Strata Agents Occupational Licensing: The Historical Development of the Educational Requirements

The introduction of compulsory education for licensing within the built environment was introduced during the 1960’s. The ongoing development of licensing standards and the changing nature of society warranted more stringent requirements for education, with particular emphasis on selected fields of knowledge. Therefore, occupational licensing and education are considered an important tool for the enhancement of consumer protection, and also to foster public confidence with the built environment professional. Additionally, during the last decade, continuing professional development (CPD) was introduced as a critical element towards life-long learning. Issues such as social responsibility and ethical behaviour are a key component in the educational requirements. There are also core learning modules with specialist streams for the various types of licenses. The purpose of this research paper is twofold. Firstly to examine the governments intent and purpose with regards to mandated education; and secondly to map this against a textual analysis of the historical development of licensing and CPD for Strata Managing Agents in New South Wales. The textual analysis is complimented with data relating to consumer protection issues and the paper concludes with an overall summation of the current educational regime and recommendations for best practice policy implementation