New Zealand: concern over real estate agent CPD
New Zealand's Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has expressed concerns regarding the mandatory Te Kākano course, which introduces real estate professionals to Māori culture, language, customs, and the Treaty of Waitangi. This follows the High Court's dismissal of real estate agent Janet Dickson's case against the Real Estate Agents Authority (REA) for not completing the course. McKee highlighted that under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008, failure to fulfill Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements leads to a five-year license cancellation, a penalty she deems overly harsh and disproportionate compared to other professions. In February of the previous year, McKee communicated to the REA Board that CPD topics should be directly relevant to real estate practice and indicated that Te Kākano did not meet this criterion. To address these concerns, she introduced the Regulatory Systems (Occupational Regulation) Amendment Bill in December, aiming to amend the Act and align its penalties with those of other regulated professions.