Former Du Pont Sung Pty Ltd Director Christine Parsons has been reprimanded for unprofessional conduct and other breaches of Victoria's estate agent laws.
This comes after Consumer Affairs Victoria successfully prosecuted Ms Parsons and her former company in 2011 for breaches of the Estate Agents Act 1980.
We recently took disciplinary action at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), after receiving a further allegation that DuPont Sung Pty Ltd sought to rely on an altered engagement authority when attempting taking legal action against a former client.
On 1 October 2011, VCAT reprimanded Ms Parsons for:
- not taking reasonable steps to ensure that her agents’ representative, Henri Claude Du Pont, was eligible to be employed in this role
- failing to act fairly and honestly, and to the best of her knowledge and ability, as an estate agent
- engaging in conduct that was unprofessional or detrimental to the reputation or interests of the industry.
The tribunal ordered her to complete units of study about the legal and ethical requirements of property management and sales, with an approved and registered training organisation. This must be at Ms Parsons’ own expense and happen within 12 months.
The tribunal accepted Ms Parson's undertakings that she would not apply to the Business Licensing Authority or its successors to hold a licence as an estate agent in future until 30 September 2016, notify Consumer Affairs Victoria of any change of employment, including to the name of her employer, within 14 days of the change.