The NSW Legislative Assembly has passed the Property, Stock and Business Agents Amendment (Property Industry Reform) Bill 2017.

"We've been working on this for a really long time," Leanne Pilkington, president of the Real Estate Institute of NSW, told SCHWARTZWILLIAMS.

"Over the years, the requirements for education and licensing have been eroded to the degree that it's very easy to get a license," she said.

"These changes up the standards for the education that is required to get a license."

If the amendments are passed into law, new agents will be required to complete an increased volume of learning to become a registered real estate agent.

The standards required to become a licensee, and then a licensee in charge, will also increase. 

"We see this is a first step on the pathway to professionalism that John (Cunningham, past president of the REINSW) has been working on so passionately."

The Bill will now be sent to the NSW Legislative Council and could be heard at its next sitting on 6 March 2018. Members of the Council will decide if the Bill is passed, amended or rejected. If it is passed it will be sent to the Governor of NSW for his assent.

Visit the NSW Parliament website to read about the proposed changes.

Read more about real estate agent licensing:

REINSW puts real estate industry on path to professionalism

One in five NSW agents not meeting professional development standards

Path to professionalism commences for real estate