New South Wales Consolidated Acts

HOME BUILDING ACT 1989 - SECT 22

22 Cancellation of contractor licences

(1) The Secretary must, subject to the regulations, cancel a contractor licence that authorises its holder to contract to do residential building work or specialist work, or both (whether or not it also authorises the holder to contract to supply kit homes for construction by another person) if--

(a) a period of 30 days (or any longer period that has been agreed on between the holder of the contractor licence and the Secretary) expires during which there has not been a nominated supervisor for the contractor licence, or

(b) the holder of the contractor licence is a partnership and (without the prior approval of the Secretary given for the purposes of this section) there is any change in its membership (otherwise than because of death), or

(d) the holder of the contractor licence is a corporation and it has become the subject of a winding up order under the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth or has been voluntarily wound up, or

(e) the holder of the contractor licence is a corporation and it has been deregistered under Chapter 5A of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth, or

(f) the holder of the contractor licence or, in the case of a holder that is a partnership, any partner of that holder, is convicted more than once in any period of 12 months of an offence under Part 6 (whether or not the offences are of the same or a different kind), or

(g) the holder of the contractor licence fails to maintain professional indemnity insurance or a similar form of insurance taken out by the holder of the contractor licence for the period required under Part 6, or

(h) the Secretary would be required to refuse an application for a contractor licence by the person.

(2) The Secretary may cancel a contractor licence of a kind referred to in subsection (1) if the holder of the contractor licence or, in the case of a holder that is a partnership, any partner of that holder, becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit.

(2A) The Secretary may cancel a contractor licence of a kind referred to in subsection (1) if the holder of the contractor licence was a director or a person concerned in the management of a body corporate--

(a) when the body corporate became a Chapter 5 body corporate or within 6 months before that event, or

(b) when the body corporate, or a director of the body corporate, was convicted of an offence under the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth or within 6 months before the conduct that was the subject of the offence occurred.

(3) The Secretary may, by notice in writing served on the holder of a contractor licence, inform the holder that the licence has been cancelled under this section. That written notice must also set out the reasons for the cancellation.

(4) The cancellation takes effect on the date specified in the notice, which must be on or after the date on which the notice is served.

(5) The holder of a contractor licence must, within 7 days after becoming aware of the occurrence in relation to the licence of any event or circumstance referred to in subsection (1)(c), (d) or (e), notify the Secretary in writing of the event or circumstance.

: Maximum penalty--1,000 penalty units in the case of a corporation or 200 penalty units in any other case.

Note--: An offence against subsection (1) committed by a corporation is an executive liability offence attracting executive liability for a director or other person involved in the management of the corporation (see section 137A).

Note--: Section 44 makes provision for the return of a cancelled authority (including a contractor licence).