2006-2007...inspections throughout New South Wales. These focused on estate agents, builders and tradespeople, travel agents, motor dealers and repairers, auto dismantlers, second

For information and help on fair trading issues call the Office of Fair Trading

General enquiries

13 32 20Language assistance

13 14 50

TTY for hearing impaired

1300 723 404

Aboriginal enquiry officer

1800 500 330

Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal

1300 135 399

Registry of Co-operatives & Associations

1800 502 042

Or visit a Fair Trading Centre at:• Albury • Armidale • Bathurst • Blacktown • Broken Hill • Coffs Harbour• Dubbo • Gosford • Goulburn • Grafton • Hurstville • Lismore • Liverpool

• Newcastle • Orange • Parramatta • Penrith • Port Macquarie • Queanbeyan• Sydney • Tamworth • Tweed Heads • Wagga Wagga • Wollongong

Visit our website for detailswww.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au

13 32 20

November 2007 FT333

Office of Fair Trading1 Fitzwilliam St Parramatta NSW 2150PO Box 972 Parramatta NSW 2124

9895 0111

A year in review2006 – 2007

Fai r Trading: serv ing consumers

and traders in New South Wales

www.fair t rading.nsw.gov.au

November2007

FT333

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A year in review 2006-2007 Fair Trading: serving consumers and traders in NSW

ContentsExecutive Summary 2

Highlights 4

Program Allocation 4

Our Structure 5

Planning Framework 6

Legislation and regulation 8

Community awareness and access 18

Compliance 38

Organisation and people 50

Fair Trading Publications 51

Office locations 52

Index 53

ISSN 1448-7209© State of New South Wales through

the Office of Fair Trading, 2007

The Office of Fair Trading is one of five offices established

within the NSW Department of Commerce. The Department asa whole produces an annual report to the Minister forCommerce for tabling in the NSW Parliament. However, the

Office of Fair Trading measurably reaches a significantproportion of the almost 7 million people living in NSW. For thisreason and the significant formal role of the Commissioner for

Fair Trading, this additional report focuses exclusively onactivities in the New South Wales fair trading arena.

At a glance ...as at 30 June 2007

Policy development & regulatory review• Legislation administered: 43 Acts• Bills assented to in Parliament: 4• Acts and regulations amended: 17• Current projects: 77

Services to the public• Requests for service: 6,555,000• Website visitor sessions: 2,521,000• REVS checks: 1,637,800• Phone calls from general public: 1,250,000• Counter enquiries: 239,900• Rental bond transactions: 546,000• Total occupational licences on register: 234,084• Total business names on register: 502,000• Total associations on register: 39,348• Total co-operatives on register: 744• Consumer complaints addressed: 34,052• Publications: Over 170 titles - 25 translated in up to 28 languages• Public seminars and information sessions: 900• Seminar audiences: Over 27,000

Compliance• Compliance related activities:* 41,000

Agency• Staff: 1,183• Budget: $160.2 million• Fair Trading Centres throughout NSW: 24• Other service outlets:** 68

* Compliance related activities can vary significantly year-to-year depending on the mix between long, complex investigations and shorter, less complex oneswhich reflect changing marketplace issues.

* * Selected services are also provided through Government Access Centres and other agency arrangements in rural and isolated areas throughout NSW.

1


The Office of

Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading within the Department ofCommerce serves the consumers and traders ofNSW. We aim to achieve fairness for all in themarketplace by safeguarding consumer rights andadvising business and traders on fair and ethicalpractice.

Fair Trading objectivesFair Trading has a set of robust objectivesembedded in legislation and in our role as both aregulator and a consumer protection agency.The Office of Fair Trading strategic objectives for2007-2010 are to:• simplify service provision for consumers and

traders• achieve fair marketplace regulation with minimal

red tape• deliver accessible information and services to

the community• enforce Fair Trading laws• win and maintain respect as a credible, efficient

and effective organisation.

Our values• We are commercially astute and deliver value for

money• We serve the community, our customers and

clients with energy and respect• We behave ethically• We embrace new ideas• We collaborate to get results• We strive to be experts in our fields• We get things done

What we doWe safeguard consumer rights and advisebusiness and traders on fair and ethical practice.Our customers include people renting homes andthose building or renovating. There are stratascheme owners, people buying or repairing cars orlooking for consumer information. A large numberare builders and people working in a trade orrunning a business. But our services go beyondthose delivered to individuals. The legislativeframework we administer sets the scene and therules for fairness in the countless daily transactions

between consumers and traders. Often behind thescenes, unfair practices are investigated andprevented. A system of licensing and theinvestigation of complaints help ensure unqualifiedor inappropriate people do not operate in NSW. Ourlicensing and investigations cover a range ofcommercial activities including: business andretail, residential home building, motor trade, realestate, retirement villages and residential parks,product safety, trade measurement and co-operatives. This encourages integrity by businessand traders and provides protection for consumers.

Consumer helpProviding information is core business for FairTrading. Consumers of everyday goods andservices can use our website or contact our FairTrading Centres to obtain information on their rightsand responsibilities or seek assistance withresolving disputes. People renting homes, buyingor selling property or living in strata schemeproperty can turn to us for information andassistance.

Business & trader servicesTraders and business people can register businessnames and obtain the licences and certificates theyneed to operate in New South Wales. Builders andcontractors, people in the accommodation andproperty services industries and those engaged inselling goods or providing services can receiveinformation on their rights and obligations under fairtrading laws.

Co-operatives & AssociationsWe actively encourage the formation anddevelopment of co-operatives and we helpcommunity groups establish themselves asassociations.

...Fair Tradingmeasurably reachesa significantproportion of thealmost 7 millionpeople living in NSW.

2


Executive

Summary

Perhaps the most significant development for theyear was the Government’s introduction of the StatePlan which provided a welcome impetus to reviewand refocus the full range of our activities. I’mpleased and proud to say that everything that FairTrading does now and is planning to do in thecoming years meets both the Plan’s and thecommunity’s expectations for delivering betterservices and growing prosperity across NSW. Theprocess has allowed us to prepare a new StrategicPlan that sets our goals out to 2010. These goals,objectives, marketplace indicators andperformance measures structure this report andare explained in more detail on page 6.

Legislation and regulationEstablishment of the Government’s BetterRegulation Office ran concurrently with introductionof the State Plan. There is now a sharper focus oncommunity consultation and cost benefit analysisfor regulatory reform and development. There areincreased expectations that fair trading legislationwill minimise red tape for business operators andprovide for simple, uncomplicated services forcustomers. To benchmark and track ourperformance against these expectations we havewidened our customer and community surveying.Initial results suggest our customers are nottroubled by overly complex service provision andthat the majority of the broader trading communitydon’t believe they are unduly burdened bylegislative red tape. While this is encouraging, FairTrading will continue to work towards marketplaceregulation that provides appropriate levels ofconsumer protection but without placing costly orunnecessary administrative burdens on traders andbusinesses.

At any given time, Fair Trading is working onapproximately 80 different legislative review andpolicy development projects. Most are state basedwhile some are in conjunction with otherjurisdictions with a view to nationally consistentmarketplace rules. During 2006-2007, regulatorychanges brought significant improvements for theNSW community in the areas of: motor vehiclerepairs - with the introduction of a mandatory codeof practice between smash repairers and insurers;

in real estate - with more open dealings at propertyauctions; in small business - with tighter controlson false-billing and in home building – with clearer,standard qualification requirements and theopportunity for licensees to take advantage of newthree-year licences.

Community awareness and accessFair Trading continued to respond to a vast numberof requests from the community for service –approximately 6.5 million in 2006-2007. These werehandled through phone, counter and electronicchannels. Independent surveying demonstrated ahigh level of accuracy for the information providedand customer satisfaction levels continued tomatch our target. More than 34,000 disputesbetween consumers and traders were handled and85% of these were successfully negotiated at aninformal level. Over 900 community informationsessions were presented to more than 27,000people around the State.

The Fair Trading Information Centre (FTIC)continues to be the key focus for our telephoneservices. FTIC is a single, convenient point ofaccess and is the first point of contact for almost 1million phone inquiries each year.

In line with our Strategic Plan, we conducted anindependent review of the current contact centreenvironment at the end of the financial year. Theresults will enable us to meet our objectives andensure that FTIC provides an example of bestpractice for a NSW Government contact centre.

The Office of Fair Trading brings together a broadrange of the State’s consumer services - includingthose of the Rental Bond Board, whose services areprovided by this Office. In a move to assist the lesswell-off, people seeking affordable housing willnow benefit from an initiative that provided $10.4million of Rental Bond Board investment funds tothe Department of Housing for capital and toestablish the vehicle model for affordable housing.In June 2007 we provided Housing with anadditional $30 million to provide grants for thedevelopment or acquisition of up to 250 units ofaffordable rental housing.

...everything that FairTrading does meets

both the State Plan’sand the community’s

expectations fordelivering better

services and growingprosperity across

NSW.

3


Electronic services are now the mainstay of ouroverall service provision. In addition to publicationsand campaign materials, an extensive collection ofgeneral as well as more targeted information wasavailable for customers from our website. Wecontinued to develop and maintain more than 1,800pages of information on the site. With an average ofover 216,000 visits to the site each month, 2006-2007 saw a 24% increase in usage from theprevious year. The most popular pages continue toabout registering a business name and performinglicence checks on home building tradespeople.

Our website is information rich and since its lastreview in 2003, has outgrown its informationstructure, resulting in some difficulties for clients inlocating information. To improve access to ourinformation, a major review of the websitecommenced during the year. By the review’scompletion in 2007-2008, the website will providean improved experience for clients in accessinginformation and we will have achieved compliancewith the NSW Government Website Style Directive.

ComplianceOver 41,000 compliance related activities – rangingfrom inspections through to more complex action inthe Supreme Court, were carried out to ensurefairness in the marketplace. An Enforcement ActionReport is now being published each quarter on theFair Trading website. It details the names ofoffenders, their offences and the penalties imposedfor breaches of fair trading law. It sends a warningto individuals who might consider flouting the lawas well as encouragement to the honest majority oftraders who value the reputation and integrity oftheir industries.

The first line of defence in the fair tradingcompliance program is an active state-wideinspection program. During the year, Fair Tradinginspectors carried out more than 28,000inspections throughout New South Wales. Thesefocused on estate agents, builders andtradespeople, travel agents, motor dealers andrepairers, auto dismantlers, second hand dealers,pawnbrokers, the safety of various productsincluding electrical items, packaged items atsupermarkets and other retail outlets, liquordispensing units and glassware at licensedpremises and petrol, gas and LPG fuelpumps. Some of the larger programs involved2,166 product and electrical safety inspections,3,391 building industry inspections and 11,813trade measurement inspections. In the homebuilding area, operations: Mortar, Nail, Dumpy andRipsaw involved targeted visits to well over 600residential building sites and interviews with some1,800 traders. Resulting fines for a range ofoffences totalled more than $180,000.

Organisation and peopleIts pleasing to see that for each business unit withinFair Trading, there is now a clear and distinctconnection between front-line operations, localbusiness plans, the OFT Strategic Plan, theCommerce Corporate Plan and all the way back tothe NSW State Plan. We can see more clearly thatour efforts and aspirations are exactly what theyshould be; that money is well spent and that we arecloser to having the right organisation to do the job.Last year’s Cost Effective Compliance Review isbearing fruit with new, more effective structuresbeing planned in our enforcement areas.

An Information, Communications & TechnologyStrategic Plan was developed for a three-yearperiod from 2007 to 2010. The Plan highlightedpriorities for capital investment in the upgrade orreplacement of existing service delivery businessapplications and the potential introduction of newtechnology in support of improved delivery offrontline services to consumers and traders. Thestrategy is aligned with the overarching CommerceCorporate Plan as well as the State Plan prioritiesof Delivering Better Services and GrowingProsperity.

We finished the year on-budget, meeting ourassigned productivity savings and with ourperformance measures being met to a high degree.None of these achievements could occur withoutthe dedicated and highly professional people thatmake it all happen. I sincerely thank them for theircollective and individual efforts – where our outputand performance results plainly show they areneeded and appreciated by the wider community.

The management and staff of the Office of FairTrading welcome the new Director-General of theDepartment of Commerce, Mr John Lee. We thankthe Minister for Fair Trading, The Hon. Linda BurneyMP and the Minister for Commerce, The Hon EricRoozendaal MLC, for their support and enthusiasmduring the year and we look forward to supportingthem throughout the coming year.

Lyn BakerCommissioner for Fair Trading Over 41,000

compliance relatedactivities were carriedout to ensure fairnessin the marketplace.

