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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Valuers Bill 2002
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Definitions 2
4 Exception for architects, engineers and surveyors 3
5 Notes 3
Part 2 Registration
6 Natural person practising or advertising as valuer 4
7 Corporation practising or advertising as valuer 4
8 Eligibility and qualifications for registration 5
9 Disqualification from registration 5
10 Application to registration of Licensing and Registration
(Uniform Procedures) Act 2002 7
11 Conditions of registration 7
12 Duration of registration 8
13 Production of certificate of registration 8
14 Register 8
15 Cancellation of registration 9
b00-075.p02.820
Valuers Bill 2002
Contents
Page
16 Clients to be informed of suspension, cancellation or
conditions 9
17 Practice requirements 9
18 Undertakings 10
Part 3 Complaints and disciplinary action
19 Grounds for disciplinary action 11
20 Disciplinary action 11
21 Decision to take no further action 12
22 Complaints 12
23 Show cause notice 12
24 Power to suspend registration when show cause notice
served 13
25 Inquiries and investigation 13
26 Taking of disciplinary action 14
27 Recovery of monetary penalty 14
28 Review of disciplinary action by ADT 14
29 Warning notices 14
30 Return of suspended or cancelled certificate of registration 15
Part 4 Enforcement
31 Authorised officers 16
32 Powers of entry, inspection etc 16
33 Power of authorised officer to obtain information, records
and evidence 17
34 Obstruction etc of authorised officers 18
35 Taking possession of records to be used as evidence 18
36 Search warrants 19
37 Injunctions 19
Part 5 Miscellaneous
38 Disclosure of information 20
39 Delegation 21
40 Service of notices 21
41 Proceedings for offences 22
42 Penalty notices 23
43 Time for laying information 24
44 Offences by corporations 24
45 Repeals 24
46 Amendment of other Acts 25
47 Savings and transitional provisions 25
48 Regulations 25
49 Review of Act 25
Contents page 2
Valuers Bill 2002
Contents
Page
Schedules
1 Amendment of other Acts 26
2 Savings and transitional provisions 30
Contents page 3
New South Wales
Valuers Bill 2002
No , 2002
A Bill for
An Act to provide for the qualifications and regulation of valuers; to repeal the
Valuers Registration Act 1975; and for other purposes.
Clause 1 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 1 Preliminary
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
1 Name of Act 3
This Act is the Valuers Act 2002. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by 6
proclamation. 7
3 Definitions 8
In this Act: 9
authorised officer has the meaning given in Part 4 (Enforcement). 10
corresponding law means a law of another Australian jurisdiction that 11
is declared by the Minister from time to time by order published in the 12
Gazette to be a law that corresponds to this Act. 13
Director-General means the Director-General of the Department of 14
Fair Trading. 15
disqualified person means a person who is disqualified from 16
registration as a valuer under section 9. 17
property means: 18
(a) land (including any estate or interest in land), or 19
(b) an exclusive right to the separate occupation of land or a 20
building or part of a building (whether the right derives from 21
the ownership of a share or interest in a body corporate or 22
arising in some other way), or 23
(c) an access licence under the Water Management Act 2000, or 24
(d) any other property that is prescribed by the regulations as 25
property for the purposes of this Act. 26
Register means the Register maintained under this Act. 27
registered valuer means a person registered under this Act as a valuer. 28
Page 2
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 3
Preliminary Part 1
valuer means a person who values property for a fee or reward that is 1
paid or payable either to the person or to a person (including the State 2
or an instrumentality or agency of the State) who employs the person, 3
whether in the capacity of employee or agent or in any other capacity. 4
4 Exception for architects, engineers and surveyors 5
A person who carries out a valuation of property in the course of and 6
incidentally to the performance of services as an architect, engineer, 7
surveyor or quantity surveyor is not a valuer with respect to that 8
valuation if any fee or reward paid or payable in respect of those 9
services is wholly or principally attributable to the performance of 10
services other than the carrying out of that valuation. 11
5 Notes 12
Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act. 13
Page 3
Clause 6 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 2 Registration
Part 2 Registration 1
6 Natural person practising or advertising as valuer 2
(1) A natural person must not practise or advertise as a valuer unless he or 3
she is a registered valuer. 4
(2) A registered valuer must not practise as a valuer in contravention of 5
any conditions to which the valuer's registration is subject. 6
(3) A natural person must not advertise that a person employed by him or 7
her (whether in the capacity of an employee or in any other capacity) 8
is entitled or prepared to value property or practise as a valuer unless 9
a person so employed is a registered valuer. 10
(4) Anything done by a person who is a student valuer in the course of 11
carrying out duties under the supervision of a registered valuer does 12
not constitute practise as a valuer for the purposes of this section. A 13
student valuer is a person who is undertaking a course of study 14
approved by the Director-General under this Act in connection with a 15
qualification for registration as a valuer. 16
(5) A person advertises as a valuer by advertising himself or herself or 17
holding himself or herself out as being entitled or prepared to value 18
property or practise as a valuer. 19
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units. 20
7 Corporation practising or advertising as valuer 21
(1) A corporation must not practise or advertise as a valuer unless at least 22
one director or at least one employee of the corporation is a registered 23
valuer. 24
(2) A corporation must not advertise that a person employed by the 25
corporation (whether in the capacity of an employee or in any other 26
capacity) is entitled or prepared to value property or practise as a 27
valuer unless a person so employed is a registered valuer. 28
(3) A corporation must not furnish to a person a valuation of any property 29
