Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994

This section applies in relation to the sale or purchase of land or a business.

An agent must disclose to the client in such manner as may be prescribed by the regulations—

the nature, source and amount (or estimated amount or value) of any benefit the agent receives or expects to receive from a third person to whom the agent has referred the client, or with whom the agent has contracted, for the provision of services associated with the sale or purchase;

and

the nature, source and amount (or estimated amount or value) of any other benefit any person receives or expects to receive in connection with the sale or purchase. Maximum penalty: Maximum penalty: $20 000.

This section does not require an agent to make a disclosure of—

a benefit disclosed in a sales agency agreement with the client;

or

a benefit received or expected to be received by the agent from the client; or

a benefit received or expected to be received by the vendor or purchaser; or

a benefit related to the provision of services to the client that have been contracted for by the agent unless the agent has made, or is to make, a separate charge to the client in respect of the cost of the services;

or

a benefit while the agent remains unaware of the benefit (but in any proceedings against the agent, the burden will lie on the agent to prove that the agent was not, at the material time, aware of the benefit);

or

a benefit that the agent or another person receives if the agent has disclosed, in accordance with this section, that the agent or other person expected to receive the benefit.

For the purposes of this section—

the value of a non-monetary benefit is to be determined on the basis of a reasonable estimate in dollars of the value of the benefit to the agent; and

if an agent receives a benefit in relation to multiple transactions (whether involving the same or different clients of the agent), the amount or value of the benefit in respect of any 1 of the transactions is to be determined by apportionment between the transactions according to the proportions that the amounts charged to the client or clients in respect of each transaction for the services provided by the third person bear to each other.

In this section—

agent means a purchaser's or vendor's agent;

benefit includes a rebate, discount and refund;

client means the person for whom the agent is or has been acting;

purchaser's agent means—

an agent who is or has been authorised to act on behalf of a purchaser in the purchase of land or a business; or

a sales representative who is or has been acting for that agent;

vendor's agent means—

an agent who is or has been authorised to act on behalf of a vendor in the sale of land or a business; or

a sales representative who is or has been acting for that agent.