If you’re wanting to work in an agency and you’re just starting out in real estate in Australia, and you’re trying to get an understanding on what courses are available out there to start work in a real estate agency, this is the blog for you, it covers everything you need to know to start working at a real estate agency.
This table below and its information will be helpful to you on your career journey in working out which real estate agency course is right for you.
All real estate agency courses for Australia
You can use the search function to filter the results to your state or territory or a particular course type.
| State/Territory | Who is it for? | Career Outcomes | Course Name | More Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Australia (SA) | For beginners or new entrants who want to work in just property management. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Property Manager | Property Manager Registration Course (13 units from CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice). | - | |
| South Australia (SA) | For beginners or new entrants who want to work in sales and property management. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager | Sales representative registration course (19 units from CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice & CPP51122 Diploma of Property). | - | |
| South Australia (SA) | To become a fully licensed real estate agent (sales) OR a fully licensed property manager OR become an agency licensee in charge. | Can operate own business, work as a licensee in charge of an office. - Licensee in charge - Director - Real Estate Agent | Land agents course (36 units from the CPP41419 - Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice and CPP51122 - Diploma of Property). | Land agents are also referred to as real estate agents. | |
| South Australia (SA) | For any real estate agent who wishes to do auctioneering. | - Auctioneer | Auctioneers Accreditation (1 unit from the CPP41419 Certificate IV - CPPREP4162 - Conduct and complete sale by auction) | You must be a land agent or sales representative to apply and become an auctioneer. | |
| Northern Territory (NT) | For beginners or new entrants. | Must work under an officer in effective control. - Sales - Property Manager | Agents Representative Course (CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice) | - | |
| Northern Territory (NT) | To become a fully licensed real estate agent (sales) OR a fully licensed property manager OR become an agency licensee in charge. | Can operate own business, work as an officer in effective control of an office. - Officer in effective control - Director - Real Estate Agent | Must complete CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) andCPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice | - | |
| Western Australia (WA) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager | Sales Representative Course - Unrestricted aka CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice. | To conduct both sales and property management transactions. | |
| Western Australia (WA) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson | Sales Representative Course - Restricted to sales (13 units from the Certificate IV). | To conduct sales transactions only. | |
| Western Australia (WA) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Property Manager | Sales Representative Course - Restricted to Property management (12 units from the Certificate IV). | To conduct property management transactions only. | |
| Western Australia (WA) | For anyone wanting to become fully licensed work for themselves, or start their own agency. | Can operate own business, work as: - Officer in effective control - Real Estate Agent | Real Estate Agent License Course aka CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) | - | |
| New South Wales (NSW) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager - Stock & Station - Assistant Agent | Assistant Agent Course / Certificate of Registration Course | This course is the first five units of the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice. All Assistant Agents must complete the full Certificate IV as part of their CPD. | |
| New South Wales (NSW) | For beginners or assistant agents to complete over four years as a part of CPD. "Must work under a licensee in charge. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager - Class 2 Real Estate Agent | Class 2 Real Estate Agent License Course / CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice | Must have one years of experience before applying. | |
| New South Wales (NSW) | For Class 2 agents wanting to work for themselves or start their own agency. "Can operate own business, work as licensee in charge of an office. | Can operate own business, work as a licensee in charge of an office. - Licensee in charge - Director - Class 1 Real Estate Agent | Class 1 Real Estate License Course aka CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) | - | |
| New South Wales (NSW) | For any real estate agent who wishes to do auctioneering. | - Auctioneer | Auctioneers Accreditation Course or 3 auction units from the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice. | This course (3 units) must be complete to conduct auctions. | |
| Victoria (VIC) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under an officer in effective control. - Salesperson - Property Manager - Agents Representative | Agents Representative Course aka CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice. | Do not have to apply to the regulator, but show certificate to employer who will register you with the BLA. | |
