The Real Estate Institute of Victoria has been successful in its lobbying on behalf of commercial real estate agents, with the Victorian state government yesterday announcing it would repeal regulatory changes to commercial licensing that were brought in by the previous government.

The changes, which would have removed the need to involve an agent in large commercial transactions, sales of $15 million or more or where the floor area was greater than 10,000 square metres, were set to take effect from July 1.

“The changes would have opened up the commercial sector to a range of unlicensed and untrained operators,” said REIV CEO Enzo Raimondo. “Agents undertaking these complex transactions are bound by a range of legislative measures, including the Estate Agents Act and Sale of Land Act. These agents are covered by codes of conduct and are bound by stringent probity checks. This delivers security to those buying and selling commercial real estate in Victoria."

In other property news, the Victorian state government yesterday also announced a new bill which will require the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to recognise the extent of community concerns about development proposals. 'The Recognising Objectors Bill 2015' will see the number of objections and grounds for concern will be considered along with a development’s planning merits. Previously, VCAT had no mechanism to recognise the extent of community concerns about development proposals.