Key Employment Terms and Conditions for Australian Real Estate Agencies and Property Managers

Running a real estate agency (or managing properties within a broader business) can be fast-paced, compliance-heavy, and people-dependent. Your reputation often comes down to how your team behaves on the phone, at inspections, in negotiations, and in how they handle trust money, keys, personal information and sensitive disputes.

That’s exactly why clear terms and conditions of employment in real estate matter. When you set expectations early (and put them in writing), you reduce the risk of pay disputes, commission disagreements, mishandled confidential information, and messy exits when someone leaves to join a competitor.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the essential clauses Australian agencies and property managers should consider for their employment documentation. We’ll keep it practical and written from the employer perspective, so you can use it as a checklist when onboarding staff, promoting people, or reviewing your current contracts.

This article is general information only and isn’t legal advice. Employment obligations can vary depending on your award coverage, role classification, location, and how your business operates.

What Are “Terms And Conditions Of Employment In Real Estate” (And Why Agencies Need Them)?

In plain English, “terms and conditions of employment” are the rules of the employment relationship. They cover things like pay, hours, duties, leave, confidentiality, and what happens if the employment ends.

In the real estate context, these terms matter even more because many roles involve:

• commission structures and performance incentives;
• high levels of client trust and confidentiality;
• access to customer lists, landlord databases and rent rolls;
• brand reputation risks (what staff say and do reflects directly on the agency);
• compliance obligations, including record keeping, privacy responsibilities and (in many roles) state or territory licensing/registration requirements.

It’s also worth remembering: your employment contract doesn’t exist in a vacuum. You still need to comply with the Fair Work Act, the National Employment Standards (NES), and any applicable modern award or enterprise agreement, plus work health and safety obligations. The contract is where you make the relationship workable day-to-day, while staying aligned with those legal requirements.

If you’re looking for a practical baseline, many agencies start with an employment contract and build out internal policies that support it (for example, social media, vehicle use, privacy, and device policies).

Core Clauses Every Real Estate Employment Contract Should Include

If you want standard terms and conditions for employment in real estate, start with the fundamentals. These clauses set the legal framework of the relationship and reduce “grey areas” that can lead to disputes later.

1. Position, Duties And Reporting Lines

Real estate roles can change quickly (new portfolio mix, shifting responsibilities between sales support and property management, or expansion into strata). Your contract should clearly state:

• the employee’s title and primary duties;
• who they report to (and any delegation limits);
• the location(s) they work from (including inspections and offsite work);
• whether duties may reasonably change over time.

This is also where you can clarify that the employee must follow lawful and reasonable directions and comply with your agency procedures (without trying to put every procedure inside the contract itself).

2. Employment Type (Full-Time, Part-Time Or Casual)

Real estate businesses often use a mix of full-time staff, part-time administrators, and casual assistants for Saturday opens or peak inspection periods. Your contract should clearly specify:

• whether the employment is full-time, part-time or casual;
• ordinary hours (and how additional hours are handled);
• any guarantee of hours for part-time staff;
• how rostering works and what notice you’ll generally provide for changes.

Getting this wrong can create backpay risk and confusion about entitlements. Award coverage and classification can also affect minimum rates, penalties and allowances, so it’s important to check what applies to your staff and roles. If you’re unsure how to frame this correctly, it’s usually best to get your Employment Contract drafted or reviewed so it aligns with your operating model.

3. Pay, Commission And Incentives (Including When They Are Earned)

Pay clauses in real estate need extra care, because commission and bonuses can be the biggest source of conflict.

At a minimum, spell out:

• base salary or hourly rate (and whether it’s “inclusive” of any loadings/allowances);
• commission structure (percentage, tiers, and what counts as “commissionable”);
• when commission is earned (for example, at unconditional exchange, settlement, or when agency fees are actually received);
• what happens if the employee leaves mid-transaction;
• how disputes about commission calculations are handled.