4


Program Allocation - expenses 2006-2007 Program Allocation - average staff 2006-2007

Objective 3 – Community aware of and able to access information and services

Objective 4 – Compliance with Fair Trading laws

HighlightsObjective 1 – Fair Trading legislation simplifies service provision for consumers and traders• 87% of customers agree services are simple

and uncomplicated• Licensed builders given the option to renew their

licences on a 3 yearly basis with substantialsavings over the annual renewal fee

• Improved mobility of skilled workers withnationally accepted qualification requirements

• 34,000 disputes handled with over 85%successfully negotiated at an informal level

• Website visitor sessions grew by 24% to morethan 2.5 million

• Over 900 information sessions, talks andseminars attended by 27,000 people across NSW

• New Enforcement Action Report publishedquarterly on the website

• $110,000 paid to the Financial Counselling TrustFund by a credit union for breaches of theConsumer Credit Code

• 283 penalty notices with a monetary value ofmore than $180,000 issued as a result ofproactive compliance operations in the homebuilding industry

Objective 2 – Fair Marketplace regulation with minimal red tape• New insurers and smash repairers mandatory

code of conduct provides a balanced frameworkfor fair business while consumers benefit fromopenness and accountability

• Improved consumer protection by makingconveyancers licensing requirements consistentwith other property related licenses

Objective 5 – The Office of Fair Trading is a credible, efficient and effective organisation*• Office of Fair Trading Strategic Plan 2007-2010

developed and communicated to all staff

The Future• Major review of our website will provide

improved experience for clients accessinginformation

• Expansion of the number of licences available online through the Government Licensing Service

• More than $1.75 million in fines and penaltynotices issued across 15 acts during the year

• Gaol term imposed on a real estate employee formisappropriation of funds

The Future• Integration of the Motor Vehicle Repair Industry

Authority to bring improved efficiencies to theregulation of the industry

The Future• New Information, Communications & Technology

strategic plan to improve delivery of frontlineservices to the consumers and traders.

for 22 home building occupations• Easing of the regulatory burden for motor dealers

by reducing the number of forms saving theindustry $1.1m per annum

The Future• Creating an equitable two-tiered reporting system

for incorporated associations

• More protection for small business throughstrengthened controls on false billing

The Future• Agreement to develop a national system of trade

measurement• Agreement in principle to a national system for

the registration of personal property securities

Legislation andregulation

Community awarenessand access

Compliance

Organisationand people

* Resouces for Objective 5 are proportioned across all areas of Fair Trading.

Total $160.2M Total 1,183 staff

5


Our

Structure

Brian Given

AssistantCommissioner

Operations

AndrewGavrielatos

AssistantCommissioner

Customer &Property Services

Steve GriffinGeneral Manager

Home BuildingService

Rod Stowe

DeputyCommissioner

• Legal ServicesDivision

• Compliance &StandardsDivision

• Registry ofCo-operativesandAssociations

• Motor VehicleRepair IndustryAuthority

• CustomerServicesDivision

• Property &LicensingDivision

• Fair TradingInformationCentre

• REVS

• InsuranceServices

• MediationServices &Compliance

• Licensing

• BusinessSupport

• Policy &StrategyDivision

Lyn Baker

Commissioner for Fair Trading

The Hon. Linda Burney MP

Minister for Fair Trading

Minister for Youth

Minister for Volunteering

The Hon. Eric Roozendaal MLCMinister for Commerce

Michael Silk

Executive Director

• Fair TradingServices

• Community andIndustry Grants

Director-GeneralDepartment of Commerce

Office of Industrial Relations

Office of Public Works andServices

NSWProcurement

Government ChiefInformation Office

6


Planning

Framework

As part of the NSW Department of Commerce, TheOffice of Fair Trading takes its key objectives fromthe Department's Corporate Plan 2006 - 2010 whichestablishes five Goals:1. Maximise value for government agencies in

delivering services to clients, customers andcommunity

2. Simplify processes for dealing with government3. Promote a fair marketplace for consumers and

traders

4. Promote fair and productive workplaces5. Contribute to a credible, efficient and effective

organisation.

Through the objectives and services set out below,Fair Trading's role is to contribute to Goal 2 and toaddress Goal 3 - both of which support the StatePlan activities of Delivering Better Services andGrowing Prosperity across NSW. Results for eachof the indicators and performance measures areshown on pages 8, 18 and 38.

Goal 2: Simplify processes for dealing with governmentGoal 3: Promote a fair marketplace for consumers and traders

OFT objectives Fair Trading legislationsimplifies service provisionfor consumers and traders

Fair marketplace regulationwith minimal red tape

Community able to access information and services Compliance with fair tradinglaws

Service group Policy development andregulatory review

Services to the public: Information for consumers andtraders; Business licensing and registration services; Rentalbonds custody; Tribunal services

Compliance: inspections,investigations, disciplinaryaction and prosecution

• % of customers whoagree services are simpleand uncomplicated

• % of traders who believethey are unduly burdenedby fair trading laws

Result indicators • % of public who know where to go to get help • % of consumers confidentin fair operation ofmarketplace

Performancemeasures

• % of Office of Fair Tradingregulatory proposals thatmeet Better RegulationOffice requirementswithout furtheramendment

• Customer satisfaction meets or exceeds the benchmark• Community take-up rate: average number of services

requested per 1000 people in NSW• % of accuracy of information provided• % of complaints finalised within 30 days• % of complaints resolved to satisfaction of both parties• % of telephone enquiries answered where published

standard met• % of licensing and registration services where published

standards are met• % of bond refunds where published standards met• % of Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal matters

finalised prior to or at first hearing

• % of inspections wherecompliance evident

• Proportion ofprosecutions successful

7


Department of Commerce Corporate Plan

Commerce is a service provider and regulator dedicated to delivering better servicesto our clients, customers and the community, and contributing to a prosperous NSW.

Department of Commerce Corporate Plan 2006 - 2010

•Improved access toprocurement servicesfor customers andsuppliers

•Fair Trading andIndustrial Relationslegislation simplifiesservice provision forconsumers andtraders and employersand employees

Simplify processes fordealing with government

Goal 2

Promote a fairmarketplace forconsumers and traders

•Fair marketplaceregulation with minimalred tape

•Community able toaccess information andservices

•Compliance with fairtrading laws

Goal 3

•Fair workplaceregulation withminimal red tape

•Accessible informationand help for employersand employees

•Compliance withregulations

•Best practiceemployment advice

Promote fair andproductive workplaces

Goal 4

Contribute to a credible,efficient and effectiveorganisation

•Leaders to provide clearand consistentdirection and beaccessible and visible

•Leaders at all levels ofthe organisationchampion Commerce

•We have the right skillsto do our jobs

•We are respected bythe clients, customersand community weserve

•We have soundfinancial managementto deliver our objectives

•Our service deliverypriorities drive what wedo with our assets

Goal 5

•Projects delivered ontime, on budget andsafely

•Procurement costsminimised forgovernment agencies

•Procurement risksidentified and managed

Maximise value forgovernment agencies indelivering services toclients, customers andthe community

Goal 1

8


Simplifying the processes for dealing with government and promoting a fair marketplace for consumersand traders begins with having the appropriate regulation. Fair Trading reviews and develops the regulatoryframework in New South Wales in the areas of consumer goods and services, accommodation andproperty services, and home building. It co-ordinates community consultation and prepares options forGovernment decision making. It leads NSW's position and negotiation with other jurisdictions in the questfor nationally consistent fair trading regulation. The foremost priority is that NSW marketplace regulation,currently involving 43 different pieces of legislation, provides for simple, uncomplicated services forcustomers and that traders are not unduly burdened by compliance requirements.

separation of results for consumers and traders -but not to the degree where conclusive results maypoint to reform in specific areas. Its value thereforeis as a general indicator that in combination withcustomer satisfaction and information accuracysurvey results allows Fair Trading to gauge itsresponse to the State Plan goal of customer friendlyservices with increased customer satisfaction.

There is no universally agreed measure of red tape.However, a cross-section of traders unaligned toindustry peak bodies are now able to considerwhether NSW's fair trading laws impose undueburdens on those trading in this State. A high levelof agreement would support industry calls forfurther easing or modification of regulatoryrequirements. The reverse, as shown in the tableopposite, suggests marketplace regulation, ingeneral, may be closer to an appropriate level. Asan unbiased pointer to the broader marketplaceview, this indicator (although not reflecting onindividual laws) will contribute to Government red-tape deliberations and assist Fair Trading'sregulatory review and development processes.

Legislation and regulationObjective 1: Fair Trading legislation simplifies service provision for

consumers and traders

Objective 2: Fair Marketplace regulation with minimal red tape

Strategy: Strive for best practice regulation

03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 Target

Percentage of customers who agree services are simpleand uncomplicated - - - 87%* 85%**

Percentage of traders who believe they are unduly burdenedby fair trading laws - - - 34%* 35%**

* Survey results valid to ± 5% @ 95% level of confidence** Until at least three years of data are available it is not technically feasible to set firmer targets

Marketplace indicators

Comment/interpretationThe new marketplace indicators shown above aremeasured through annual surveys conducted byindependent contractors. The first involvesinterviews with a mix of recent customers whoproportionately represent the make-up of typicalconsumer and trader customers. The secondderives from interviews with a random sample oftraders from across NSW and in the relevantproportions for industry sectors regularly dealingwith the Office of Fair Trading.

The percentage of customers who agree servicesare simple and uncomplicated is not an indicator ofhow services are delivered - but the contributionthat regulatory requirements make to thecomplexity or otherwise of services provided toconsumer and traders. A high level of agreementwould indicate customers are generally nottroubled by what they may need to do to obtain theservice and that regulatory requirements arereasonable and appropriate. A low level ofagreement would suggest a need for increasedreform efforts - within the context of the regulatoryobjectives. The sample size does allow for some

9


Snapshot: service-level statistics 2006-2007Number of pieces of principal legislation in force 43Bills assented to in Parliament 4Acts amended under Statute Law Revision Program 7Regulations remade under Subordinate Legislation Review Program 5Regulations in preparation to be remade under Subordinate Legislation Review Program 5

Highlights 2006-2007:

• 87% of customers agree services are simple and uncomplicated• Licensed builders given the option to renew their licences on a 3 yearly

basis with substantial savings over the annual renewal fee• Easing the regulatory burden for motor dealers by reducing the number of

forms - saving the industry $1.1m per annum• Improved mobility of skilled workers with nationally accepted qualification

requirements for 22 home building occupations• New insurers and smash repairers mandatory code of conduct provides a

balanced framework for fair business while consumers benefit fromopenness and accountability

• Improved consumer protection by making conveyancers licensingrequirements consistent with other property related licenses

• More protection for small business through strengthened controls on falsebilling

• Toughened laws to reduce graffiti by restricting access to spray paint cans

Performance measure

03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 Target

Percentage of Office of Fair Trading regulatory proposals that meetBetter Regulation Office requirements without further amendment - - - n/a* 60%

* Not yet able to be measured

Comment/interpretationItems that will be subject to Better Regulation Officereview will primarily include Regulatory ImpactStatements prepared in connection with reviews ofexisting legislation as well as new proposalsdeveloped at the request of the Minister, theGovernment or Parliament. Meeting BROrequirements to a high degree is a quality measure

of how well Fair Trading's review and developmentpractices address Government requirements. At theclose of the 2006-2007 financial year, BRO had notyet disclosed its performance measurementrequirements. Until this occurs and a degree ofexperience is acquired, the target will remainspeculative only.

10


Policy development andregulatory reviewA comprehensive review process involving morethan 40 separate pieces of legislation continued toensure NSW's fair trading laws remain up-to-dateand reflect the needs of Parliament, the communityand a broad range of stakeholders. Significantregulatory achievements included improvedconsumer choice and better competition in the areaof motor vehicle repairs with the introduction of amandatory code of practice between smashrepairers and insurers. In the real estate fieldconsumers can now benefit from more opendealings at property auctions. People in smallbusiness are protected by tighter controls on false-billing. Clearer, standard qualification requirementsand the opportunity for licensees to take advantageof new three-year licences will advantage homebuilding consumers as well as traders.

Three year home building licencesA review into licensing in the NSW home buildingindustry was conducted in 2005 to consider a rangeof issues including the type of work that should becovered by licensing; whether licensing shouldcover individuals, partnerships and companies;training and education standards; and ownerbuilders. A total of 29 recommendations for reformwere made and the Government sought feedbackfrom consumers, building contractors, industryassociations and other interested parties. TheGovernment indicated early in 2007 that it wouldimplement two of the key recommendations in thereport. As a result licensees under the HomeBuilding Act are being given the option from 1 July2007 to renew their licences on a three yearlybasis, providing substantial savings over annualrenewal fees.

Review of the RetirementVillages Act 1999A statutory review of the Retirement Villages Act1999 was completed in March 2005. Since thenthere has been ongoing consultation with villageresident and industry groups. The consultation draftRetirement Villages Amendment Bill 2006 wastabled in Parliament in November 2006. The Billmakes changes to a number of significant areas,including disclosure of information, resident inputinto management, capital maintenance andbudgets, deficits and other financial issues.Submissions made in response to the draft Bill arenow being analysed, and it is anticipated that anumber refinements will be made to the Bill beforeit is introduced into Parliament.

Review of the Consumer, Trader andTenancy Tribunal Act 2001A final report of the statutory review of theConsumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act 2001was completed in 2006. Consultation on the key

recommendations has been undertaken and workon legislative amendments to implement therecommendations of the Review Report isprogressing. It is anticipated that legislativeamendments will be introduced in 2007-2008.

Funeral industry reviewIn response to the Legislative Council StandingCommittee on Social Issues Inquiry Report into theNSW funeral industry, as well as our own research,we worked with the funeral industry and consumergroups to develop proposals for an informationstandard for funeral goods and services. Theinformation standard will require funeral directorsto provide specific information to consumers aboutfuneral goods and services, including a breakdownof costs. It will ensure that consumers receiveclear and easily comparable information to helpthem make an informed choice at a time when theyare distressed and vulnerable. It will also promotegreater competition and transparency within theindustry. The Fair Trading Act 1987 was amended inJune 2007 to enable an information standard forfuneral goods and services to be prescribed. A draftinformation standard will be released for publicconsultation later in 2007.

