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The Board’s CPD requirements, how activities are approved, and the list of approved activities.
Please note that we are currently restructuring how Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is approved and submitted. During this period, agents will be unable to make CPD submissions via the portal while development is underway.
Once the portal re-opens for submission, please check back here for a step-by-step guide on how to make CPD submissions and what this might look like for you.
The Property Agents Board is the statutory authority responsible for property agents in Tasmania. Among other things, the functions of the Board are to ensure acceptable standards of practice by property agents, and to regulate property agents and certain auction and real estate practices.
This policy applies to all licensed property agents under the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016. The Board may change policies relevant to CPD at any time; the industry will be notified of amended policies, which are published on the Board’s website.
The objective of this policy is to provide advice to the property agents industry in understanding the Board’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements and to reinforce the importance of CPD activities. The policy specifically aims:
A commitment to CPD is critical in building and maintaining professionalism within the property agents industry. As a result, it increases levels of consumer protection and enhances public confidence and trust in property agents.
CPD is an integral part of the qualification framework which has been designed to enable property agents to continue to update their knowledge and skills in the areas of industry developments, legislative change and work practices.
CPD provides a vehicle to maintain currency of technical knowledge and is a way of ensuring the property agents industry remains professional; it is also a way of growing new knowledge, expanding each property agent’s abilities and giving them an opportunity to reflect upon their own professional practice.
No. The Board considers that the concept of CPD is to expand your knowledge base, so you cannot attribute CPD that you have undertaken in previous licence years towards meeting your CPD points.
The Board imposes a CPD condition on all individual property agent licences. The CPD condition is identified on the property agent’s licence under the word “Conditions”.
The Board imposes various CPD conditions and it is imperative that a property agent is aware of the condition imposed on their own licence and that they ensure that the CPD undertaken satisfies their CPD condition.
From 1 July 2022 CPD requirements are changing and property agents will need to ensure CPD requirements are met by 30 April each year.
The condition on the licence will indicate that the property agent must undertake a minimum number of CPD points within the period specified. The condition will indicate how many industry specific CPD points must be undertaken, and of those, the minimum number of CPD points that must be provided by an external provider.
Example of condition on licence: The holder of this licence is required to undertake 8 CPD points by 30 April 2024. 6 CPD points must be industry specific and at least 2 of those industry specific points must be by an external provider.
Therefore, the condition for that property agent is broken down to be 8 points of CPD by 30 April, which consists of:
The term external provider means that the CPD activity is delivered by a person external to the organisation by which the property agent is employed.
The Board has determined that property representatives who are granted a licence on or after 1 August 2021 must complete the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice. The property representative will have not less than 3 years to complete the qualification.
The condition will be implemented in two distinct phases. That is, the licence holder will be required to successfully complete the 5 core units within one specified time period and then the remaining units within another specified time period. The time frames in which the person will be required to complete the two phases will depend on when the licence is granted. The 5 core units will be required to be completed in no less than a 12-month period and the remaining units within a period of no less than a 24-month period.
The condition on the licence will clearly set out the requirements for that licence holder. The condition will be placed on a property representative’s licence at the time the licence is granted. The timeframe for completion will depend on when in the licence year the licence is granted. Therefore, if the licence was granted on 1 November 2021 the CPD condition would be: The holder of this licence is required to successfully complete the 5 core units of CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice by 30 April 2023.
The core units are:
Given the commitment and cost of these units, the Board determined that this CPD would satisfy the CPD requirements for up to 24 months after completion. The units studied for these CPD requirements must be approved by the Board as being focused on Tasmanian legislation.
The Board has determined that the licence of a property agent who applied under mutual recognition (MR), or who has been granted a licence on the basis that the Board was satisfied that the person had sufficient knowledge and experience of the functions of a property agent or to carry on that business, will include a condition that the property agent is to undertake relevant training based on the licence granted.
The Board has determined that the CPD requirement for a person who applies for a licence under MR and has been granted a Division 2 licence (real estate agents, property managers, general auctioneers) is the Compliance and Ethics Cluster Diploma units within the CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management):
The Board has determined that the CPD requirement for a person who applies for a licence under MR and has been granted a Division 4 licence (property representative) is the Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice (CPP41419). The units studied for these CPD requirements must be approved by the Board as being focused on Tasmanian legislation.
Property agents holding a valid licence in Tasmania who have gained the Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice in another jurisdiction are required to supplement that qualification with additional learning to ensure an understanding of and adherence to acceptable standards of practice in Tasmania as defined by the Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016.
The holder of a Property Representative licence is required to complete a Board approved Certificate IV qualification Tasmanian transfer course which addresses the understanding, interpretation and application of Tasmanian legislation, and trust account management. Date of required completion is noted on issued licences; no extensions will be granted except in extenuating circumstances. Completion of this learning will fulfil Continuing Professional Development (CPD) obligations for the licence period.
Registered Training Organisations currently approved to offer this course:
Please contact the training provider to register.
