New South Wales Consolidated Acts

TOW TRUCK INDUSTRY ACT 1998 - SECT 18

18 Restrictions on granting licence

(1) The RTA:

(a) must refuse to grant an application for a licence on mandatory grounds, and

(b) may refuse to grant an application for a licence on discretionary grounds.

(2) The mandatory grounds for refusing to grant an application for a licence are as follows:

(a) that the applicant is under the age of 18 years,

(b) that the applicant has, within the period of 10 years before the application for the licence was made:

(i) been convicted, or

(ii) been found guilty (but with no conviction being recorded),

by a court in New South Wales or elsewhere of an offence prescribed by the regulations, whether or not the offence is an offence under New South Wales law and whether or not committed before the commencement of this section,

(c) that the applicant is disqualified from holding a licence,

(d) that 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 .

(e) that the RTA has reasonable grounds to believe from information provided by the Commissioner of Police in relation to the applicant that the applicant:

(i) is a member of, or

(ii) is a close associate of, or

(iii) regularly associates with, one or more members of,

a declared organisation within the meaning of the Crimes (Criminal Organisations Control) Act 2009 , and the nature and circumstances of the applicant’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 applicant is granted a licence.

(3) The discretionary grounds for refusing to grant an application for a licence are as follows:

(a) that the applicant is not, in the opinion of the RTA, a fit and proper person to hold a licence or is otherwise not competent to carry on the kind of towing work to which the proposed licence relates,

(b) that the applicant has not specified a place of business,

(c) that the applicant’s place of business is not, in the opinion of the RTA, suitable for keeping the records and documents required to be made or kept under this Act,

(c1) that the applicant has not specified a place that is to be used as a holding yard in the course of the applicant’s business or the place so specified is more than 10 kilometres from the licensee’s place of business (unless the RTA approves of it being a greater distance from that place),

(d) that any place specified by the applicant as a holding yard intended to be used in the course of the applicant’s business is not, in the opinion of the RTA, suitable to be used as a holding yard,

(e) that the applicant is not the registered owner, or registered operator, of each tow truck specified in the application as a tow truck intended to be operated in carrying on the applicant’s business,

(f) that each such specified tow truck does not, in the opinion of the RTA, comply with the relevant requirements of this Act and the regulations or with any other relevant law relating to tow trucks,

(g) that the applicant does not hold the qualifications and experience prescribed by the regulations in respect of the class of licence sought by the applicant,

(h) that the applicant has not satisfactorily completed such training courses as may be approved for the purposes of this section,

(i) that any close associate of the applicant has, within the period of 10 years before the application for the licence was made:

(i) been convicted, or

(ii) been found guilty (but with no conviction being recorded),

by a court in New South Wales or elsewhere of an offence prescribed by the regulations, whether or not the offence is an offence under New South Wales law,

(j) that the granting of the licence would, in the opinion of the RTA, be contrary to the public interest.

(4) The regulations may provide additional mandatory or discretionary grounds for refusing to grant an application for a licence.

(5) A reference in subsection (3) (a), (g) or (h) to an applicant includes a reference to each close associate of the applicant.

(6) The RTA is not, under this or any other Act or law, required to give any reasons for refusing to grant an application for a licence because of subsection (2) (e) to the extent that the giving of those reasons would disclose any criminal intelligence.