Profession

Real estate agents in Australia: licences and registers

Who licenses real estate agents in each state and territory, which register to check before you sign, and what each register's published terms say.

Checked on against the sources at the bottom of the page.

In short

In Australia there is no single national licence for real estate agents: each state and territory licenses its own agents, and the licence is checked on that state’s register. The sources we read on 14 October 2026 show a licence requirement in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory; we could not read the South Australian pages. Before you sign an agency agreement, look the agent up on the register of the state where the property is.

What the agent does

A real estate agent sells, leases or manages property for a client. NSW describes the work as selling, leasing and managing real estate for clients and negotiating transactions, and says some tasks, such as answering phones, do not need a licence. In Western Australia, agents and sales representatives are covered by the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978.

Staff are often registered separately (salespeople, sales representatives, assistant agents). For how a sale works, see buying a home in Australia and buying at auction.

Licence by state and territory

The rule is state law, not federal. Where we read the section of the Act we give it; otherwise we name only the Act the official page names.

  • New South Wales: “Anyone who wants to work as a real estate agent in NSW needs a licence.” Act: Property and Stock Agents Act 2002. Regulator: NSW Fair Trading. A licence can be taken for 1, 3 or 5 years.
  • Victoria: Estate Agents Act 1980 (the legislation site shows version 136 in force from 1 October 2026; we could not read the section text). Licensing is decided by the Business Licensing Authority and handled by Consumer Affairs Victoria.
  • Queensland: the Office of Fair Trading keeps the register of “all licensed property agents, salespeople and corporations”. The Act is the Property Occupations Act 2014; we could not read its licensing section.
  • Western Australia: agents “are required, under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, to be licensed and hold a current triennial certificate”. Sales representatives, including property managers, “must be registered and work under the supervision of” a licensed agent or a developer. Regulator: Consumer Protection, in the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety.
  • South Australia: the pages of Consumer and Business Services and sa.gov.au refused our request (HTTP 403), which we did not bypass. We state nothing about the licence from them: check with Consumer and Business Services.
  • Tasmania: Property Agents and Land Transactions Act 2016. Section 34 provides that a person must not carry on real estate agency business unless named in Part 1 of the Register of Property Agents. The Property Agents Board keeps the register.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Agents Act 2003, section 18: a person commits an offence if the person is not a licensed real estate agent and carries on business as one. Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units, imprisonment for 12 months or both.
  • Northern Territory: Agents Licensing Act 1979, section 17(1): a person, company or firm must not carry on business, or hold out, as a real estate agent, business agent or conveyancing agent unless licensed. The text we read is stated “as in force at 1 July 2022”, so confirm it is still current.

How to check a licence

Look up the agent before you sign, using the name on the agency agreement, and check the agency and the individual separately.

  • NSW: the Verify NSW register, Property and real estate agents. Search by name, licence number, ABN, ACN, suburb or postcode. If the licensee is a company or partnership, “you may need to carry out separate searches for relevant licences held by directors and partners”. For disciplinary action, scroll to the “compliance” section of the record.
  • Victoria: the estate agents public register. It says: “You should always confirm the estate agent you are dealing with is licensed.”
  • Queensland: the free search on the Queensland Government “check a licence” page. An extract is available for a fee and is sent within 10 working days.
  • Western Australia: the online licence search. Interstate agents working in WA under automatic mutual recognition are on a separate register, linked from the Consumer Protection search page.
  • Tasmania: section 29 of the Act requires the Board to make the Register “available for public inspection during normal business hours” and to “publish the Register on its website”. We could not read the Board’s site, so we give no search address.
  • ACT: section 160 requires the commissioner for fair trading to keep a register that “must be available for public inspection at reasonable times”. We could not read the Access Canberra pages, so we give no search address.
  • NT: section 109 requires the Registrar to keep a Register of Licensed Real Estate Agents, “open to inspection during ordinary business hours” without fee. We did not find the online search page.

What the registers say about use of their data

These are the terms we read. Payotte copies none of these registers: it points you to the official search.

  • Victoria (register page): “The registers are only as accurate as the information provided to us.” and “The BLA will not release the information for use in direct marketing or similar commercial activities.” To use register information in legal proceedings you need a Registrar’s certificate.
  • Queensland: “The free online register is for your information only.” It cannot be used as evidence in legal proceedings.
  • Western Australia (wa.gov.au terms of use, linked from the search page): “You may copy, distribute, display, download or print the material on this website for your own personal use”; “no part may be reproduced or re-used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without prior written permission”; “not use any software (like bots, scraper tools etc) to access, monitor or copy the WA.gov.au website”. The search page itself shows no separate terms.
  • New South Wales: the Verify NSW page we read shows no terms. The nsw.gov.au site says: “All material on this website is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence”. Fair Trading’s notice says register information is published “as required by section 220 of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002”. The notice does not say the register data is under that licence.
  • South Australia, Tasmania, ACT, NT: terms not read (pages blocked or not found).

What it costs

We found no official scale of agent fees on the pages we read, and we give no figure. Fees and commission are set in the agency agreement; ask for them in writing, with what is included and what is charged on top. For selling costs see selling a home: costs.

Which professional to consult

A solicitor or licensed conveyancer can read an agency agreement or a contract of sale before you sign (see conveyancers). A mortgage broker can explain what you can borrow (mortgage brokers).

Questions to ask

  • What is your licence number, and which state’s register can I check it on?
  • Who holds the agency’s licence, and who will actually handle my sale or purchase?
  • What are your fees, and what is charged separately (advertising, photography)?
  • How long is the agency agreement, and can I end it early?
  • How do you disclose any interest you have in the property?

Frequently asked questions

Is there one national real estate licence?

No. Each state and territory has its own law and register, and we found no federal agent licence.

Can I check an agent from another state?

You check the register of the state where the property is. Western Australia keeps a separate register of interstate agents working there under automatic mutual recognition.

Is an agent’s salesperson licensed the same way?

Not always. Western Australia, for example, says sales representatives “must be registered” and work under a licensed agent. Ask for the status of the person you deal with.

What if the register shows nothing?

Check the spelling of the name and the number, and search the agency and the individual separately. If you still find nothing, ask the agent to explain before you sign.

Can I copy a register to build a list of agents?

Read each register’s terms first. Western Australia’s terms bar bots and commercial reuse of its website material; Payotte does not copy registers.

Sources