Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Estate Agents Act 1980 - SECT 29

Cancellation of licences in other cases

29. Cancellation of licences in other cases



(1) Any person who causes or permits or aids or abets any person who is not a
licensed estate agent to carry on business as an estate agent shall be guilty
of an offence.

Penalty: 500 penalty units.

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(3) In any proceedings against an estate agent for an offence under this
section it shall be prima facie evidence of that offence if an unauthorized
person has possession of that estate agent's licence or represents himself as
the holder of that estate agent's licence.

(4) It shall be a defence under this section if the accused estate agent took
all reasonable steps to prevent the unauthorized person from carrying on
business under that estate agent's licence or if the accused estate agent did
not know and could not reasonably have been expected to have known that the
unauthorized person was representing himself as holder of that estate agent's
licence.

(5) Where any agent is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2), in
addition to any penalty, his licence shall become absolutely void and shall be
cancelled and delivered up to the court and the court may order that the agent
be disqualified either permanently or for such period as the court specifies
from holding a licence as an estate agent.

(6) If an agent is convicted in any court of any indictable offence or if in
any proceeding before a court to which any agent is a party the court is
satisfied that he has been guilty of fraud and that he ought to be
disqualified from carrying on the business of an estate agent the court may
order that-

   (a)  he be disqualified either permanently or for such period as the court
        specifies from holding a licence under this Act as an agent; and

   (b)  his licence be cancelled and delivered up forthwith.

(7) In every case where a licence is delivered up to a court under this Act
the licence and copy of any order of the court in relation thereto shall be
sent forthwith by the proper officer of the court to the Authority.



(8) In this section unauthorized person means any person who for the purposes
of subsection (1) does not hold an estate agent's licence.