New South Wales Bills New South Wales Bills[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 No 157 2
4 Amendment of other Acts 2
Schedules
1 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 3
2 Amendment of other Acts 12
I certify that this PUBLIC BILL, which originated in the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY,
has finally passed the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL and the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY of
NEW SOUTH WALES.
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
Legislative Assembly,
Sydney, , 2002
New South Wales
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Act No , 2002
An Act to amend the Security Industry Act 1997 to make further provision for
the licensing and regulation of persons in the security industry; and for other
purposes.
I have examined this Bill, and find it to correspond in all respects with the Bill
as finally passed by both Houses.
Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Assembly.
Clause 1 Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts:
1 Name of Act
This Act is the Security Industry Amendment Act 2002.
2 Commencement
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by
proclamation.
3 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 No 157
The Security Industry Act 1997 is amended as set out in Schedule 1.
4 Amendment of other Acts
The Acts specified in Schedule 2 are amended as set out in that
Schedule.
Page 2
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997
(Section 3)
[1] Section 3 Definitions
Insert in alphabetical order in section 3 (1):
armed security guard means a person who:
(a) is employed to carry on a security activity referred to in
section 4 (b), and
(b) is the holder of a class 1A licence, and
(c) in carrying out the activities authorised by that licence,
is authorised by a licence under the Firearms Act 1996
to use and possess firearms.
licensee means the holder of a licence.
master licensee means the holder of a master licence.
permanent Australian resident means a person resident in
Australia whose continued presence in Australia is not subject
to any limitation as to time imposed by or in accordance with
law.
[2] Section 15 Restrictions on granting licence--general suitability
criteria
Insert at the end of section 15 (1) (d):
, or
(e) is not an Australian citizen or a permanent Australian
resident.
[3] Section 15 (6) and (7)
Insert after section 15 (5):
(6) For the purpose of determining whether an applicant is a fit
and proper person to hold the class of licence sought by the
applicant, the Commissioner may have regard to any criminal
intelligence report or other criminal information held in
relation to the applicant that:
(a) is relevant to the activities carried out under the class of
licence sought by the applicant, or
Page 3
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Schedule 1 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997
(b) causes the Commissioner to conclude that improper
conduct is likely to occur if the applicant were granted
the licence, or
(c) causes the Commissioner not to have confidence that
improper conduct will not occur if the applicant were
granted the licence.
(7) The Commissioner is not, under this or any other Act or law,
required to give any reasons for not granting a licence if the
giving of those reasons would disclose the existence or
content of any criminal intelligence report or other criminal
information as referred to in subsection (6).
[4] Section 18 Investigation of licence application
Omit section 18 (2)(5). Insert instead:
(2) The Commissioner:
(a) may require an applicant for a licence to consent to
having his or her fingerprints taken by an authorised
officer in order to confirm the applicant's identity, and
(b) must refuse to grant the licence unless the applicant has
been fingerprinted in accordance with any such
requirement.
(3) The Commissioner:
(a) may require an applicant for a licence to provide the
Commissioner with a photograph of the applicant or
consent to having his or her photograph taken by an
authorised officer in order to confirm the applicant's
identity, and
(b) must refuse to grant the licence unless the applicant has
provided a photograph or been photographed in
accordance with any such requirement.
(4) Any fingerprint or photograph obtained in accordance with
this section may be used by the Commissioner for any
purpose as the Commissioner sees fit.
(5) A person who formerly held a licence, but is not currently a
licensee, or who was an applicant for, but was never granted,
a licence, may apply to the Commissioner to have the
following destroyed:
Page 4
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 Schedule 1
(a) the person's fingerprints obtained in accordance with a
requirement under subsection (2) and any copies of
them,
(b) the person's photograph obtained in accordance with a
requirement under subsection (3) and any copies of it.
(6) The Commissioner may grant or refuse the application as the
Commissioner sees fit.
(7) In this section, authorised officer means any of the following
persons authorised in writing by the Commissioner as an
authorised officer for the purposes of this section:
(a) a police officer or any other member of NSW Police,
(b) a member of staff of a Department within the meaning
of the Public Sector Employment and Management
Act 2002,
(c) any other person prescribed by the regulations.
[5] Section 21 Grant of licence
Insert "as are set out in this Act or" after "other conditions" in
section 21 (3).
[6] Section 23 Master licence--condition relating to certain
employees
Omit "Without limiting the conditions to which a master licence may be
subject, any such licence is subject to the condition" from section 23 (1).
Insert instead "It is a condition of every master licence".
[7] Section 23A
Insert after section 23:
23A Special conditions--uniforms must be worn when carrying
firearms
(1) It is a condition of every class 1A licence that, if the licensee
is an armed security guard, the licensee must not carry a
firearm unless the licensee is wearing a recognisable security
guard's uniform.