Residential tenancy law reformA strategic review of legislation coveringresidential tenancies is currently being carried out.This review follows the release of an options paperin 2005, which attracted more than 100submissions. A report on the review has beendrafted and further consultation with industry andcommunity stakeholders will be undertaken beforeany amendments are introduced. Reform optionsare aimed primarily at updating the legislation,reducing disputes and giving greater clarity,certainty and flexibility to both tenants andlandlords.

Community schemes reviewThe Community Land Management Act 1989 andthe Community Land Development Act 1989 arecurrently being reviewed as a joint initiative withthe Department of Lands. The review is examininga wide range of matters, in particular whetherchanges to the strata legislation in recent yearsshould be adopted for community schemes. Thesubmissions made to this review by stakeholdersand members of the public are currently beingexamined and recommendations will be provided tothe Minister for Fair Trading later in the near future.

Motor dealer formsThe Government's Small Business RegulationReview Taskforce conducted a review of the motorvehicle retailing and servicing sectors to consideropportunities to cut red tape for business. TheTaskforce identified that reducing the number offorms required under the Motor Dealers Act 1974would significantly cut red tape.

From 1 July 2007licensees under theHome Building Acthave the option of

renewing theirlicences on a three

yearly basis, providingsubstantial savings

over annual renewal fees.

11


Fair Trading Legislation

• Associations Incorporation Act 1984

• Business Names Act 2002

• Community Land Management Act 1989

• Consumer Claims Act 1998

• Consumer Credit Administration Act 1995

• Consumer Credit (New South Wales) Act1995

• Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act2001

• Contracts Review Act 1980

• Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003

• Co-operative Housing and Starr-BowkettSocieties Act 1998

• Co-operatives Act 1992

• Credit Act 1984

• Credit (Home Finance Contracts) Act 1984

• Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004

• Fair Trading Act 1987

• Fitness Services (Pre-paid Fees) Act 2000

• Funeral Funds Act 1979

• Gas Supply Act 1996 No 38 (Section 83A)

• Holiday Parks (Long-term CasualOccupation) Act 2002

• Home Building Act 1989

• HomeFund Commissioner Act 1993

• HomeFund Restructuring Act 1993 ss 14,15, 16 and Schedule 2 (remainder Ministerfor Housing)

• Landlord and Tenant Act 1899

• Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948

• Landlord and Tenant (Rental Bonds) Act 1977

• Motor Dealers Act 1974

• Motor Vehicle Repairs Act 1980

• Partnership Act 1892 (administration ofPartnership register provisions)

• Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act1996

• Prices Exploitation Code (New South Wales)Act 1999

• Prices Regulation Act 1948

• Property, Stock and Business Agents Act2002

• Registration of Interests in Goods Act 1986

• Residential Parks Act 1998

• Residential Tenancies Act 1987

• Retirement Villages Act 1999

• Strata Schemes Management Act 1996

• Summary Offences Act 1998, section 10D(remainder the Attorney-General)

• Trade Measurement Act 1989

• Trade Measurement Administration Act 1989

• Travel Agents Act 1986

• Valuers Act 2003

• Warehousemen's Liens Act 1935

Our legislative andpolicy developmentprogram ensuredNew South Wales’43 pieces of fairtrading legislationremain up-to-dateand balance therights of consumersand traders.

Consultation with the motor industry was held onhow to reduce the existing 19 separate forms.Several forms were identified for deletion oramalgamation, bringing the total number of formsdown to 13. By changing the forms used by dealerstransferring a vehicle to another dealer, it isestimated that savings across the industry of over$1.1m per annum could be achieved. Legislation toreduce the forms is currently being developed.

The reduction of forms will ease the regulatoryburden for small businesses in the motor trade.

Consumers will continue to benefit from the strongdisclosure requirements under the Act, as well asany costs savings passed on from dealers.

Commercial property agentsThe Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002regulates the property agency industry in NSW,which includes residential and commercial realestate agents. Its main objectives are to limitconsumer risks and provide a licensing-basedframework. However, there have been concerns

12


that the existing regulatory regime is not justified inrelation to commercial property sales andmanagement transactions carried out on behalf oflarge commercial property owners. A review reporthas been completed for Government consideration.

Trade measurementIn April 2007 the Council of Australian Governmentsagreed, having considered the advice of theMinisterial Council on Consumer Affairs, to acceptthe Commonwealth's offer to take full responsibilityfor the national trade measurement system from 1July 2010. The system is responsible for theaccurate measurement of transactions whichcomprise about 50 percent of Australia's GrossDomestic Product.

The Commonwealth's National MeasurementInstitute will be responsible for the administration ofthe national system and the development of itslegislation, and plans to consult with the States,Territories and New Zealand to improveharmonisation. The legislation will need to coverthe approval, use and inspection of measuringinstruments used for trade including: shop scales,petrol flow-meters, tanks and beverage dispensers,packaging and labelling of pre-packaged goods.

A national trade measurement system will removeadministrative differences between the states andterritories. The Commonwealth, NSW and the otherstates and territories are committed to thedevelopment of a national system, supported bylegislation, which will at a minimum; maintainexisting service standards and consumerprotection.

Personal property securitiesThe Council of Australian Governments agreed in-principle in April 2007 to a national system for theregistration of personal property securities by 2009to be administered by the Commonwealth. This willresult in a single national register on which allforms of security over all types of personalproperty would be registered - the PersonalProperty Security Register. Personal propertyincludes goods such as motor vehicles, boats,business and manufacturing equipment, as well as'intangibles' such as copyright, company shares,trademarks.

The proposed Personal Property Security Registerwill have a direct impact on more than 70 pieces ofCommonwealth, State and Territory legislation. Itwill involve the consolidation of numerous existingsecurity registers, in particular the companycharges register operated by the AustralianSecurities and Investments Commission and thevarious state vehicle encumbrance registers, suchas NSW’s Register of Encumbered Vehicles(REVS). We are keen to ensure that the single

national register project provides optimal benefitsfor consumers, business and the NSWGovernment.

Fitness services reviewDuring the late 1990's, a number of fitness centresclosed their doors and in many cases the operatorhad insufficient funds to reimburse members forunused pre-paid membership fees.

The Fitness Services (Pre-paid Fees) Act 2000seeks to reduce the risk of consumer loss bylimiting fitness centre membership pre-paymentsto a period of 12 months and requiring operators tohold pre-payments in a trust account until thefitness centre commences operation.

In 2006, we conducted a review to determinewhether the policy objectives and the Act'sprovisions remained appropriate. As part of theprocess, submissions from stakeholders and thecommunity were sought. We found that thelegislation met the policy objectives and that thecurrent provisions remain valid and effective.

Unfair terms in consumer contractsUnfair contract terms create a significant imbalancebetween the rights and obligations of the consumerand the supplier to the detriment of the consumer.

In 2006 the Legislative Council Standing Committeeon Law and Justice held an inquiry into unfair termsin consumer contracts. The Committeerecommended that the NSW Government enactlegislation modelled on provisions in the VictorianFair Trading Act 1999 which prohibit the inclusion ofunfair terms in consumer contracts.

The Government response to the Committee'sreport asks us to further examine the need forGovernment intervention, having regard to the needto demonstrate that the benefits of any regulatoryintervention will outweigh the costs and ensure thatany legislation complies with the Government'sNational Competition Policy obligations.

National finance brokers regulationThis year we achieved an important milestone bysubmitting to the Ministerial Council on ConsumerAffairs recommendations for the scope and contentof a national regulatory scheme for the finance andmortgage broking industry. As chair of the workingparty developing the national regulatory schemewe aim to address the consumer detrimentidentified in a review of the industry conducted bythe Consumer Credit Legal Centre on behalf of theAustralian Securities and InvestmentsCommission.

The Ministerial Council agreed that New SouthWales should draft an exposure Bill based on those

We are keen toensure that the single

national registerproject provides

optimal benefits forNSW consumers

and business.

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recommendations. The Bill will provide a basis forextensive consultation on the detail of the regulatoryscheme. It will give the industry an opportunity toprepare for the requirements that will be imposed inorder to ensure that consumers have maximumprotection and that the reputable brokers are notundermined by the rogue element of the industry.As well, external dispute resolution schemes willbe able to assess their current processes againstthe requirements of the proposed legislation.

The Bill is to be released in the second half of 2007for a significant period of consultation.

Australian consumer productsafety systemThe Ministerial Council on Consumer Affairs isconsidering reform options to improve theeffectiveness and consistency of product safetyregimes in Australian jurisdictions. Product safetyis one of the regulatory 'hot spots' identified by theCouncil of Australian Governments as being in needof cross-jurisdictional regulatory reform to reducethe regulatory burden on business.

We are participating in a harmonisation project inwhich the States and Territories, in consultationwith the Commonwealth, will agree on theprinciples of the new regime and report to theMinisterial Council later in 2007.

Responsible lending practicesTo prevent consumers being granted credit limitsfar in excess of amounts that can be repaid wehave been developing options to require moreresponsible lending practices from card issuers.Credit card borrowings, limits and balancescontinue to rise, with growth in balancesoutstripping purchases, indicating a reducedcapacity to repay.

The problem is exacerbated by reduced minimumrepayment percentages, which result in consumerspaying off little more than interest.

A Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement isbeing developed in consultation with the FederalOffice of Best Practice Regulation and will proposea range of options to address the problemsidentified with the current system. It is expected tobe released in the near future.

Australia's consumer policyframeworkThe Productivity Commission is an independentbody which advises the CommonwealthGovernment on microeconomic policy andregulation. It conducts public inquiries and researchinto economic and social issues affecting the

welfare of the Australian community. TheCommission is undertaking an inquiry intoAustralia's consumer policy framework and itsadministration.

The Commonwealth, State and TerritoryGovernments share responsibility for consumerpolicy in Australia. The main legislative provisionsare contained in the Trade Practices Act 1974 andthe Fair Trading Acts in each State and Territory. Inaddition to this generic legislation there is a widearray of industry-specific regulation covering, forexample, telecommunications, food safety, retailenergy suppliers, and vehicle sales. The consumerpolicy framework also encompasses various self-regulatory and co-regulatory schemes and non-regulatory approaches such as education andinformation strategies.

We co-ordinated the NSW Government'ssubmission to the Inquiry. The Commission isrequired to report to the Government by 11December 2007.

Electricity supplyIn April 2007 administrative responsibility for theAccredited Service Provider (ASP) Scheme wastransferred from the Energy portfolio to Fair Trading.The Electricity Supply Act 1995 allows electricitycustomers to choose an accredited serviceprovider to do certain work on the electricitydistribution network in NSW. This work includesconnection to the network, metering and upgradingthe capacity of the distribution network. The designand construction of overhead and undergroundpower lines is also subject to the accreditationscheme.

Gas installationsCurrent regulatory responsibility for gas installationsafety is shared between the Department of Waterand Energy and WorkCover. The Department ofWater and Energy regulates the safety ofinstallations which are connected to reticulated gassupply and WorkCover regulates installations usingLPG (bottled gas).

During the past year we have been working withWorkCover and the Department of Water andEnergy to review the efficiency and effectiveness ofthe current arrangements. Options beingconsidered include transferring theseresponsibilities to the Office of Fair Trading.

Review of qualification requirementsHome buildingIn August 2006, new qualification requirements for24 building trades (carpenters, bricklayers,painters, concreters, etc) were approved based ona national qualification at Certificate III level.

...new qualificationrequirements for 24building trades wereapproved based ona nationalqualification.

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Previously, the qualification requirements werebased on a period of experience and an oralassessment. This has been replaced by a clearstandard based on a nationally acceptedqualification.

The new trade work licence assessment criteria isa move toward establishing standardised licenceassessment criteria which removes the subjectiveweight given to applicant's experience and puts inplace an objective assessment criteria for thegranting of licences. This is in line with the Councilof Australian Government (COAG) proposal toaddress the national skills shortage by removingbarriers preventing skilled trades' persons andbuilders working around the nation.

A review of qualification requirements for plumbingoccupations commenced in April 2007. Aconsultation document has been circulated andsubmissions closed on 31 May 2007. Until now,qualification requirements have been based on acombination of educational courses and/orexaminations and a period of practical experience.It is proposed that this will be replaced byqualifications from a national training packagebased on competency standards.

Property, stock and business agentsOver the past year we have participated in theredevelopment of the national PropertyDevelopment and Training package. Uponendorsement of the new package, a review of thequalification requirements will commence forproperty agents including real estate, stock andstation agents, strata managers, business and on-site property agents.

ConveyancersAs part of the National Competition Policy review ofthe Conveyancers Licensing Act 1995 acommitment was made to re-examine thequalification and experience requirements for theconveyancer industry. A consultation paper hasbeen issued to stakeholders and writtensubmissions are now being considered. A workingparty has been formed to review currentconveyancing course guidelines and makerecommendations for improvements. It isanticipated that new qualification requirements willbe in place in late 2008.

Evaluation of continuing professionaldevelopmentAn independent evaluation of the ContinuingProfessional Development (CPD) requirements forbuilders and property agents was undertaken in2006 to assess the relevance and accessibility ofthe program. The Minister for Fair Tradingannounced changes to the requirements forproperty agents on 27 February 2007 and for

builders and swimming pool builders on 20 March2007. Consultation is being undertaken to ensurethat implementation is effective.

The changes we have adopted have two primedirections - consultation and leadership, andrelevance and accessibility.

Skills shortage initiativeTo help address skills shortages we are workingwith other states and territories to improve themobility of skilled workers by providing for greaterharmonisation of skill requirements nationwide.

