Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002

i Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 S.R. No. 52/2002 TABLE OF PROVISIONS Regulation Page PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1 1. Objective 1 2. Authorising provisions 1 3. Commencement 1 4. Revocation 1 5. Interpretation 2 6. Exemptions 2 PART 2—GENERAL 3 7. Duties and functions of registrar 3 8. Register of private agents 3 9. Licence fees 3 10. Duplicate licence 4 11. Surrender of provisional licence 4 12. Records 5 13. Inspection of records 8 PART 3—SECURITY LICENCES 9 14. Application for security licence 9 15. Form of security licence 9 16. Change of particulars 9 17. Crowd controller's identification 10 18. Crowd Controllers Register 10 PART 4—COMMERCIAL AGENT'S LICENCES 11 19. Commercial agent's licence application 11 20. Commercial sub-agent's licence application 11 21. Form of commercial agent's licence 11 22. Form of commercial sub-agent's licence 11 23. Commercial sub-agent's provisional licence 11 24. Endorsement of application for provisional licence 11 25. Notice of receipt of application 12 -- 1 of 22 -- Regulation Page ii 26. Objections 12 27. Change of nominee 12 28. Returns of licences 12 PART 5—EXPIRY 13 29. Expiry 13 __________________ SCHEDULE—Forms 14 Form 1—Register of private agents 14 Form 2—Application for a private agent's security licence (inquiry agent, security firm, security guard, crowd controller) 15 Form 3—Private agent's security licence 16 Form 4—Application for a commercial agent's licence or renewal 16 Form 5—Application for a commercial sub-agent's licence or renewal 17 Form 6—Commercial agent's licence 17 Form 7—Commercial sub-agent's licence 17 Form 8—Commercial sub-agent's provisional licence 18 Form 9—Notice of receipt of application for commercial agent's/sub-agent's licence 18 Form 10—Notice of objection to licence application 19 ═══════════════ ENDNOTES 20 -- 2 of 22 -- 1 STATUTORY RULES 2002 S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents Act 1966 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 The Governor in Council makes the following Regulations: Dated: 25 June 2002 Responsible Minister: ANDRÉ HAERMEYER Minister for Police and Emergency Services HELEN DOYE Clerk of the Executive Council PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1. Objective The objective of these Regulations is to make further interim provision for exemptions, forms, fees, records, procedures and other matters required for the purposes of the Private Agents Act 1966. 2. Authorising provisions These Regulations are made under sections 4(2) and 51 of the Private Agents Act 1966. 3. Commencement These Regulations come into operation on 30 June 2002. 4. Revocation The Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 20011 are revoked. -- 3 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 2 5. Interpretation (1) In these Regulations— "the Act" means the Private Agents Act 1966. (2) Any reference in these Regulations to a form is a reference to the appropriate form in the Schedule. 6. Exemptions (1) Employees of bodies corporate which are related to another body corporate within the meaning of section 50 of the Corporations Act of the Commonwealth are exempt from the operation of the Private Agents Act 1966 in relation to— (a) finding or repossessing goods or chattels which are the subject of a hire-purchase agreement or a bill of sale; or (b) collecting or requesting the payment of debts— on behalf of the body corporate which is related to their employer. (2) People who are employed to watch, guard or protect any property or vessel within the boundaries of the port land of the Port of Geelong, the Port of Hastings, the Port of Melbourne or the Port of Portland and any port declared to be a designated port under section 111 of the Marine Act 1988 and people who supply the services of such people are exempt from the operation of the Act in relation to the watching, guarding or protecting of any such property or vessel within those boundaries. _______________ r. 5 -- 4 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 3 PART 2—GENERAL 7. Duties and functions of registrar The registrar must— (a) record in the register of private agents, in respect of every licence holder, the details prescribed in Form 1; and (b) maintain a record of every licence holder who dies or whose licence expires or is suspended or cancelled; and (c) keep a record of licence holders whose details have been removed from the register; and (d) provide advice on the operation of the Act and the regulations; and (e) make a copy of the register available for inspection on request. 8. Register of private agents The register of private agents must be kept in the form of Form 1. 9. Licence fees (1) The fee payable for a licence in column 1 of the Table is the fee set out in column 2 opposite that licence— TABLE 1 2 Type of Licence Fee (One year) (Three years) Commercial Agent $250 Commercial Sub-agent $50 r. 7 -- 5 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 4 1 2 Type of Licence Fee (One year) (Three years) Inquiry Agent— individual corporation or partnership $300 $750 Security Firm— individual corporation or partnership $300 $750 Security Guard $150 Crowd Controller $150 Security Guard and Crowd Controller $150 (2) A licence application must be accompanied by an application fee of $20. 