| Victoria (VIC) | For any agents representatives wanting to become fully licensed work for themselves, or start their own agency. | Can operate own business, work as: - Officer in effective control - Estate Agent | Estate Agent License Course aka CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) | Agents Representatives must also have at least one years experience before they can apply. | |
| Queensland (QLD) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under an officer in effective control. - Salesperson - Property Manager | Salesperson / Registration Course (12 units from the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice). | This course also includes Property Management, despite the name. | |
| Queensland (QLD) | For anyone wanting to become fully licensed work for themselves, or start their own agency. | Can operate own business, work as: - Officer in effective control - Real Estate Agent | CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice + 1 unit from the CPP51122 Diploma. | No experience requirements. | |
| Queensland (QLD) | For any real estate agent who wishes to do auctioneering. | - Auctioneer | Auctioneer Accreditation (11 units from the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice). | - | |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | For beginners, and newcomers to the industry. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager - Stock & Station - Assistant Agent | Assistant Agent Course / Certificate of Registration Course | This course is the first five units of the CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice. All Assistant Agents must complete the full Certificate IV as part of their CPD. | |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | For beginners or assistant agents to complete over four years as a part of CPD. "Must work under a licensee in charge. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager - Class 2 Real Estate Agent | Class 2 Real Estate Agent License Course / CPP41419 Certificate IV in Property Practice | Must have one years of experience before applying. | |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | For Class 2 agents wanting to work for themselves or start their own agency. Can operate own business, work as a licensee in charge of an office. | Can operate own business, work as licensee in charge of an office. - Licensee in charge - Director - Class 1 Real Estate Agent | Class 1 Real Estate License Course aka CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) | - | |
| Tasmania (TAS) | For beginners or new entrants. | Must work under a licensee in charge. - Salesperson - Property Manager | Property Representatives Course (the first 5 units of CPP41419 Certificate IV in Real Estate Practice) OR the entire Certificate IV. | - | |
| Tasmania (TAS) | To become a fully licensed real estate agent (sales) OR a fully licensed property manager OR become an agency licensee in charge. | Can operate own business, work as an officer in effective control of an office. - Officer in effective control - Director - Real Estate Agent | CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) | Work for yourself, run your own business or agency. Must have experience before applying. |
I’ve compiled and listed in the table above for all real estate agency courses for each state and territory. It’s essential for students to know what is on offer and to note there are many different requirements and each state or territory acts like its own country in terms of law and requirements.
Each is labelled with the name of the course, the entry level and career outcomes for each so you can find the right real estate agency course that fits your specific needs. I have also noted whether you will need to apply to the government regulator or not before you start work. For each course there is a link to the government regulator website to find out more.
What type of person suits working in a real estate agency?
You may have been thinking about working in real estate and talking to friends or family. People might tell you: “You’ve got the gift of the gab. You’re a person that can speak to people. You’re fun, exciting, enthusiastic, love helping people, and are driven to succeed!”
Maybe you’ve got an interest in the sales process or in property management, auctioneering or a reception role.
You may be speaking to a potential employer currently. They’ve said to you, “Look, you need to get yourself a certificate before you can start here.” Whatever job you get in real estate, I would take it for the simple reason that you’re going to get some experience. So you don’t want to miss out on this great opportunity.
How to choose a training provider
One of the most important things to consider before you start a real estate agency course is which provider you choose to do your training with.
A quick bit about me: I’ve been a trainer and assessor for real estate now for close to 18 years. I’ve been in real estate for over 30 years.
I strongly believe you as the potential student should understand what you are doing and why you’re doing it.
What are your goals?
What is the career outcome you are aiming for?
You should be provided with the right course and the right solution for you, as there are some choices and options depending on who you are and what you want to do. So, it’s always best to speak to a provider with that knowledge to provide accurate advice to you. A good training provider should be able to answer all of your burning questions, and accurately as per the government requirements, and if for some reason I don’t know an answer, I’ll do my best to find out!