The Council of Australian Government (COAG)provided for the establishment of occupationspecific action groups to bring together regulatorsand industry stakeholders to undertake thenecessary work. We have provided NSW regulatorrepresentation for plumbers, electricians, airconditioning and refrigeration mechanics,carpenters, joiners, bricklayers and motormechanics.

The action groups met on a number of occasionsand finalised a mutual recognition matrix for each ofthe identified occupations in late 2006. They alsoreached agreement on a nationally accepteddescription of the scope of work and minimumqualification requirement for each of theseoccupations. On 9 February 2007 COAG memberssigned a ministerial declaration under the MutualRecognition Act 1992 covering 22 occupationswithin six priority trades.

Advisory CouncilsThe function of advisory councils is to provideadvice to the Minister for Fair Trading on consumerprotection issues, particularly those issuesrelevant to legislation administered by the Minister.The Council members represent diverse interestsand expertise to ensure that policy advice reflectsthe broader interests of the community and industryalike. The five advisory councils are:• Fair Trading Advisory Council• Home Building Advisory Council• Motor Vehicle Industry Advisory Council• Property Services Advisory Council• Retirement Villages Advisory Council.

The mandatory codeprovides a balanced

framework for fairbusiness between

insurers and repairers- consumers benefitfrom openness and

accountability.

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Legislative changeMandatory code between smashrepairs and insurersOver the last several years there have beenongoing disputes between smash repairers andinsurers over how the two industries interact whendealing with the repairs to insured motor vehicles.Issues of concern include the pricing and timing ofrepairs, the tendering process and the cost ofrepairs and the operation of preferred repairers'schemes. In order to address these difficulties, amandatory Code of Conduct for insurers and smashrepairers that seeks to set out how the partiesshould act when in dispute over the repair of avehicle was introduced on 30 March 2007.

The mandatory code, which is based upon anational voluntary code negotiated between the twoprincipal industry associations, provides abalanced framework for fair business betweeninsurers and repairers while consumers benefitfrom the openness and accountability required bythe code. Areas covered include: an externaldispute resolution mechanism; allowingbusinesses to retain preferred smash repairersstatus even after sale; openness and transparencyfor preferred repairer schemes and in quoting andpaying for work and a requirement for up-frontdisclosure to consumers on whether their insurerallows choice of repairer when making a claim.

Conveyancers licensingThe Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003, theConveyancers Licensing Regulation 2006 and theConveyancers Licensing Order 2006 allcommenced on 15 December 2006. Theamendments contained in this new legislation aredesigned to improve consumer protection bymaking licensing requirements for conveyancersconsistent with other property related licencesissued under the Property, Stock and BusinessAgents Act 2002.

Licensed conveyancers now need to comply withthe Rules of Conduct set out in the Regulation andthey have also had to modify business processesin areas such as:• business advertising• disclosure of information to clients• management of trust accounts• employment and supervision of staff• record keeping.

The Act ceased the application of the LegalProfession Act to conveyancers and transferredresponsibility to Fair Trading. Investigation anddisciplinary powers are now consistent with thosecurrently in place for other property relatedlicences - such as real estate agents and strataproperty managers. The Act also provides

consumers with direct access to a process forsettling cost disputes with a conveyancer. Thisprocess is now administered by the Consumer,Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.

Home building amendmentIn a decision made by the Court of Appeal, a personwho has previously taken legal proceedingsagainst a contractor for breach of statutory warrantycould not bring further proceedings for breach ofwarranty in respect of a different deficiency thatexisted at the time of the completion of the work.The later proceedings could not be brought even ifthe person was not aware of the deficiencyconcerned at the time of bringing the firstproceedings - the deficiencies are treated as onecomposite breach of warranty.

The decision significantly impacted consumeraccess to redress for deficient building work. TheGovernment, via the Home Building Amendment(Statutory Warranties) Act, amended the HomeBuilding Act 1989 in November 2006 to enable ahome owner to take further legal proceedingsagainst a building contractor for a breach ofstatutory warranty. This covers latent defects thatbecome apparent after earlier legal proceedingsbetween the home owner and the contractorrelating to other defects have been concluded.

Property, stock and business agentsOn 1 March 2007 amendments to the Property,Stock and Business Agents Act came into force toincrease transparency in auctions and makemiscellaneous amendments to improve consumerprotection. Under the new laws consumers benefitfrom more open dealings at auctions and withagents. The changes to auctions are designed toincrease consumer confidence that the auction isboth fair and transparent. Changes include:• tightening vendor bid requirements and the

creation of an explicit dummy bidding offence• improving disclosure in the subsequent

marketing of properties which have been passedin at auction

• allowing co-owners and executors to bid on aproperty if they are seeking to buy anotherowners interest as long as the intention to bid isannounced to people at the auction and the bidderregistration number of the co-owner, executor ortheir representative is also provided at the start.

A number of minor amendments clarifying certainissues in relation to an agent's business were alsoincluded in the package of reforms. These includeclarification of disclosure requirements for agentsin relation to benefits received when referringclients or prospective buyers to third parties,improvements to trust account identification andincreases in penalties for breaches of the rules ofconduct.

Under the new lawsconsumers benefitfrom more opendealings at auctionsand with agents.

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Business namesAny person, partnership or corporation conductingbusiness under a business name in NSW mustregister that business name. Registration is currentfor three years and then must be renewed. If abusiness fails to renew their registration on timethey run the risk that someone else may apply touse the name during the period in which theregistration is lapsed.

An amendment to the Business Names Act givesbusiness owners a clear three month window inwhich they can apply to restore an expiredbusiness name registration. The business namewill also be unavailable to other applicants duringthe three month restoration period.

Fair tradingChanges to the Fair Trading Act that commenced on20 October 2006 extend application of the Act toconduct which occurs outside NSW that has arelevant link with NSW. They also provide thepower to:• obtain information relevant to the investigation of

a complaint or other matters affecting theinterests of consumers;

• order the sale, destruction or disposal of itemswhich were obtained under the authority of asearch warrant or in the course of aninvestigation that are no longer needed asevidence and cannot be returned.

Amendments to the Act also rationalised thenumber of Advisory Councils furnishing advice tothe Minister and provide for flexibility inmembership of the Councils. Changes relating to

strengthening controls on false billing commencedon 1 July 2007. It is now prohibited to demandpayment for publishing an advertisement withoutwritten authority to publish it or to send a documentstating the price unless it prominently states" THISIS NOT A BILL. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PAYANY MONEY".

Anti-graffiti lawsFrom 1 November 2006 the Summary OffencesAmendment (Display of Spray Paint Cans) Act 2006required retailers who sell spray paint cans torestrict access to those cans by keeping themeither in a locked cabinet, behind a counter in sucha way that members of the public cannot gainaccess to the cans without assistance, or on a shelfof height 2.1 metres or more.

The Act aims to reduce the amount of graffiti in thecommunity by reducing the theft of spray paintcans. This measure is part of the Government'scomprehensive anti-graffiti strategy. The Actincludes a provision requiring its operation to bereviewed after 2 years. This will enable theGovernment to examine the effect of the legislationon retailers and the community, and considerwhether the restrictions should be continued.Businesses were given a "grace period" from 1November 2006 until 1 February 2007 to comply.During the grace period, we focussed on providingeducation and assistance to help businessescomply with the legislation, rather than onenforcement.

Strengthened controlson false billing

commenced on 1 July2007. It is now

prohibited to demandpayment for publishing

an advertisementwithout written

authority.

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Bills assented to• Fair Trading Amendment Bill 2006 - assented to

28 September 2006• Home Building Amendment (Statutory

Warranties) Bill 2006 - assented to 27 November2006

• Business Names Amendment Bill 2006 -assented to 27 October 2006

• Fair Trading Amendment (Motor VehicleInsurance and Repair Industries) Bill 2006 -assented to 27 October 2006

Statute law revisionUnder the Statute Law Revision program, a Bill isintroduced in each Session of Parliament to dealwith a range of minor and uncontroversiallegislative amendments. A number of amendmentswere made to fair trading legislation under thisprogram during 2006-2007.

• Community Land Management Act 1989(Sections 3, 39, 66, 122)

• Conveyancers Licensing Act 2003 (Section 10)• Home Building Act 1989 (Sections 3, 37)• Motor Dealers Act 1974 (Section 10, 12, 20)• Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002

(Sections 8, 14, 16)• Travel Agents Act 1986 (Section 7a, 17)• Valuers Act 2003 (Section 9)

Subordinate legislation reviewOn 1 September 2006, the following regulationswere remade under the staged repeal provisions ofthe Subordinate Legislation Act 1989:• Fitness Services (Pre-paid Fees) Regulation

2006• Funeral Funds Regulation 2006• Residential Parks Regulation 2006• Residential Tenancies Regulation 2006• Travel Agents Regulation 2006

The following regulations are in preparation to beremade by 1 September 2007:• Warehousemen's Liens Regulation 2007• Consumer Credit (NSW) Special Provisions

Regulation 2007• Fair Trading Regulation 2007• Community Land Management Regulation 2007• Consumer Claims Regulation 2007

The Trade Measurement Regulation 2007 and theTrade Measurement Administration Regulation2007 were gazetted on 27 April 2007.

The Act aims toreduce the amount ofgraffiti in thecommunity byreducing the theft ofspray paint cans fromstores.

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Community awarenessand accessObjective 3: Community aware of and able to access

information and services

Strategy: Effective education, information andservices

Fair Trading's greatest efforts are directed towards providing services to the public. Information forconsumers and traders allows individuals and businesses to understand their rights and obligations and tofunction effectively in the marketplace. Business licensing and registration services protect consumersand assist traders by maintaining and improving the integrity of industries that are vital to the NSWmarketplace. Rental bonds custodial services provides tenants, landlords and property owners withconfidence that bonds are used for their rightful purpose and quickly available when required. Tribunalservices provide a quick and simple method of resolving marketplace disputes. This suite of servicescontributes to fairness and equity for individuals and growing prosperity across NSW.

Snapshot: service-level statistics 2006-2007Customer enquiries 4,077,900REVS checks 1,637,800Rental bond transactions 546,000

Comment/InterpretationThe community is unable to access servicesunless they know where to go. The percentage ofthe public who know where to go to get help ismeasured through an annual survey conducted byindependent contractors. It shows the proportion ofthe general public who knows which government

agency to approach for information about, or helpwith, consumer protection issues. It would beunrealistic to expect 100% community knowledgeof OFT services and the target has been set at 65-70%. The 2006-2007 result, while slightly lowerthan other recent years, remains within the targetrange.

Highlights 2006-2007

• 34,000 disputes handled with over 85% successfully negotiated at aninformal level

• Website visitor sessions grew by 24% to more than 2.5 million• Over 900 information sessions, talks and seminars attended by 27,000

people across NSW

Marketplace indicator

03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 Target

Percentage of public who know whereto go to get help * 73% 73% 70% 66% 65-70%

*Survey results valid to ± 5% @ 95% level of confidence

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Performance measures03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 Target

Customer satisfaction meets or exceeds the benchmark * 89% 87% 90% 90% ≥≥≥≥≥90%Community take-up rate: average number of services

requested per 1000 people in NSW 509 557 653 734 Est. 650% of accuracy of information provided * 99% 83% 93% 89% ≥≥≥≥≥90%% of complaints finalised within 30 days 95% 95% 95% 96% ≥≥≥≥≥80%% of complaints resolved to satisfaction of both parties 67% 74% 81% 85% ≥≥≥≥≥70%% of telephone enquiries answered where published

standards met 79% 81% 79% 83% ≥≥≥≥≥85%% of licensing and registration services where published

standards are met 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%% of bond refunds where published standards met 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%% of Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal matters

finalised prior to or at first hearing 78% 77% 77% 78% 75%

* Survey results valid to ± 5% @ 95% level of confidence

Comment/InterpretationWe evaluate a range of performance measures tohelp ensure customers receive the services theyexpect and are entitled to.

Customer satisfaction is a key quality performancemeasure which through survey, directly measuresthe satisfaction levels of customers contacting OFTby phone or counter to obtain a service. We alsouse a Shadow Shopping Survey to test theaccuracy of the information we provide toconsumers/traders approaching OFT by phone orcounter to get information on their rights andobligations under more than 40 pieces oflegislation. The 2006-2007 result for this qualitymeasure was slightly below target and efforts arecontinuing to improve performance. Similarly, weare working towards improvements in our phoneanswering times where the measure is thepercentage of enquiries that are answered within 5minutes. The target is set at 85% in recognition thatOFT has little control of demand levels which canbe influenced by marketplace events. CustomerService Officers provide information on over 40different regulatory areas - with complex enquirieshaving unpredictable effects on call turnarounds.

Complaint handling is an important aspect of FairTrading's operations. We measure the percentage ofcomplaints finalised within 30 days to determinethe efficiency of the informal complaint-handlingservice. The results show the large proportion ofcomplaint files closed within 30 days of receipt -through either: resolution to satisfaction of bothparties, withdrawal by complainant, clarification ofissues raised or referral to the Tribunal or anotherappropriate jurisdiction for resolution. Thepercentage of complaints resolved to thesatisfaction of both parties demonstrates theeffectiveness of the informal complaint-handlingservice. It shows the large proportion of complaintsthat are handled informally by customer service

officers where an outcome acceptable to bothconsumer and trader has been agreed - without themore costly involvement of formal Tribunalintervention. Where complaints do need to progressto the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, theresults show that in a large percentage of casesissues are resolved quickly and simply - helpingreduce costs to government that would arise fromincreased numbers of disputes being otherwisehandled through the Courts.