unless the valuation is signed by a director or employee of the 30
corporation who is qualified to practise as a valuer. 31
Page 4
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 7
Registration Part 2
(4) A corporation advertises as a valuer by advertising itself or holding 1
itself out as being entitled or prepared to value property or practise as 2
a valuer. 3
Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units. 4
8 Eligibility and qualifications for registration 5
(1) A person is eligible to be registered as a valuer only if the 6
Director-General is satisfied that the person: 7
(a) is at least 18 years of age, and 8
(b) is a fit and proper person to be registered, and 9
(c) has the qualifications approved by the Director-General for 10
registration as a valuer, and 11
(d) is not a disqualified person. 12
(2) The Director-General may from time to time approve qualifications for 13
registration as a valuer. 14
(3) Without limiting the Director-General's power to approve 15
qualifications under this section, the Director-General may approve 16
qualifications by reference to any one or more (or a combination of any 17
one or more) of the following: 18
(a) the completion of a course of study, 19
(b) the completion of a period of training in valuing property, 20
(c) the attainment of a standard of competency in valuing property, 21
(d) registration under the Valuers Registration Act 1975 (before the 22
repeal of that Act) or under a corresponding law. 23
9 Disqualification from registration 24
(1) A person is disqualified from registration as a valuer if the person: 25
(a) has a conviction in New South Wales or elsewhere for an 26
offence involving dishonesty that was recorded in the last 10 27
years, unless the Director-General has determined under 28
subsection (2) that the offence should be ignored, or 29
(b) is an undischarged bankrupt or is a director or person concerned 30
in the management of a corporation that is the subject of a 31
winding-up order or for which a controller or administrator has 32
been appointed, unless (in the case of an undischarged 33
Page 5
Clause 9 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 2 Registration
bankrupt) the Director-General has certified that he or she is 1
satisfied that the person took all reasonable steps to avoid the 2
bankruptcy, or 3
(c) at any time in the 3 years preceding the application for 4
registration, was an undischarged bankrupt, applied to take the 5
benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent 6
debtors, compounded with his or her creditors or made an 7
assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit, unless 8
the Director-General has certified that he or she is satisfied that 9
the person took all reasonable steps to avoid the bankruptcy, or 10
(d) at any time in the 3 years preceding the application for 11
registration, was concerned in the management of a corporation 12
when the corporation was the subject of a winding-up order or 13
when a controller or administrator was appointed, unless the 14
Director-General is satisfied that the person took all reasonable 15
steps to avoid the liquidation or administration, or 16
(e) is a mentally incapacitated person, or 17
(f) is disqualified from being licensed or registered or otherwise 18
authorised under a corresponding law or whose licence, 19
registration or other authority under a corresponding law is 20
suspended, or 21
(g) is the holder of a licence, permit or other authority that is 22
suspended under the Fair Trading Act 1987, or 23
(h) is in partnership as a valuer with a person who is a disqualified 24
person, or 25
(i) is for the time being declared to be a disqualified person under 26
Part 3 (Complaints and disciplinary action), or 27
(j) has failed to pay any monetary penalty payable by the person 28
under Part 3 (Complaints and disciplinary action) or has failed 29
to comply with a direction given by the Director-General under 30
that Part, and the failure continues, or 31
(k) is in breach of any provision of this Act or the regulations that 32
is prescribed by the regulations as a disqualifying breach. 33
(2) The Director-General may determine that an offence committed by a 34
person should be ignored for the purposes of this section because of 35
the time that has passed since the offence was committed or because 36
of the triviality of the acts or omissions giving rise to the offence. 37
Page 6
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 10
Registration Part 2
10 Application to registration of Licensing and Registration (Uniform 1
Procedures) Act 2002 2
(1) The Director-General may grant registration as a valuer for the 3
purposes of this Act. 4
(2) Part 3 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) 5
Act 2002 (the applied Act) applies to and in respect of registration as 6
a valuer, subject to the modifications and limitations prescribed by or 7
under this Act. 8
(3) For the purpose of applying Part 3 of the applied Act to registration as 9
a valuer: 10
(a) an application for the granting of registration may only be made 11
by a natural person, and 12
(b) registration may be amended under that Act, and 13
(c) an application for restoration of registration under section 39 of 14
that Act may not be made more than 3 months after the date on 15
which registration expires, and 16
(d) the reference to 28 days in section 46 (1) of that Act (as to the 17
period within which applications are to be dealt with) is to be 18
read as a reference to 8 weeks. 19
(4) An applicant for registration as a valuer must make provision for the 20
payment of an application fee of an amount prescribed by the 21
regulations. 22
(5) Subject to this section, the regulations may make provision for or with 23
respect to such matters concerning registration under this Act as are 24
relevant to the operation of Part 3 of the applied Act. 25
11 Conditions of registration 26
Registration as a valuer may be granted subject to conditions, including 27
(but not limited to) conditions of the following kind: 28
(a) a condition prohibiting the valuation of specified kinds of 29
property or prohibiting the valuation of property other than 30
specified kinds of property, 31
(b) a condition prohibiting the valuer from practising as a valuer 32
otherwise than as an employee or under the supervision of a 33
registered valuer whose registration is not subject to such a 34
condition, 35
Page 7
Clause 11 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 2 Registration
