LIQUOR LICENSING ACT 1997 - SECT 55

LIQUOR LICENSING ACT 1997 - SECT 55

55—Provisions governing whether person is fit and proper

        (a1)         A person is not a fit and proper person to hold a licence if—

            (a)         the person has been found guilty or convicted of an offence as prescribed by the regulations; or

            (b)         in the case of a body corporate—

                  (i)         the body corporate is a body corporate, or is a body corporate of a class, prescribed by the regulations; or

                  (ii)         the body corporate is a prescribed organisation; or

            (c)         in the case of a natural person, the person—

                  (i)         is—

                        (A)         a member of a prescribed organisation; or

                        (B)         a close associate of a person who is a member of a prescribed organisation or is subject to a control order under the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 ; or

                  (ii)         is an insolvent under administration within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.

        (a2)         A person is not a fit and proper person to occupy a position of authority in a trust or corporate entity that holds a licence if—

            (a)         the person has been found guilty or convicted of an offence as prescribed by the regulations; or

            (b)         the person is—

                  (i)         a member of a prescribed organisation; or

                  (ii)         a close associate of a person who is a member of a prescribed organisation or is subject to a control order under the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 ; or

            (c)         the person is an insolvent under administration within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.

        (1)         In deciding whether a person is a fit and proper person for a particular purpose under this Act, a licensing authority must take into consideration—

            (a)         the reputation, honesty and integrity (including the creditworthiness) of the person; and

            (b)         the reputation, honesty and integrity of people with whom the person associates; and

            (c)         if the person is a body corporate—whether the body corporate is being wound up or is under official management or in receivership; and

            (d)         any other factor relevant to the particular purpose to which the decision relates, including any relevant offence of which the person has been convicted or found guilty.

Note—

A relevant factor might, for example, be that a person (or, if the person is a body corporate, a director of the body corporate) has been a director of a number of bodies corporate wound up for the benefit of creditors.

        (2)         If a licensing authority is to decide whether a person is a fit and proper person to supervise or manage, or to be involved in the supervision or management of, the business conducted or to be conducted under a licence, the licensing authority must also give consideration to—

            (a)         whether the person has the appropriate knowledge, experience and skills for the purpose; and

            (b)         in particular—whether the person has knowledge, experience and skills in encouraging the responsible supply and consumption of liquor.

        (3)         For the purposes of determining whether a person is a fit and proper person for a particular purpose under this Act, the Commissioner may cause the person's photograph and fingerprints to be taken.

        (4)         In this section—

"close associate"—see subsection (5);

"prescribed organisation"—the following are prescribed organisations:

            (a)         a declared organisation within the meaning of the Serious and Organised Crime (Control) Act 2008 ;

            (b)         a criminal organisation within the meaning of Division 1 or Division 2 of Part 3B of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 ;

            (c)         any other organisation prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.

        (5)         For the purposes of this section, 2 persons are "close associates" if—

            (a)         1 is a spouse, domestic partner, parent, brother, sister or child of the other; or

            (b)         they are members of the same household; or

            (c)         they are in partnership; or

            (d)         they are related bodies corporate; or

            (e)         1 has a right to participate (otherwise than as a shareholder in a body corporate) in income or profits derived from a business conducted by the other; or

            (f)         1 is in a position to exercise control or significant influence over the conduct of the other.

        (6)         For the purposes of this section, a reference to a parent, brother, sister or child of a person will be taken to include a reference to a step-parent, step-brother, step-sister or step-child (as the case requires) of the person.