The Community take-up rate is also measured. Itshows the number of people who voluntarilyaccess Fair Trading services. A high take-up ratewhich is constant or slightly increasing indicatesboth an ongoing community demand for the service(not in OFT control) and that the service isaccessible to the community (more directly in OFTcontrol). A significant drop in take-up rate wouldtrigger strategic review of the need for the service,or the accessibility of the service.

The percentage of licensing and registrationservices where published standards are met is adirect timing measure that demonstrates that ourlicensing and registration functions are beinghandled promptly and efficiently. Turnaround timesfor these functions are of major concern toindividual licensees and applicants as well asindustry bodies. The results speak for themselves.The percentage of bond refunds where publishedstandards are met is a direct timing measure thatclearly demonstrates that residential bond refundsdue at the end of a tenancy to either tenants orlandlords are being paid promptly and efficiently.There are Guarantee of Service standards for threedifferent forms of payment (direct deposit, postalcheque and tenant/landlord notification situations).In each case, OFT is able to ensure bond ownersget access to their funds as quickly as possible.

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Fair Trading servicesFair Trading continued to respond to a vast numberof requests from the community for service - wellover 6.5 million in 2006-2007. These were handledthrough phone, counter and electronic channels.Independent surveying demonstrated a high level ofaccuracy for the information provided and customersatisfaction levels continued to meet our target.More than 34,000 disputes between consumers andtraders were handled and over 85% of these weresuccessfully negotiated at an informal level. Over

900 community information sessions werepresented to more than 27,000 people around theState. People seeking affordable housing will nowbenefit from an initiative that provided $10.4 millionto the Department of Housing for capital and toestablish the vehicle model for affordable housing.In June 2007 we worked with the Rental BondBoard to provide an additional $30 million of RentalBond Board investment funds to provide grants forthe development or acquisition of up to 250affordable rental units.

Fair Trading CentresWe operate Fair Trading Centres at the 24 locations below. These Centres provide information andassistance on consumer issues, motor vehicles, home building and renovation, credit, property andtenancy issues, plus co-operatives and business name registration.

Call 13 32 20to reach your nearest Fair Trading CentreMonday to Friday between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm.

Independentsurveying

demonstrated a highlevel of accuracy for

the informationprovided.

Other locationsSelected Fair Trading services are also available via Government Access Centres (GACs) and otheragency arrangements throughout regional New South Wales.

Call 13 32 20 for information on the services available in these towns:Ashford, Balranald, Barham, Bega, Boggabilla, Bombala, Bourke, Brewarrina, Cobar, Condobolin, Cooma,Coonabarabran, Coonamble, Crookwell, Culcairn, Deniliquin, Dorrigo, Dunedoo, Eden, Finley, Forbes,Forster, Gilgandra, Glen Innes, Grenfell, Griffith, Gundagai, Hay, Hillston, Holbrook, Inverell, Kyogle, LakeCargelligo, Leeton, Lightning Ridge, Lockhart, Maclean, Moama, Moree, Moruya, Moulamein, Mt Druitt(urban GAC), Mudgee, Mungindi, Murrurundi, Nambucca Heads, Narooma, Narrabri, Narrandera, Nowra,Nyngan, Oberon, Peak Hill, Quirindi, Rylstone, Scone, Temora, Tenterfield, Tumbarumba, Ulladulla,Walcha, Walgett, Warialda, Warren, Wentworth, West Wyalong, Wilcannia, Woodenbong.

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Education and information

Consumer and trader enquiries

Fair Trading Information CentreThe Fair Trading Information Centre (FTIC) is asingle, convenient point of telephone access and isthe first point of contact for approximately 1 millioncustomer inquiries each year. The FTIC handlesinquiries across a range of services including:• general fair trading matters• strata• tenancy• residential bonds• home building• business registration• Business Licence Information Service (BLIS)• Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS)• Government Information Service - GIS (on behalf

of NSW Procurement)• retail bonds (on behalf of State and Regional

Development).

The FTIC concept is that all inquiries will bedirected to an appropriately trained InformationOfficer with the aim of having the inquiry managedat first contact. This allows:• customers’ access to all phone services through

a single convenient point• improved efficiencies through economies of

scale• alignment with our Strategic Plan and the NSW

Government State Plan.

In the first 6 months of 2006-2007, FTICconcentrated on quality call handling, callmanagement and call coaching. All staff wereenrolled in the Certificate IV in Customer Contacttraining course. We developed and implemented acall quality assessment tool across all of FTIC andconcentrated on improving the delivery of ourservice to both consumers and traders byincreased awareness of how we manage our calls.This resulted in a reduction in our average callhandling time across all queues – bringing us veryclose to our Guarantee of Service target of 85% ofcalls being answered within 5 minutes.

Residential rental bond and tenancy enquiries

Fair Trading Information Centre enquiries

FTIC is the first pointof contact forapproximately 1million customerinquiries each year.

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In the second half of 2006-2007, we focused on stafftraining to ensure that all our level 1 and level 2officers were skilled to answer queries across allFTIC subject matters. Our staff have been trainedand assessed as competent to take calls in theirrelevant to grade subjects. We continue to monitorthe quality of the information we deliver to ourcustomers through continuous call coaching andtraining.

In line with our Strategic Plan, we engaged anexternal consultant to undertake an independentreview of the current contact centre environmentwhich will enable us to meet our objectives as setout in the Strategic Plan and to ensure that the FTICprovides an example of best practice for a NSWGovernment contact centre and delivers excellentcustomer service to the public of NSW.

During the year FTIC responded to 955,400 callsfrom consumers and traders.

Major website reviewOur website is information rich and since its lastreview in 2003, has outgrown its informationstructure, resulting in some difficulties for clients inlocating information. To improve access to ourinformation, a major review of the websitecommenced this year. By the review's completionin 2007-2008, the website will provide an improvedexperience for clients in accessing information andwe will have achieved compliance with the NSWGovernment Website Style Directive.

Website visitor sessions

Fair trading enquiries

The increase in website visitor sessions reflects a growing community take-up rate of ourexpanding electronic information services. These services are supplementing and extendingthe traditional services provided - not only in the area of general fair trading information - butin accommodation, property and home building matters as well.

Although there is some shifting from traditional channels such as phone and counter towebsite, the almost 600,000 general fair trading enquiries received in 2006-2007demonstrate that demand through these traditional channels remains extremely high.

Website visitorsessions grew

by 24% to morethan 2.5 million.

23


A revised information structure is being developedafter an independent expert evaluation and afterconsultation with stakeholders across New SouthWales. The consultations included consumers,traders and community workers in metropolitanand regional areas of the State, as well assignificant representation from members ofIndigenous and several Culturally and LinguisticallyDiverse (CALD) communities.

The new structure will be tested with consumersand traders before being implemented.

BLISThe Business Licence Information Service (BLIS),our internet-based service, provides the businesscommunity and the public with detailed informationon all NSW Government licences, permits andassociated regulations. In addition, the servicegives customers a wide range of informationregarding the general requirements forestablishment or ongoing operation of a business inNSW.

Since implementation of a major upgrade of BLIS inJune 2006, we have reviewed the new service andidentified enhancements to improve useability in2007. These include a more user friendly searchmenu and improved screen return rates.

During 2006-2007 BLIS has also provided avaluable resource for our employees, assistingstaff to provide up-to-date licensing and regulatoryinformation to the public over the telephone orthrough our network of Fair Trading Centres.

Motor vehicle repair enquiriesConsumers are able to access face-to-faceinformation and services about motor vehiclerepairs through the Fair Trading Centre network. Ourmotor vehicle repair technical advisory service hascontinued to be in demand and answered 14,895enquiries about the cost or quality of repairs tomotor vehicles during the year.

Significant Information campaignsand initiatives

Fair Trading WeekThis year our special week-long promotion, FairTrading Week, focused on the processes andpitfalls of buying, selling and renting property. Thetheme was Home Sweet Home: your keys tobuying, selling and renting.

At the launch of Fair Trading Week we released thefindings of an online survey we conducted inSeptember and October 2006. To publicise theavailability of the survey on the our website weplaced banner advertising on a number of propertywebsites, including Domain.com andRealEstate.com and included a link to the survey inall outgoing emails.

The survey tested the confidence level of peoplemaking real estate transactions and knowledge oftheir rights and obligations. 1,954 peopleparticipated in the survey. The results highlightedwide gaps between how much people think theyknow and their actual level of knowledge. Forexample, only one in ten sellers of property firstchecked to see if their real estate agent waslicensed. Only one in three buyers knew that thefive-day cooling-off period was the last opportunityto change their mind during a purchase.

A number of promotional activities and eventshelped to raise public awareness. A full program ofevents was listed on our website, where for the firsttime visitors could register online for seminars andinformation sessions.

We printed 20,000 copies of a brochure entitledHome Sweet Home - containing tips for buyers,sellers, landlords and renters. Staff volunteered todistribute the brochure to letter-boxes in their ownsuburbs. This type of staff participation differedfrom previous years, when giveaways werehanded out at selected railway stations in theSydney CBD. As a result, three times more staffthan previous years nominated to take part. In all,90 officers participated in the letter-box distribution.

During Fair Trading Week we held numerousinformation sessions and seminars for tenants andlandlords to enable them to learn more about theirrights and responsibilities. In addition to theseseminars we delivered a variety of otherinformation sessions and seminars, includingSavvy Seniors, Scam Smart, Revved Up, MoneyStuff! and business seminars.

2006 Money Stuff! challengeOur competition for high school students, theMoney Stuff Challenge, continues to be asuccessful means of educating high schoolstudents about their rights and responsibilities inthe areas of consumer and financial literacy. TheChallenge is based around the award-winningeducational resource Money Stuff. We attractedentries from close to 1,000 students in 2006.

The Money Stuff program concentrates on areaswhere young people may make ill-consideredpurchasing decisions when buying a car, selectinga mobile phone, entering into credit contracts ormoving into rental accommodation. The programincludes a website, video and teacher books inEnglish, maths and commerce.

The competition asks students to create a messagevia a communication tool such as a website,poster, or information kit helping young peoplebecome better informed and independentconsumers.

The Business LicenceInformation Serviceprovides detailedinformation on all NSWGovernment licences,permits andassociated regulations.

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The Minister announced the state and regionalwinners of the Money Stuff competition at anawards dinner at the Powerhouse Museum inNovember 2006.

The 2006 winners from Bethlehem College, Ashfieldpresented a youth-friendly magazine, which wenton to inspire our new Money Stuff magazine. Themagazine offers teachers access to an additionaleducational resource about important consumerissues for their students.

Regulatory changes campaignsTo inform consumers and business of regulatorychanges we conducted a range of informationcampaigns.

We conducted the electrical consumer safetycampaign to inform electrical contractors andconsumers about their rights and responsibilitiesunder these reforms. We wrote directly to 28,000licensed electrical contractors to inform them abouttheir new compliance requirements. We alsoinformed people of their new electrical safetyresponsibilities by distributing brochures to 1.5million NSW electricity consumers through EnergyAustralia, local councils and libraries, and our FairTrading Centres.

Reforms brought in by the Property Stock andBusiness Agents Amendment Act 2006 and theProperty Stock and Business Agents AmendmentRegulation 2006 came into effect on 1 March 2007.They introduced a range of changes that affectresidential and rural property auctions and certainaspects of agency conduct. We informed more than12,000 licence and certificate holders of thechanges through a direct mail and email campaign,as well as providing information on the website forboth consumers and property professionals.

Think Smart ProgramSince 2002, we have operated the Think Smarteducation program for culturally and linguisticallydiverse (CALD) communities. This program allowsus to deliver information and education direct toCALD communities through communityorganisations and multilingual media partners. TheThink Smart program raises awareness of fairtrading issues and our services amongst CALDcommunities using a variety of informationresources, public relations activities and grassroots community activities.

Our website provides information in Arabic,Chinese, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Spanish andVietnamese on topics such as home building,renting a home, borrowing money and buying aused car.

Translated publications are produced in 28community languages (including both establishedand new and emerging communities) on a range ofsubjects such as scams, safe electrical goods,strata living, buying a mobile phone and trading inNSW.

In addition, Fair Trading staff deliver informationsessions to CALD communities and attend a rangeof community events, including Chinese New Year,Vietnamese Tet Festival, Indonesian Festival andopen days at Migrant Resource Centres.

In 2006 the Think Smart Program received aCommendation Award from the Premier's PublicSector Awards under the Social Justice categorythrough its improved services to disadvantagedgroups. The program has continued to increase itspartners. Currently there are a total of 28 partners -10 Migrant Resource Centres, 11 ethno-specificcommunity organisations and 7 multilingual media.

Multicultural Media and Community LeadersConferenceThe Multicultural Media and Community LeadersConference has been running since 2001 and is akey event during Fair Trading week.

The highlight of the 2006 Conference was theMinister's launch of the Tenancy Awareness Kitdeveloped as part of the Tenancy AwarenessCampaign. The kit was designed for non-Englishspeaking tenants to help new arrivals to Australiaunderstand their tenancy rights and obligations,particularly for migrants, refugees andhumanitarian entrants. The Kit contained: theRenting guide fact sheet which is available in 22languages; Frequently Asked Questions on Rentingin Assyrian, Arabic, Chinese, Dinka, Indonesian,Korean, Tonga, Samoan and Vietnamese; and therenting guide poster in Assyrian, Dinka, Indonesian,Samoan and Tongan. The Kit also included an audioCD called Your renting rights…Tenancy story whichis available in five languages - Arabic, Cantonese,Indonesian, Korean, and Vietnamese.