(c) a condition requiring the valuer to undertake or complete a 1
specified course of studies within a specified period of time, 2
(d) a condition requiring the valuer to undertake by way of 3
professional development specified further education or 4
training during the term of the valuer's registration. 5
12 Duration of registration 6
Registration as a valuer remains in force (unless it is sooner suspended 7
or cancelled) for 3 years. 8
13 Production of certificate of registration 9
A registered valuer must at the request of a person for whom the valuer 10
values property, or with whom the valuer enters into an arrangement 11
for the valuation of property, produce his or her certificate of 12
registration for inspection by the person as soon as practicable after the 13
request is made. 14
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 15
14 Register 16
(1) The Director-General is to maintain a Register for the purposes of this 17
Act and is to enter and keep in the Register particulars of such of the 18
following as the regulations may require: 19
(a) certificates of registration issued under this Act, 20
(b) any conditions to which registration is subject, 21
(c) applications for registration that are refused, 22
(d) prosecutions taken under this Act and the result of those 23
prosecutions, 24
(e) warning notices that the Director-General has authorised 25
publication of under this Act, 26
(f) disciplinary action taken under this Act, 27
(g) undertakings given under this Act by a registered valuer, 28
(h) such other matters as may be prescribed by the regulations. 29
(2) Any person is entitled to inspect any entry in the Register on payment 30
of such fee as the Director-General may determine for the giving of 31
access to the Register. 32
Page 8
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 15
Registration Part 2
15 Cancellation of registration 1
(1) The Director-General is to cancel the registration of a registered valuer 2
if the person: 3
(a) has died, or 4
(b) has requested that his or her registration be cancelled, or 5
(c) has become a disqualified person, or 6
(d) is not eligible to be registered and was registered by mistake or 7
as a result of any false representation concerning the person's 8
age or qualifications for registration. 9
(2) A person whose registration is cancelled may apply to the 10
Administrative Decisions Tribunal for a review of the decision of the 11
Director-General to cancel the person's registration. 12
(3) The cancellation of registration under subsection (1) (c) or (d) does not 13
take effect until notice of cancellation is served on the person 14
concerned. 15
(4) The Director-General may, in any case in which the Director-General 16
thinks it appropriate to do so, restore the registration of any valuer 17
whose registration has been cancelled under this section without 18
payment of any fee or on payment of such fee, not exceeding the fee 19
prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this section, as the 20
Director-General may direct. 21
16 Clients to be informed of suspension, cancellation or conditions 22
A person whose registration as a valuer is suspended or cancelled 23
under section 15 or Part 3, or on whose registration conditions are 24
imposed under Part 3, must within 3 days after notice of that action is 25
given to the person notify the fact to each person with whom the 26
valuer has an arrangement for the carrying out of a valuation of 27
property. 28
Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units. 29
17 Practice requirements 30
The regulations may prescribe rules of conduct to be observed in the 31
course of practice as a valuer. 32
Note. Part 3 provides that a contravention of a provision of the regulations is 33
grounds for taking disciplinary action against a person. 34
Page 9
Clause 18 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 2 Registration
18 Undertakings 1
The Director-General may accept a written undertaking from a 2
registered valuer as to the manner in which the valuer will conduct the 3
valuer's practise as a valuer. 4
Note. Part 3 provides that a breach of such an undertaking is grounds for taking 5
disciplinary action against a valuer. 6
Page 10
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 19
Complaints and disciplinary action Part 3
Part 3 Complaints and disciplinary action 1
19 Grounds for disciplinary action 2
Disciplinary action under this Part can be taken against a person who 3
is or was a registered valuer on any one or more of the following 4
grounds: 5
(a) the person has contravened a provision of this Act or any other 6
Act administered by the Minister, or the regulations under any 7
such Act, whether or not the person has been prosecuted or 8
convicted of an offence in respect of the contravention, 9
(b) the person has contravened a condition of the person's 10
registration as a valuer, 11
(c) the person has, in the course of practising as a valuer, acted 12
unlawfully, improperly, unfairly or incompetently, 13
(d) the person is not a fit and proper person to be registered as a 14
valuer, 15
(e) the person has breached an undertaking given by the person to 16
the Director-General under this Act or the Fair Trading 17
Act 1987, in respect of the person's practise as a valuer, 18
(f) the person has failed to comply with a direction given to the 19
person by the Director-General pursuant to the taking of 20
disciplinary action under this Part, 21
(g) the person has failed to pay a monetary penalty imposed on the 22
person by the Director-General pursuant to the taking of 23
disciplinary action under this Part, 24
(h) grounds specified in the regulations as grounds for the taking of 25
disciplinary action against a person under this Act. 26
20 Disciplinary action 27
(1) Each of the following actions is disciplinary action that the 28
Director-General can take against a person under this Act: 29
(a) caution or reprimand the person, 30
(b) give a direction to the person requiring the person to give a 31
specified undertaking to the Director-General as to the manner 32
in which the person will practise as a valuer, 33
Page 11
Clause 20 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 3 Complaints and disciplinary action
(c) give a direction to the person requiring the person to take 1
specified action within a specified time in connection with the 2
person's practise as a valuer, 3
(d) impose a monetary penalty on the person of an amount not 4
exceeding 100 penalty units in the case of a natural person or 5
