BSBCNV612 CASE STUDY

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National Business Institute Inc. *

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BSBCNV612

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Law

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Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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BSBCNV612 ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY 1. Review each of the scenarios below and explain whether you find the conveyancer in each scenario has breached the code of conduct. You must include in your answer the breach which has been made to the relevant code of conduct and what regulation applies: A conveyancer receives a short call from a client about a property matter. The conveyancer does not record the interaction in the file notes as it was under 5 minutes. The conveyancer is in breach under section 17 (b) of the Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018. The Regulation states that conveyancers “must keep a written record, in the form of a file note, [of all] telephone conversations made or received in connection with conveyancing work”. A conveyancer prepares and signs a Solicitor’s Certificate at the request of the client’s bank. The conveyancer has the conveyancing qualification and works in a law firm. The conveyancer is in breach under section 9 of the Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018, as it is not within a conveyancer’s competence to prepare and sign a solicitor’s certificate. This can only be done by a solicitor, even if the conveyancer works in a law firm. The Regulation states that conveyancers “must not accept instructions to perform conveyancing work unless the licensee is competent to perform the conveyancing work concerned.” A conveyancer receives a call from a client about a blog post that was recently sent out regarding a seminar. The conveyancer does not record the interaction in the file notes. The conveyancer is not in breach of the code of conduct. Section 17 of the Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018 states any “telephone conversation made or received in connection with conveyancing work”. Given that this phone call between the conveyancer and their client was of a ‘trivial’ nature and unrelated to conveyancing, the conveyancer would not be obligated to make a file note detailing the conversation. 2. Jamie, who works as a conveyancer at your organisation, was acting on behalf of a client who was selling their property. You find out that the conveyancer was receiving kickbacks for recommending clients to a certain developer. While the gifts were not monetary, they were significant. Over the course of a couple of months, Jamie received: A fully paid trip to Fiji sponsored by the developer. Two tickets to see Jimmy Barnes at his next show. The conveyancer did not disclose to the client that they were also acting for the developer when they made the recommendation to go with the developer. Apply the key principles and responsibilities of codes of conduct to this scenario and explain why Jamie is in breach of them and advise the relevant regulation.

Making sure that your clients are informed and aware of all aspects of their transaction is incredibly important, and frankly, imperative, to ensure transparency and that the conveyancer is performing their work in accordance with the legislation and code of conduct. Jamie clearly failed, or ignored, her duty to inform her client of a potential conflict of interest in acting for more than one party. Jamie did not show professionalism in the situation and did not meet up to her obligations to her client to disclose that she was also acting for the developer when she recommended them. Jamie breached sections 6(2), 11, and 14 of the Conveyancers (Professional Regulations) 2018, as well as section 49 of the Conveyancers Act 2006. 3. Review each of the following scenarios and explain how you would ensure that you would exercise ethical behaviour that complies with relevant codes of conduct and advise the relevant regulation and provide in full that regulation. You act for a vendor who asks you to omit material facts about their property that had 6 murders take place over the last 2 years. For a conveyancer to omit material facts from a Contract of Sale that they are aware of would be highly unethical. Section 11 of the ‘ Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018’ states that “a licensee must act in the client’s best interests and according to the client’s instructions at all times unless it would be contrary to the Act or these Regulations or otherwise unlawful to do so”. If I was in this situation, I would ensure that the client knew and acknowledged/understood the consequences of not disclosing known material facts about their property. I would advise my client that to omit material facts from a Contract of Sale is an offence and is also an offence for the conveyancer to knowingly conceal any material facts. If my client persisted that they did not want the material facts included in the contract, I would advise them to seek other representation and cease acting. You find that a conflict of interest has taken place since you signed on a client. When a conflict of interest occurs in a transaction, it is important for the conveyancer to ensure they are following the applicable guidelines and regulations set out in the ‘Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018’ and the ‘Conveyancers Act 2006’ . To ensure that ethical behaviour is conducted in this situation, as soon as the conflict of interest is identified I would disclose this to my client and have them sign the applicable disclosure form. Section 14 of the ‘Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018’ provides indication as to which disclosure form is required for different conflict of interest situations pertaining to section 49 of the ‘Conveyancers Act 2006’ . If however the conflict that has arisen be that I, the conveyancer, be unable to act in the best interest of all parties, then the ethical outcome would be to cease acting. This is advised under section 15 of the ‘ Conveyancers (Professional Conduct) Regulations 2018’ stating that “if a licensee who is acting for more than one party cannot continue to act for all of the parties without acting in a manner contrary to the interests of one or more of the parties, the licensee must cease to act for all of the parties” .

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