The Register will be published on NSW Fair Trading website in the second half of each month with data from the previous calendar month.
NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said that they had been engaging with traders who had previously recorded high levels of complaints and had already seen improvements.
He said: "Several businesses have already taken steps to avoid appearing on the register, including allocating more resources to dispute resolution and inviting Fair Trading to conduct training programs for their employees."
REINSW's view
REINSW made a
submission to NSW Fair Trading regarding the proposal Register in October 2015.
REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin said: “In principle we think the Complaints Register is a good idea. We have always supported providing consumers with relevant and accurate information so that they can make an informed choice.
“It is, however, open to abuse and interpretation which could mislead consumers and end up unfairly tarnishing a business’s reputation.
“Before a complaint goes up on the Register it needs to be properly investigated by NSW Fair Trading and be deemed genuine as part of its criteria.
He added: “The Register needs to record accurate, complete and useful information that will result in the delivery of better customer service and more informed decisions.
“We will be closely monitoring the Register and providing feedback to NSW Fair Trading on amendments and improvements where needed.”
REINSW also has concerns about franchisees, marketing groups or co-operative models who share a brand, which are to be grouped as one product.
This puts the biggest agency groups at an unfair disadvantage and REINSW believes real estate businesses independently owned and operated should not be discriminated against because they belong to a franchise.
What is listed on the Register?
To be listed on the Register, a complaint must include the person’s name and contact details. It must be related to a real interaction with a business, and a receipt for the transaction or other supporting information may be requested. If the consumer is not able to provide sufficient information, it will not be included in the Register.
Those agencies who are placed on the Register will have their business name listed, the number of complaints made against them and the product groups complained about. It will not disclose information about the specific complaint or outcome.
For more information on the Complaints Register Guidelines, please visit
here. The Guidelines provide information about what is classed as a complaint, how NSW Fair Trading deals with complaints, and the limitations of the data.