From 1 May 2024, the REIQ Residential Sales Schedule will be updated to complement the new PO Form 6 Appointment form released by the Office of Fair Trading on the same date. Parts of the Schedule have been updated to streamline efficiency and enhance user experience.
The changes include:
There are now two annexures to the REIQ Residential Sales Schedule which may be used by sales agents to obtain information about the property they have been appointed to sell. The Property Details and Disclosure Annexure and Marketing Information Annexure.
These annexures are optional and will be automatically added to a PO Form 6 when created in Realworks. Sales agents can remove the annexures by unselecting them in the Annexures panel in Realworks.
The REIQ recommends that both annexures are used.
The Property Details and Disclosure Annexure captures essential information about the property that:
The Marketing Information Annexure captures information about the physical features of the property. Many of these details are needed when listing the property for sale.
The REIQ has included new clauses whereby the client warrants that all information provided to the sales agent in the PO Form 6 and annexures is correct. The Client also indemnifies the agent against any claims that may arise from a breach of this warranty.
In preparation for the mandatory Seller’s Disclosure Regime to be introduced in Queensland, sales agents should start to familiarise themselves with obtaining disclosure information by using these annexures.
Provided your PO Form 6 is completed correctly, it will still be valid if you choose not to use the annexures.
The REIQ strongly recommends that the annexures are included or, that the client provides the information contained in the annexures at a later stage but before entering into a Contract of Sale. Using the annexures will limit the risk of a Contract of Sale falling over and protect your commission.
If you do not want to complete the annexures at the PO Form 6 stage, you can choose to send the annexures to the client separately in Realworks at a later date.
We recommend this is done as soon as possible after the PO Form 6 is entered in case there is important information about the property that you may need to know to avoid making errors or misrepresentations when marketing the property and responding to queries.
Yes, there have been no changes to the features in Realworks that sales agents may use to streamline the preparation of sales contracts.
Once the PO Form 6 is completed, you can then create a New Related Form, for example:
and the information captured in the PO Form 6 will automatically populate in the relevant field within the Contract. The information in the annexure will only populate if the annexure is used.
Look out in the sidebar of the contracts where you'll find the Merge feature that allows you to search for any completed EF157 Notice of Offer to Purchase form to automatically populate the completed fields from the Notice to the Contract including:
You do not need to start a new PO Form 6 in Realworks, if you have a draft one in progress. If you click on this form, Realworks will prompt you to update the form to the new version of the PO Form 6 and the information will be populated into the new version of the form. See the REIQ FAQs for guidance on the transitional requirements for the new PO Form 6 and Form 6A.
This Annexure contains the following sections, which you will likely be familiar with from the former PO Form 6 and the REIQ Contract Schedule:
The information entered in these sections that have matching fields in the REIQ Contract Schedule will automatically populate into the Contract, if a New Related Form contract is created in Realworks.
You can also use the Information Request feature in Realworks to request your client to complete certain fields.
The REIQ has retained the Verification of Identity and Facts Material to Sale of Property sections to ensure your appointments are valid and compliant with the Property Occupations Regulation 2014.
Agents are required to take reasonable steps to identify their clients' ownership under s19 of the Property Occupations Regulation and this section helps to ensure real estate professionals comply with this legal requirement.
It is also best practice to ensure the client is properly identified because of the increase in fraudulent transactions and incidents that target the real estate profession.
If your client is not aware of the matters for disclosure listed in the annexure, it is ok if you do not complete this section in full. You should recommend that they seek legal advice as they may need to make disclosure under clause 7 of the relevant REIQ Contract.
The questions included are existing disclosure requirements under the REIQ Contract. Each question relates to a specific seller's warranty given under clause 7 of the REIQ Contract.
This disclosure information should be obtained from the seller prior to preparing a contract so that you can meet your obligations, as the seller's agent.
For example, under the current REIQ Contract for Sale of Residential Houses and Land :
If the client is not aware of the answer to these questions, they should seek legal advice. In most cases they should be aware. A special condition drafted by a legal practitioner may be required to deal with the disclosure item.
If you have any questions and you are an REIQ member, please call the Agency Advice Service on 1300 697 347.
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