Concerns over national licensing body NOLA's use of funds

The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) is concerned at the way the National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA) is spending taxpayer funds.

The authority is conducting a round of interstate visits which appear to be both unnecessary and beyond the role it should have, REIA president Peter Bushby said.

“The process for national licensing is at the stage where the state and territory treasurers will be deciding on the matter later this year. Consultation at the jurisdictional level, which includes input from NOLA, has ended,’’ he said.

‘’NOLA’s involvement at this stage is totally unnecessary and would appear to amount to no more than lobbying - which is inappropriate.

‘’NOLA should not be a ‘player’ in the field ‘championing’ particular outcomes.”

The authority was set up in 2008 as the independent statutory authority responsible for establishing a licensing system for specific occupations across Australia. It works with state and federal governments, stakeholders, industry associations and regulators to define and implement a national occupational licensing system so licence holders can work anywhere in Australia.

“These actions by NOLA come on top of it stating in a media interview during the election campaign that the incoming coalition government would not change Labor’s implementation of national licensing for real estate agents,’’ Bushby said.

“Again, it was inappropriate for an administering agency to speculate on what an incoming government may or may not do. It was even more inappropriate that a public servant should be making such comments whilst (the government was) in caretaker mode.

“NOLA’s actions are eroding support for national licensing and, more generally, for initiatives developed through the COAG Council process. They should be sticking to what they were set up to do and not wasting some of their 2013/2014 budget of $8.4m on inappropriate travel and activities,” Bushby said.