Page 3700 - Week 12 - Thursday, 22 November 2007
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allows a 10-day cooling-off period for any contract with a value greater than $50 entered into as a result of the direct approach by the trader or their representative.
The act clearly states that it applies to trade over the telephone. However, there are some inconsistencies in how the act applies to sales by telephone rather than in person. In particular, section 4 of the act states that the act only applies to contracts if the negotiations leading to formation of the contract take place between the consumer and the trader in each other’s presence in the ACT. This excludes all phone call sales where the trader is calling from outside the ACT and this section raises doubt about the extent to which a consumer and trader are in each other’s presence during a phone call. The bill remedies this issue.
The act provides in section 7 (1) (d) that a trader must give the consumer a duplicate of a contract immediately after it is made. This is not possible over the telephone. The bill remedies this issue by providing that a copy of the contract must be provided as soon as possible after the contract is made and provides that the cooling-off period commences on the day the contract is received by the consumer.
Section 91 of the Liquor Act 1975 provides for disciplinary action to be taken against a licensee if they are no longer a fit and proper person. In determining whether a person is a fit and proper person, the Liquor Board can consider defined offences, which include offences under the ACT Crimes Act 1900 and the commonwealth Crimes Act 1914. Section 91 of the act does not refer to the ACT or commonwealth criminal codes, which include many offences that were previously located in the crimes acts. The bill rectifies this.
The office currently processes over 6,000 licence and registration applications a year, not including certification and licences under workplace safety legislation and business name registrations. Most applications require the office to consider the criminal record of the applicant before issuing a licence or registration.
Some of the acts governing licensing and registration require the applicant to provide the criminal record check, whereas the Security Industry Act 2003, the Agents Act 2003 and the Sale of Motor Vehicles Act 1975 require the office to apply for a criminal record check on the applicant’s behalf. This process is time consuming and inefficient. It requires the office to accept forms and money for the criminal record check, forward the forms and money to the Australian Federal Police, field calls from the applicant about the progress of their police record check and audit the payment of fees.
The bill amends these acts to remove the obligation on the office to obtain criminal record checks. The act will instead provide for the applicant to obtain a criminal record check and to provide this to the office as part of their application for a licence or registration.
The Sale of Motor Vehicles Act 1975 regulates the sale of motor vehicles in the territory. The act requires an applicant for a licence or a renewal to obtain a statement from the ACT Planning and Land Authority about the land use of the block. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that the land use for the block is consistent with
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