Be especially careful with vague promises like “uncapped commissions” or “OTE” (on-target earnings) without defining them. If your offer documents or emails oversell earning potential, that can also create misleading expectation issues.

4. Probation And Performance Expectations

A probation clause gives you a defined window to assess whether the hire is right for your agency.

Make sure your probation terms cover:

• the length of probation (and whether it can be extended);
• the review process (for example, 2-week and 6-week check-ins);
• what notice applies during probation (often shorter than post-probation notice, but still needs to be lawful).

Probation doesn’t remove all employee rights, but it can make managing early performance issues clearer if your documentation is properly set up.

5. Hours Of Work, Overtime And Time In Lieu

In property management and sales, after-hours calls and weekend work are common. Your contract should explain how you handle:

• reasonable additional hours;
• after-hours duties (for example, emergencies for managed properties);
• open homes, auctions and weekend inspections;
• overtime or penalty rates where applicable;
• time off in lieu (if you use it) and the conditions around it.

The goal is to avoid a mismatch between what your business needs operationally and what the contract suggests the employee agreed to.

6. Leave Entitlements And Evidence Requirements

Your contract will usually reference the National Employment Standards (NES) and any applicable award terms for leave. It can also set reasonable processes, like:

• how annual leave requests are made and approved;
• busy period restrictions (as long as they’re reasonable);
• requirements to provide evidence for personal/carer’s leave (medical certificate or statutory declaration).

If you allow statutory declarations for illness evidence (common when appointments aren’t available), keep your process consistent and document what you accept. Many businesses also maintain a simple internal process for this alongside a reference template for Statutory Declaration use.

Real Estate-Specific Clauses: Confidentiality, Databases, Keys And Reputation Risk

Real estate employment terms shouldn’t be “generic”. Agencies hold valuable data and deal with high-stakes relationships. These clauses are often what protect your business when something goes wrong.

1. Confidentiality And Handling Sensitive Information

Property management teams handle information about rent arrears, hardship, domestic violence situations, landlord financial details and tenancy disputes. Sales teams handle pricing expectations, vendor motivations, and buyer budgets.

Your contract should define “confidential information” broadly enough to include:

• landlord and tenant data;
• rent roll details and management agreements;
• client lists and lead databases (including CRM data);
• marketing plans, scripts, templates and internal training resources;
• commercial terms negotiated with suppliers and portals.

It should also require confidentiality both during employment and after it ends.

2. Ownership Of Client Relationships, Leads And Work Product

This is one of the most important parts of terms and conditions of employment in real estate: you want clarity that leads generated through the agency’s systems, marketing, website, and brand belong to the business.

This is often done through clauses that cover:

• ownership of CRM entries, notes, and prospect lists;
• ownership of marketing content created during employment (copy, photos, templates, brochures);
• requirements to return records and remove copies from personal devices and accounts.

This ties closely to your data privacy obligations too. If your staff export client data to personal email or personal cloud storage, that’s a risk for both confidentiality and privacy compliance.

3. Keys, Access Devices And Property Security

Agencies commonly manage keys, fobs, alarm codes and access instructions for multiple properties. Your employment terms should support a clear internal policy on:

• key register compliance and sign-out procedures;
• prohibitions on copying keys without approval;
• immediate reporting of lost keys, codes or devices;
• return of all access items on termination.

While key management is largely operational, putting expectations in writing helps you enforce processes consistently and reduce liability exposure if something goes missing.

4. Communications And Recording Policies (If Relevant)

Some agencies record inbound calls for training and quality assurance. Others use body-worn cameras at certain inspections or have CCTV in the office.

If you do any form of monitoring or recording, you need to be careful about surveillance and consent requirements. The rules vary by state and territory, and the safest approach is to align your employment documentation and policies to your actual practices.

For example, if your team records calls, it’s worth reviewing your approach to business call recording laws so you’re not relying on assumptions (especially when calls cross state borders).

