Licence ban upheld for Gold Coast luxury home agent Sarah Penney-Filippini

A Gold Coast luxury real estate agent banned from holding a licence has had her appeal dismissed.

GOLD Coast luxury real estate agent Sarah Penney-Filippini has had her industry ban upheld for three years.

Penny-Filippini was banned in 2018 from working in the industry after allowing her mother to negotiate the sale of a property.

She ran Island Realty, which sells million-dollar homes including on the exclusive Sovereign Islands.

In 2018 she was ordered by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal to pay $3000 for failing to comply with trust account obligations and was banned from holding a real estate licence or salesperson certificate for three years.

Heather and Sarah Filippini.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Penney-Filippini acted unprofessionally when she allowed her unlicensed mother, Heather Filippini, to interact with a potential purchaser and negotiate a sale of another home in 2012. Heather Filippini was permanently banned from operating as a real estate agent in 2009.

Last month the tribunal upheld the ban after an appeal from Penney-Filippini.

It also confirmed the $3000 fine and disqualification of Penney-Filippini from this month until early 2023.

Fair Trading executive Director Brian Bauer said agents who employed an unlicensed salesperson were not only unprofessional but contributed to a breakdown in consumer confidence in the industry.

Banned real estate agent Sarah Penney-Filippini.

“By law, agents must conduct themselves and their businesses appropriately and always in the best interests of their clients,” Mr Bauer said.

“A licensed real estate agent employing someone they were well aware had been disqualified from the industry is very concerning.”

Penney-Filippini had previously been subject to disciplinary action for employing her mother while unlicensed.