10. Duplicate licence (1) A duplicate licence must be endorsed before issue as a duplicate licence and contain the date of issue of the original licence. (2) The fee for a duplicate licence is $20. (3) An application under Part IIA of the Act for a duplicate licence must be accompanied by the fee and 2 passport-size colour photographs of the holder, if a natural person. 11. Surrender of provisional licence Within 14 days after a licence is issued to the holder of a provisional licence or the provisional licence ceases to be in force, the holder must surrender the provisional licence to— (a) in the case of a commercial sub-agent's licence—the Court from which the licence was issued; or r. 10 -- 6 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 5 (b) in the case of a crowd controller's or security guard's licence—the Registrar. Penalty: 1 penalty unit. 12. Records (1) The particulars required to be kept by section 44A of the Act are— (a) in the case of a commercial agent requested to find any goods or chattels delivered under a hire-purchase agreement or bill of sale— (i) the full name and address of the firm, corporation or person who made the request; and (ii) the date the request was received; and (iii) a description of the goods or chattels concerned; and (iv) where the goods or chattels were found; and (v) if any premises had to be entered to find the goods or chattels, how the entry was made, and the exact terms of the authority, document, arrangement or agreement under which legal power to make entry is claimed; and (vi) the fee charged for the service; (b) in the case of a commercial agent repossessing any goods or chattels delivered under a hire-purchase agreement or bill of sale— (i) the full name and address of the firm, corporation or person who requested that the goods or chattels be repossessed; and (ii) the date the request was received; and r. 12 -- 7 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 6 (iii) the full name and address of the person from whom the goods or chattels were repossessed; and (iv) the date and time of day of the repossession; and (v) the names of the agents who repossessed the goods or chattels; and (vi) a full description of the goods or chattels repossessed and the place where, or the addresses of the premises at which, they were repossessed; and (vii) whether or not the person from whom the goods or chattels were repossessed was present at the time of the repossession; and (viii) if the person was not present at the time of the repossession, the names of any other occupants of premises at which the goods or chattels were repossessed who were present; and (ix) if the goods or chattels were repossessed at any premises and the person from whom they were repossessed was not present at the time of repossession, how entry was made into the premises; and (x) the exact terms of the authority, document, arrangement or agreement under which legal power to make the entry is claimed; and (xi) what notice, if any, was given or left for the person from whom the goods or chattels were repossessed that the repossession was made; and r. 12 -- 8 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 7 (xii) the address to which the repossessed goods or chattels were taken; and (xiii) the fee charged for the service; (c) in the case of a commercial agent collecting or requesting payment of debts— (i) the full name and address of the firm, corporation or person who requested that a debt be collected or that a request for payment of a debt be made; and (ii) the date the request was received; and (iii) the full name and address of the person or body from whom the debt was collected or to whom the request for payment of the debt was made; and (iv) the amount of the debt; and (v) the fee charged for the service; (d) in the case of an inquiry agent conducting an inquiry— (i) the full name and address of the corporation, partnership or person who requested an inquiry to be conducted; and (ii) the date the request was received; and (iii) a statement of the nature of the inquiry; and (iv) the date a written statement of the information or evidence obtained or other final report on the inquiry was delivered to the person or body requiring the inquiry; r. 12 -- 9 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 8 (e) in the case of a security firm watching, guarding and protecting property— (i) the full name and address of the corporation, firm or person who requested the watching, guarding or protection of property; and (ii) the names and addresses of the security guards employed. (2) A specified private agent referred to in section 44A of the Act must ensure that the particulars referred to in sub-regulation (1) are recorded immediately they become available. Penalty: 5 penalty units. 