Page 1866 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2016
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The various legislative requirements around the licensing processes for motor vehicle dealers and wholesalers, car market operators, motor vehicle repairers, second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers will now be consistent. This bill also provides for licences to be transferrable to a suitably eligible person without the need for that person to go through the process of applying for a new licence. This reduces red tape around the sale of a business and is an administrative convenience to both parties involved in the sale.
Licence renewals under this bill will be conducted by a simple, straightforward process that will not require an applicant to resubmit the same information again. It will be a simple matter of establishing identity and the payment of fees.
The bill creates the concept of operational acts that encompass the four original acts minus the licensing provisions. These acts are intended to work in conjunction with the single licensing framework by providing a right for an entity to perform a trade, run a business that provides a trade or undertake a function or task if the entity holds a valid licence.
Existing provisions in the operational acts that do not relate to licensing remain largely unchanged, such as the day-to-day conduct of a licensee or compliance powers. Transitional arrangements will ensure that existing licences continue with the same expiry dates and conditions for the term of the licence.
However, this bill will mean that applying for a new licence, renewing a licence or transferring a licence will be simpler and more convenient. The bill is the first stage in a proposed single fair trading licensing framework. It is intended to serve as model legislation that can be advanced in stages to progressively include other businesses and occupational licence types. It is intended that we would review its operation after each stage.
The adoption of a staged approach allows us to work closely with each industry to ensure that the new licensing act will work well for different licences. In developing the legislation we have engaged with industry bodies and licensees throughout the process. We have spoken to industry bodies as well as visiting individual businesses to actively seek their views.
Officers from my directorate have conducted several roundtable discussions with industry groups, provided policy position papers and a survey of licensees and met with business owners all over Canberra to discuss their views and needs.
I would like to thank the individuals and groups who have contributed to the process and look forward to their ongoing participation. In particular, I would like to thank representatives of the Motor Trades Association ACT and New South Wales, the members of the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Advisory Committee, and the individual licensees and business owners who have actively participated in the process.
The consolidation of licensing provisions in this bill creates the legislative framework for the implementation of a single, standard process for the issue and renewal of fair trading business licences. It provides for a faster, more streamlined and convenient licensing experience for businesses in the territory.
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