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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-06-07 Daily Xml
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BUILDER LICENSING

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (14:29): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Consumer Affairs a question on the subject of building contracts licences.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: Last week I was contacted by a constituent who I understand has had contact with the minister's office. He runs a business requiring a building licence to undertake aspects of his operations, which he has been running for approximately 40 years. When changing post office box locations, he admits that he neglected to advise OCBA and, as a result, the renewal notification was not received and his license lapsed. However, he has been advised by OCBA that to re-establish his license he needs to pay approximately $500 and, in addition, undertake a training course in establishing a business, which he has been advised will cost $500 and 32 hours of his time.

I note from the guidelines on the OCBA website that this constituent is likely to follow the document guidelines to apply for a building work contractor's licence and/or building work supervisor's registration. It states on that page that if the licence holder is simply renewing their licence there is no requirement to undertake further study. My questions for the minister are:

1. How many building licences lapsed in the 2009-10 financial year?

2. What process is undertaken by OCBA when renewal notification letters are returned to it marked 'return to sender'?

3. When were these course components to re-establish a licence made a requirement?

4. Why is there not the flexibility in the system for OCBA to consider an individual's professional experience when re-establishing such a licence, which was, in effect, a renewal?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:30): I thank the honourable member for her questions. Indeed, if we remind ourselves of the whole purpose behind the requirement to register and licence certain trades, such as builders, we do this to ensure that consumers are protected and to assure them of fair and transparent market behaviours in particular areas and occupations, particularly those areas that could pose significant safety and health risks to consumers if certain standards were not assured. That is the purpose behind licensing.

We know that the building trade is an area that has potential risks, high risks. If our building structures do not maintain the integrity that they are required to and the standards that are required, we can see the potential for accidents to occur that could cause significant injuries, even fatalities. That is the underlying reason that we license and register these particular groups.

In terms of the specifics that the honourable member has asked me about, these are operational matters. Obviously, I do not have the details of how many lapsed building applications there have been. It might surprise you that I do not carry that information around in my head. These are operational matters. I am more than happy to obtain that level of detail for the honourable member and bring that back to this place.

If the honourable member was actually genuine about assisting this particular individual, if she was really genuine about that what she would have done was approach my office. She has done this before, and so too have other members in this chamber. When they have had individual issues they have approached my office, raised the individual matters and given me the details. Honourable members have acknowledged in this place my office's willingness to cooperate, not just with MP inquiries but inquiries from the general public.

We are only too willing to assist. The honourable member could have quite easily approached me, either in writing or in person, as members have done in this place from time to time, given me those details and I would have been happy to follow those matters up and deal with them as expeditiously as possible, as I have done on many occasions in this place. As I have said, the record actually acknowledges the efforts of myself and my office in terms of responding to individual inquiries.

However, that is not the case here today. So be it. As I said, I am happy to take those detailed questions on notice and bring back a response. Obviously, Consumer Affairs tends, wherever possible, to accommodate the individual needs of applicants. It works very hard to be as fair and balanced as possible. Clearly, there are certain parameters that have to be worked within, and most of them are, in fact, industry standards that have been established by industry to ensure that they remain in place and that our structures and buildings remain safe. The office does, wherever possible, attempt to consider the individual case and individual circumstances of personal applicants. In this particular case, as I said, I would need to take it on notice and bring a response.

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