Victorian agent to face VCAT over alleged audit failures

Consumer Affairs Victoria is seeking to suspend or cancel the licence of a Kyneton-based agent who they allege “deliberately failed to meet trust account audit obligations for over four years”.

First published on Real Estate Business

The consumer watchdog has taken disciplinary action against Debra Lawry – the previous officer in effective control of Bovicelli Investments Pty Ltd, trading as Ray White Romsey – after she failed to have the agency’s trust accounts audited within three months at the end of each financial year as legally required.

Lawry, who operated the Romsey agency between 2019 and 2023, is accused by the consumer watchdog of repeatedly neglecting to audit the office’s trust accounts after “multiple notices, warnings and fines”, even after the agent told the regulator’s officers she was “in the process of arranging an auditor”.

The watchdog highlighted that making sure trust accounts are audited by an approved auditor is a “key legal requirement for estate agents under the Estate Agents Act 1980”, and alleged that Lawry’s actions constituted a failure to “exercise due skill, care and diligence in performing their functions”.

Under these grounds, Consumer Affairs Victoria is seeking the suspension or cancellation of Lawry and Bovicelli’s estate licence on the premise that they allegedly “engaged in conduct that was unprofessional or detrimental to the industry’s reputation or interests” and thus “are not ‘fit and proper persons’ to hold an estate agent’s licence”.

A directions hearing for the matter is scheduled to occur on 24 September 2024 at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

The state’s Consumer Affairs director, Nicole Rich, said the “possibility of an agent losing their licence reflected the importance placed on meeting audit obligations”.

“Ensuring trust accounts are audited may seem like a lesser responsibility compared to managing trust money, but it is a key protection for consumers and skipping audits can be indicative of wider problems in how an agency is meeting its other obligations,” Rich said.

“We’ll continue to focus on making sure agents meet all their legal requirements. Those who don’t will face the consequences, including potentially being barred from working in the industry.”

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