Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Estate Agents Act 1980 - SECT 4

Definitions

4. Definitions



(1) In this Act unless inconsistent with the context or subject-matter-



accounting records has the same meaning as financial records has in the
Corporations Act;





agent's representative means any person-

   (a)  who is not a licensed estate agent but who-

   (i)  is employed by, or who acts for or by arrangement with, a licensed
        estate agent; or

   (ii) is a director, member or officer of a corporation that is a licensed
        estate agent; and

   (b)  who performs for that estate agent any of the functions of an estate
        agent (other than work ordinarily performed by clerks, cashiers or
        accountants)- regardless of whether his or her remuneration is by way
        of salary, wages, commission or otherwise;





approved auditor means a person who-

   (a)  is a member of CPA Australia, the National Institute of Accountants or
        The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia; and

   (b)  meets the requirements of one of those bodies to practise as a public
        accountant; and

   (c)  has obtained a degree in commerce, accounting, business studies or a
        similar discipline from an Australian university or from a foreign
        university approved by the Council; and

   (d)  has successfully completed any courses of education required by the
        Director under section 10B;

approved industry association means-

   (a)  The Real Estate Institute of Victoria Ltd.;

   (b)  the Stock and Station Agents' Association Limited A.C.N. 096 142 880;

   (c)  any other industry association approved by the Minister by notice
        published in the Government Gazette;

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authorised deposit-taking institution has the same meaning as in the
Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth;



authorised investment means-

   (a)  a term deposit, debenture or deposit stock of an authorised
        deposit-taking institution;

   (b)  a document issued by an authorised deposit-taking institution-

   (i)  relating to money which has been deposited with the authorised
        deposit-taking institution; and

   (ii) which recognises an obligation to pay a stated amount to bearer or to
        order with or without interest; and

   (iii) which (with or without endorsement) confers by delivery the right of
        the holder to receive that stated amount with or without interest;

   (c)  a loan to the Treasurer repayable on demand;

   (d)  a stock, bond, debenture or other security of the Commonwealth or of
        the State or of any public statutory body constituted under a law of
        the Commonwealth or of the State which is guaranteed by the
        Commonwealth or the State;

   (e)  a deposit with an eligible money market dealer within the meaning of
        the Corporations Act;

   (f)  a bill of exchange which-

   (i)  at the time of acquisition has a maturity date of no more than 200
        days; and

   (ii) if purchased for value confers on the holder in due course a right of
        recourse against an authorised deposit-taking institution as the
        acceptor or indorser of the bill for an amount equal to the face value
        of the bill;

   (g)  an investment approved, or included in a class of investments
        approved, for the time being by the Treasurer as an authorised
        investment, or class of authorised investments, for the purposes of
        this Act (whether or not of a kind similar to a kind of investment
        referred to in a preceding paragraph);

Authority means the Business Licensing Authority established under the
Business Licensing Authority Act 1998;



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books has the same meaning as in the Corporations Act;





branch manager means a person permitted by section 30 to manage a branch
office;



branch office means an office in which the business of a licensed estate agent
is conducted other than a principal office;

business means any hotel business, boarding-house business, storekeeper's
business, manufacturing business, professional business, service business or
any trading business whatsoever, and includes any share or interest in or
concerning any stock goodwill or other property or assets included in any
transaction relating to a business;

business day means any day other than a Saturday or a Sunday or a day
appointed by or under the Bank Holidays Act 1958 as a holiday for the whole
day or for specified hours thereof in all banks or in banks within the
locality concerned;

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commission includes fees charges reward or other remuneration whether monetary
or otherwise;

Council means the Estate Agents Council established by section 6;

CPA Australia means CPA Australia A.C.N. 008 392 452;

declared corporation means a corporation (whether or not its shares are listed
for quotation on a prescribed financial market (as defined in section 9 of the
Corporations Act)) in respect of which a declaration has been made by the
Minister pursuant to section 15 and is in force;

Director means the Director within the meaning of the Fair Trading Act 1999;





domestic partner of a person means-

   (a)  a person who is in a registered relationship with the person; or

   (b)  an adult person to whom the person is not married but with whom the
        person is in a relationship as a couple where one or each of them
        provides personal or financial commitment and support of a domestic
        nature for the material benefit of the other, irrespective of their
        genders and whether or not they are living under the same roof, but
        does not include a person who provides domestic support and personal
        care to the person-

   (i)  for fee or reward; or

   (ii) on behalf of another person or an organisation (including a government
        or government agency, a body corporate or a charitable or benevolent
        organisation);

employ (in relation to the employment of any person as an agent's
representative) includes not only directly employ but also by any arrangement
or any means whatsoever engage induce or permit any person to act as an
agent's representative, and the derivatives of employ have a corresponding
interpretation;