200 penalty units in the case of a corporation, 6
(e) impose a condition on the person's registration as a valuer, 7
(f) suspend the person's registration as a valuer for a period that 8
does not exceed the unexpired term of that registration, 9
(g) cancel the person's registration as a valuer, 10
(h) declare the person to be a disqualified person for the purposes 11
of this Act, either permanently or for a specified period. 12
(2) A power conferred by this Act to take disciplinary action against a 13
person is a power to take any one or more of the actions that constitute 14
disciplinary action. 15
21 Decision to take no further action 16
The Director-General may at any stage of a matter that is the subject 17
of consideration by the Director-General under this Part determine to 18
take no further action in respect of the matter, whether or not the 19
matter is the subject of a complaint or a show cause notice and whether 20
or not the Director-General determines that there are grounds for taking 21
disciplinary action in connection with the matter. 22
22 Complaints 23
(1) Any person may make a complaint to the Director-General setting out 24
matters that are alleged to constitute grounds for taking disciplinary 25
action against a person under this Act. 26
(2) Action can be taken under this Part whether or not a complaint has 27
been made. 28
23 Show cause notice 29
(1) The Director-General may serve a show cause notice on a person if the 30
Director-General is of the opinion that there is reasonable cause to 31
believe that there are grounds for taking disciplinary action against the 32
person. 33
Page 12
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 23
Complaints and disciplinary action Part 3
(2) A show cause notice is a notice requiring a person to show cause why 1
disciplinary action should not be taken against the person under this 2
Act on the grounds specified in the notice. 3
(3) A show cause notice is to be in writing and is to specify a period of not 4
less than 14 days after service of the notice as the period that the 5
person to whom the notice is directed has to show cause as required by 6
the notice. 7
(4) The person on whom a show cause notice is served may within the 8
period allowed by the notice make oral or written submissions to the 9
Director-General in respect of the matters to which the notice relates. 10
24 Power to suspend registration when show cause notice served 11
(1) When a show cause notice is served on a person, the Director-General 12
may by notice in writing to the person suspend the person's registration 13
as a valuer pending a determination by the Director-General of whether 14
to take disciplinary action under this Act against the person. 15
(2) The Director-General may only suspend a person's registration under 16
this section if satisfied that the grounds for disciplinary action 17
specified in the show cause notice would, if established, justify the 18
suspension or cancellation of the person's registration as a valuer. 19
(3) Such a suspension may not be imposed for a period of more than 60 20
days after the show cause notice is served. 21
(4) The Director-General is not required to afford a person an opportunity 22
to be heard before taking action against the person under this section. 23
(5) The Director-General can revoke a suspension under this section at any 24
time by notice in writing to the suspended person. 25
(6) This section does not limit or otherwise affect any power to suspend 26
a licence or certificate of registration under section 64A of the Fair 27
Trading Act 1987. 28
25 Inquiries and investigation 29
The Director-General may conduct inquiries and make investigations 30
in relation to the matters to which a show cause notice relates and the 31
submissions, if any, made by or on behalf of the person to whom the 32
show cause notice relates in relation to those matters, as the 33
Director-General thinks fit. 34
Page 13
Clause 26 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 3 Complaints and disciplinary action
26 Taking of disciplinary action 1
(1) If the Director-General is satisfied that there are grounds for taking 2
disciplinary action under this Act against a person on whom a show 3
cause notice has been served, the Director-General may by order in 4
writing served on the person take such disciplinary action against the 5
person as the Director-General thinks is warranted. 6
(2) The order must include a statement of the reasons for the 7
Director-General's decision on the matter. 8
27 Recovery of monetary penalty 9
A monetary penalty imposed on a person by disciplinary action under 10
this Part may be recovered by the Director-General in a court of 11
competent jurisdiction as a debt due to the Crown. 12
28 Review of disciplinary action by ADT 13
A person against whom disciplinary action is taken by the 14
Director-General may apply to the Administrative Decisions Tribunal 15
under the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997 for a review of 16
the Director-General's decision on the disciplinary action. 17
29 Warning notices 18
(1) The Director-General may authorise publication of a notice warning 19
persons of particular risks involved in dealing with a specified 20
registered valuer, or a person who is not a registered valuer, in 21
connection with the activities of valuers. 22
(2) For example, a warning may relate to the risks involved in dealing with 23
a person who has a recent history of unconscionable conduct in the 24
person's dealings with consumers. 25
(3) The Director-General may authorise publication of such a notice in any 26
one or more of the following ways: 27
(a) to any person making inquiries to the Director-General about 28
the valuer concerned, 29
(b) by advertisement by the use of any medium, 30
(c) to any media representatives. 31
(4) Publication of such a notice may not be authorised unless an 32
investigation has been conducted by the Director-General, whether or 33
not a complaint has been made. 34
Page 14
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 29
Complaints and disciplinary action Part 3
(5) Before authorising publication of such a notice, the Director-General 1
must give the person concerned an opportunity for a period of not less 2
than 48 hours to make representations to the Director-General about 3
publication of such a notice, unless: 4
(a) the Director-General is not able, after making reasonable efforts 5
to do so, to contact the person promptly and advise the person 6
of that opportunity, or 7
