The term “Sworn Valuer” was commonly used in the Independent Property profession in the first half of the 20^th century and was enshrined in various Australian State legislation. It related to the swearing in of expert witnesses in court.

The states used to regulate the property valuation profession and accordingly a Valuer could not legally operate unless he/she had done the appropriate tertiary course, passed an oral examination with a government panel, then put their hand on a bible and take an oath to be impartial, etc in all their dealings.

Various State legislation used the term “Sworn Valuer” in reference to the regulation of Valuers.

The term was removed for Victorian legislation in 1960 and to our knowledge has not been recognised by governments in any state for many many years but unfortunately there is still some general inadvertent use of it.

Also, unfortunately in more recent years (from about the 1990’s) the Real Estate Institute of Victoria decided to use the term “Sworn Valuer” as a brand for its members who wish to do valuations, understandably to capitalise on a community misconception so we occasionally see the term being used.

Clearly if a valuation assignment is required from a business established for truly independent advice, requests should be made to firms who are members of the API (Australian Property Institute) who use CPV (Certified Practising Valuer) accredited valuers.