Significant regulatory changes are coming for Victorian estate agents and agents’ representatives following amendments to the Estate Agents Act 1980 and supporting regulations introduced by the Victorian Government. The first major changes commence on 25 November 2026, when agents’ representatives move to a system of direct individual registration with the Business Licensing Authority (BLA) and revised fee arrangements begin applying.
A second major milestone arrives on 1 April 2027, when annual Continuing Professional Development (CPD) becomes mandatory for licensed estate agents and registered agents’ representatives. Together, these reforms introduce greater individual responsibility for registration, professional development and maintaining appropriate standards throughout a career in Victorian real estate.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has published an overview of the reforms in its new rules for estate agents and agents’ representatives. Agents, representatives and agency management should use the period before commencement to understand which obligations apply to them and when action is required.
Key date — 25 November 2026:
From this date, Victorian agents’ representatives must hold their own direct individual registration with the Business Licensing Authority before carrying out agents’ representative duties. Existing representatives should make sure their employment and myCAV information is correct before the transition.
What changes on 25 November 2026?
Until now, employers have generally been responsible for notifying the Business Licensing Authority when an eligible person starts work as an agent’s representative. From 25 November 2026, that arrangement changes substantially and agents’ representatives will have a more direct regulatory relationship with the BLA.
An agents’ representative will need to hold an individual registration before carrying out agents’ representative duties or representing themselves as an agents’ representative. Once registered, they will also become responsible for managing ongoing obligations such as maintaining their registration information, paying the applicable annual registration fee and submitting an annual statement.
The employment relationship itself does not disappear. Agents’ representatives must continue to be employed and supervised by a licensed estate agent, while an estate agent must not employ an unregistered person to carry out agents’ representative duties. These requirements can be independently checked through Consumer Affairs Victoria’s myCAV and registration requirements for agents’ representatives.
Existing agents’ representatives should act before 25 November
Existing agents’ representatives may be moved automatically into the new registration system, provided their employment information has been correctly recorded with the BLA. Consumer Affairs Victoria states that an agents’ representative who is employed by a licensed estate agent on 24 November 2026, and whose employer has properly notified the BLA of that employment, will be automatically registered from 25 November without lodging a new registration application.
Existing representative?
Check your details before 25 November 2026. Automatic registration depends on your employment being correctly recorded with the Business Licensing Authority before the transition takes place.
Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends creating a myCAV account before 25 November 2026 so representatives can manage their registration and receive information concerning ongoing obligations. Representatives should also confirm that their role, current employer, home address and postal address are accurate.
There is an especially important deadline for employers. If an employer has not notified the BLA by midday on 24 November 2026, the representative will need to apply for registration through myCAV from 25 November rather than being automatically transitioned into the new system.
Before the commencement date, existing agents’ representatives should therefore complete several practical checks:
- create a myCAV account or confirm access to an existing account
- check that their role as an agents’ representative is recorded correctly
- confirm that their current employer details are accurate
- check home and postal address details
- make sure their employment appears correctly on the BLA public register.
Completing these checks early gives both representatives and employers time to correct discrepancies before the transition occurs. Representatives can also check the Business Licensing Authority public register to review relevant registration and employment information.
New agents’ representatives from 25 November 2026
People entering the Victorian property industry from 25 November 2026 will follow the individual registration process from the outset. A new agents’ representative will need to satisfy the applicable eligibility requirements, create a myCAV account, apply directly to the Business Licensing Authority and pay the prescribed registration fee before carrying out agents’ representative duties.
Completing the required real estate education will therefore remain essential, but qualification and registration become separate stages in the process of entering the industry. Consumer Affairs Victoria confirms that new applicants from 25 November must register with the BLA and pay a fee before working under the new registration framework.
People considering this career pathway can review Connect Skills Institute’s Agent’s Representative Course Victoria and its broader guide to real estate courses in Melbourne and Victoria. These resources explain the education pathways available to people entering or progressing within the Victorian property industry.
Eligibility requirements for agents’ representatives
Eligibility involves more than completing a prescribed qualification. Prospective representatives must also satisfy age and suitability requirements under Victorian legislation, and an individual’s circumstances can affect whether additional permission from the regulator is required.
Some of the matters considered when determining eligibility include:
- whether the applicant is at least 18 years old
- whether the prescribed educational requirements have been completed
- relevant criminal convictions or findings of guilt
- insolvency under administration
- responsibility for certain successful claims against the Victorian Property Fund or a corresponding fund
- relevant VCAT declarations or other regulatory disqualifications.
