Commission

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Dane Crawford, a former Colliers International real estate agent, has lodged a claim in the Federal Court seeking more than $743,000 in allegedly unpaid commissions.
Crawford resigned last year from their Newcastle office having headed the sales of its residential apartments division.
His statement of claim says he handed in his resignation based on representations that Colliers International made about his outstanding commissions.
He alleges the discussion before resigning concluded with an entitlement to half of the 50 per cent of gross commission on contracts that had been exchanged but not yet settled.
He said he went ahead with the resignation on this understanding, Nine Enertainment has reported.
The claim was lodged last month in the Fair Work division.
According to the claim, following Mr Crawford's resignation, Colliers advised him he was owed $297,500 in commissions.
Crawford claims this was an alleged breach of his contract which entitled him to a base salary and 50 per cent commission on revenue earned above $180,000 and 10 per cent on revenue below that amount.
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His lawyer Mia Pantechis from Maurice Blackburn said Crawford was "a top performer who generated substantial revenue for Colliers."
"Crawford remains very disappointed in the way he was treated by Colliers,” she said.
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<div>Crawford was now seeking to be paid his commission entitlements as well as damages and penalties.</div>
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"As the matter is the subject of legal proceedings, the company will not be making any comments," a Colliers spokesman said.
It is being represented by Lander &amp; Rogers Lawyers.
Crawford was at Colliers after joining the agency in April 2015 having been at McGrath previously.
It was just as the residential apartment boom took off in Newcastle.
By mid-2018 10 cranes dotted the skyline around Newcastle, the highest number of cranes ever observed.
The then Colliers director of residential property marketing said the city was in “history-making mode.”
Along the way the agency secured press reports including one on the reported penthouse sale in the East End development for $6 million, smashing Newcastle’s previous apartment price record by more than $1.5 million.
He now is at Commercial Collective where he works with leading super funds, private developers and managed property funds with a speciality in high-density residential development marketing and advisory roles on CBD and city fringe projects. 
"Dane has lent his considerable expertise to more than $2.5 billion of projects including multi-stage developments, large masterplanned developments, mixed use projects and boutique projects," his website advises.
"Dane previously held the position of Director of Residential Project Marketing at a global real estate agency, with almost 1,000 transactions completed over his last three years."
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Colliers Newcastle faces $743,000 commission claim in Federal Court from Dane Crawford

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Jim's Group, best known for mowing lawns, has revealed they will soon be selling houses at low commission.
Jamie Byard, with colleague Trish Mewett, started the new division earlier this month in Victoria.
Byard, a 15-year veteran of the franchising group founded by Jim Penman in 1982 and Ms Mewett, a former sales director of fixed-fee real estate service Hello Real Estate, aim to have 30 franchisees in Victoria within a year.
 It's an another unexpected disruption to a traditional real estate industry.
Some people may not have expected the next wave of disruption from a man who made his millions from mowing lawns, but it was a logical move, Mr Penman said.
"Real estate is a good one for us," Mr Penman told The Australian Financial Review.
"It intersects with so many of our services, particularly in terms of property maintenance. When people don't know who to go to, we do very well. We get a lot of people ringing up for services we don't even offer."
Jim's Group, long known for mowing lawns, fixing the plumbing and cleaning pools, then kitchens, electrical work, computer repairs and conveyancing, will welcome franchisees in the new real estate business.
They will pay a fixed franchise fee of about $1800 a month and pay no commission to a parent company on sales they make.
They will reportedly also invite clients to make an offer on the commission they will pay for the sale of their house typically between about 1 per cent and 3 per cent.
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Jim's Group aims at mowing down high estate agent commissions