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estate agent or agent means any person (whether or not he carries on any other
business) who exercises or carries on or advertises or notifies or states that
he exercises or carries on or that he is willing to exercise or carry on or in
any way holds himself out to the public as ready to undertake the business of-

   (a)  selling buying exchanging letting or taking on lease of or otherwise
        dealing with or disposing of;

   (b)  negotiating for the sale purchase exchange letting or taking on lease
        of or any other dealing with or disposition of;

   (c)  collecting rents for-

* * * * * any real estate or business on behalf of any other person;

estate agent's licence means a valid and unexpired estate agent's licence
under this Act;

externally-administered body corporate has the same meaning as in the
Corporations Act;









Fund means the Victorian Property Fund established under this Act;





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inspector means an inspector appointed under the Fair Trading Act 1999;



letting includes every form of leasing or letting of or granting a licence to
use real estate and the function or business of letting includes the
collection or receipt of rents by an agent on behalf of his principal whether
the agent has or has not let the real estate in question;

licence means estate agent's licence;



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licensed estate agent means the holder of an estate agent's licence;

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outgoings means any moneys spent by an estate agent on his principal's behalf
for which the estate agent is at common law entitled to be reimbursed; owners
corporation has the same meaning as it has in the
Owners Corporations Act 2006;



Part means Part of this Act;

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principal office means the office recorded under section 34 as the principal
office of a licensed estate agent;

private corporation means a corporation whose shares are not listed for
quotation on any prescribed financial market (as defined in section 9 of the
Corporations Act);

prescribed means prescribed by this Act or the regulations or rules;

professional conduct rules means the regulations made, or deemed to have been
made, under section 99(gg);

publish means publish by any means, including by publication on the Internet;

real estate includes-

   (i)  any estate or interest in land or buildings;

   (ii) any share or shares in any company limited by shares entitling the
        holder thereof to the exclusive right to occupy a specified building
        or part of a building; and

   (iii) any goods chattels or other property or assets included in any
        transaction relating to real estate; rebate includes any discount,
        commission or other benefit;



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register means the register kept under section 33;



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registered education and training organisation has the same meaning as in the
Education and Training Reform Act 2006;





registered office means the office recorded in the register as the registered
office of a licensed estate agent;

Registrar means the Registrar of the Authority appointed under the
Business Licensing Authority Act 1998;



regulations means regulations under this Act; residence right has the same
meaning as in the Retirement Villages Act 1986;



residential property means a dwelling-house together with any yard garden
outhouses and appurtenances belonging thereto or usually enjoyed therewith and
includes a flat and also any allotment or lot suitable as a site for a single
dwelling-house or for a building consisting of not more than two separate
dwelling-houses; retirement village has the same meaning as in the
Retirement Villages Act 1986;



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Secretary means the person for the time being holding the office of Secretary
to the Department of Justice under the Public Administration Act 2004;







sell includes to sell by auction;



small business means business the goodwill plant equipment and fittings of
which are sold or offered for sale or authorized to be sold at a total price
not exceeding $200 000 (or such other amount not exceeding $500 000 that may
be prescribed);

spouse of a person means a person to whom the person is married;



stock and station agent means a person whose principal business is to carry on
any or all of the following functions on behalf of any person engaged in the
business of primary production from land-

   (a)  the selling, buying or exchanging of livestock including the del
        credere marketing of livestock;

   (b)  the selling, buying or exchanging of any other produce of agriculture
        horticulture viticulture grazing poultry farming beekeeping and dairy
        farming;

   (c)  the selling, buying or exchanging of farm equipment including the del
        credere marketing of farm equipment;

   (d)  the agistment of livestock;

   (e)  the collection of fees for the agistment of livestock-

and who is also a licensed estate agent;

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travel agent means a person solely engaged in the business of making travel
arrangements or arranging holiday accommodation;

Treasurer means the Treasurer of Victoria;

Tribunal means Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal established by the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998;



working director means, in relation to a corporation that carries on business
as an estate agent, a director of that corporation who is engaged in the
estate agency business of that corporation.

(2) For the purposes of the definition of domestic partner in subsection (1)-

   (a)  registered relationship has the same meaning as in the
        Relationships Act 2008; and

   (b)  in determining whether persons who are not in a registered
        relationship are domestic partners of each other, all the
        circumstances of their relationship are to be taken into account,
        including any one or more of the matters referred to in section 35(2)
        of the Relationships Act 2008 as may be relevant in a particular case;
        and

   (c)  a person is not a domestic partner of another person only because they
        are co-tenants.

(3) A reference in this Act to-

(a) "he or she", "she or he", "him or her" or "her or him" is to be read as
including a reference to "it", if the context permits;

(b) "his or her" or "her or his" is to be read as including a reference to
"its", if the context permits.

(4) A reference in this Act to "people" includes a reference to bodies
corporate and politic, unless the contrary intention appears.