New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PAWNBROKERS AND SECOND-HAND DEALERS ACT 1996 - SECT 32F

32F Notice of entitlement to goods

(1) Application of section This section applies where--

(a) a person (in this Part called the
"claimant" ) alleges, in a written statement signed by the person and given to a police officer, that any goods in the possession of a licensee and obtained by the licensee in the course of the conduct of a licensed business--

(i) are the property of the claimant, and

(ii) have been stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained from the claimant or have been pawned or sold to the licensee without the claimant's authority, and

(b) the theft or other activity referred to in paragraph (a)(ii) has been reported to a police officer on an earlier occasion, and

(c) the claimant produces to a police officer written documentary evidence, or a statutory declaration made by the claimant, that appears to the officer to contain evidence or statements acceptable to the officer for the purpose of substantiating the claimant's title to the goods, and

(d) the police officer to whom the evidence or statutory declaration is produced has no reason to suspect that any of the evidence or statements is false or misleading in a material particular.

(2) Restoration notice A police officer may serve on the licensee a notice (in this Part called a
"restoration notice" ) stating that the goods must be delivered to the claimant within the required period unless within that period the licensee commences proceedings under section 32G or other civil or criminal proceedings have been commenced and are pending in relation to the goods.

(3) The restoration notice must contain such particulars and information, and be accompanied by such material, as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(4) Duty of licensee The licensee must, within the required period--

(a) deliver the goods to the person specified in the restoration notice or, if the licensee is unable to do so because the licensee cannot locate the person or for any other reason, to a police officer, or

(b) make an application under section 32G in relation to the goods,

unless other civil or criminal proceedings have been commenced and are pending in relation to the goods.

: Maximum penalty--50 penalty units.

(5) If--

(a) a licensee does not comply with subsection (4) in relation to the goods because other proceedings are pending in relation to the goods, and

(b) the other proceedings are discontinued before judgment is given,

subsection (4) applies to the goods as from the date on which the proceedings are discontinued.

(6) Restoration notice ceasing to be operative Subsection (4) ceases to apply to goods if the restoration notice ceases to be operative.

(7) The regulations may make provision for or with respect to prescribing circumstances in which a restoration notice ceases to be operative or prescribing procedures compliance with which renders a restoration notice inoperative.

(8) Definition In this section--

"required period" means whichever of the following is relevant--

(a) the period of 28 days starting with the day on which a restoration notice is served on a licensee, or

(b) the period of 28 days starting with the day on which the other proceedings referred to in subsection (5) are discontinued.