Restraints, Non-Solicitation And Protecting Your Rent Roll

Staff turnover is normal in real estate. The bigger issue is when a departing employee tries to take your landlords, tenants, or referral partners with them.

This is where restraints (often called restraint of trade clauses) can help, but they need to be carefully drafted. Overreaching restraints are harder to enforce, and in practice, the enforceability depends on what’s reasonable in your circumstances.

1. Non-Solicitation Of Clients, Landlords And Referral Partners

Non-solicitation clauses are often more defensible than broad “non-compete” clauses. They focus on stopping someone from actively approaching your clients or contacts for a set period.

In a real estate agency, this can include:

• landlords on your rent roll;
• vendors and buyers the agent dealt with;
• tenant databases (where relevant and lawful);
• referrers like mortgage brokers, conveyancers, builders and strata managers.

2. Non-Poaching Of Staff

If you’ve invested in training a property management team, the last thing you want is a departing manager recruiting your assistants or leasing consultants to join them elsewhere.

A non-poaching clause can reduce that risk and supports continuity for your clients.

3. Non-Competition (Used Carefully)

Sometimes a limited non-compete can be reasonable, especially for senior roles with deep access to your systems and high-level client relationships.

To improve enforceability, agencies often narrow these clauses by:

• time period (for example, 3–6 months rather than 12 months);
• geographic area (for example, your core territory rather than “Australia-wide”);
• scope (specific activities, like soliciting your landlords, rather than “working in real estate”).

If restraints are important to your business model, it’s a good idea to get advice rather than copying standard terms and conditions for employment in real estate from a template. Templates usually don’t reflect your client mix, territory, seniority levels, or how your rent roll is actually structured.

Termination, Notice, Final Pay And Post-Employment Obligations

Even when you hire well, employment relationships sometimes end quickly in real estate (performance issues, culture mismatch, or commission disagreements). A clear termination framework helps you manage exits without escalating disputes.

1. Notice Periods And Payment In Lieu

Your contract should set out the notice required by either party (while still meeting minimum statutory requirements).

Many agencies also include a right to make payment in lieu of notice, which can be useful where it’s not practical for the employee to remain in the workplace (for example, where there are client relationship risks or confidentiality concerns).

2. Garden Leave (Optional, But Common In Client-Facing Roles)

Garden leave can allow you to direct the employee not to attend work during the notice period, while remaining employed and paid. This can help protect client relationships and your database in the transition period.

If you want the option to use garden leave, it should be properly written into your employment terms, with clear rules about what the employee can and can’t do during that period.

3. Return Of Property And Systems Access

In real estate, “property” isn’t just a laptop. Make sure your contract supports a clean handover and return of:

• keys and access devices;
• phones, iPads, laptops and SIM cards;
• marketing materials and signage;
• logins and access to CRM, portals and email accounts;
• paper files and inspection records.

4. Final Pay And Commission After Termination

This is where many real estate disputes happen. You should be clear about:

• what is included in final pay (unused leave, wages up to last day, allowances);
• whether commissions are payable after termination and under what conditions;
• what happens if a sale settles after the employee leaves;
• how disputes are calculated and resolved.

When these rules are not written down, you often end up negotiating under pressure, which is exactly when misunderstandings and reputational issues arise.

Key Takeaways

• Terms and conditions of employment in real estate should be clear, written, and tailored to how your agency actually operates, especially around commission, databases, and client relationships.
• Your employment contract should cover the fundamentals (role, hours, pay, leave, probation and termination) as well as real estate-specific risks like confidentiality, key management and ownership of client data.
• Commission clauses should be specific about when commission is earned and what happens if the employee leaves mid-transaction to reduce disputes.
• Restraint clauses (like non-solicitation and non-poaching) can help protect your rent roll and referral networks, but they need to be reasonable and properly drafted to be enforceable.
• Having the right documentation upfront is usually far easier (and cheaper) than fixing problems after a dispute or a key staff member leaves.

If you’d like help putting the right terms and conditions of employment in place for your real estate agency or property management business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.