REINSW Journal Jan-Feb 2017

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT / UPFRONT
Pathway to professionalism
It’s a new year. A time for fresh beginnings, new goals and looking forward. For REINSW
it will be ‘the year of the professional’ and we’re excited to be working with you as we strive
to evolve our industry into a profession.
If real estate
agents are to be
recognised as
professionals,
we must embrace
the reality that
our industry
must evolve.
What makes a profession?
The word “profession” means different things
to different people. But at its core, it’s an indicator
of trust and expertise.
The Professional Standards Council (PSC)
is the independent statutory body responsible
for promoting professional standards. They
use the 5 E’s to define the elements that are
necessary to qualify as a profession: ethics,
education, experience, examination and entity.
On our pathway to professionalism, we’ll need
to demonstrate that we not only meet but exceed
the required standard in each of these areas.
But REINSW believes we need to add another
E to our journey – evolution. If real estate agents
are to be recognised as professionals, then
along with the 5 E’s we must also embrace the
reality that our industry must evolve. If we don’t
collectively embrace a mindset of evolution,
we simply won’t be in a position to commit
to the work required to elevate ourselves to
a recognised professional standard.
You can read more about each of the five
E’s and how we can all embrace a mindset
of evolution on page 18.
The journey has started
Our journey toward professionalism will take time.
But we’re already on the right path.
In November last year, the Minister for
Innovation and Better Regulation, Victor Dominello,
announced a landmark series of reforms that will
have a real and lasting impact on the way agents
in NSW are educated. Agents at every level – from
new entrants to those running their own agency
– will be required to undertake better and more
relevant training if they are to hold a Certificate
of Registration or Licence.
After many, many years of unrelenting lobbying
and calling for higher education and training
standards, we welcome the reform package –
it’s a giant step forward. And we’re pleased the
NSW Government incorporated many of our
recommended changes into the package. As
the reforms make their way through parliament,
we’ll continue to work hand in hand with the
government to ensure the package remains intact
and is not diluted.
It will take time
For some of you who have been working in
our great industry for many years, this may all
sound a bit like a blast from the past. It harks
back to an era when our education standards
were much higher and ethics actually stood for
something. But it’s undeniable that our industry
has suffered greatly over the years due to the
constant lowering of education standards and
a lack of oversight, including weak disciplinary and
enforcement powers. It’s time for this to change.
This year, REINSW is focused on driving the
evolution of our industry and will be working
closely with members to put frameworks in place
so we can achieve the standards set down
by the PSC. We’ll also be promoting the concept
of professionalism to consumers, with a view
to creating new expectations about what it means
to deal with a professional member of REINSW.
Our goal is to change hearts and minds – both
our own and those of consumers.
We have an exciting year ahead and I look
forward to working with you as we travel the
pathway to professionalism.
John Cunningham
REINSW PRESIDENT
REAL ESTATE JOURNAL / Jan–Feb 2017 / 5