A property agent must ensure that they adhere to the CPD condition on their licence. Failure to comply with this CPD condition may ultimately result in:
The Board as the regulator does not receive information from training providers. It is the responsibility of each property agent to keep a record of their CPD undertaken in a licence year. As such, the Board recommends that a property agent keep an electronic and/or hard copy of CPD that they have undertaken during the licence year including the date, so all information is to hand when it comes to renewal time; alternatively the property agent can declare their completed CPD activity at any time through the online portal.
Compliance with CPD is enforced when a property agent applies to renew their licence. At renewal, the CPD requirements for each property agent are reviewed and compared with CPD declared by the property agent. Failure to supply evidence of CPD or submitting incorrect or incomplete records relating to CPD will be considered as non-compliance with meeting a condition on the licence. The provision of false information may result in the Board commencing disciplinary proceedings or suspending the property agent’s licence.
The Board conducts audits each year by seeking random samples of CPD records of property agents from all types of licence categories. If audited, property agents will be required to produce any or all of the following:
CPD may take several forms such as:
The Board has placed an emphasis on industry specific CPD activity as it assists property agents to be more effective and aware of industry developments, legislative changes and work practices. The Board requires some CPD undertaken to be directly related (industry specific) to the property agents industry.
A CPD activity is characterised as industry specific if the CPD activity:
However, the Board appreciates that there are CPD opportunities of a non-industry nature which will provide valuable professional development to a property agent. As such, the Board will continue to approve CPD activities:
A property agent can undertake some CPD activity of a more general nature (non-industry specific) that is not necessarily directly connected to the property agents industry. It should be noted that CPD activities that are characterised as non-industry specific will only be allocated a maximum of 2 points regardless of the activity’s duration.
The Board from time to time may require all property agents to undertake a CPD activity relating to a specific topic/issue. This type of training will be called a mandatory CPD activity. If the Board requires a mandatory CPD activity, it will specify what training is required and when it must be completed.
The Board has determined that each property agent must undertake some points of CPD activity from a training provider/trainer external to their organisation. The CPD point coding will display the prefix ‘EP’ (for example EP1234). A CPD activity conducted internally will be coded with the prefix ‘IP’ (for example IP1234).
The Board considers the range of approved CPD activities, and the time frame provided to meet the CPD requirements, is broad and flexible enough for all property agents to meet the requirements. The Board does however appreciate that there are times when extenuating circumstances may make this difficult. A property agent wishing to be excused from part or all of their CPD requirement, or requesting an extension of time, can apply in writing to the Board.
In making an application for a CPD exemption or a CPD extension a property agent may need to include some supporting documentation such as:
The extenuating circumstances for exemption will be limited, and exemptions will only be considered where there is compelling evidence that the circumstances have created a significant obstacle to the property agent completing their CPD points. As a general principle, financial hardship, workload, age or remote location are not adequate grounds for an exemption as there are sufficient approved CPD activities in a range of formats available to overcome these obstacles.
Each case for extenuating circumstances is considered on its merits and depending on the circumstances, the Board may decide:
Evidence of a strong prior commitment in undertaking CPD activities will be considered by the Board when assessing applications for exemption.
Due to the specific circumstances of each property agent and the implementation of Board policy, there are a variety of CPD conditions that can be imposed on a property agent’s licence. It is imperative that the property agent is aware of all conditions on their licence and what they must do to comply with that condition.
A points condition will identify:
From time to time the Board may require property agents to undertake mandatory CPD in a specific area or topic.
The Board takes certain criteria into account in determining whether a CPD activity should be approved as either directly related or general in nature. Training activities that are not approved by the Board cannot be claimed as an approved CPD activity. For a CPD activity to be approved, it must be sought in advance using the Board’s form Request for CPD activity approval.
CPD requirements are different for different licence holders. The CPD condition on the licence will identify the timeframe in which the licence holder has to complete their CPD requirement, for example: The holder of this licence is required to undertake 10 CPD points by 30 June 2022. 8 CPD points must be industry specific and a minimum of 4 industry specific points must be by an external provider. The CPD requirement is expressed as a condition of the individual’s licence.
If a property agent cannot meet their CPD condition they may apply to the Board in writing to seek a discretionary exemption in whole or in part from CPD requirements due to extenuating circumstances, or to obtain an extension to meet their CPD requirements.
CPD activities must be noted on the CPD declaration form. Evidence such as statements of attainment or records of attendance should be retained for at least 2 years.
Property agents may be selected for a random audit and must comply with any audit requests by the Board by providing evidence of their attendance and participation in approved CPD activities.
(1) The Board may issue a licence subject to such conditions as the Board considers appropriate.
(2) The Board may at any time after the licence is issued – (a) impose new conditions on the licence; or (b) amend or vary a condition of the licence; or (c) rescind a condition of the licence.
(3) Without limiting subsections (1) and (2), a licence may be subject to conditions of the following kind: (a) a condition requiring the licensee to undertake or complete a specified course of studies within a specified period of time; (b) a condition requiring the licensee to undertake, by way of professional development, specified further education or training during the term of the licence.
(4) The Board, by notice in writing, must notify the licensee of – (a) any addition, amendment, variation or rescission of a condition of the licence; and (b) the reasons for it.
(5) A licence holder must not contravene a condition of his or her licence. Penalty: fine not exceeding 50 penalty units.
The Board’s CPD policy in printable form.