The Fidelity Guarantee Account is established under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978, and is administered by the Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board.
The purpose of the Fidelity Account is to provide financial reimbursement to people who suffer pecuniary loss or loss of property through the criminal or fraudulent actions of a licensed real estate or business agent or their employees in the course of a real estate or a business broking transaction. The Fidelity Account is financed through contributions from agents and sales representatives, interest on agents' trust accounts and interest generated by the Fidelity Account.
For further information on the Fidelity Guarantee Account, view one or more of the following:
Persons eligible to make a claim on the Fidelity Account
Amounts not generally claimable under the Fidelity Account
Limitation period for lodging a claim
Other relevant legal proceedings in progress
Has the defalcation been proven?
Administrative approval of claims
Before making a claim, please read the information provided below and view the Fidelity Account Information Bulletin.
To make a claim for financial reimbursement from the Fidelity Account, you need to lodge a Fidelity Guarantee Account Claim Form.
Persons eligible to make a claim on the Account Section 116 of the Act requires that, in order to be entitled to recover from the Fidelity Account, a claimant must satisfy ALL of the following criteria: Amounts not generally claimable under the Account In most instances, only costs with a direct relationship with the defalcation will be considered. The following types of losses are generally not claimable under the Act: -The cost of a District Court action is not money lost by reason of the fraudulent conduct, unless they are a result of an appeal from a Board decision. There is no scope for the Board to pay consequential loss of this nature from the Fidelity Account. Employee commissions and entitlements - Commission and entitlement claims are contract disputes between an employer and employee (not a real estate transaction) and are a matter for the Industrial Relations Commission. Interest or other amounts in excess of the extent of the defalcation - Section 117(3) of the Act states that no amount shall be charged or be chargeable to the Fidelity Account as interest on the amount of any judgment obtained of any claim admitted against the Fidelity Account. The amount of the claim must not exceed the actual loss suffered as a result of the defalcation. - must be deducted from the amount of the Account claim because they reduce the actual loss suffered by the claimant. Additional reimbursements on settled claims - claimants may discover additional costs associated with a Fidelity Account claim. Management fees - Management fees are not generally claimable, however there may be circumstances where they will be considered (i.e. when a fee has been taken without written authorisation). Trade Creditors - Amounts owed to trade creditors are not real estate transactions and do not qualify for reimbursement under the Fidelity Account. If the debt relates to a specific property managed by an agent, the creditor should be encouraged to recover the debt from the landlord. Limitation period for lodging a claim The Board must receive written notice of a person's intention to make a claim against the Fidelity Account within three years after the day on which the applicant became aware of the defalcation. The Board may, in circumstances where it considers it just and reasonable to do so, allow a period of up to six years. If a person wishes to lodge a claim after more than three years, the claimant must: Other relevant legal proceedings in progress The claimant must provide full disclosure of any other relevant legal proceedings in progress as the documents and evidence for these proceedings may be similar to the claim before the Board. In such cases, the Board may adjourn the claim until those other proceedings are finalised. It is the responsibility of the claimant to provide evidence that a defalcation occurred and that action was directly linked to their financial loss. The Board will assist the claimant obtain evidence if necessary. Has the defalcation been proven? Before the Board can allow a claim against the Fidelity Account, it must be satisfied that a defalcation has occurred. The three most common ways for this to occur are: Administrative approval of claims The Board may settle a claim without holding a hearing where the claim has been substantiated. A claim may be substantiated where: Administrative approval of claims is often possible in cases where a large number of claims result from a single defalcation. In these cases there will often be a supervisor or an administrator appointed who can help substantiate the defalcation. Where the Board decides that a claim is not suitable for administrative approval, it will hold a hearing. At the hearing, the Board will make a decision on whether the conduct amounts to a defalcation, and then whether it will allow the claim. On payment of money from the Fidelity Account to the claimant, the Board shall, to the extent of that payment, have all rights and remedies of the claimant against the licensee, and may commence an action in the District Court to recover the money.