New South Wales Consolidated Acts

COMMERCIAL AGENTS AND PRIVATE INQUIRY AGENTS ACT 2004 - SECT 25

25 Harassment

(1) A licensee must not:

(a) leave, in or outside any premises, any notice, vehicle or other object on which there is writing that indicates or suggests that the notice, vehicle or other object is issued by, or belongs to, a commercial agent or private inquiry agent so as to cause a person visiting or passing by the premises to infer that the licensee is visiting the occupier of the premises in connection with commercial agent activities or private inquiry agent activities, or

(b) send or deliver to, or leave with, any person any document likely to cause the person receiving it to infer that there would be left in or outside premises occupied by the person a notice, vehicle or object on which there is writing that indicates or suggests that the notice, vehicle or other object is issued by, or belongs to, a commercial agent or private inquiry agent, or

(c) visit any premises, or communicate (whether by telephone or otherwise) with the occupant of any premises, with unreasonable frequency or at unreasonable times, or

(d) disclose to a person’s employer the fact that the person is a debtor, except where that fact is disclosed by the holder of a licence with respect to debt collection:

(i) with the person’s consent, or

(ii) by or in connection with the execution of legal process for enforcement of a judgment against the person, being process the execution of which directly involves the employer, or

(e) threaten a person with disclosure, to the person’s employer, of the fact that the person is a debtor, except where the threat is made by the holder of a licence with respect to debt collection by or in connection with the execution of legal process referred to in paragraph (d) (ii).

Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units (in the case of a corporation) and 100 penalty units or imprisonment for 6 months, or both (in the case of an individual).

(2) In any proceedings for an offence arising by virtue of a disclosure in contravention of subsection (1) (d), the absence of any consent mentioned in subsection (1) (d) (i) is to be presumed until the court is satisfied to the contrary.