Unlicensed Tradespeople

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Consumer and Business Services. How is the government protecting consumers from unlicensed tradies?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:53): I thank the honourable member for her question. If you are considering hiring a tradesperson or a builder to complete some tasks around the house, Consumer and Business Services is encouraging you to do your homework and make sure that you are aware of your rights and obligations when hiring a tradie. Whilst the majority of tradies do the right thing—

Mr Knoll: If only the government had done its homework on infrastructure spending.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: We are talking about tradies, actually. There are definitely unscrupulous operators out there who may try to make a quick buck by working without a licence or providing substandard work. In the recent financial year, CBS advises that close to 7,000 building inquiries were received, which is the second highest category of complaint. People working without the right licence are breaking the law and putting your rights and safety at risk. CBS has introduced a new complaints-handling mechanism that makes it easier for people to report unlicensed tradies through an education campaign that is aimed at getting both consumers and the industry to better understand their rights and responsibilities.

Mr van Holst Pellekaan: Can you read any slower?

The Hon. J.R. RAU: I am hoping it will sink in, I am hoping people follow it. Whilst encouraging them to work with us to get rid of unscrupulous unlicensed operators, the Dob in an Unlicensed Tradie campaign is run by Consumer and Business Services to better protect consumers by encouraging the public to report tradies and other people who are operating without a licence or outside the scope of their existing licence.

One of the most significant results of the campaign was a $12,500 penalty handed down in the Adelaide Magistrates Court to an unlicensed tradesperson who admitted breaching South Australian and national consumer laws. The unlicensed tradesman, in this case, was also required to pay back consumers nearly $12,000 after accepting deposits for work he never undertook. You can imagine, Mr Speaker, that if this were you and you were talking about $12,000 of your own money for a project around the home, you would be pretty upset about this sort of behaviour.

A licensed tradie is more likely to be a safe tradie, and CBS has been working together with SafeWork to ensure that regular inspections take place to ensure that South Australia has a rigorous licensing system. The licensing system in place is a means for ensuring that consumers can have confidence—because that is very important—that they are hiring appropriate people when they are carrying out building work. CBS encourages people to check the public register before engaging a builder to ensure that they are appropriately licensed.

I say to all members that this is a serious matter, because even though some of the sums of money may, at first blush, not seem enormous sums of money, you can imagine that if you were the victim of one of these unscrupulous tradespeople and had to put up with either losing your deposit for work or being clipped of a couple of thousand dollars—

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: It is a very serious matter, and I would encourage people to dob in these unlicensed people.