Conflict of interest that should be declared/BA licence required?

A property investment firm guides a client towards purchase of H&L package (sales completed by employees)
The owner/director of said company is also owner/director of the building company
Unfortunately properties are over contract dates and/or taking months sitting at various stages with no work being done. (numerous other issues too many to mention)

Is this a conflict of interest that needs to be disclosed?
And is there a requirement for a REA Licence to be held?

 

A licence is needed to sell properties of which you are not an owner. So probably a licence would be needed.

If an agent has an indirect interest in the property being sold this would also probably need to be declared - but I haven't checked the legislation,.

 

I don't understand what this has to do with a potential conflict of interest?

 

But who owns the land?

Builder & agent are related parties.

 

@thatbum Clarification- They're unsure whether any liability could fall on the business and /or sales people who sold this to them in the first place or whether it's just the company that they have the building contract with
They're wanting to put complaints in wherever they can to get the regulators to look into their practices.
We're aware that licensing exists for brokers and there's requirements around referral partners and that there's no real regulator for PIAs but whether there's other regulators they fall under

 

The 'fair trading' departments regulate real estate licencing. Perhaps you could give them a call.

Also look at the ACCC who regulate false and misleading practices - maybe give them a call too.

 

I don't quite understand what they want to happen. Is their issue with the delays and the (lack of) work, or the conflict of interest issues?

If I were them, I would focus on what the actual main issue is, and not just try and complain about anything they can think of, and seeing what sticks.

 

I don't really understand what a real estate investment company is but say a person went to an independent financial advisor and that person advised you to buy their product without disclosing that it is their product. I can see that would be an issue. But it is a breach of fiduciary duty, not conflict of interest. I can't tell from the O.P. whether the investment property advisor owed the client a fiduciary duty. It's not clear to me. I am fairly certain there is no conflict of interest though