New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MOTOR DEALERS ACT 1974 - SECT 12

12 Grounds on which application to be granted or refused

(1) Subject to subsections (2), (4), (5), (6) and (8), the Director-General shall grant an application for a licence.

(2) An application for a licence made by a natural person shall be refused if it appears to the Director-General that:

(a) the applicant has not attained the age of 18 years,

(b) the applicant is disqualified from holding a licence,

(c) the applicant is an undischarged bankrupt,

(d) the applicant does not have, or is not likely to continue to have, sufficient financial resources to enable the person to carry on business pursuant to the authority that would be conferred by the licence if it were granted,

(e) the applicant is not a person likely to carry on such a business honestly and fairly,

(f) the applicant does not have the prescribed qualifications or does not have sufficient knowledge or expertise to carry on such a business,

(f1) the applicant is a controlled member of a declared organisation within the meaning of the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009 ,

Note: Controlled members are prohibited from applying for licences-see section 27 of the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009 .

(g) the applicant is in any other way not a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence, or

(h) any person with whom the applicant intends to carry on, in partnership, business pursuant to the authority that would be conferred by the licence if it were granted is a person in respect of whom the Director-General would be required to refuse an application for the licence if that person were the applicant, or

(i) the applicant has (as an adult), within the preceding 10 years, been found guilty of an offence involving, or relating to:

(i) stealing a motor vehicle (within the meaning of Subdivision 5A of Division 1 of Part 4 of the Crimes Act 1900 ), or

(ii) receiving, or unlawful possession of, a motor vehicle (within the meaning of Subdivision 5A of Division 1 of Part 4 of the Crimes Act 1900 ) or a motor vehicle part.

(3) Without affecting the generality of subsection (2) (g), the Director-General may, in determining whether an applicant is not a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence, have regard (if such be the case) to the fact that the applicant:

(a) has, during the period of 10 years that last preceded the making of the application, been convicted of, or served any part of a term of imprisonment for, an offence in New South Wales or elsewhere involving fraud or dishonesty,

(b) was, at the time of the making of the application, bound in relation to such an offence by a recognizance,

(c) had, at the time of the making of the application, a charge pending against the applicant in relation to such an offence, or

(d) has, at any time, been convicted of an offence against this Act or the regulations or any other enactment administered by the Minister.

(3A) Without affecting the generality of subsection (2) (g), a person is not a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence if the Director-General has reasonable grounds to believe from information provided by the Commissioner of Police in relation to the person that:

(a) the person is a member of, or regularly associates with one or more members of, a declared organisation within the meaning of the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009 , and

(b) the nature and circumstances of the person’s relationship with the organisation or its members are such that it could reasonably be inferred that improper conduct that would further the criminal activities of the declared organisation is likely to occur if the person is granted a licence.

(4) An application for a licence made by a body corporate shall be refused if it appears to the Director-General that:

(a) a person concerned in the management of the body corporate has not attained the age of 18 years,

(b) the body corporate is disqualified from holding a licence,

(c) the body corporate does not have, or is not likely to continue to have, sufficient financial resources to enable it to carry on business pursuant to the authority that would be conferred by the licence if it were granted,

(d) the body corporate is not likely to carry on such a business honestly and fairly,

(e) the officers of the body corporate do not have the prescribed qualifications or do not have sufficient knowledge or expertise to carry on such a business,

(f) the reputation of the body corporate is such that it would not be a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence,

(g) an officer of the body corporate is disqualified from being an officer of a body corporate that is the holder of a licence,

(h) a director of, or a person concerned in the management of, the body corporate is not of good reputation or character or in any other way would not be a fit and proper person to be the holder of a licence if the director or person were to apply for the licence personally,

(i) any person other than an officer of the body corporate who, in the opinion of the Director-General, appears to have control, or substantial control, of the body corporate is not of good reputation and character or is not likely to exercise that control honestly and fairly, or

(j) any person with whom the applicant intends to carry on, in partnership, business pursuant to the authority that would be conferred by the licence if it were granted is a person in respect of whom the Director-General would be required to refuse an application for the licence if that person were the applicant, or

(k) a director of, or person concerned in the management of, the body corporate has (as an adult), within the preceding 10 years, been found guilty of an offence involving, or relating to:

(i) stealing a motor vehicle (within the meaning of Subdivision 5A of Division 1 of Part 4 of the Crimes Act 1900 ), or

(ii) receiving, or unlawful possession of, a motor vehicle (within the meaning of Subdivision 5A of Division 1 of Part 4 of the Crimes Act 1900 ) or a motor vehicle part.

(5) Without affecting the generality of subsection (4) (f), (h), (i) or (j), the Director-General may, in determining any matter referred to in those paragraphs, have regard (if such be the case) to the fact that the body corporate or a person referred to in any of those paragraphs has, at any time, been convicted of an offence against this Act or the regulations or any other enactment administered by the Minister.

(6) An application for a licence may be refused if:

(a) some other licence is in force in respect of a place of business, or any part of a place, to which the application relates, or

(b) the carrying on of the business at that place or part of a place is, for any reason, unlawful.

(7) Where an application for a licence is refused, the Director-General shall forthwith, by notice in writing served on the applicant, inform the applicant of the refusal and of the ground on which the refusal is based and, where the application was accompanied by the prescribed fee for the licence, the Director-General shall, as soon as practicable, refund to the applicant that fee.

(7A) The Director-General is not, under subsection (7), Part 2 of the applied Act (within the meaning of section 10) or any other Act or law, required to give any reasons for refusing an application for a licence because of subsection (3A) to the extent that the giving of those reasons would disclose any criminal intelligence.

(8) An application for a licence shall not be granted until the applicant has paid to the Director-General the prescribed fee (which may include an initial contribution to the Fund) for the licence.

(9) Where an application for a licence is granted:

(a) the applicant shall be deemed to be the holder of the licence granted, and

(b) the Director-General shall forthwith, by notice in writing, inform the applicant of the granting of the application.

(10) Notwithstanding anything in this section, the Director-General may refrain from granting an application for a licence unless:

(a) any natural person to whom the application relates, and

(b) the directors and officers of any body corporate to which the application relates,

or such of them as the Director-General specifies or refers to, has or have appeared personally before the Director-General and satisfied the Director-General as to such relevant matters referred to in this section as the Director-General thinks appropriate.