11 December 2015

A real estate agent has had his licence and triennial certificate cancelled by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) and is banned from holding a licence for five years after providing false information in his original application.

Gary James Douglas of Tuart Hill was granted a real estate agent’s licence and triennial certificate on 16 January 2015 but action to have the licence cancelled was commenced by Consumer Protection after it was discovered the information contained in his application was false.

The application contained:

• An employment reference letter that had been forged by Mr Douglas;
• A business reference letter that contained false information had been provided to his professional referee by Mr Douglas;
• False statements regarding the dates of previous employment and experience;
• False representations relating to the number of real estate transactions that Mr Douglas had conducted which, in fact, were negotiated by another agent; and
•  A signed declaration that the information contained in the application was true and correct when Mr Douglas knew that certain particulars were false.

Apart from having his licence cancelled and being disqualified from holding a licence for five years, Mr Douglas was reprimanded by the SAT and also ordered to pay costs of $1,000.

Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said the basis of the licensing system was to ensure that only fit and proper people work in the real estate industry.

“Honesty and integrity are critical to the assessment of the character of an applicant, so to provide false information in an application is a major failure of that basic test,” Mr Hillyard said.

“Consumer Protection relies on past work experience and peer review as indicators of an applicant’s knowledge and competency to carry on the business of a real estate agent so the information supplied needs to be true and accurate.

“False information in applications is always likely to be discovered. Such deceptive conduct won’t be tolerated and the appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.”

More information on the obligations of real estate agents and sales representatives is available on the Consumer Protection website or enquiries can be made by email or by calling 1300 30 40 54.