An independent Australian journal
Independent Australian guidance for hiring a buyer's agent
Due diligence
Licence checks, conflicts, inspections and the moments when you should walk away from an agent — or a house.
A buyer's agent is a paid professional, not a moral requirement. If you have already found the house, the campaign is quiet, and you can hold a number, the adult decision may be to keep the fee and spend it on inspections and a lawyer.
28 May 2026
The Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia is a professional association, not a regulator. Membership can be a useful signal. It is not a licence, and it is not a substitute for the public register.
14 May 2026
Building and pest reports are the buyer's choice in every Australian state — and they are strongly advisable. A licensed buyer's agent should book them, not talk you out of them.
16 April 2026
Unlicensed operators, guaranteed bargains, pressure to skip inspections, and a success fee that still bites if you find the house yourself — these are not quirks. They are reasons to stop the meeting.
2 April 2026
Every Australian state and territory keeps a public register of licensed real estate agents. Membership of a professional association is not a licence. Here is how to search, what you are looking at, and what a tick in a database does not prove.
18 March 2026