The Landlord strategy, an extension of the TenancyAwareness campaign is aimed to increase thelevel of awareness of the rights and responsibilitiesof CALD agents and landlords within the tenancysector. The strategy commenced in May 2007.

Four new Think Smart partners were signed upduring the Conference: Granville MulticulturalCommunity Centre, Mt Druitt Ethnic CommunitiesAgency, St George Migrant Resource Centre andRadio 2000FM - Multicultural Community RadioAssociation.

The Think Smarteducation program

delivers informationand education direct

to culturally andlinguistically diverse

communities.

25


Consumer fraud campaignWe are part of a taskforce composed ofCommonwealth, State and New Zealand regulatoryagencies with responsibility for consumerprotection in relation to fraud and scams. Thetaskforce ran a consumer campaign from 5 Marchto 1 April 2007 which involved agencies and theprivate sector. The campaign theme was Scamstarget you - protect yourself with a different focuseach week:• Week 1 - Protect your money• Week 2 - Protect your phone• Week 3 - Protect your computer• Week 4 - Protect your identity.

Fair Trading participated in a number of waysthrough our Fair Trading Information Centre, FairTrading Centres, website, publications, mediacoverage, community partners, and promotion ofarticles throughout the month long campaign.

Motor vehicle insurance and repair industry codeof conduct awareness campaignWe conducted an awareness campaign amongstmotor vehicle insurers and repairers to alert themto the Motor Vehicle Insurance and Repair IndustryCode of Conduct which became mandatory on 30March 2007. A new fact sheet, Motor vehicleinsurance and repair industry code of conduct andcovering letters were posted to 2,500 repairers,industry associations, the Insurance Council ofAustralia and every insurer authorised to conductinsurance business in Australia. A display noticewas also placed in the Government Noticeboard toalert the public to the mandatory Code and ourwebsite updated.

Anti-graffiti campaignWith the introduction of the Government's new anti-graffiti strategy to drive down the incidence ofgraffiti on trains, public transport infrastructure andother community facilities, we provided retailerswith education and assistance to help them complywith the legislation. To help traders and consumerswe distributed an Anti-graffiti resource kit whichconsisted of:• Selling spray paint in New South Wales - a

brochure advising traders of their requirements• Buying spray paint? Some things you should know

- a brochure advising consumers of the newlegislation

• Buying spray paint stickers - for traders to displayin their shops.

The Anti-graffiti resource kit was distributed tomembers of the Australian Retailers Association,Aerosol Association of Australia, AustralianAutomotive Aftermarket Association, BunningsWarehouse, Hardware and Building Traders,Wesfarmers Industrial and Safety, AustralianHardware Journal and Sydney Central PoliceStation. Our investigators also handed out the

resource kit to local traders during their compliancevisits to businesses.

Advertisements also appeared in the GovernmentNoticeboard (Sydney Morning Herald and DailyTelegraph) and the public notices of major regionalnewspapers in October 2006.

Financial literacy programFair Trading has developed a financial literacypackage which aims to assist various groupsexperiencing financial hardship. The package hasbeen promoted and delivered to a range of groupsincluding TAFE, Cultural and Linguistically Diverse(CALD) communities and Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander (ATSI) communities.Representatives from these groups identified theareas of most concern, or vulnerability, within theirgroups.

The information in the package covers areas ofrights and responsibilities when entering intofinancial contractual arrangements including:contracts; advantages and disadvantages offinancial products such as credit cards, debit cardsand interest free deals; what to do when things gowrong; and how we can assist.

The package has been delivered to a range ofaudiences so far. The value of the package andinformation contained within is continuously beingpromoted when we meet with community groups,schools, TAFE, community workers and oncommunity radio.

Regional and other programs

Outreach in remote areasWe are committed to delivering services to allconsumers and traders in NSW through our FairTrading Centres, the vast network of GovernmentAccess Centres and Regional Access Programsdelivered locally where no other Fair Tradingservice is available nearby.

Government Access CentresGovernment Access Centres (GACs) provide ruraland remote communities with increased access toour services and written material, allowing us toestablish partnerships with other agencies toprovide a more comprehensive service to ruralNSW. Customers are able to conduct Fair Tradingbusiness locally without the need to travel to thelarger country towns.

Our staff regularly liaise with GACs to ensure theyhave the most up-to-date knowledge of Fair Tradingservices and static information stands are well-stocked. This ensures that consumers and tradersin regional NSW are not restricted from accessingour services due to locality.

The new financialliteracy program aimsto assist groupsexperiencing financialhardship.

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Regional Access Programs (RAPs)Regional Access Programs were conducted at 37centres across the State during 2006-2007. Theseprograms take information and services toconsumers and traders in more remote areas andsmaller regional centres. Information stalls inshopping centres and main streets, visits toretailers, community education seminars and thedistribution of our brochures are some ways inwhich we assist people in rural areas understandtheir rights and responsibilities.

Rural field daysThe Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authoritycontinued its presence at rural field days during theyear and had information stands at Henty,Gunnedah, Paterson, Casino and Orange where itprovided information about the Authority's servicesand careers in the automotive repair industry.

Community Access ProgramsThe aim of the Community Access Programs(CAPs) is to highlight our services and providegreater access to all consumers, traders, realestate agents and private landlords in identifiedareas. The programs provide an opportunity toinform local residents and traders about their rightsand responsibilities in the marketplace. CAPs wereconducted in the Campbelltown, Northern Beachesand Hawkesbury areas in 2006 and in theBlacktown and Maroubra areas in 2007.

Activities in the programs included Revved Upseminars targeted at high school students,seminars targeted at real estate and propertyagents, private landlords, members of incorporatedassociations, senior citizens, culturally andlinguistically diverse communities and Indigenouscommunities. Seminars were also held in publiclibraries on fair trading matters such as shoppingrights and product safety.

Fair Trading Centre locationsAlbury Dubbo Liverpool QueanbeyanArmidale Gosford Newcastle SydneyBathurst Grafton Orange TamworthBlacktown Goulburn Parramatta Tweed HeadsBroken hill Hurstville Penrith Wagga WaggaCoffs Harbour Lismore Port Macquarie Wollongong

Government Access Centres (GAC) and Outreach SitesFair Trading's services can be accessed through 47 Government Access Centres (GAC), 15 OutreachCentres and 6 Business Enterprise Centres across New South Wales.

Government Access CentresBalranald Forbes Moree TenterfieldBoggabilla Forster Moruya TumbarumbaBombala Gilgandra Mt Druitt (urban GAC) UlladullaBourke Glen Innes Nambucca Heads WalgettBrewarrina Grenfell Narooma WarrenCobar Gundagai Narrabri WentworthCondobolin Hay Narrandera West WyalongCooma Hillston Nyngan WilcanniaCoonabarabran Inverell OberonCoonamble Kyogle Peak HillDorrigo Lightning Ridge QuirindiEden Maclean SconeFinley Moama Temora

Outreach CentresAshford Holbrook MurrurundiBarham Lake Cargelligo RylstoneCrookwell Lockhar t WalchaCulcairn Moulamein WarialdaDunedoo Mungindi Woodenbong

Business Enterprise CentresBega Griffith MudgeeDeniliquin Leeton Nowra

27


Compliance activities included trader visits andinspections relating to general fair trading, trademeasurement, motor dealer, home building,electrical and product safety ensuring tradercompliance with legislation.

Information stands were set up in public libraries,local councils, shopping centres and staff werethere to answer enquiries from the public anddistribute publications. The Community EducationMobile Unit was also set up in major shoppingprecincts to promote the Fair Trading message andprovide information to and answer enquiries fromthe public.

Information programsDuring 2006-2007 Fair Trading delivered over 900information sessions, talks and seminars whichwere attended by 27,000 people across the State onall aspects of Fair Trading legislation.

In addition to those information sessions weactively assist migrants by regularly providingongoing support, contact and information to a rangeof resettlement agencies including MigrantResource Centres, Health Services, local Councilsand community organisations.

To improve offenders’ living skills prior to re-entering the general community from correctionalcentres and juvenile detention centres we heldworkshops with welfare officers from theDepartment of Corrective Services and activelyparticipated at information expos at prisons duringthe year.

Home showsMany home shows are conducted throughout theState each year. We participated at the Sydney,Penrith, Wollongong, Newcastle and Coffs Harbourhome building expos where our team of homebuilding experts provided information to builders,tradespeople and customers on their rights andresponsibilities in home building and renovating. Acomprehensive menu of home building publicationswas available for distribution and our HomeBuilding Contracts were available for sale.Computers with Internet access were alsoavailable for visitors to conduct on-line licencechecks.

Home building information seminarsThe Home Building Information Seminar is acustomer education program designed by staff atthe Tweed Heads Fair Trading Centre. It providesinformation to prepare consumers and ownerbuilders for what is often one of the biggestfinancial decisions of their lives - building orrenovating their own homes. The seminar providesinformation on the laws covering home building,home building and renovating options, how toselect a builder, becoming an owner builder,

contracts, warranties, insurance and what happenswhen things go wrong. The program wassuccessfully launched in Tweed Heads late in 2006and will become a regular part of our customereducation campaign throughout the state.

Our building inspectors and other staff also conductnumerous seminars for industry groups, TAFE andtrade groups. These seminars are designed toeducate the community on the issues involved withhome building or renovating, and the servicesprovided by Fair Trading. Presentations were madeat over 60 industry related events during 2006-2007.

Aboriginal Access ProgramIt is acknowledged that the style of service deliveryto the Aboriginal community needs to be differentfrom the non-Aboriginal community if it is tosucceed. Our staff, in particular dedicatedAboriginal Customer Service Officers, provideinformation through many presentations andseminars during the year on topics as diverse astenancy, consumer rights, door-to-door sales, creditand buying a car, ensuring Aboriginal communities'have good knowledge of their rights andresponsibilities and the services we have to offer.

We actively continue to produce a range ofconsumer educational and promotional material forNSW Indigenous communities focussing on a widerange of issues. Culturally appropriate materialincludes an Indigenous youth package, a series offact sheets, fliers and posters on issues such astenancy, REVS, toy safety and credit, all of whichare major issues identified from research andconsultation with NSW Indigenous communities.

In order to reach Aboriginal communities weprovided information at a range of events acrossthe state including: Croc Festival, the AnnualAboriginal Rugby League Knockout Carnival,NAIDOC Week activities, Harmony Daycelebrations, Indigenous Family Fun days andSurvival Day. In conjunction with other Governmentagencies we run forums such as Good Servicesand Do it Right. The Tenancy Information sessionsthat we run continue to be the main focus. Insecondary schools presentations on Kooris andCars and Revved Up purchasing a car program arevery successful.

Fair Trading has a commitment to the NationalIndigenous Consumer Strategy ‘Taking ActionGaining Trust’. The plan identifies actions in keypriority areas: employment of Indigenous staff inconsumer agencies, advocacy of Indigenousconsumers' interests, housing, financialmanagement and banking, motor vehicles andboats, trading practices and the arts industry.

Fair Trading deliveredover 900 informationsessions - attendedby more than 27,000people across theState.

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Revved UpMany young members of society are extremelykeen to purchase a car and often have nounderstanding of what can go wrong when buyingone.

Our Revved Up program is presented to Year 11and 12 high school students to assist themunderstand their rights and possible pitfalls whenpurchasing a car. The program covers consumerrights associated with buying a car, contractualobligations and stresses the need to ensure that avehicle is road worthy and mechanically sound.

Many Revved Up programs have been deliveredacross the State during the year with over 8,000high school students attending the sessions.

Real estate, landlord and tenancy informationsessionsThe rights of tenants, landlords and real estateagents can be confusing. Fair Trading conductedgeneral information sessions through the year forthe real estate industry which have been conductedat many centres and are always well attended.

Participants at the information sessions includedtenants, landlords and real estate agents withspecific educational presentations also conductedfor Aboriginal Housing Organisations, LocalAboriginal Land Councils and domestic andinternational university students.

A special emphasis was made during Fair TradingWeek 2006 to support the theme - ‘Home sweethome - your keys to buying, selling and renting’.During this week information on real estate andtenancy rights and responsibilities was distributedto real estate agents through a series of tradervisits. Landlords who self-manage their propertieswere also educated on the topic through a numberof self-managing landlord seminars which wereheld at many locations.

Association seminarsAssociations are not-for-profit organisations. Manyare established to assist communities in all areasof life, such as educational, sporting and religious -just to name a few.

Incorporation under the legislation is voluntary butmany benefits are gained by an association whichincorporates. We conducted 36 Associationinformation seminars during the year, encouragingunincorporated groups to incorporate, often drawingup to 50 participants at each information session.

Registry of Co-operatives &AssociationsA key element of the development of the co-operative sector in NSW is an educational programaimed at broadening the awareness of co-operativephilosophy and of exploring the benefits of co-operation and incorporation for groups ofindividuals and communities as a whole.

The educational program includes conductingpresentations and information sessions forcommunity groups, professional associations andgovernment organisations at federal, state and locallevels.

Exhibitions at major events such as the AustralianNational Field Days in Orange, the Farming SmallAreas Field Days in the Hawkesbury/Richmondarea and the Tocal Field Days in the Hunter regionsupport the program. We also focus on and supportAboriginal groups and communities seekingincorporation. Practical assistance was provided toexisting Aboriginal co-operatives and associationsin relation to compliance matters through regularcontact and visits.

