More than 2000 real estate agencies across the state – or about 85 per cent of all agencies – are members of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).

At the heart of REIQ accreditation is the institute’s Standards of Business Practice and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training, which provides the industry with education and support to uphold these standards.

And to ensure the highest standards of business practice, new agencies are required to undertake core training about the REIQ’s Standards of Business Practice before accreditation is granted.

The REIQ’s Standards of Business Practice were revised from the previous REIQ Code of Conduct to provide a greater level of consumer protection and improved agency-to-agency behaviour.

The REIQ Standards of Business Practice are in addition to the statutory Codes of Conduct contained in the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act.

The standards prescribe agency behaviour in protecting consumers by requiring agents to deal fairly and openly with consumers through the provision of clear and factual disclosures, representing the property fairly without false embellishment and ensuring all relevant regulatory and legislative documentation is correctly completed.

The REIQ has undertaken, through its arbitration and tribunal practices, to accept consumer complaints about any accredited member agency that does not uphold the REIQ Standards of Business Practice.

This process provided consumers with a greater level of confidence in dealing with REIQ-accredited agencies in the knowledge that there is recourse for action.

Agents found to be non-compliant in any of the 58 standards are notified of the breach and required to work with the consumer to remedy the issue of complaint.

In addition, the REIQ provides advice and assistance to these agents to ensure that they are aware of the breach and given every opportunity to ensure that there is no re-offence.

In these cases, the tribunal has the power to direct the offending agent to undertake further training to ensure that they are fully aware of their obligations to consumer protection.

By choosing an accredited agency, consumers can be satisfied that the agency is at the forefront of the legislative and best practice requirements of the real estate industry.

The REIQ accredited agency logo is a visual safeguard to help consumers make informed and confident choices.

For a list of REIQ accredited agencies in your local area visit www.reiq.com.au or phone (07) 3249 7347.