(b) the person refuses to make any representations. 8
(6) No opportunity to make representations is required to be given if, in 9
the opinion of the Director-General, there is an immediate risk to the 10
public. 11
(7) No liability is incurred by a person for publishing in good faith: 12
(a) a notice under this section, or 13
(b) a fair report or summary of such a notice. 14
30 Return of suspended or cancelled certificate of registration 15
A person who has possession of a certificate of registration that has 16
been suspended or cancelled under this Part must give the certificate 17
of registration to an officer of the Department of Fair Trading at any 18
office of the Department within 7 days after the suspension or 19
cancellation takes effect. 20
Maximum penalty: 21
(a) 40 penalty units in the case of a corporation, or 22
(b) 20 penalty units in any other case. 23
Page 15
Clause 31 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 4 Enforcement
Part 4 Enforcement 1
31 Authorised officers 2
(1) In this Act: 3
authorised officer means: 4
(a) an officer of the Department of Fair Trading for the time being 5
appointed under this Part as an authorised officer, or 6
(b) an investigator appointed under section 18 of the Fair Trading 7
Act 1987, or 8
(c) a police officer. 9
(2) The Director-General may appoint any officer of the Department of 10
Fair Trading as an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act. 11
(3) An authorised officer who is not a police officer is to be provided by 12
the Director-General with a certificate of identification. 13
(4) An authorised officer (other than a police officer) must, when 14
exercising on any premises any function of the authorised officer under 15
this Act, produce the officer's certificate of identification to any person 16
apparently in charge of the premises who requests its production. 17
32 Powers of entry, inspection etc 18
(1) An authorised officer may exercise the powers conferred by this 19
section for the purpose of: 20
(a) ascertaining whether the provisions of this Act or the 21
regulations are being complied with or have been contravened, 22
or 23
(b) investigating a complaint made or intended to be made under 24
this Act, or 25
(c) obtaining evidence, records or information in relation to a 26
matter that constitutes or may constitute a contravention of this 27
Act or the regulations. 28
(2) An authorised officer may enter and inspect at any reasonable time any 29
premises that the officer believes on reasonable grounds are used for 30
the carrying on of practice as a valuer, whether or not it is being carried 31
on by a registered valuer. 32
Page 16
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 32
Enforcement Part 4
(3) While on premises entered under this section or under the authority of 1
a search warrant under this Part, an authorised officer may do any one 2
or more of the following: 3
(a) require any person on those premises to produce any records in 4
the possession or under the control of that person relating to the 5
carrying on of practice as a valuer, and (in the case of records 6
stored electronically) to produce any such record in written 7
form, 8
(b) inspect, take copies of or extracts from, or make notes from, 9
any such records, and for that purpose may take temporary 10
possession of any such records, 11
(c) take possession of any such records if the authorised officer 12
considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of obtaining 13
evidence or protecting evidence from destruction, 14
(d) take such photographs, films and audio, video and other 15
recordings as the authorised officer considers necessary, 16
(e) require any person on those premises to answer questions or 17
otherwise furnish information in relation to the carrying on of 18
practice as a valuer or a contravention of a provision of this Act 19
or the regulations, 20
(f) require the owner or occupier of those premises to provide the 21
authorised officer with such assistance and facilities as is or are 22
reasonably necessary to enable the authorised officer to exercise 23
the functions of an authorised officer under this section. 24
(4) An authorised officer is not entitled to enter a part of premises used for 25
residential purposes, except: 26
(a) with the consent of the occupier of the part, or 27
(b) under the authority of a search warrant. 28
33 Power of authorised officer to obtain information, records and evidence 29
If an authorised officer believes on reasonable grounds that a person 30
is capable of giving information, producing records or giving evidence 31
in relation to a matter that constitutes, or may constitute, an offence 32
against this Act or the regulations, the authorised officer may, by notice 33
in writing given to the person, require the person: 34
Page 17
Clause 33 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 4 Enforcement
(a) to provide an authorised officer, by writing signed by the person 1
(or, in the case of a corporation, by a competent officer of the 2
corporation) and given to the authorised officer within the time 3
and in the manner specified in the notice, with any such 4
information, or 5
(b) to produce to an authorised officer, in accordance with the 6
notice, any such records, or 7
(c) to appear before an authorised officer at a time and place 8
specified in the notice and give any such evidence, either orally 9
or in writing, and produce any such records. 10
34 Obstruction etc of authorised officers 11
A person must not: 12
(a) without reasonable excuse, refuse or fail to comply with any 13
notice given or requirement made, or to answer any question 14
asked, by an authorised officer under this Part, or 15
(b) provide information or give evidence in purported compliance 16
with a requirement made or question asked by an authorised 17
officer under this Part knowing the information or evidence to 18
be false or misleading in a material particular, or 19
(c) wilfully delay, hinder or obstruct an authorised officer in the 20
exercise of the officer's functions under this Part. 21
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, 22
or both. 23
35 Taking possession of records to be used as evidence 24
(1) If an authorised officer takes possession of any records under this Part 25
for the purpose of obtaining evidence or protecting evidence from 26
destruction, they may be retained by the officer until the completion of 27
any proceedings (including proceedings on appeal) in which they may 28
be evidence. 29