All those questions can be answered by a real estate training provider who has the experience, integrity, and honesty to tell you the truth and give you real options.
It’s much like real estate. The first rule for real estate agents is to educate their clients so they make better decisions. The whole idea of us being involved in the transaction is that the agent will improve the client’s chances of marketing the property, knowing what the property’s worth.
When speaking to clients and customers, they’ll use better language, build rapport, and have a better chance to negotiate. They’ll understand where the client they’re coming from, try to overcome any of the problems they may have, and walk them along the way to purchasing a property, providing the information, contacts, and various things for them to make a decision and turn up on auction day.
At the end of the day, when a client has done business with you as an agent, you want them to say, “Yes, whatever you said, you did, and you went beyond what you said. You worked harder, made better decisions, provided the best information, listened to us, and reacted to our wants. You solved our problems and were honest at every stage of the process. In doing so, we have reached the position where we sold our property.”
I hear from a lot of people that have enrolled into a course without doing any research, then they go to complete these courses and they encounter many problems—issues with accessing the course, understanding the information and a lack of support and resources.
There are many different delivery modes to consider. Courses can be delivered via online, face-to-face, or a combination of these- using printed materials which require handwriting or online materials via a word document upload, or assessments you can write submit online. Then, consider the registered training organisation’s response times to you and the information when you decide to go for gold.
So remember: It’s important to do your research out there in the marketplace before enrolling into any real estate course. Ask a lot of questions each training organisation you find that is suitable for your learning style and career goals.
How long does a real estate agency course take?
Course length with vary, depending on the training provider you choose and your current skills and knowledge. Be wary of course providers that promise an outcome in days or even weeks. These types of deliveries are often illegal and non-compliant with training law.
I have written an entire blog about this subject in depth which you can view here, but to give you an approximate- the Certificate IV or Diploma we offer each typically take students around 3 months to complete, on average.
We provide students with full access to the course materials, so they can move through the course at their own pace. We don’t hold any student back or limit the amount of hours you can do per day.
Here at Connect Skills Institute, we support students for a maximum of 12 months, and you should finish the course before then. There are course extensions available if required as sometimes life does get in the way and there are circumstances where people don’t finish within the 12 months due to an illness, family illness, work, or travel.
Importance of finishing what you start & Applying to the regulator
A good real estate agency course will provide you with satisfaction from not only starting but also finishing something. Finishing things is crucial in life, let me tell you. And once you’ve finished, you’ve learned something and achieved the desired education outcome.
Now you can go to the regulator and apply for your certificate. In the case of Victorians, you can go to your boss, and they will register you with consumer affairs. In other states or territories, you’re required to register via an application. We also help students apply and provide advice around these things as well.
Final thoughts
At the end of the day, we want to ensure we provide the best opportunity for you to decide on which course right for you, and that you’re comfortable and confident with us, knowing we will provide the support and information to help you succeed.
The learning tools and resources we have here at Connect Skills Institute are top-notch, and then from there you’ll end up working in real estate, which is the goal. So that’s what we want to achieve, your goal. When you’re choosing a real estate agency course, it’s really the start of your career.
A final word on getting a job in agency: we can help you with the right mindset, attitude, focus, direction, and writing an action document. The first page will include things about you that will get an action or reaction from potential employers. We can also give you information to help you avoid employers you don’t want to work for and find those who don’t advertise but are looking for people.
Not every business owner will advertise when they’re looking for people. They might find individuals they meet in the street, working for other businesses or even while grabbing a cappuccino. They might meet you behind the coffee machine and think you have a great way with people and could work in real estate. Many people have been discovered in such situations, whether in retail or other occupations. So, your job search starts now- do your real estate course with a training provider who knows about real estate, is connected with the industry, and is connected with you.
I hope this blog post has shed some light on the many different real estate agency courses out there, and which course is right for you, and I’ll see you in the next one!
