The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has partnered with the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) and launched a new training course for real estate agents providing advice on properties as an investment.
REIA president Malcolm Gunning said the RG146 Advice for Real Estate course by IPA would be made available immediately through Mentor Education, a training company based out of Melbourne which has links with the University of Notre Dame Australia.
The course will allow property investment advisers, mortgage brokers, accountants, real estate agents and property developers to discuss the general drivers associated with a property investment decisions.
“Offering this course to agents is part of a broader strategy to professionalise the industry and to provide clients with the level of advice they desire from agents providing a comprehensive service.
“Upon completion of the course, agents will have satisfactorily fulfilled the Australian Securities and Investments Commissions (ASIC) RG146 requirements and will be able to offer general advice on financial products and services. This will also allow them to provide factual advice on what the products are and what they do,” Gunning said.
Agents undertaking the course will gain a nationally recognised competency to provide factual information on financial outcomes and services.
ASIC defines factual advice as “objectively ascertainable information whose truth or accuracy cannot be reasonably questioned”.
This compares to general advice which ASIC defines as “advice prepared without taking into account the client’s objectives, financial situations or needs.
“ASIC have indicated that successful completion of the RG 146 course would allow agents to conduct seminars, presentations, office and sales meetings and to discuss in general terms other such as self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs). However, an agent would need to need to be authorised by an Australian Financial Services licensee to provide this advice or obtain an AFS licence themselves,” Gunning said.
For an outline of the course log on to https://www.publicaccountants.org.au/reia
*Members of REI’s (Real Estate Institutes) who are part of REIA will receive a 10 percent discount on admission.