(2) The person from whom the records are taken must be provided, within 30
a reasonable time after the records are taken, with a copy of the records 31
certified by an authorised officer as a true copy. 32
(3) A copy of records provided under this section is, as evidence, of equal 33
validity to the records of which it is certified to be a copy. 34
Page 18
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 36
Enforcement Part 4
36 Search warrants 1
(1) An authorised officer may apply to an authorised justice for the issue 2
of a search warrant for premises if the officer believes on reasonable 3
grounds: 4
(a) that a provision of this Act or the regulations is being or has 5
been contravened on the premises, or 6
(b) that there is on the premises evidence of a contravention of this 7
Act or the regulations. 8
(2) An authorised justice to whom such an application is made may, if 9
satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for doing so, issue a search 10
warrant authorising an authorised officer named in the warrant: 11
(a) to enter and inspect the premises, and 12
(b) to exercise on the premises any function of an authorised 13
officer under this Part. 14
(3) Part 3 of the Search Warrants Act 1985 applies to a search warrant 15
issued under this section. 16
(4) In this section, authorised justice has the same meaning as in the 17
Search Warrants Act 1985. 18
37 Injunctions 19
(1) On the application of the Director-General, the Supreme Court may 20
grant an injunction restraining a threatened or apprehended 21
contravention, or the continuation of a contravention, of a provision of 22
this Act or the regulations. 23
(2) An injunction may be granted without the Director-General being 24
required to show a likelihood of damage. 25
(3) If in the opinion of the Court it is desirable to do so, the Court may 26
grant an interim injunction pending determination of the application. 27
(4) When the Director-General makes an application for the grant of an 28
injunction under this section, the Court is not to require the 29
Director-General or any other person, as a condition of granting an 30
interim injunction, to give an undertaking as to damages. 31
(5) This section does not limit any provision of the Fair Trading Act 1987. 32
Page 19
Clause 38 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 5 Miscellaneous
Part 5 Miscellaneous 1
38 Disclosure of information 2
(1) A person must not disclose any information obtained in connection 3
with the administration or execution of this Act unless that disclosure 4
is made: 5
(a) with the consent of the person from whom the information was 6
obtained, or 7
(b) in connection with the administration or execution of this Act, 8
or 9
(c) for the purposes of any legal proceedings arising out of this Act 10
or of any report of any such proceedings, or 11
(d) in accordance with a requirement imposed under the 12
Ombudsman Act 1974, the Freedom of Information Act 1989 13
or the Independent Commission Against Corruption Act 1988, 14
or 15
(e) to a regulatory officer or law enforcement officer, for the 16
purposes of assisting the officer in the exercise of the officer's 17
functions, or 18
(f) as otherwise authorised by this section or the regulations, or 19
(g) with other lawful excuse. 20
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or 21
both. 22
(2) The Director-General may communicate to any person directly 23
concerned in any transaction with a registered valuer in connection 24
with his or her practice as a valuer any information furnished to the 25
Director-General in connection with the administration or execution of 26
this Act, in so far as it relates to any such transaction and directly 27
concerns any such person. 28
(3) The Director-General may request and receive information from a law 29
enforcement officer or regulatory officer for the purpose of assisting 30
the Director-General in the exercise of functions under this Act or 31
under any other Act administered by the Minister. 32
(4) The Director-General may enter into agreements and other 33
arrangements for the sharing or exchange of information as authorised 34
by this section. 35
Page 20
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 38
Miscellaneous Part 5
(5) In this section: 1
law enforcement officer means: 2
(a) a member of NSW Police, the Australian Federal Police or of 3
the police force of another State or a Territory, or 4
(b) the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Crown Prosecutor of 5
the State or the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Crown 6
Prosecutor of the Commonwealth or of another State or 7
Territory, or 8
(c) any other person, or officer of an authority, responsible for the 9
investigation or prosecution of offences under laws of the State, 10
the Commonwealth, another State or a Territory. 11
regulatory officer means an officer or employee of a government 12
agency (including the government of a jurisdiction outside the State 13
and outside Australia) exercising functions under an enactment with 14
respect to fair trading or an enactment that provides for the registration 15
or other authorisation in connection with the undertaking of an activity 16
regulated under the enactment. 17
39 Delegation 18
The Director-General may delegate the exercise of any function of the 19
Director-General under this Act (other than this power of delegation) 20
to: 21
(a) any member of staff of the Department of Fair Trading, or 22
(b) any person, or any class of persons, authorised for the purposes 23
of this section by the regulations. 24
40 Service of notices 25
(1) A notice or direction in writing that is authorised or required to be 26
given under this Act may be given as provided by this section. 27
(2) A notice or direction may be given to a natural person: 28
(a) by delivering it personally to the person, or 29
(b) by sending it by post, addressed to the person at the address 30
recorded in the Register as the person's residential address, 31
business address or address for service, or 32
(c) by leaving it with another person apparently aged 16 years or 33
more at the address recorded in the Register as the person's 34
residential address or business address, or 35
Page 21
Clause 40 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 5 Miscellaneous
(d) by sending it by means of electronic communication or 1
facsimile transmission, addressed to the person at the address 2
recorded in the Register as the person's address for service of 3
