BUSINESS NEWS

Unlicensed business agent fined $5,700

The Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board of Western Australia (REBA) announced the fining of an unlicensed business agent, in a recent media statement:

"Chasecorp Pty Ltd t/as Citicorp Business Brokers has been fined $4,500 and ordered to pay costs of $1,000 by the State Administrative Tribunal as a result of holding itself out as a business agent in Western Australia."

"In the same proceedings, Peter Shorter was fined $1,200 and ordered to pay costs of $500 by the Tribunal as a result of holding himself out as a business sales representative of Citicorp Business Brokers when he did not hold a certificate of registration in this State."

The media statement goes on to say:

"To conduct business broking work within Western Australia a person must either be licensed or hold a certificate of registration".

With the boom in WA, a number of M&A firms, accountants and business advisers have jumped on the bandwagon of negotiating the sale and purchase of businesses on behalf of clients.

If they are involved in the sale of business assets and they are not licensed under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, then they may well be in breach of the Act, the penalty for which is a maximum fine of $20,000.

Section 4 of the Act defines a business agent as any person acts as an agent for a fee or reward in respect of a business transaction.

A business transaction is defined as:

"... a sale of, exchange or other disposal and a purchase, exchange or other acquisition of a business and any share or interest in a business or the goodwill thereof".

Similar laws apply in each Australian state.

Fee may not be claimed by an unlicensed person

Any unlicensed business agent runs a real risk of losing his commission or fee from the sale of a business. The Act provides that a person must be licensed before claiming a fee for acting as a business agent. There have been a number of cases where vendors have had their fees refunded after complaints to the relevant supervisory boards.

Schultz Partners licensed

Schultz Partners is licensed as a business agent in both Western Australia and Victoria.