Some circumstances may involve a permission process rather than an automatic permanent exclusion, so applicants with eligibility concerns should not rely solely on a simplified checklist. The latest requirements and permission provisions should be checked through Consumer Affairs Victoria’s agents’ representative eligibility guidance.
New registration and annual fees for agents’ representatives
One of the important practical changes is the introduction of prescribed registration fees for agents’ representatives. The authorised Estate Agents (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2026 prescribe two separate charges: an initial agents’ representative registration fee of 26.45 fee units and an annual registration fee of 20.20 fee units.
These figures have been verified directly against the authorised Victorian regulations published through the Victorian Legislation website rather than being taken from a secondary industry article or fee summary. Readers who want to independently verify the prescribed fee units can review the Estate Agents (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2026.
For the 2026–27 financial year, the Victorian Government has set the value of one fee unit at $17.27. Using the prescribed fee units and Victoria’s fee-rounding convention, this produces an initial registration fee of approximately $456.80 and an annual registration fee of approximately $348.90.
The current fee-unit value can be independently checked through the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance indexation of fees and penalties. Because fee-unit values are indexed, agents and agents’ representatives should check current official amounts when applying, renewing or budgeting for future registration expenses.
Mandatory Victorian real estate CPD begins 1 April 2027
The next major change commences on 1 April 2027, when annual Continuing Professional Development becomes mandatory for both licensed estate agents and registered agents’ representatives. Consumer Affairs Victoria states that both groups must complete a minimum of five CPD activities each year to maintain their licence or registration.
The CPD activities will cover mandatory topics determined by the Business Licensing Authority and will include written assessments. This represents an important change in Victorian real estate professional development because CPD becomes an ongoing regulatory requirement rather than simply voluntary education or training provided at an employer’s discretion.
Key date — 1 April 2027:
Licensed estate agents and registered agents’ representatives must complete at least five CPD activities each year to maintain their licence or registration. Mandatory topics will be determined by the BLA and written assessments will form part of the CPD framework.
The current commencement date, annual minimum and assessment requirements can be independently checked through CAV’s estate agent and agents’ representative CPD guidance.
What will Victorian real estate CPD involve?
Consumer Affairs Victoria has already confirmed several key elements of the new system, including the minimum of five annual activities, mandatory topics determined by the BLA and written assessments. Further practical guidance is expected as the 1 April 2027 commencement date approaches, so agencies should continue monitoring regulator updates rather than assuming every operational detail has already been settled.
Agencies should also be cautious about assuming that any seminar, webinar or informal training session will automatically qualify as mandatory CPD. Activities will need to satisfy the requirements established under the Victorian regulatory framework, and providers and participants will need to respond to the detailed rules once the BLA publishes them.
As implementation guidance develops, agencies should consider several practical aspects of their future CPD systems:
- which estate agents and agents’ representatives require CPD
- which activities satisfy mandatory requirements
- how annual activities will be scheduled
- how assessment requirements will be completed
- what evidence of participation and completion should be retained
- how management will monitor annual compliance across the agency.
Planning these systems in advance should be considerably easier than attempting to reconstruct training records near the end of a CPD reporting period. Agencies with multiple staff or several areas of property practice may particularly benefit from having one person responsible for monitoring annual requirements and maintaining appropriate records.
Why are these changes important?
Together, individual registration and mandatory CPD create greater personal accountability for people working in the Victorian real estate industry. Agents’ representatives will have their own registration relationship with the regulator, while both representatives and licensed estate agents will have an ongoing obligation to complete prescribed professional development.
The changes also create additional responsibilities for agency owners and management. Employers need confidence that people performing agents’ representative duties are properly registered, while future CPD obligations will need to be incorporated into training, recordkeeping and broader compliance systems.
For property professionals progressing towards senior agency responsibilities, Connect Skills Institute’s CPP51122 Diploma of Property (Agency Management) Victoria is also relevant. The qualification includes CPPREP5001 Manage compliance in the property industry, together with units addressing ethical practice, trust account management, workplace management and agency operations.
What should Victorian agents and representatives do now?
Although mandatory CPD does not commence until April 2027, the individual registration changes arrive much sooner. Agency owners, officers in effective control, estate agents and agents’ representatives should therefore use the period before November to check records, understand the new process and make sure existing representatives are positioned for the automatic transition where eligible.
A practical preparation checklist should include the following actions:
- check that current agents’ representatives appear correctly on the BLA public register
- create or confirm access to individual myCAV accounts
- verify employment and personal information before 24 November 2026
- make sure employers have correctly notified the BLA of existing representatives
- understand the application process for people commencing after 25 November
- budget for initial registration and annual fees
- prepare for annual statements and ongoing registration obligations
- start planning for mandatory CPD from 1 April 2027
- continue monitoring CAV and BLA guidance as implementation progresses.
The objective should not simply be to meet the November deadline once. Agencies will need procedures capable of supporting future registrations, employment changes, annual statements, fee payments and ongoing CPD responsibilities year after year.
Preparing for future Victorian real estate CPD
The introduction of mandatory CPD changes the way agencies may need to approach professional development. Rather than arranging training only when an immediate operational problem arises, businesses may increasingly need an annual process for identifying required activities, scheduling participation, completing assessments and retaining appropriate evidence.
Connect Skills Institute is monitoring the Victorian changes and can discuss the professional-development needs of agencies, estate agents and agents’ representatives as further BLA and Consumer Affairs Victoria guidance becomes available. For organisations with staff working across different areas of property, future training can also be considered in the context of their actual operational roles.
Residential sales, property management, buyers’ agency, commercial property and agency management may create different professional-development priorities even where the same regulatory framework applies. A structured approach can help agencies align mandatory CPD with skills that genuinely support the work undertaken by their teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following questions address some of the practical issues Victorian estate agents and agents’ representatives may have as the new registration and CPD arrangements approach. Because further CPD guidance will be published closer to commencement, agents should continue checking Consumer Affairs Victoria for updates.
When do the new agents’ representative registration rules start in Victoria?
The new individual registration requirements commence on 25 November 2026. From that date, agents’ representatives must hold direct individual registration with the Business Licensing Authority before performing agents’ representative duties, while existing eligible representatives may be automatically transitioned into the new system.
Will existing agents’ representatives automatically be registered?
An existing agents’ representative can be automatically registered from 25 November 2026 where they are employed by a licensed estate agent on 24 November and their employer has properly notified the BLA of that employment. Representatives should therefore confirm their employment details and myCAV access before the transition date.
What happens if an employer has not notified the BLA by 24 November 2026?
Consumer Affairs Victoria states that if the employer has not notified the BLA by midday on 24 November 2026, the representative will need to apply for their own registration through myCAV from 25 November. This is why agencies should review staff records before the final day of the transition period.
Do agents’ representatives need a myCAV account?
Yes. Consumer Affairs Victoria recommends that existing agents’ representatives create a myCAV account before 25 November 2026 so they can manage their registration and receive relevant communications. New applicants will also use myCAV when applying for individual registration.
How much will agents’ representative registration cost?
The authorised Estate Agents (Fees) Amendment Regulations 2026 prescribe an initial registration fee of 26.45 fee units and an annual registration fee of 20.20 fee units. Using the 2026–27 fee-unit value of $17.27 and applicable Victorian rounding, these are approximately $456.80 initially and $348.90 annually, although future fee-unit indexation will change the dollar amounts.
When does mandatory real estate CPD start in Victoria?
Mandatory annual Continuing Professional Development commences on 1 April 2027. The requirement applies to both licensed estate agents and registered agents’ representatives and forms part of the Victorian Government’s changes aimed at improving professional standards across the property industry.
How many CPD activities must Victorian property agents complete each year?
Licensed estate agents and registered agents’ representatives must complete a minimum of five CPD activities each year to maintain their licence or registration. Consumer Affairs Victoria has also confirmed that mandatory topics will be set by the Business Licensing Authority and written assessments will be included.
Will any real estate seminar or webinar count as mandatory CPD?
Agents should not assume that any training session will automatically qualify. The CPD program will operate under requirements established by the Business Licensing Authority, and further practical details are expected before commencement, so agents and agencies should check current guidance before selecting activities.
Do agents’ representatives still need to work under a licensed estate agent?
Yes. Individual registration does not allow an agents’ representative to operate independently as a licensed estate agent. Representatives must continue to be employed and supervised by a licensed estate agent even though they will have their own direct registration relationship with the BLA.
Discuss Your Future Victorian Real Estate CPD Needs
Connect Skills Institute can discuss future professional-development requirements with estate agents, agents’ representatives and property businesses as further Victorian CPD guidance becomes available. Understanding your team’s actual roles and operational needs can help make future professional development more relevant than treating mandatory training as a simple compliance exercise.
Email rod@connectskillsinstitute.edu.au or book a 15-minute callback with Rod to discuss your agency, area of practice and future training requirements.
Important information:
This article is intended as general educational information and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Regulatory requirements, prescribed CPD activities, fees and administrative procedures can change, so always check the latest information published by Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Business Licensing Authority and Victorian Legislation before making decisions about registration, fees, CPD or compliance.