electronic communications or facsimile transmissions, in 4
accordance with the person's information technology 5
requirements with respect to the receipt of electronic 6
communications or facsimile transmissions. 7
(3) A notice or direction may be given to a corporation: 8
(a) by delivering it personally to a person concerned in the 9
corporation's management, or 10
(b) by sending it by post, addressed to the corporation at the 11
address recorded in the Register as the corporation's business 12
address or address for service, or 13
(c) by leaving it with a person apparently aged 16 years or more at 14
the address recorded in the Register as the corporation's 15
business address, or 16
(d) by sending it by means of electronic communication or 17
facsimile transmission, addressed to the corporation at the 18
address recorded in the Register as the corporation's address for 19
service of electronic communications or facsimile 20
transmissions, in accordance with the corporation's information 21
technology requirements with respect to the receipt of electronic 22
communications or facsimile transmissions. 23
(4) This section does not affect any other Act or law with respect to the 24
service of notices or other documents. 25
41 Proceedings for offences 26
(1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be 27
taken and prosecuted only by the Director-General or, in the name of 28
the Director-General, by a person acting with the authority of the 29
Director-General. 30
(2) Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be 31
dealt with: 32
(a) summarily before a Local Court constituted by a Magistrate 33
sitting alone, or 34
(b) summarily before the Supreme Court in its summary 35
jurisdiction. 36
Page 22
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 41
Miscellaneous Part 5
(3) If proceedings are brought in a Local Court, the maximum monetary 1
penalty that the Local Court may impose for the offence is 100 penalty 2
units or such other amount as may be prescribed by the regulations, 3
despite any higher maximum monetary penalty provided in respect of 4
the offence. 5
(4) Despite any proceedings against a person for an offence against this 6
Act or the regulations (whether resulting in a conviction or otherwise) 7
the person remains liable to civil proceedings in the same manner as 8
if the proceedings for an offence had not been taken. 9
42 Penalty notices 10
(1) An authorised officer may serve a penalty notice on a person if it 11
appears to the officer that the person has committed an offence against 12
this Act or the regulations, being an offence prescribed by the 13
regulations as a penalty notice offence. 14
(2) A penalty notice is a notice to the effect that, if the person served does 15
not wish to have the matter determined by a court, the person can pay, 16
within the time and to the person specified in the notice, the amount of 17
the penalty prescribed by the regulations for the offence if dealt with 18
under this section. 19
(3) A penalty notice may be served personally or by post. 20
(4) If the amount of penalty prescribed for an alleged offence is paid under 21
this section, no person is liable to any further proceedings for the 22
alleged offence. 23
(5) Payment under this section is not to be regarded as an admission of 24
liability for the purpose of, and does not in any way affect or prejudice, 25
any civil claim, action or proceeding arising out of the same 26
occurrence. 27
(6) The regulations may: 28
(a) prescribe an offence for the purposes of this section by 29
specifying the offence or by referring to the provision creating 30
the offence, and 31
(b) prescribe the amount of penalty payable for the offence if dealt 32
with under this section, and 33
(c) prescribe different amounts of penalties for different offences 34
or classes of offences. 35
Page 23
Clause 42 Valuers Bill 2002
Part 5 Miscellaneous
(7) The amount of a penalty prescribed under this section for an offence 1
is not to exceed the maximum amount of penalty that could be 2
imposed for the offence by a court. 3
(8) This section does not limit the operation of any other provision of, or 4
made under, this or any other Act relating to proceedings that may be 5
taken in respect of offences. 6
(9) In this section: 7
authorised officer means a person authorised in writing by the 8
Director-General as an authorised officer for the purposes of this 9
section. 10
43 Time for laying information 11
Proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations may be 12
commenced within 3 years after the date on which the offence is 13
alleged to have been committed or, with the consent of the Attorney 14
General, at any time. 15
44 Offences by corporations 16
(1) If a corporation contravenes, whether by act or omission, any provision 17
of this Act or the regulations, each director of the corporation, and each 18
person concerned in the management of the corporation, is taken to 19
have contravened the same provision unless the director or person 20
satisfies the court that: 21
(a) he or she was not in a position to influence the conduct of the 22
corporation in relation to its contravention of the provision, or 23
(b) he or she, being in such a position, used all due diligence to 24
prevent the contravention by the corporation. 25
(2) A person may be proceeded against and convicted under a provision 26
pursuant to subsection (1) whether or not the corporation has been 27
proceeded against or been convicted under that provision. 28
(3) Nothing in subsection (1) prejudices or affects any liability imposed by 29
a provision of this Act or the regulations on any corporation by which 30
an offence against the provision is actually committed. 31
45 Repeals 32
The Valuers Registration Act 1975 and Valuers Registration 33
Regulation 2001 are repealed. 34
Page 24
Valuers Bill 2002 Clause 46
Miscellaneous Part 5
46 Amendment of other Acts 1
Schedule 1 has effect. 2
47 Savings and transitional provisions 3
Schedule 2 has effect. 4
48 Regulations 5
The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for 6
or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted 7
to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for 8
carrying out or giving effect to this Act. 9
49 Review of Act 10
(1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy 11
objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act 12
remain appropriate for securing those objectives. 13
(2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 14
5 years from the date of assent to this Act. 15