Information about co-operatives has appeared in anumber of publications, covering a range of media,such as:• Community Co-operative Connections electronic

newsletter and bulletin• Premier's Department Community Builders

website• The Land newspaper

Co-operative education - professional supportprogramThis ongoing program seeks to encourage strongprofessional support committed to servicing anddeveloping the co-operative sector. The programstrategically targets those professional groups suchas lawyers, accountants and banks which are most

Registration of co-operatives and associationsType of Entity 05-06 06-07Associations 37,963 39,348Co-operatives 764 744Funeral funds 16 18Co-operative housing societies 27 17Associations of co-operative housing societies 12 11Starr-Bowkett societies 19 18

Over 8,000 highschool students

attended Revved upsessions.

29


likely to be the principal points of contact for newand existing co-operative ventures. Through tailoredinformation sessions delivered in the field andarticles placed in industry publications the programaims to broaden awareness and build a betterunderstanding and awareness of the values and theunique features of the co-operative structure. Thefirst stage of the program, which reached lawsociety groups from Albury to Newcastle, andmade available co-operative information to over23,000 legal practitioners operating across thestate, has been completed. Already the next stageof the program targeting the accounting professionand banking industry has begun with a veryencouraging response received from both areas.

Co-operatives Council work programThe Co-operatives Council work program wasinstrumental in maintaining a high profile on co-operatives and promoting development of thesector in this state. It was developed in 2005 andintegrated into the co-operative development planfor 2006-2007. Some of the ongoing activities underthis program include Field-Day promotions;publication of co-operative information on theinternet and in industry and governmentnewsletters; promotion of co-operativeachievement under the Fair Trading Annual AwardsScheme; development of a national co-operativedatabase; support of the annual NSW Co-operativesFederation conference; a program to identify andassist struggling co-operatives; and the provision offinancial assistance under the Co-operativeDevelopment Grants Program for businessplanning and similar initiatives.

Services

Consumer complaints

Fair tradingOur network of 24 Fair Trading Centres and the FairTrading Information Centre provide information toconsumers and traders on their rights andresponsibilities under Fair Trading legislation. Theinformation assists both parties resolve issues inthe marketplace.

Where parties cannot resolve an issue themselves,a complaint can be lodged. We then negotiatebetween the parties in an attempt to resolve thematter. When this fails, we advise the parties oftheir options - including taking their matter to theConsumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.

During 2006-2007, Fair Trading received over34,000 consumer complaints. Of these 85% weresuccessfully resolved at an informal level.

Strata mediationMediation continues to be a successful way forparties to settle strata and community schemedisputes. People can resolve their disputes withoutthe need for formal adjudication on the matter andmany side issues are resolved along with the maindispute.

During 2006-2007 the Strata Mediation Unitreceived 1,211 applications for mediation with 71%of matters being successfully resolved.

Information about strata legislation is provided tocustomers during the mediation process. This

Fair trading complaints

Over 85% ofconsumer disputeswere successfullyresolved.

30


information helps clarify complex issues during theheat of a mediation session so that parties canmove on to negotiating an agreement withlegislative cer tainty.

Credit, real estate and retirement villagesOur Specialist Support Unit provides informationand negotiates disputes regarding real estate,consumer credit, and retirement village laws. TheUnit is also responsible for the administration ofthe Motor Dealers Compensation Fund.

Approximately 30,000 telephone enquiries arehandled each year as well as 2,000 formal writtencomplaints. It is also responsible for detectingbreaches of legislation in each of these areas,which, once detected are referred for furtherinvestigation.

The Unit receives, assesses and processes claimsfor compensation from the Motor DealersCompensation Fund that provide protection toconsumers who have suffered a loss in connectionwith a motor vehicle, through their dealings with alicensed motor dealer or a car-market operator.

Motor vehicle repair disputesWhen an owner of a motor vehicle lodges a noticeof dispute with the Motor Vehicle Repair IndustryAuthority (MVRIA), a Dispute Mediation Officerattempts to assist the owner and the repairer toreach a mutually agreed settlement. This mayeither be by a face-to-face meeting or by ateleconference conducted by trainedteleconferencing mediators. The service is free ofcharge and entirely voluntary. If a settlement can bereached, the terms of the settlement are recorded inwriting and signed by the owner and the repairer asevidence of their agreement.

During the year, 1,158 matters were mediated withapproximately 56% successfully resolved withoutthe need for the matter to proceed to another forumsuch as a Court or the Consumer, Trader andTenancy Tribunal.

Home building complaintsOur dispute resolution service was established toprovide a quick and cost free way of resolvingdisputes between consumers, builders andtradespeople. During the year 6,112 newcomplaints were received through the Fair TradingCentre network or directly by the Home BuildingService. In 2006-2007 a total of 5,128 matters werehandled in the following ways.• 2,251 were resolved through intervention by Fair

Trading Centre staff.• 1,533 were resolved through mediations and

technical assessments by the Home BuildingService's building inspectors.

• 1,344 were assessed as appropriate for referralto the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal orother relevant agency.

The balance of matters finalised (unresolved) werematters where OFT had no jurisdiction; werewithdrawn during the process; or where the traderwas insolvent, untraceable or deceased. In additiona further 308 matters were still undergoing theresolution process at the end of the 2006-2007 year.

Home warranty insuranceThe private home warranty insurance schemecontinues to be monitored by the independentHome Warranty Insurance Scheme Board. From 1March 2007 the minimum cover that must beprovided by insurers to homeowners under thehome warranty insurance scheme was increasedfrom $200,000 to $300,000. It is the responsibility ofthe building contractor to obtain home warrantyinsurance before taking any money or commencingwork where the residential building work is valuedat over $12,000. On 1 June 2007, the homewarranty insurance business of AustralianInternational Insurance Limited (AIIL) wasintegrated into that of Lumley General InsuranceLimited following the purchase of AIIL's parentcompany by Lumley's parent company -Wesfarmers Limited.

Home building complaints handled

Our SpecialistSupport Unit

provides informationand negotiates

disputes regardingreal estate,

consumer credit,and retirement

village laws.

31


REVS

Service EnhancementAs part of its regular asset-management program,REVS has been undertaking a major infrastructureupgrade project aimed at improving theperformance, information integrity and availabilityof the REVS system. Full implementation in early2008 will result in a major improvement to thesystem's availability by reducing downtime andproviding a service which is generally available viainternet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Provision of stolen vehicle alerts via REVS is animportant strategy in protecting the public andcombating vehicle frauds such as 'rebirthing'. TheNSW Police have been providing details of stolenvehicles for inclusion on the REVS database sinceit was established in 1986. Following an extensivedata audit between REVS and NSW Police and anupgrade of the link between the two systems,manual downloads to REVS database werereplaced by daily automated downloads inNovember 2006. Automated downloads of stolenboats records commenced in December 2006.

REVS has developed an internet facility whichenables our Fair Trading Centres to provide over-the-counter search certificates for vehicles andboats where customers can pay by cash orEFTPOS. This is an additional service to thetelephone and internet currently provided for allREVS transactions. The service is scheduled forprogressive implementation from August 2007, andis capable of being deployed at other sites, such asGovernment Access Centres.

Information enhancementEnhancement to the REVS website has continuedwith the implementation of registration and searchfacilities for NSW Boats in July 2006. Both publicand account clients are now able to conductsearches and purchase a REVS Certificate for NSWBoats via the REVS website. Account clients arealso able to use this facility to register, vary andcancel boat encumbrances.

The planned implementation of access to NEVDISinformation (national stolen and written-off vehicledata) has been delayed whilst the majorinfrastructure upgrade occurs.

National REVSIn 2005 the Commonwealth Government, throughthe Standing Committee of Attorneys General(SCAG), commenced a project to examine thewider issue of national personal property securities(PPS) law reform and establish a single nationalregister, which had the potential to include anational REVS scheme. In early 2007, the Council ofAustralian Governments endorsed the generalproposal to proceed with a national PPS scheme.

Fair Trading is committed to the concept of anational register of encumbered vehicles, and isworking closely with the NSW Attorney General'sDepartment on the SCAG project.

NRMA Car Wise productAn agreement between the NRMA and REVS sawthe provision of REVS certificates through theNRMA's Car Wise product, launched in April 2007.This provides background checks and otherinformation to help NRMA members when buying asecond hand car. It includes a REVS Certificate thatprotects buyers against repossession forundisclosed debts. The arrangement offers REVSan opportunity to promote its important informationand service to the wider community, especiallywomen and younger buyers.

Rental bonds custodyAt 30 June 2007 there were 628,153 residentialrental bonds held in trust. Rental bond funds heldincreased from $647.8 million in 2005-2006 to$690.6 million this year. The last three years haveseen a gradual slowing in the rate of growth ofbonds held in custody, from 4.6% in 2003-2004 to2.2% in 2006-2007. The number of new bondslodged totalled 279,798, a decrease of 2.9% fromthe previous year, reflecting the general levelling-offin the size of the rental market. Rental bond refundsdecreased slightly from last year, with 266,478bonds refunded through 382,204 individualpayments.

REVS05-06 06-07

REVS checks 1,525,000 1,637,800Finance industry commitments registered $8.18 B $8.45 BTotal encumbrances held 3.30 M 3.45 M

Provision of stolenvehicle alerts viaREVS is an importantstrategy in protectingthe public andcombating vehiclefraud.

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The trend toward the use of electronic services byour customers in preference to the traditional mailand face to face services continues. Tenants,landlords and real estate agents submitted over87% of claims for refund electronically. Likewise,54.8% of customers requested their refund be paiddirectly into their bank account, an increase of 7.7%in the proportion of direct deposit refunds over lastyear.

The Rental Bond Internet Service (RBIS) continuesto increase in popularity within the real estateindustry. RBIS provides NSW property managerswith the option of conducting their rental bondbusiness online 24 hours a day, seven days aweek. The number of property managers connectedto RBIS has increased by 9.4% in the last year,together with a corresponding increase of 13.5% inthe number of RBIS claim transactions.

Licensing and registration services

Home buildingAll applicants for building licences and certificatesare required to present themselves in person at aFair Trading Centre or a Government Access Centreand undergo a proof of identity check. This is part ofthe Government's continuous drive to offer betterprotection to consumers.

On 21 August 2006 new licensing assessmentcriteria for 24 existing trade/building categorieswere introduced and two new building categoriesfor contractor licences commenced for:• kitchen, bathroom and laundry renovation• erection of pre-fabricated metal-framed home

additions and structures.

Licensing activityLicence type New 05-06 New 06-07 Currently RegisteredBuilders 10,598 12,056 168,418Conveyancers 128 148 748Motor Dealers 339 376 3,668Motor Vehicle Repairs 1,354 1,412 12,327Pawnbrokers & Second-hand Dealers 163 175 947Property, Stock, & Business Agents 2,480 2,820 26,653Public Weighbridge 11 9 78Real Estate Certificates 4,867 5,076 16,456Trade Measurement Services 11 21 207Travel Agents 106 76 1,446Valuers 350 159 3,136Total 19,053 22,328 234,084

Residential rental bonds - number processed and held in trustAll applicants forbuilding licences

and certificates arerequired to present

themselves inperson and

undergo a proof ofidentity check.

33


From 1 July 2007, licence holders will be given theoption of renewing their licences for a period ofthree years in addition to yearly. Those licenseeswho take up the three year option will saveapproximately 20% over the three years of thelicence. This will cut red tape in relation to licencerenewals, resulting in savings to licence holders.

Later this year it is planned to introduce a new styleof licence card in addition to licensees being able torenew their licences on-line.

Our guarantee of service promises that new licenceapplications that are complete and do not requireadditional information will be processed within 30working days of receipt. Our target is to achievethis result in 85% of cases. From December 2006 toJune 2007, we met this standard in over 90% ofcases.

Government Licensing ServiceThe NSW Government's connectingBusinessLicensing Project is a large and complex across-government information project to create a singleintegrated Government Licensing System (GLS) forbusiness, professional and some personallicensing. Managed by the Government ChiefInformation Office within the NSW Department ofCommerce, it is the NSW Government's largestacross-government computing project. We are alead agency contributing to the project.

Building on the successful migration of NSWvaluers registrations to the GLS in November 2005,a new online service was launched in August 2006that provides for the lodgement and payment of anapplication for a valuers licence via the internet. Weare continuing to work in partnership with theGovernment Licensing Project team toprogressively migrate all licensing systems to theGLS.

Business and property services licensingOnline renewal of business licencesOur Online Licence Renewal Service (OLRS) is aconvenient internet-based service which allowsmotor dealers, travel agents, pawnbrokers andsecond-hand dealers to renew or update theirlicences online at any time. OLRS continues to bewell accepted by licensees. This year over 31% ofrenewal transactions by licence holders werelodged online.

The service is easy to use and payments can bemade securely and conveniently by credit card.Users receive a discount of 10% of the processingfee or $5.00, whichever is greater, for lodgingrenewals online.

Business registrationOnline renewals for business namesSince 2003, we have offered traders the convenientoption of renewing the registration of their businessname online, with the added incentive of adiscounted fee for the use of this service. Thepopularity of online registration continues to grow -during 2006-2007, 30,478 businesses tookadvantage of the service, an increase of 14% overlast year. Fair Trading is investigating the possibilityof extending the online service to include newapplications for business names in the future.

Restoration of expired registration for businessnamesOn 1 February 2007 we implemented legislativechanges which provide a three month restorationperiod for business registrations. Prior to theintroduction of this change, traders who did notrenew on time were required by legislation to lodgea completely new application for their businessname and ran the risk of the name being registeredby another trader with expensive consequences.Under the restoration provisions, through the

Business names register total

...changes providea three monthrestoration periodfor businessregistrations.