(2) It is a condition of every master licence that, if the master
licensee employs a person as an armed security guard, the
master licensee must not allow any firearm in the master
Page 5
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Schedule 1 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997
licensee's possession (including those firearms that have been
acquired by the master licensee in connection with the master
licensee's business) to be carried by an armed security guard
who is not wearing a recognisable security guard's uniform.
(3) It is a condition of every master licence that, if the master
licensee employs a person as an armed security guard, the
master licensee must not allow any person employed by the
master licensee to carry a firearm while carrying on security
activities for the master licensee unless the person is an armed
security guard who is wearing a recognisable security guard's
uniform.
(4) If a police officer discovers an armed security guard carrying
a firearm while the armed security guard is not wearing a
recognisable security guard's uniform, the police officer may
seize the firearm.
(5) If an armed security guard carries a firearm while the armed
security guard is not wearing a recognisable security guard's
uniform, the Commissioner must:
(a) suspend, in accordance with section 25, the armed
security guard's class 1A licence, and
(b) serve a notice on the master licensee who employs the
armed security guard (or, if the security guard is self-
employed and holds a master licence, serve a notice on
the armed security guard as holder of a master licence),
personally or by post:
(i) stating that the armed security guard's class 1A
licence has been suspended and the reasons for
suspending it, and
(ii) requesting that the master licensee provide the
Commissioner with reasons why the master
licence should not be revoked.
(6) The Commissioner may, if the Commissioner is satisfied
there is a genuine reason, authorise in writing a person
employed as an armed security guard to carry a firearm while
not wearing a recognisable security guard's uniform.
(7) An authorisation under subsection (6) remains in force for
such time as is specified in the authorisation unless it is sooner
revoked by the Commissioner.
Page 6
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 Schedule 1
(8) The conditions set out in subsections (1)(3) do not apply in
relation to an armed security guard authorised under
subsection (6), but only while the armed security guard is
carrying the Commissioner's written authorisation.
[8] Section 26 Revocation of licence
Omit section 26 (1) (a).
[9] Section 26 (1A)
Insert after section 26 (1):
(1A) The Commissioner must revoke a licence where the
Commissioner is satisfied that, if the licensee were applying
for a new licence, the application would be required by this
Act to be refused.
[10] Section 39A
Insert after section 39:
39A Master licensee to submit any firearms for ballistics tests
(1) If a master licensee is authorised under the Firearms Act 1996
to possess any firearms by reason of holding the master
licence, the master licensee must, on request by the
Commissioner, submit all the master licensee's firearms to a
police officer for ballistics testing.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment,
or both.
(2) If, after a master licensee's firearms have been tested in
accordance with subsection (1), a firearm so tested has been
modified in a manner that would change the characteristics of
the firearm's firing (such as any alteration, modification or
change to the barrel, chamber, firing pin, extractor, ejector or
bolt action of a firearm that may affect the forensic identifying
features of that firearm), the master licensee must notify the
Commissioner of that modification and on request by the
Commissioner submit the firearm to a police officer for
further ballistics testing.
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment,
or both.
Page 7
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Schedule 1 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997
(3) The Commissioner may keep the records of the results of any
ballistics tests undertaken in accordance with this section and
may use those records for any purpose as the Commissioner
sees fit.
[11] Section 42A
Insert after section 42:
42A Further powers of inspection and seizure
(1) In the exercise of any power to enter the premises of a master
licensee under this or any other Act, a police officer may, if
the police officer considers it necessary to do so for the
purposes of obtaining evidence of the commission of an
offence, seize any registers, books, records or other
documents relating to the business being carried on under the
authority of the master licence.
(2) A police officer may, if the police officer considers it
necessary to do so for the purposes of obtaining evidence of
the commission of an offence, require any person to answer
any question relating to any registers, books, records or other
documents or any other relevant matter required to be kept by
a licensee by or under this Act.
(3) If a police officer is authorised under this or any other Act to
make copies of entries in the registers, books, records or other
documents of any person, the police officer may take those
registers, books, records or other documents from the
premises for the purpose of copying them and must return
them after that copying is completed.
(4) A person must not:
(a) obstruct, hinder, prevent or interfere with a police
officer in the exercise of a power under this section, or
(b) fail without reasonable excuse to answer any question
relating to any register, book, record or other document
or any other relevant matter when required to do so by
a police officer in accordance with subsection (2).
Maximum penalty (subsection (4)): 50 penalty units.
Page 8
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 Schedule 1
[12] Section 45 Proceedings for offences
Insert at the end of the section:
(2) Proceedings referred to in subsection (1) must be commenced
not later than 3 years from when the offence was alleged to
have been committed.
[13] Section 45A
Insert after section 45:
45A Penalty notices
(1) An authorised officer may serve a penalty notice on a person
if it appears to the officer that the person has committed an
offence against this Act or the regulations, being an offence
prescribed by the regulations as a penalty notice offence.
(2) A penalty notice is a notice to the effect that, if the person
served does not wish to have the matter determined by a court,
the person can pay, within the time and to the person specified
in the notice, the amount of the penalty prescribed by the
regulations for the offence if dealt with under this section.