(3) A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of 16
Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years. 17
Page 25
Valuers Bill 2002
Schedule 1 Amendment of other Acts
Schedule 1 Amendment of other Acts 1
(Section 46) 2
1.1 Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 No 42 3
Section 38 Purchase, lease etc of property 4
Omit "registered real estate valuer (within the meaning of the Valuers 5
Registration Act 1975)" from subsection (6). 6
Insert instead "registered valuer (within the meaning of the Valuers 7
Act 2002)". 8
1.2 Community Land Development Act 1989 No 201 9
Section 3 Definitions 10
Omit the definition of registered valuer from section 3 (1). 11
Insert instead: 12
registered valuer means a registered valuer under the Valuers 13
Act 2002. 14
1.3 Community Land Management Act 1989 No 202 15
Section 3 Definitions 16
Omit the definition of registered valuer from section 3 (1). 17
Insert instead: 18
registered valuer means a registered valuer under the Valuers 19
Act 2002. 20
Page 26
Valuers Bill 2002
Amendment of other Acts Schedule 1
1.4 Fair Trading Act 1987 No 68 1
[1] Section 8 Delegation by Director-General 2
Omit "Valuers Registration Act 1975" from section 8 (1) (g). 3
Insert instead "Valuers Act 2002". 4
[2] Section 25I Functions 5
Omit "Valuers Registration Act 1975" from paragraph (a) of the definition 6
of property services industry in section 25I (2). 7
Insert instead "Valuers Act 2002". 8
1.5 Fines Act 1996 No 99 9
Schedule 1 Statutory provisions under which penalty notices 10
issued 11
Insert in appropriate order: 12
Valuers Act 2002, section 42 13
1.6 Licensing and Registration (Uniform Procedures) Act 2002 No 28 14
Schedule 2 Registration to which Part 3 of Act applies 15
Omit the matter relating to the Valuers Registration Act 1975. 16
Insert instead: 17
Valuers Act 2002 18
section 10, registration as a valuer 19
Page 27
Valuers Bill 2002
Schedule 1 Amendment of other Acts
1.7 Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 No 66 1
Section 189 Application of money in Statutory Interest Account 2
Omit "Valuers Registration Act 1975" from subsection (2) (d). 3
Insert instead "Valuers Act 2002". 4
1.8 Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 No 68 5
Section 28QAA Revised schedule of unit entitlements 6
Omit "practising real estate valuer registered under the Valuers Registration 7
Act 1975" from subsection (4). 8
Insert instead "registered valuer under the Valuers Act 2002". 9
1.9 Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986 No 219 10
Section 57AAA Revised schedule of unit entitlements 11
Omit "practising real estate valuer registered under the Valuers Registration 12
Act 1975" from subsection (4). 13
Insert instead "registered valuer under the Valuers Act 2002". 14
1.10 Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 No 138 15
Section 183 Order for reallocation of unit entitlements 16
Omit "the holder of a current certificate of registration under the Valuers 17
Registration Act 1975 as a practising real estate valuer" from section 18
183 (5). 19
Insert instead "a registered valuer under the Valuers Act 2002". 20
Page 28
Valuers Bill 2002
Amendment of other Acts Schedule 1
1.11 Trustee Act 1925 No 14 1
Section 18 Ratio of loan to value 2
Omit "Valuers Registration Act 1975" from section 18 (2). 3
Insert instead "Valuers Act 2002". 4
1.12 Valuation of Land Act 1916 No 2 5
Section 13C Contested contracts 6
Omit section 13C (4). Insert instead: 7
(4) In this section, qualified person means: 8
(a) a person who is a registered valuer under the Valuers 9
Act 2002, or 10
(b) a corporation in respect of which at least one of its 11
directors or employees is a registered valuer under the 12
Valuers Act 2002, 13
and includes the State Valuation Office and any other public 14
agency within which persons who are registered valuers under 15
the Valuers Act 2002 are employed. 16
Page 29
Valuers Bill 2002
Schedule 2 Savings and transitional provisions
Schedule 2 Savings and transitional provisions 1
(Section 47) 2
Part 1 Preliminary 3
1 Regulations 4
(1) The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or transitional 5
nature consequent on the enactment of the following Acts: 6
this Act 7
(2) Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect from 8
the date of assent to the Act concerned or a later date. 9
(3) To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date that 10
is earlier than the date of its publication in the Gazette, the provision 11
does not operate so as: 12
(a) to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than the 13
State or an authority of the State), the rights of that person 14
existing before the date of its publication, or 15
(b) to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or an 16
authority of the State) in respect of anything done or omitted to 17
be done before the date of its publication. 18
Part 2 Provisions consequent on enactment of this Act 19
2 Definition 20
In this Schedule: 21
former Act means the Valuers Registration Act 1975. 22
3 Amendments of other Acts 23
(1) A reference in section 63D (2) (c) of the Property, Stock and Business 24
Agents Act 1941 to this Act is taken to include a reference to the 25
Valuers Registration Act 1975. 26
Page 30
Valuers Bill 2002
Savings and transitional provisions Schedule 2
(2) The amendment of a provision of another Act by Schedule 1 to this 1
Act does not affect the operation of the provision in respect of any act 2
or omission before the commencement of the amendment. 3
(3) Any valuation or certificate of valuation made or given before the 4
commencement of such an amendment by the holder of a current 5
certificate of registration under the Valuers Registration Act 1975 as 6
a practising real estate valuer authorised under that Act to make such 7
a valuation is for the purposes of a provision of another Act that is 8
amended by this Act taken to have been made or given by the person 9
as a registered valuer under this Act. 10
4 Electronic applications for registration 11
(1) Despite Part 3 of the Licensing and Registration (Uniform 12
Procedures) Act 2002 (as applied by section 10), an application 13
referred to in section 41 of that Act may not be made by means of 14
electronic communication. 15
(2) Subclause (1) does not limit the effect of the Electronic Transactions 16
Act 2000. 17
(3) This clause ceases to have effect on a day to be appointed by 18
proclamation. 19
Page 31
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