Agency Settlements slams ‘deposit flicking’ petition

SYDNEY law firm Agency Settlements has defended its business model after a conveyancing industry petition called for a stop to controversial “deposit flicking” by real estate agents.

The online petition to “stop Agency Settlement’s deposit flicking proposals”, launched by Dott and Crossitt founder Jared Zak, had gained more than 160 signatures as of Wednesday.

It targets Agency Settlements, part of Sydney-based Riverstone Partners, over claims of “deposit flicking” – a practice where an agent transfers a purchaser’s property deposit to a third party to hold on the agent’s behalf until settlement.

Australian Institute of Conveyancers NSW said the practice may be a breach of professional obligations.

It claims that some real estate agents appear to believe that by avoiding holding funds in their trust account, they can bypass Australia’s strict new AML/CTF rules.

Riverstone Partners CEO Lucas McEntee said he stood by the Agency Settlements platform.

“We 100 per cent stand by our legal advice and business processes and the multiple prominent Australian property law firms who have provided that advice and reviewed our processes since this service was launched in August 2025,” McEntee said in a statement.

Claims by Dott and Crossitt were “in our view, malicious, misleading and deceptive”, he said.

“Our lawyers, Gilbert + Tobin, have been engaged to deal with these claims and as such it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further,” McEntee added.

Dott and Crossitt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Katie Miller, AUSTRAC deputy chief executive – regulation, was definitive in her view.

“A real estate agent can’t contract out of responsibility for their AML/CTF obligations,” Miller said.

“If they provide a designated real estate service, those obligations apply regardless of who holds the deposit.”

AIC NSW president Jennie Tonner said on Tuesday that she backed Dott and Crossitt’s petition and hoped Fair Trading NSW would “urgently meet with us” to solve the issue.

In an alert to members this week, the peak body urged conveyancers to take “pre-emptive action” against “deposit flicking” in order to protect clients.

This included making sure to verify agent intentions on purchaser deposits as early as possible and not “to assume the agent will hold the deposit”.

Agency Settlements’ solution claims to reduce settlement administration by 90 per cent and ensure a “clean, on-time settlement”, according to its website.

Launched in August 2025, the company is said to have signed up agencies around Sydney for its settlements portal, onboarding several agencies per week.

In July, real estate agents and conveyancers were among a number of industries to come under tough new AML/CTF rules aimed to crack down on organised crime.

Companies and individuals in breach of the laws face potential multi-million-dollar fines.

NSW Fair Trading has been sought for comment.