(3) A penalty notice may be served personally or by post.
(4) If the amount of penalty prescribed for an alleged offence is
paid under this section, no person is liable to any further
proceedings for the alleged offence.
(5) Payment under this section is not to be regarded as an
admission of liability for the purpose of, and does not in any
way affect or prejudice, any civil claim, action or proceeding
arising out of the same occurrence.
(6) The regulations may:
(a) prescribe an offence for the purposes of this section by
specifying the offence or by referring to the provision
creating the offence, and
(b) prescribe the amount of penalty payable for the offence
if dealt with under this section, and
(c) prescribe different amounts of penalties for different
offences or classes of offences.
Page 9
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Schedule 1 Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997
(7) The amount of a penalty prescribed under this section for an
offence is not to exceed the maximum amount of penalty that
could be imposed for the offence by a court.
(8) This section does not limit the operation of any other
provision of, or made under, this or any other Act relating to
proceedings that may be taken in respect of offences.
(9) In this section, authorised officer means any of the following
persons authorised in writing by the Commissioner as an
authorised officer for the purposes of this section:
(a) a police officer or any other member of the NSW
Police,
(b) a member of staff of a Department within the meaning
of the Public Sector Employment and Management
Act 2002,
(c) any other person prescribed by the regulations.
[14] Schedule 2 Savings and transitional provisions
Omit "of this Act." from clause 1 (1).
Insert instead:
of the following:
this Act
Security Industry Amendment Act 2002
[15] Schedule 2, clause 1 (2)
Omit "this Act". Insert instead "the Act concerned".
[16] Schedule 2, Part 3
Insert after clause 7:
Part 3 Provisions consequent on enactment of
Security Industry Amendment Act 2002
8 Requirement as to Australian citizenship or residence not to
apply to current licences
(1) Sections 15 (1) (e) and 26 (1A), as inserted by the Security
Industry Amendment Act 2002, do not operate to require the
Page 10
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Amendment of Security Industry Act 1997 Schedule 1
Commissioner to revoke a licence that is in force on the
commencement of those provisions.
(2) Section 15 (1) (e) extends to an application for a new licence
that was made but not determined before the commencement
of that paragraph.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt, an application for a new licence
includes an application for a new licence by a person who
holds, or has previously held, a licence.
9 Fingerprints held by Commissioner
Section 18 (4)(6), as inserted by the Security Industry
Amendment Act 2002, extend to fingerprints that were
obtained from the person in accordance with a requirement
under section 18 (2), and any copies of them, and kept by the
Commissioner on the commencement of those subsections.
10 Proceedings for offences
Section 45 (2), as inserted by the Security Industry
Amendment Act 2002, does not apply to an offence committed
before the commencement of that subsection.
Page 11
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts
Schedule 2 Amendment of other Acts
(Section 4)
2.1 Fines Act 1996 No 99
Schedule 1 Statutory provisions under which penalty notices
issued
Insert in appropriate order:
Security Industry Act 1997, section 45A
2.2 Firearms Act 1996 No 46
[1] Section 24 Revocation of licence
Insert after section 24 (1):
(1A) The Commissioner must revoke a licence that is held for the
purpose of employment as an armed security guard (within
the meaning of the Security Industry Act 1997) if the licensee
has failed to undertake any firearm safety training required
under this Act or the regulations.
[2] Section 42A
Insert after section 42:
42A Inspections of storage of firearms held by security guard
employers
(1) A police officer may, at any time of the day or night, enter the
premises of a master licensee under the Security Industry
Act 1997 who is licensed under this Act to possess firearms
for the conduct of a security business and inspect that master
licensee's firearms and the security and safe storage of those
firearms.
(2) A police officer conducting an inspection under this section is
authorised to enter any part of the premises where firearms are
being stored (including a part of a building used for residential
purposes) and any part of the premises required to give access
to those areas.
(3) A person must not obstruct, hinder, prevent or interfere with
a police officer in the exercise of a power under this section.
Maximum penalty (subsection (3)): 50 penalty units.
Page 12
Security Industry Amendment Bill 2002
Amendment of other Acts Schedule 2
[3] Section 80 Disposal of surrendered or seized firearms
Insert "or section 23A (4) of the Security Industry Act 1997" after "this
Act" in section 80 (1).
2.3 Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 1998 No 99
[1] Section 39 Photographs to which this Part applies
Omit section 39 (c). Insert instead:
(c) photographs in the possession of the Authority that
were taken or provided for the purpose of applications
for the issue or renewal by the Commissioner of Police
of a licence under the Firearms Act 1996 or the Security
Industry Act 1997.
[2] Section 41 Release of photographs prohibited
Insert after section 41 (2):
(3) Despite this section, photographs to which this Part applies,
and any photographic image or other matter contained in any
database of such photographs, must be provided to the
Commissioner of Police on request if the request relates to the
administration of the Security Industry Act 1997.
Page 13
[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]