{"id":20069,"date":"2026-10-01T14:43:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T09:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/befreeltd.com\/au\/?p=20069"},"modified":"2026-10-15T14:48:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T09:18:03","slug":"real-estate-commission-tracking-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/befreeltd.com\/au\/resources\/blogs\/real-estate-commission-tracking-errors\/","title":{"rendered":"What Real Estate Agencies Get Wrong About Payroll and Commission Tracking"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Payroll in a real estate agency can become complicated quickly. A business may have salaried property managers, sales employees earning commissions, administrative staff under different workplace arrangements, and agents working under contractor structures.<\/p>

At the same time, the agency may be receiving rent, sales deposits and other client money through statutory trust accounts. That creates an important accounting distinction: money moving through a trust account is not automatically available for ordinary business expenses or payroll.<\/p>

Problems often arise when commission calculations, employment arrangements, trust-account transactions, and payroll records are managed as separate processes. A stronger system connects them without treating them as the same thing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

Not Every Real Estate Employee is Paid Under the Same Rules\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe\u00a0real estate industry award<\/a> covers many employees working in property sales, property management, strata management and agency management. However, coverage depends on the employee’s actual duties and circumstances.\n\nThis is particularly important for administrative staff. Fair Work notes that an employee performing purely clerical duties may instead fall under the Clerks Award, while someone carrying out property-management duties can be covered by the Real Estate Award.\n\nAgencies should therefore avoid applying one payroll setup across the entire office.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Worker or Arrangement<\/strong><\/td>\nPayroll Issue to Check<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Property sales employee<\/td>\nClassification, base pay and any agreed commission structure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Commission-only salesperson<\/td>\nEligibility for commission-only employment and written agreement requirements<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Property manager<\/td>\nAward classification, hours and other applicable entitlements<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reception or clerical employee<\/td>\nWhether the Real Estate Award or another award applies<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Contractor or conjunction agent<\/td>\nWhether the arrangement creates employment, superannuation or payroll-tax obligations<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Commission-Only Does Not Simply Mean \u201cNo Salary\u201d\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCommission structures are one of the biggest areas of misunderstanding. Under the Real Estate Industry Award, commission-only employment is available only for eligible employees and is subject to specific requirements. For example, the award limits commission-only arrangements to qualifying employees at Real Estate Employee Level 2 or above<\/a> and requires a written agreement setting out how commission is calculated. Other eligibility conditions also apply.\n\nThe award also uses a Minimum Income Threshold Amount when determining eligibility for certain commission-only arrangements.\u00a0Fair Work’s current real estate industry award<\/a> should therefore be checked rather than assuming any salesperson can simply be placed on commission-only pay. For payroll teams, the practical issue is documentation. The records should clearly show:\n