13. Inspection of records (1) The record specified in regulation 12 must be open for inspection at any time during normal business hours by the registrar and by any member of the Police Force. (2) A person must not obstruct the registrar or any member of the Police Force who is carrying out an inspection of a record specified in regulation 12. Penalty: 5 penalty units. _______________ r. 13 -- 10 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 9 PART 3—SECURITY LICENCES 14. Application for security licence (1) An application for a security firm's, security guard's, inquiry agent's or crowd controller's licence must be in the form of Form 2. (2) The documents which must accompany each application are— (a) in the case of an application by a natural person, a certified copy or extract of the entry of birth of the applicant or other proof of identity and 2 passport-size colour photographs of the applicant; and (b) in the case of an application by partners who are natural persons, a certified copy or extract of the entry of birth of each partner or other proof of identity and 2 passport-size colour photographs of each partner; and (c) in the case of an application by a corporation, a certificate of incorporation; and (d) if authority is sought to operate under a business name, a certificate of registration of that name. 15. Form of security licence A security firm's, security guard's, inquiry agent's or crowd controller's licence must be in the form of Form 3. 16. Change of particulars A holder of a security licence under Part IIA of the Act must advise the registrar as soon as practicable of any change of— (a) name; or r. 14 -- 11 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 10 (b) principal place of business; or (c) employer; or (d) officers of a corporation or partners in a partnership. Penalty: 1 penalty unit. 17. Crowd controller's identification (1) For the purposes of section 41 of the Act, the identification to be worn by a crowd controller must consist of— (a) a number not less than 4 centimetres in height and 5 millimetres in thickness; and (b) the word "SECURITY" in letters not less than 5 millimetres in height. (2) The identification must be worn on the crowd controller's chest. 18. Crowd Controllers Register In addition to the details required by section 41A of the Act, the register required by that section must contain— (a) the times at which every crowd controller starts and finishes each period of duty at the place; and (b) the signature of the crowd controller, to be entered in the register at the time of finishing each period of duty at the place. _______________ r. 17 -- 12 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 11 PART 4—COMMERCIAL AGENT'S LICENCES 19. Commercial agent's licence application (1) An application for the issue or renewal of a commercial agent's licence must be in the form of Form 4. (2) In the case of an application by a corporation, the application must contain evidence of incorporation. 20. Commercial sub-agent's licence application An application for the issue or renewal of a commercial sub-agent's licence must be in the form of Form 5. 21. Form of commercial agent's licence A commercial agent's licence must be in the form of Form 6. 22. Form of commercial sub-agent's licence A commercial sub-agent's licence must be in the form of Form 7. 23. Commercial sub-agent's provisional licence A commercial sub-agent's provisional licence must be in the form of Form 8. 24. Endorsement of application for provisional licence After a Registrar of the Magistrates' Court issues a provisional licence to an applicant for a commercial sub-agent's licence, the Registrar of the Magistrates' Court must— (a) if in possession of the 3 copies of the application for the licence, endorse each of the copies with the expression "Provisional licence issued on" and insert the appropriate date; or r. 19 -- 13 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 12 (b) if the duplicate and triplicate of the application have been sent to the officer in charge at the police station nearest to that venue of the Court and the registrar in accordance with section 11 of the Act, immediately advise the officer in charge at the police station and the registrar of the issue of the provisional licence and endorse the original copy of the application as required in paragraph (a). 25. Notice of receipt of application The notice of receipt of an application for a commercial agent's and commercial sub-agent's licence must be in the form of Form 9. 26. Objections An objection lodged by any person against an application for a commercial agent's or commercial sub-agent's licence must be in the form of Form 10. 27. Change of nominee If the nominee of a corporation or firm which holds a commercial agent's licence is changed, the new nominee must notify the Magistrates' Court within 14 days after the change. 28. Returns of licences The returns required by section 43 of the Act must be forwarded to the registrar no later than 7 days after the end of each month. _______________ r. 25 -- 14 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 13 PART 5—EXPIRY 29. Expiry These Regulations cease to have any force or effect on 30 December 2002. __________________ r. 29 -- 15 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 14 SCHEDULE FORMS FORM 1 REGISTER OF PRIVATE AGENTS 1. Name in which licence is issued. 