Agent fined for failing to lodge trust audit report in time

A Cairns real estate agent was fined $6,500 in the Cairns Magistrates Court on 15 February 2022 after failing to meet their trust account obligations with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

Lynne Evelyn Arney, who is the person in charge of Cairns Residential Property Management Pty Ltd, pleaded guilty to the charges. She was fined $1,500 and her company was fined a further $5,000.  No conviction was recorded.

The court heard that real estate agents are required to have a trust account audit conducted each year under the Agents Financial Administration Act 2014.

These audits are essential because they provide an external check on important details relating to the operation of the account, the trust monies being collected, and the trust monies being disbursed. A copy of these audits must be lodged with the Office of Fair Trading.

Cairns Residential Property Management was required to provide an audit report to the Office of Fair Trading by August 2021 but failed to do so until September 2021.

The corporation had been issued two infringement notices by the Office of Fair Trading for the same offence in 2019 and 2020.

Commissioner for Fair Trading, Victoria Thomson said the case served as a reminder to real estate agents of their obligations to properly manage trust accounts.

“Agents who fail to comply with their trust account obligations will be held to account by the OFT and the penalties they incur will escalate if they continue to fail to meet their responsibilities,” Ms Thomson said.

“Trust money is not the agent’s money, so the right to have a trust account comes with responsibilities.”

Information about real estate agent’s obligations and a guide to operating trust accounts are available on the OFT website at www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading.