Keeping your Agency Licensing records current
December 5, 2025Keeping your Agency Licensing records current
December 5, 2025
2025 in Review
As we approach the Christmas and New Year season, marking the end of another fantastic, yet intense, year, it’s common to hear people wondering, “Where has the year gone?” It feels like it was just yesterday that we were celebrating Easter. After the challenges of recent years, it feels like everyone is pushing harder, attempting to balance work and play, while the property market has experienced constant shifts.
With the change to the CPD year in NSW, there wasn’t the mad scramble at the beginning of the year for agents to complete their CPD by 22 March. However, what happened was that the scramble transferred to June and so many agents completed their CPD in that last month. For us here at ACOP, this meant guiding countless students through their training and assessment journeys, helping them achieve their goals in real estate, stock & station, and strata management. And as it happens every year, there have been changes to CPD requirements, which has meant new learning for everyone in relation to processes.
For the first time in NSW CPD history, NSW Fair Trading requested that all training providers provide the completion data for CPD for the 2023/24 CPD year. This resulted in action being taken against many thousands of agents for their non-completion of CPD. Here at ACOP, we think that the change to the financial year for CPD completion will take away one of the areas of confusion about when agents need to complete their training each year.
The CPD requirements also changed as of 1 July 2025 to 4 hour courses, plus additional 3 hour programs for the new Residential Tenancy Reforms that are affecting both salespersons and property management. So, it’s now 7 hours of CPD for most agents, 5 hours for others, and then additional topics for those agents with multiple licences. It’s been a huge six months from July to December to provide these highly specific and long courses for agents.
One of the new requirements as of 1 July 2025 was that agents could only complete their CPD via face-to-face sessions or via interactive webinars – with online programs being non-approved.
Throughout the year, ACOP Assessors conducted numerous Compliance Audits and worked closely with agencies to help them meet their supervision and compliance obligations, particularly in developing tailored Supervision Guidelines and Policy & Procedures documents. What we’ve found across many agencies is that most agents genuinely want to be compliant but simply need some guidance to get there. With so much focus on running their businesses, the finer details of compliance often get overlooked. It’s been a true pleasure to partner with these agents and their teams, helping them understand that compliance is not just a requirement, but a key component of delivering high-quality service and achieving success in their day-to-day operations.
With a distinct housing crisis being identified in many areas of NSW, agents are needing to work smarter to assist their customers to buy, sell and manage properties on their behalf. Agents need to build strong relationships with their customers in order to address economic and market needs. This has meant that providing high quality training has been more essential than ever for agents.
ACOP turned 22 on 30 November 2025 and as we have done now for many years, we had a month of celebrations where our students received a discount on all ACOP courses and services for the month of November to mark our 22 years in business. And who doesn’t love a good excuse for a cake – and we must say, in addition to a monster cake for our birthday, we had quite a few this past year.
We have had many other celebrations this year at the College with staff members passing university exams, one completing their university degree and now set to commence employment as a radiographer in January 2026 (congratulations Kyah), Chanelle announced her engagement with all the excitement of a wedding coming in late 2026, I had a “significant birthday with a huge party, and naturally the many birthdays and work anniversaries throughout the year (all celebrated with cake and laughter). Through the good and bad of people’s personal lives, the team supports each other which makes John and me very proud business owners.
And it’s a wrap for 2025. It’s our last fortnightly College Chronicle for the year so I thought a summary of the major topics that we have covered this year would be a great idea – just to show how much ground we have crossed. Remember that all past editions of the Chronicle are available on our website. In 2025, our topics have included:
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The year started with discussions around price representation and underquoting and the year is ending with agents, consumers and the regulator all still focused on this topic. As we have seen throughout 2025, NSW Fair Trading as the regulator of the property and strata industry in NSW, has been heavily focused on agency practices in relation to price representation and underquoting, which will bring about legislative change in the coming months.
To address the increasing need for agent transparency, this past year we have placed a strong emphasis on training around compliance requirements and how to navigate a constantly evolving environment. We firmly believe that if agents embrace and apply the principles underpinning these legislatively mandated rules, our industry will not only improve but also create a more professional and level playing field. This belief is at the heart of everything we do here at ACOP and drives our commitment to supporting agents in their professional growth.
As we celebrate our twenty-third year, ACOP continues to be one of the few Registered Training Organisations granted the ability to offer government funding in the property, finance, and management sectors. This means we remain under the careful scrutiny of Training Services NSW to ensure we consistently meet the highest standards of training. With fee-free traineeships available for students who sign up with approved providers like ACOP and subsidised training for experienced workers it’s an exciting time to be involved in the training sector. We’re looking forward to what 2026 holds.
We have welcomed a number of new team members this past year. We have three new trainer/assessors with Elisha Canterbury, Penny Peters and Peter Hunt, all of whom have many years of experience as agents in NSW. We also welcome new administrative team members, with Abbey at the beginning of the year, then Cristela and Kayl in the Philippines, and now Arabella who has just joined the team.
As the year winds down, many of us are looking forward to spending quality time with family and loved ones, enjoying the festivities, and indulging in plenty of delicious food. This year, ACOP’s Christmas celebration with current and former team members took place in late November at Campbells Cove at Circular Quay. It was a fun filled night with plenty of great food, cocktails, great people and lots of shenanigans on the 3600 photo booth – it was a perfect way to celebrate the year that has been.
As you plan your work and family celebrations, please remember to be mindful of everyone’s safety. Make sure you and your friends have a safe way to travel to and from the festivities, especially if you plan to enjoy a few drinks at the parties.
As we come to the end of the year, it’s a time to reflect on the year that has passed. Every day, we’re confronted with news, articles, and online updates about the challenges facing our world – negative shifts in people’s behaviour, the impact on mental health, and the strain on communication. Just this past week, with the atrocities of the event at Bondi – we question what is happening in our world where hatred can translate into such catastrophic outcomes. We stand united with all beliefs and races and hope for a greater level of understanding amongst all people.
We also continue to grapple with the cost of living crisis, the rental shortage, and the growing lack of affordable housing. Conversations with businesses across all sectors reveal an increase in stress levels and heightened pressures.
As Christmas approaches, it’s a time to pause and reflect on the year’s journey, and to think about how we can make our lives – and the lives of those we can influence – better moving forward. It’s important to find gratitude for the good in our lives, no matter how big or small. So, please be kind to yourself and to others. We all need it now more than ever.
My loyal partner in business and life, John has organised for the two of us (and a couple of our family) to have some time away over Christmas to recharge for the year ahead. We have plans to travel to Cambodia twice next year to see our beautiful sponsor children in Phnom Penh at the Cambodian Child’s Fund (CCF). This is definitely a happy place for us both and defines our purpose in life.
ACOP remains committed to supporting the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter through my role as Board Chair. We also continue to back CCF, with our team actively involved in planning major fundraising events and contributing to the vital work of both organisations. This year, both of these charities held significant events that successfully raised crucial funds to support their ongoing efforts to help women, children, and promote education. As we head into the Christmas and New Year season, let’s make an effort to show extra kindness and care to those around us – whenever and wherever we can. It will make everyone’s holiday season that much brighter.
ACOP will close its doors and telephone lines at midday on Friday 19 December and reopen on Tuesday 6 January at 8.30am. Naturally, you will still be able to login online and enrol and complete CPD training and licensing modules if required. Any of your questions will be addressed as soon as we are back at our desks fully refreshed from our break on the 6 January.
On behalf of John, myself, and the entire incredible ACOP team, we send our warmest festive wishes to you. May you have a joyful Christmas and a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2026. Let’s take this time to appreciate all the good in our lives and embrace the chance to start afresh, bringing new ideas and renewed energy into the exciting new year ahead.
Don’t forget to leave out some beer and cookies for Santa, and a couple of carrots for the reindeer. And perhaps take a moment to raise a glass – whether it be champagne, Coke Zero, or your drink of choice – to those you love and hold dear, as well as to those who are no longer with us. Stay safe, stay happy, and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year.
‘Til next year
Wishing you every success in your business and personal ventures
Rosy