Other Real Estate Professions
Scope of the domain
Beyond brokers, the regulator oversees sales agents, property managers, valuers, common-area managers, and developers. Candidates must know each role's scope and licensing or registration requirements.
Role distinctions
Sales agents market and negotiate but act under a licensed broker or developer and cannot exceed their authorised scope. Property managers handle day-to-day management, leases, service charges and maintenance on behalf of owners. Valuers provide independent, objective valuations using recognised methods and must disclose conflicts. Common-area managers oversee shared facilities and coordinate with owners associations. Developers must register projects and meet escrow, disclosure and handover duties.
Common traps
Questions blur the broker and sales agent roles, or assume a property manager may also act as a broker without a licence. Another trap is a valuer with an interest in the property - independence is essential. Also watch for unlicensed activity disguised as “consultancy”.
Rule of thumb
Identify the function first (advising, managing, valuing, developing), then ask which licence or registration that function requires. A title does not determine the requirement; the activity does.
Worked example
A property manager is asked by an owner to find a buyer for a unit. Correct answer: marketing and negotiating a sale is brokerage activity requiring the appropriate licence; the manager cannot simply add it to management duties.
Owners Associations
What an owners association is
An owners association is the body through which unit owners in a jointly owned development manage shared property. Candidates must understand its formation, governance and powers.
Formation and governance
Know when formation is triggered (typically on development registration or when a specified number of units are sold), how the association is registered, and what its constitutive documents contain. Understand the general assembly, the board or committee, voting rights, and the role of the developer during the transition period before owners take control.
Finances and duties
The association collects service charges, maintains budgets and reserves, arranges insurance for common areas, and maintains shared facilities. Meetings must be convened and minutes recorded. Owners who fail to pay service charges may face recovery action.
Common traps
Questions confuse the developer's pre-handover role with the association's post-handover authority; assume decisions can be made without a general assembly where the rules require one; or assume the association can ignore the budget process.
Rule of thumb
Before handover, the developer typically controls; after handover, the owners association does. Ask which phase the question sits in.
Worked example
After handover, a developer signs a maintenance contract for common areas without association approval. Correct answer: once the association is in control, major contracts require its decision-making process.
Strata and Common Areas Management
Strata ownership
Strata or jointly owned property means individual units are owned separately while common areas are shared. Candidates must understand how common areas are defined, who owns them, and how they are managed and funded.
Management duties
Know the duty to maintain and repair common areas, keep them insured, maintain records and accounts, and allocate costs fairly among owners according to the allocation method in the governing documents. Understand the role of the common-area manager and how they report to the owners association.
Service charges and disputes
Service charges must be budgeted and apportioned consistently; special levies may be needed for major works. Disputes over charges, access to common areas, or alterations typically go through internal processes first, then to the regulator or dispute mechanism.
Common traps
Questions test whether an owner may alter a common area without approval (no), whether a manager can use service-charge funds for unrelated purposes (no), and whether common-area insurance is optional (usually mandatory).
Rule of thumb
Separate unit from common area, then ask who is responsible, who pays, and who approves.
Worked example
An owner builds a storage structure on a shared corridor. Correct answer: this is an unauthorised use of common area; the manager must act to restore the common area and follow the governing approval process.
Continuous Professional Development and the Regulatory Framework
CPD requirements
Continuous professional development keeps licence holders current. Candidates must know that CPD is a condition of renewal, that a minimum number of hours or points is required per cycle, and that activities must be relevant and verifiable. Structured learning, such as approved courses, usually counts differently from informal learning.
Record-keeping
Brokers should retain certificates and logs because the regulator may audit them. Failure to evidence CPD can block renewal even if the learning actually took place.
The regulatory framework
Understand the regulator's functions: rulemaking, licensing, supervision, investigation, and enforcement. Know the hierarchy - law, regulations, and guidance - and that guidance explains how to comply but does not override the law. Understand cooperation duties during inspections and the obligation to keep the regulator informed of material changes.
Common traps
Questions assume CPD is optional, that any activity counts, or that records need not be kept. Another trap is treating guidance as optional or, conversely, as law.
Rule of thumb
If you cannot document it, you cannot count it. CPD must be relevant, verifiable and recorded.
Worked example
A broker attends an unrelated industry networking event and claims it as CPD. Correct answer: unless the activity is relevant and recognised under the CPD rules, it does not count toward the requirement.