of such consumer goods for a further period of 30 days.

Auction sales reform

Status: CLOSED 15 April 2017

A review of the laws covering the licensing and conduct of auctioneers in WA was conducted in 2017 and is now complete.

Review purpose

The purpose of the review was to assess the Act’s relevance and appropriateness in meeting current and future consumer and industry needs. 

Key points

Four options for regulation were considered in the consultation:

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