New South Wales Consolidated Acts

HOME BUILDING ACT 1989 - SECT 22B

22B Suspension of contractor licences-appointment of controller or administrator

(1) This section applies if the holder of a contractor licence is a corporation and a controller or administrator of the corporation is appointed under Part 5.2 or 5.3A of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.

(2) If the Director-General is of the opinion that there is a risk to the public that the licensee will be unable to complete building contracts (whether an existing contract or a contract entered into in the future), the Director-General may, by notice in writing served on the holder of the contractor licence, inform the holder that the contractor licence will be suspended unless the holder complies with subsection (3) within the period specified in the notice.

(3) The holder of the contractor licence must provide any documentation or information that the Director-General requires in order to satisfy the Director-General that there is no such risk to the public.

(4) The Director-General may, by notice in writing served on the holder of the contractor licence, suspend the contractor licence from a date specified for that purpose in the notice if the documentation or information referred to in subsection (3) has not been provided within the period specified in the notice under subsection (2).

(5) Within 7 days after a contractor licence is so suspended, the holder of the contractor licence must:

(a) lodge the suspended contractor licence at an office of the Department of Fair Trading, or

(b) if unable to lodge the suspended contractor licence, lodge at an office of the Department of Fair Trading a statement signed by the holder and providing accurate and complete details of why the contractor licence cannot be lodged.

Maximum penalty: 40 penalty units in the case of a corporation and 20 penalty units in any other case.

(6) If the holder of the suspended contractor licence provides the documentation or information referred to in subsection (3), the Director-General must, as soon as practicable, revoke the suspension by notice in writing, unless the contractor licence has expired.

(7) The revocation takes effect on a day specified for that purpose in the notice.

(8) On the revocation of the suspension of a contractor licence under this section, the Director-General must return any contractor licence that has been lodged (if it has not expired) to its holder.

Note: Section 61A makes provision for the suspension of a contractor licence by the Director-General. Section 64A of the Fair Trading Act 1987 also makes provision for the suspension of licences and other authorities.