A buyer asks a NSW agent why the vendor is selling. The agent knows the vendor is under financial pressure, which was told to her in confidence. When may she disclose it?
Correct Answer
C) Only if the vendor authorises it, or the law permits or compels it
NSW guidance on real estate advertising and conduct says agents may not use or disclose confidential information unless the client or customer has authorised the disclosure, or the law permits or compels the agent to disclose it.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Confidential information may be disclosed only with authority or where the law permits or requires it.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Background Knowledge for Ethics Compliance
Exam Tip for Ethics Compliance
Common Mistakes to Avoid on Ethics Compliance Questions
More Ethics Compliance Questions
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A NSW agent's marketing emails recommend a mortgage broker as 'independent', but the broker pays the agent a fee for each referral. What do the rules of conduct require?
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- → An agent tells an elderly owner she must sign an agency agreement tonight or lose every buyer, then phones her repeatedly after 10 pm when she hesitates. Which Schedule 1 rule is most clearly breached?
- → An agent hands a buyer the agency’s expression of interest statement form to sign before accepting her deposit. When must the agent give the buyer a copy of the signed statement?
- → An assistant agent's sister wants to buy a house that the assistant's employing agency has been retained to sell. How does s 49 of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 apply?
- → As at October 2026, what is the maximum court penalty for a corporation convicted of dummy bidding at a NSW residential auction?
- → As at October 2026, an individual NSW agent holds client deposits in her personal account instead of the trust account. What maximum court penalty applies to her for mishandling trust money?
- → As at October 2026, what new maximum court penalty applies to a NSW agent or assistant agent who does not meet the continuing professional development requirements?
- → In New South Wales, what must an agent give a client before the client signs an agency agreement for the sale of residential property?
- → A vendor has instructed her agent in writing not to pass on any offers below $850,000 (invented). Before exchange, a buyer makes a genuine written offer of $800,000. What does NSW law require of the agent?
- → At an open home, a buyer asks the selling agent whether the roof was replaced when the house was renovated. The agent does not know. What is the appropriate response?
- → A buyer asks the agent selling a house to also act as her buyer's agent for that same house, for a separate fee. What does the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 say?
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A buyer asks the agent selling a house to also act as her buyer's agent for that same house, for a separate fee. What does the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002 say?