New South Wales Consolidated Acts

HOME BUILDING ACT 1989 - SECT 138A

138A Penalty notices

(1) An authorised officer may serve a penalty notice on a person if:

(a) it appears to the officer that the person has committed an offence against this Act or the regulations, and

(b) the regulations prescribe that offence as being one for which a penalty notice may be issued.

(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 may pay, within the time and to the person specified in the notice, the amount of 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 the 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 an admission of liability for the purposes of, and does not 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 an offence if dealt with under this section, and

(c) prescribe different amounts of penalty for different offences or classes of offences.

(7) The amount of 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:

(a) the Director-General, or

(b) a person authorised in writing by the Director-General as an authorised officer for the purposes of this section, or

(c) an investigator appointed under the Fair Trading Act 1987 .