eXp Calls Back, Surcharges, NSW Legislation
EP. 21 · 2 Oct 2026 · 1h 4m
This week on Before the Weekend, Kasey McDonald and Peter Schravemade start with a correction. Last week we ran the eXp Australia story as unconfirmed. This week Mindy Powell-Hodges, Country Leader of eXp Australia, called: the sales representative and Class 2 pathway has been discontinued because of regulatory change, and very few agents are affected - which matches Peter's own calls to eXp agents. The bigger story is in eXp's own press release, where the fine print describes a transition to a fully licensed Class 1 model. The open-door recruiting that built the US model no longer exists here.
NSW has passed the Residential Tenancies Amendment (Protection of Personal Information) Bill. From early 2027 every agent uses a standardised application form, cannot ask for photos, social media, children's details or tattoos, collects ID only from the preferred applicant, and must disclose digitally altered or AI-generated listing images that hide faults. Penalties run to $49,500. Peter's view from a decade in property imagery: most of what hits the portals today falls on the wrong side of that wording. The Government's own example of an "AI-doctored" listing turned out to be a $5,000 mural.
Then the receipt. REINSW CEO Tim McKibbin's internal master table counts 33 Acts and regulations - around 2,100 individual amendments, 209 carrying penalties - landing on NSW agents between October 2024 and early 2027, each written up as a psychosocial risk for the people doing the work. Aaron Barber's "500 changes" was conservative. Kasey reports from the road on what that load looks like on a PM desk.
Money moving: the card surcharge ban is live from 1 October, DEFT has stopped taking cards for 1.2 million rent payments a month, Services Australia still clips 99 cents on every Centrepay rent payment NSW made compulsory, and a "Supplier Trade Fee" has appeared on realestate.com.au invoices - a real Amex arrangement, but one to watch.
Also this week: a Mareeba couple with good income and references rejected 15 times at 0.8 per cent vacancy in Cairns; a Sunshine Coast principal convicted after threatening to end an employee's career and a Gold Coast agent off the road; the Newcastle family who can't get their lodgers out, and why renting rooms in your own home sits outside the tenancy Act; agents sliding into DMs on Threads; and the NRL grand final.
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Chapters
Show notes
eXp Australia: the Country Leader calls back
Mindy Powell-Hodges, Country Leader of eXp Australia, confirmed the sales representative / Class 2 pathway has been discontinued because of regulatory change (Peter's reading: AML-CTF Tranche 2 and supervision rules), and that very few agents are affected. eXp's 24 September press release for its Enterprise fee model discloses in its forward-looking statements a transition to a fully licensed (Class 1) agent model. Chris Janzon did not respond to last week's right of reply.
Agents on social media: pages, people and DMs on Threads
Meta is moving high-profile personal profiles to pages, and public replies on Threads are visible to everyone. Check your Meta publishing and privacy settings, and remember that what goes on the internet stays there.
NSW rental privacy and AI image disclosure laws
Passed 24 September 2026, expected to commence early 2027. Standardised rental application form; no photos, social media, children's details or tattoos; ID documents only from the preferred applicant before the lease is signed; rules for storing and destroying personal data; mandatory disclosure of digitally altered or AI-generated listing images that hide faults; embedded network disclosure. Penalties up to $11,000 for individuals, $49,500 for corporations and $22,000 for undisclosed altered images. The Government's own example of an AI-doctored listing was a real $5,000 mural.
- $49,500 warning as NSW tightens rental rules for agents (Elite Agent)
- Minns Government introduces new laws to protect personal data of renters (NSW Government)
- NSW passes new privacy protections for renters (Sabirus Advisory)
- A rental listing photo got flagged as AI-doctored, but it was really a $5,000 mural (Yahoo News)
REINSW's master table: 33 Acts, 2,100 amendments
REINSW's internal legislative amendments table (15 September) and reforms summary (24 September), circulated by CEO Tim McKibbin, count 33 instruments across strata, sales, property management and other - around 2,100 individual amendment items with 209 carrying penalties - commencing between 31 October 2024 and early 2027, plus eight bills in train and nine policy items pending. Every entry is assessed for its psychosocial risk to agents. If the load is getting too much, talk to someone.
Money moving: surcharge ban, DEFT, Centrepay and REA's Supplier Trade Fee
From 1 October merchants cannot surcharge eftpos, Mastercard, Visa, Amex, UnionPay or PayPal. DEFT (Macquarie) has stopped accepting debit and credit cards for rent and strata payments. NSW made Centrepay a compulsory rent payment option from 2 March 2026 ($5,500 fine for not offering it); Services Australia charges the business 99 cents per Centrepay transaction, deducted from the remittance - REINSW's Tim McKibbin calls it hypocrisy. A "Supplier Trade Fee" appearing on realestate.com.au invoices is an American Express supplier-payments arrangement (Trade Service Fee up to 2.15 per cent, charged to the cardholder); renaming a card surcharge is not the same thing.
- Review of Merchant Card Payment Costs - FAQs (Reserve Bank of Australia)
- Rewards programs and insurance perks in firing line after surcharging changes (ABC News)
- What Centrepay is - business fees (Services Australia)
- Using Centrepay to receive rent - landlords and agents (NSW Government)
- AccessLine supplier payments and Trade Service Fee (American Express Australia)
Cairns: rejected 15 times at 0.8 per cent
Nicola and Harry Thomas of Mareeba, both working with good references, applied for 15 rentals and were declined on all of them before moving back in with family. The Courier Mail puts Cairns vacancy at 0.8 per cent and median rent up 21.8 per cent in a year; REIQ's Tom Quaid says new construction is minimal. Vacancy figures differ by provider - this is the Courier Mail's figure.
Two Queensland agents in court
A Sunshine Coast real estate principal was convicted and fined in Brisbane Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to using a carriage service to menace or harass two female employees, one of whom left her job; convictions were recorded. A Gold Coast agent was fined and disqualified for six months after pleading guilty to driving under the influence, with the magistrate criticising a prosecution delay on the drug analysis certificate; no conviction recorded. Both reported by News Corp Queensland.
Tenants from hell: lodgers, boarders and approved occupants
A Current Affair followed a Newcastle family who rented two rooms in their own home and could not get the occupants out until NCAT ordered them to vacate. Renting rooms in the home you live in makes the occupant a lodger or boarder, outside the Residential Tenancies Act - fewer tools, not more. Peter's own experience with an approved occupant in a Queensland share house shows the same gap.
Open: rates to 4.60 and government spending
The RBA lifted the cash rate 25 basis points to 4.60 per cent on 29 September, the fourth rise of 2026. Mark Bouris on 2GB and Today argued the gap between government spending and tax take is the inflation problem; David Koch made the same case last week.
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