In New South Wales, valuers are regulated under the Valuers Act 2003 and the Valuers Regulation 2005, which commenced on 31 March 2005.

The current legislation replaced the former Valuers Registration Act 1975 and the regulations under it.

Overview of the Valuers Act 2003

The Act provides for a registration system for valuers and sets out procedures for registration and for disciplinary proceedings by the Office of Fair Trading.

The following is a brief overview of the key provisions of the Act.

• The Act covers certain types of property in addition to real property, for example, water access rights (see section 3).
• The Act provides for one category of registration as a ‘registered valuer’ (section 3).
• Registration is granted for a period of three years and must be renewed before expiry if the registered person wishes to continue practising as a valuer (see section 12).
• The Commissioner for Fair Trading maintains a Register of valuers from which the public is able to obtain information about registered valuers (section 14).
• Grounds for disqualification from registration include matters such as bankruptcy, failure to pay monetary penalties, certain convictions and disqualification under other legislation (see section 9).
• ‘Show Cause’ notice provisions enable the Commissioner for Fair Trading to issue a person with a notice to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against them (section 23).  A valuer’s registration may be suspended when a show cause notice is issued (section 24).
• The Commissioner may publish a notice warning the public of the risks in dealing with a specified registered valuer or a person associated with the activities of valuers (section 29).
• A valuer whose registration is suspended, cancelled or made subject to a condition must notify his or her clients within three days (section 16).
• Appeals against a registration or disciplinary decision by the Commissioner are heard by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. Aggrieved persons must write to the Commissioner to request a review of the decision. An application for review of the decision may then be made to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (see section 10; and section 52 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002.