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Victorian police are investigating a former estate agent Tim McCurdy who is a shadow cabinet member in Victoria.
It was for alleged 2009 fraud as a result of complaints that he wrongly claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales commissions while working as a real estate agent.
McCurdy, 54, lower house MP for Ovens Valley, is alleged to have falsified documents to secure sales commissions worth about $375,000 while working as a real estate agent in 2009.
The Nationals MP is accused of forging the letterhead of another Cobram real estate agent to earn commissions from the sale of two northern Victorian farms to a Chinese buyer in 2009.
Police questioned Mr McCurdy and searched his Cobram home and office in May as part of the investigation, the Herald Sun reported.
“Police executed two warrants in Cobram on 30 May,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
“The warrants relate to an investigation into an alleged fraud from 2009. A 54-year-old Cobram man was also interviewed and was released pending further inquiries.”
The allegations centre on the sale of a 581-hectare dairy farm in Boosey, known as Malmo, for $7.8 million with a $245,850 commission in July 2009 to Xing Long International.
The other farm in Katamatite, called Pinegrove, sold for $3.9 million with a $129,891 commission in December 2009 to the same buyer.
In 2014, the company that initially brokered the property deals lodged a County Court writ accusing Mr McCurdy of engaging in “misleading and deceptive” conduct in breach of the Fair Trading Act.
Mr McCurdy worked for PGG Wrightson between June 2008 and February 2009, when real estate agent Andrew Gilmour bought the Cobram branch of the business.
Mr McCurdy said he reached a confidential legal agreement with his former employer after mediation in 2014.
“As far as I was concerned, the matter was finalised,” he said.
“Police contacted me around two months ago to say they had been told they needed to make further routine inquiries.
"Two officers visited my office and home that day, but took nothing. I have not heard anything further since.”
McCurdy became an MP in 2010 and is the shadow minister for veterans, sport and gaming and liquor regulation.
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Fraud investigation in rural Victoria real estate commission dispute 

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PRDnationwide has released research claiming customers got a better result when they pay the full real estate commission rates.
The PRDnationwide research compared the median sales prices achieved by Purplebricks and online DIY sites like buyMyPlace.com.au and forsalebyowner.au against those achieved by traditional agents in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane dating back to 2014.
On average PRDnationwide found that Sydney traditional agents achieved 19.7 percent higher house prices and 3.8 percent higher unit prices,
It found Brisbane traditional agents achieved 8.3 percent higher house prices and 4.2 percent higher unit prices.
Melbourne traditional agents achieved 10 percent higher house and unit prices.
"Overall traditional real estate is achieving higher median prices than disruptors," claimed Diaswati Mardiasmo, national research manager at PRDnationwide.
"Based on this data, it's appropriate to coin the term 'when you pay peanuts - you get monkeys'.
"Although vendors might be paying higher commissions it would appear they are getting much better results under the traditional model and the accountability that it creates," she told The Australian Financial Review.
Ryan Dinsdale, Purplebricks Australia CEO, dismissed the research carried out by its competitors.
"The opinion of our customers is what we focus on as a business. We launched Purplebricks because up until now, Australians haven't had a choice in how they sell their home and we saw a growing demand for a fairer, more transparent offering," Mr Dinsdale told the Australian Financial Review.
"Since we launched in September 2016, we have saved our customers over $5 million in fees and our experts have achieved sales prices our customers are clearly delighted with as they have rated their Purplebricks experience 9.4/10 'Excellent' on independent review site Trustpilot.com.au."
Purplebricks, which does not have real estate offices but does use estate agents, charges a flat fee of $4500-$5500 including marketing and advertising costs. It also provides customers with 24/7 access to their own listing via an online platform that also allows them to engage with potential buyers.
They've recently been <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/64375-purplebricks-low-cost-model-not-working-in-australia-first-national-ceo" target="_blank">attacked by the First National CEO</a>, however Property Observer did notice a recent success in Melbourne when a <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/expert-insights/buying/66864-purplebricks-sell-melbourne-studio-apartment-for-187-700" target="_blank">studio apartment sold</a> for $187,500, the most affordable across the city that weekend.
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Traditional agents secure higher prices than the disruptors

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Businessman Dr Gary Weiss has been appointed to the Board of the Australian Rugby League Commission. 
ARL Chairman John Grant said Dr Weiss brought an impressive mix of business and sporting experience to the Commission. 
He said Dr Weiss who was educated in New Zealand and the US is well known and highly regarded in the corporate sector both in Australia and overseas. He is currently Chairman of Ridley Corporation and Secure Parking and is Executive Director of Ariadne Australia. 
He has served on the Boards of some of Australia’s leading companies including Westfield Group, Tower Australia, ClearView Wealth and Tyndall Australia. 
Dr Weiss also has a strong background and interest in rugby league. 
He was a director of Brisbane Broncos Ltd (formerly Pacific Sports Entertainment Ltd), an ASX-listed company which owns the Brisbane Broncos and was a member of the Roosters Chairman’s Club for more than two years. 
"He is his own man and will bring his intellect and experience to what is a robust but collaborative commission.
"He has a wealth of business experience and has indicated he has the time to devote to one of his keen interests in life, rugby league." 
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