2. Address of principal place of business. 3. Additional business names (if any). 4. In the case of a corporation or partnership— (a) the names and addresses of each director and the manager and secretary; and (b) if a commercial agent, the name and address of the nominee. 5. In the case of a licence authorising the licensee to carry on business as a private agent under a name other than the name of the licensee, the name and address of the licensee. 6. Date of birth of all licensees who are natural persons. 7. Type of licence. 8. Date current licence issued. 9. Date first licence issued (if known). 10. Expiry date of licence. __________________ Sch. -- 16 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 15 FORM 2 APPLICATION FOR A PRIVATE AGENT'S SECURITY LICENCE (Inquiry Agent, Security Firm, Security Guard, Crowd Controller) 1. Type of licence(s) required. 2. If licence is to be issued in the name of a natural person— (a) Name and residential address of applicant (Full given names and surname). (b) Date of birth. (c) Trading name (if applicable). (d) Principal place of business or name and address of employer. 3. If licence is to be issued in the name of a corporation or partnership— (a) Name of applicant. (b) Registered name of corporation or partnership. (c) Registered business address. (d) Full given names and surname and date of birth of every director, manager and secretary of a corporation or of every partner in a partnership. 4. Additional names (if any) under which the applicant wishes to carry on business. 5. Have you, or anyone listed in answer to question 3(d), been convicted of any offence (other than a traffic offence) or are any charges for committing any offence (other than a traffic offence) pending against you or them? 6. Has any corporation of which you, or anyone listed in answer to question 3(d), are or were a director, manager or secretary been convicted of any offence or been charged with any offence that has not yet been dealt with? 7. Details of experience and qualifications. Signature of applicant. __________________ Sch. -- 17 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 16 FORM 3 PRIVATE AGENT'S SECURITY LICENCE 1. Type of licence—Inquiry Agent/Security Firm/Security Guard/Crowd Controller. 2. Name and address of licensee. 3. Expiry date. 4. Photograph of licensee. 5. Additional business name(s) (if applicable). Registrar of Private Agents. __________________ FORM 4 APPLICATION FOR A COMMERCIAL AGENT'S LICENCE OR RENEWAL 1. Name of corporation, firm or individual. 2. Principal place of business. 3. Name and address of nominee. 4. Names and addresses of officers of the corporation or of all partners of the firm. 5. Date on which application will be made and location of court. Signature of applicant. __________________ Sch. -- 18 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 17 FORM 5 APPLICATION FOR A COMMERCIAL SUB-AGENT'S LICENCE OR RENEWAL 1. Name and residential address of applicant. 2. Place of business. 3. Date on which application will be made and location of court. Signature of applicant. __________________ FORM 6 COMMERCIAL AGENT'S LICENCE 1. Name and address of corporation, firm or individual. 2. Commencement and expiry dates of licence. 3. Photograph and signature of nominee or individual. Registrar of the Magistrates' Court. __________________ FORM 7 COMMERCIAL SUB-AGENT'S LICENCE 1. Name and residential address of licensee. 2. Commencement and expiry dates of licence. 3. Photograph of licensee. Signature of licensee Registrar of the Magistrates' Court. __________________ Sch. -- 19 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 18 FORM 8 COMMERCIAL SUB-AGENT'S PROVISIONAL LICENCE 1. Name and residential address of licensee. 2. Name and address of employer. 3. Date of issue. Signature of licensee. Registrar of the Magistrates' Court. __________________ FORM 9 Private Agents Act 1966 NOTICE OF RECEIPT OF APPLICATION FOR COMMERCIAL AGENT'S/SUB-AGENT'S LICENCE [Full name of applicant or, in the case of a firm or corporation, of the nominee] of [Residential address of applicant or nominee] *on behalf of [Name and address of firm or corporation] has applied for a commercial *agent's/*sub-agent's licence. The application will be heard on at the Magistrates' Court. Objections to the granting of the licence may be made in accordance with section 12 of the Private Agents Act 1966. Registrar of the Magistrates' Court. *Delete if not applicable. __________________ Sch. -- 20 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 19 FORM 10 Private Agents Act 1966 NOTICE OF OBJECTION TO LICENCE APPLICATION 1. Name and address of applicant. 2. Name of firm or corporation (if applicable). 3. Type of licence applied for. 4. Location of court. 5. Name, address and occupation of objector. 6. Grounds of objection. Signature of objector. ═══════════════ Sch. -- 21 of 22 -- S.R. No. 52/2002 Private Agents (Interim) Regulations 2002 20 ENDNOTES 1 Reg. 4: S.R. No. 76/2001. Endnotes -- 22 of 22 --