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payment of a fee, traders can ensure the continuityof their business name and avoid the red tape oflodging a new application. This procedural changehas been well received by the businesscommunity.

MVRIAAll motor vehicle repair businesses in NSW musthold a repairer's licence for the class or classes ofrepair work that they perform. To be granted alicence the applicant must be fit and proper, musthave sufficient financial and material resources tocarry on the business and must employ suitablyqualified tradespeople to perform the trade work.

After receiving all relevant information from theapplicant and other agencies, we issue the licencewithin 30 working days. This service was met in100% of cases.

Community and industry grantsCommunity and Industry Grants are provided to not-for-profit organisations for the provision ofcommunity education, advice and advocacyservices for tenants, retirement village residentsand consumers who need assistance with dealingwith personal financial difficulties. In line with theNSW Government's social justice role, these grantspromote the principles of access, equity anddiversity.

Our partnership with funded not-for-profit groupsensures complementary service provision, in thatwe provide information, regulation and remedy,while the community sector specialises in theprovision of consumer advice and advocacyservices.

Tenants Advice and Advocacy ProgramThis year, 22 community organisations were fundedunder the Tenants Advice and Advocacy Program(TAAP) to provide advice and advocacy to nearly30,000 tenants.

An increasing number of residential parks havebeen the subject of threatened closure or re-development applications which may impact onlow income earners for whom residential parksprovide affordable accommodation. Workers fundedunder the TAAP have been supporting theseresidents to gain a better understanding of theprocess and any recourse options which may beavailable to them. Funding has also been providedto the Tenants' Union of NSW specifically for theemployment of a Residential Parks Solicitor toprovide additional support to park residents.

This year, almost 5,000 tenants around the statereceived assistance with either preparing for aConsumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal hearing orrepresentation at a hearing.

The focus this year was on the needs of tenantswho are refugees, particularly those from Africancountries, and also newly arrived migrants.Additionally, our own indigenous population hasbeen a target of new initiatives with the Tenants'Union being funded for an Aboriginal Legal Officer toprovide advice and advocacy for Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islanders living in NSW.

Financial Counselling Services ProgramAll financial counsellors funded under the CreditCounselling Program and the Financial CounsellingTrust Fund must be trained and eligible foraccreditation by the Financial CounsellorsAssociation of NSW. This year, almost 33,000people sought assistance from these dedicatedprofessionals. All services reported an increase inthe complexity of matters facing their clients andgreater difficulties in negotiating with clients'creditors as a result of debt collection beingoutsourced to overseas call centres.

Funding allocated in 2006-20071 Tenants Advice and Advocacy Program* $8,027,6682 Credit Counselling Program $1,214,9823 Financial Counselling Trust Fund $752,6134 Home Building Grants Program $160,0005 Property Services Grants Program $278,5716 The Aged - care Rights Service $361,8687 Co-operatives Development Grants Program $110,0128 Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Authority $50,000Total $10,955,714

All figures are excluding GST, which is paid on all grants.

*Includes $202,126 provided from TAAP Special Purpose Funds

Total grant allocations

In line with the NSWGovernment's social

justice role, thesegrants promote the

principles of access,equity and diversity.

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The issues reported by funded services during2006-2007 show a continuing increase in thenumber of people seeking advice about bankruptcyand an increase in numbers of people caught out byhigh interest rates and charges imposed by non-mainstream lenders.

Issues relating to management of personal financesare also discussed at community educationsessions provided by the 44 individual servicesreceiving a funding contribution from the twoprograms overseen by the Office. These sessionsare very useful as a preventative strategy, enablingpeople to make more informed decisions about theuse of credit and day to day financial managementissues. In 2006-2007, nearly 200 sessions wereconducted, benefiting over 3,000 participants.

Property Services ProgramThe Property Services Grants Program providesfunding to eligible organisations to provide orundertake education or research projects relating tothe property services industry which is regulatedunder Fair Trading legislation.

In 2006-2007, we funded five projects under theProperty Services Grants Program relating tocommunity education, training and continuingprofessional development.

Home Building ProgramThe Home Building Grants Program targets thehome building industry which is regulated underFair Trading legislation. Funds are provided for one-off projects to undertake research or provideconsumer education or industry training which willenhance the professionalism of the industry and inturn, enhance outcomes for their consumers.

In 2006-2007 we funded four projects for therecruitment and management of apprentices in thehome building industry, continuing professionaldevelopment and for the swimming pool and spabuilding sector.

Website updateThis initiative provides the public and businesssector with access to information on the projects orservices that receive funding and the organisations’contact details. Organisations and individuals haveaccess to application forms, program guidelinesand key dates for when programs are advertised.Our website has been improved to provide practicaland useful information on our Community andIndustry Grant Programs.

Affordable housing grantsWe have provided two one-off grants to theDepartment of Housing to establish the AffordableHousing Innovations Fund for the purpose of theprovision of grants to registered community

housing providers for affordable rental housingprojects. This initiative will address the need toprovide more affordable rental opportunities forvery low to moderate income households in stressand expand the capacity of community housingproviders to deliver affordable housing. In 2006 weprovided $10.4 million to the Department ofHousing for capital and to establish the vehiclemodel for the Affordable Housing Initiative. In June2007 we provided an additional $30 million toprovide grants for the development or acquisition ofup to 250 affordable rental dwellings. Thisrepresents a total contribution of $40.4 million. Thefunds are drawn from Rental Bond Boardinvestment earnings on tenants' rental bonds.

Think Smart tenancy grantsDuring 2006, Fair Trading, in conjunction with theRental Bond Board, developed a one-off grantsprogram to provide an opportunity for community-focused organisations to deliver tenancy-relatedinitiatives to a number of specific communitylanguage groups.

The program specifically targeted a number ofidentified community-language groups includingArabic, Assyrian, Indonesian, Chinese, Dari, Dinka,Korean, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Samoan, Tonganand Vietnamese.

Total funding of $207,000 was provided to 12community organisations to fund innovative,community-accessible projects and initiatives thatoffered practical solutions for overcoming languageand literacy difficulties in accessing tenancyinformation and self-help.

The organisations who were successful inobtaining the funding were: Assyrian AustraliaAssociation (AAA), Auburn Migrant ResourceCentre, Australia-Korean Welfare Association,CASS Care (Chinese Australian Services Society),Canterbury Bankstown Migrant Resource Centre,Immigrant Women's Speakout Association,Cabramatta Community Centre (Fairfield MigrantResource Centre), Indonesian Welfare Association,Illawarra Legal Centre, Northern SettlementServices (formerly Migrant Resource Centre ofNewcastle and Hunter Region), MulticulturalCommunity Radio Association and TonganAssociation and Macarthur Diversity Services.

The funded projects were innovative and variedranging from a theatre play, recording tenancyinformation sessions to DVD and CD, talk backradio programs, a computer course and working inpartnership with local real estate agents and othertenancy providers.

These projects are due to be completed betweenJune and September 2007.

...we provideinformation,regulation andremedy, while thecommunity sectorspecialises in theprovision ofconsumer advice andadvocacy services.

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Motor vehicle repairsA general grant of $50,000 was again made to theAutomotive Training Board of NSW (ATB). The ATBis the NSW automotive retail, service and repairIndustry Training Advisory Board and it works withindustry, registered training organisation, schoolsand government bodies to ensure that the trainingneeds of the industry are being addressed. Thegrant is made to assist the ATB meet its primaryobjectives of developing, improving, encouraging,fostering and implementing systematic traininginitiatives for employment in the automotive repairindustry.

Co-operatives Development Grants ProgramThe Co-operatives Development Grants Program(CDGP) is designed to assist the NSW co-operativesector grow and remain a viable sector of oureconomy. This year our focus was on economicdevelopment. Grants were also made to highlightthe historical contribution of co-operatives. Grantswere provided to:• ScreenCentric Incorporated, a strategic business

planning for a filmmakers co-operative that

combines business experience and creativetalent in order to develop Australian film projectsfor new filmmakers

• Centre for Australian Community Organisationsand Management (CACOM) for continuedproduction of the on-line newsletter CCC eNEWSwith up to six eBulletins between editions,conduct a major review of the subscriberdatabase and develop strategies aimed atexpanding and improving its reach

• Hawkless Consulting Pty Ltd was engaged toconduct the Co operative Housing Society andStarr Bowkett Society Sector Analysis

• Co-operative Federation of NSW Limited forprinting and promoting a publication TheDemocracy Principle: Farmer Co-operatives inTwentieth Century Australia by Dr Gary Lewis, animportant addition to the body of work onAustralian co-operatives

• Technology Ski Club Co-operative Limited forprinting a publication The First 50 Years markingthe 50th anniversary of the co-operative.

The grant assistssystematic training

initiatives foremployment in the

automotive repairindustry.

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Number of electrical certifications

The Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2004 whichreplaced the Electricity Safety Act 1945 on 3February 2006 requires declared electricalappliances to be approved by a state or territoryelectrical regulator or an approved externalapproval scheme before they can be sold in NSW.Approvals are issued for appliances such astelevisions, refrigerators and room heaters. In2006-2007, 3,511 new, modified or renewedarticles were approved which generated revenue of$1,032,662.

Consumer, Trader and TenancyTribunal

The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT)is an independent body which resolves disputesabout the supply of goods and services and issuesrelating to residential property.

The CTTT deals with a wide range of disputesincluding retail transactions up to $25,000, motorvehicles, rental bond and tenancy issues;residential parks, retirement villages, strata orcommunity scheme issues; finance and credit andhome building or renovating issues. The Tribunaloperates in an informal environment and uses arange of methods to assist parties to resolve theirdisputes.

The Tribunal receives over 64,000 applicationsannually. There are 8 CTTT registries located inmetropolitan and regional areas. Hearings are heldat over 95 locations across NSW.

The Tribunal is supported by staff of the Office ofFair Trading. Fair Trading Centres provide advice onthe role of the Tribunal, options available to resolvedisputes and help people in lodging an application.

The Tribunal produces its own annual report whichis available at www.cttt.nsw.gov.au.

Fair Trading Centresprovide advice on therole of the Consumer,Trader and TenancyTribunal and optionsavailable to resolvedisputes.

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Traders need to act in accordance with fair trading laws for a fair marketplace to be achieved. Out of anatural sense of fair play and in the interests of the reputation and integrity of their industries, the honestmajority do so. Others may need assistance with clarifying their responsibilities. A relatively small butdangerous fringe element operates to a greater or lesser degree on both sides of the law. Our enforcementprograms begin with targeted inspections and intelligence work, graduate to investigation work whererequired and in a proportion of cases, result in internal disciplinary action or prosecution through thecourts. Our ability to enforce compliance depends on many factors including, increasingly these days,cross-agency and cross-jurisdictional co-operation as many scams originate interstate or overseas butaffect NSW consumers.

Marketplace indicator

03-04 04-04 05-06 06-07 Target

Percentage of consumers confident in fairoperation of marketplace 70% 71% 69% 73% 68-74%

Comment/InterpretationConsumer confidence is a recognised proxymeasure used in several jurisdictions to assessmarketplace fairness, but it is impacted by theactivities of many agencies across jurisdictions.Results can be affected by major events, includingthose interstate or overseas, during or just prior tothe survey. The aim is to maintain levels in a target

range comparable to other similar jurisdictions (68-74%). It is highly unlikely that much higher resultswould ever be achieved given marketplacecomplexity but subject to above qualifications,significant drops would trigger further marketplaceanalysis to examine whether the results reflect anissue of concern.

Snapshot: service-level statistics 2006-2007Successful prosecutions 416Penalty notices issued 1,288Investigations 3,280Inspections 28,619

ComplianceObjective 4: Compliance with Fair Trading laws

Strategy: Effective enforcement

Highlights 2006-2007

• New Enforcement Action Report published quarterly on the website• $110,000 paid to the Financial Counselling Trust Fund by a credit union for

breaches of the Consumer Credit Code• 283 penalty notices with a monetary value of more than $180,000 issued

as a result of proactive compliance operations in the home buildingindustry

• More than $1.75 million of fines and penalty notices issued across 15 actsduring the year

• Gaol term imposed on a real estate employee for misappropriation of funds

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Performance measures

03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 Target

% of inspections where compliance evident - 96% 97% 98% ≥≥≥≥≥90%

Proportion of prosecutions successful 91% 94% 86% 95% ≥≥≥≥≥90%

Comment/interpretationThe percentage of inspections where compliance isevident is a quantity measure that demonstrates theeffectiveness of OFT's compliance programs. Ahigh incidence of compliance during random androutine inspections shows that a combination ofappropriate laws, business education andinformation programs, licensing requirements andthe knowledge that regulatory infractions andoffences will be detected and dealt with, allcontribute to consumers experiencing a fairermarketplace. Publicity associated with disciplinaryaction reinforces the compliance message andreassures traders who behave fairly and ethicallythat Fair Trading is actively protecting the integrityof their industries.

The proportion of prosecutions that are successfulis a quality measure of major interest to externalstakeholders. It not only reflects on theeffectiveness of Fair Trading's court actions butalso on the quality of the investigative processesthat precede them. The target must be set at a levelwhich accommodates OFT case preparation(including scope to explore legal precedents) -offset by the independence of the Courts whereresults cannot be assumed. "Unsuccessful"prosecutions can still have a deterrent effect.

Compliance related activitiesOver 41,000 compliance related activities - rangingfrom inspections through to more complex action inthe Supreme Court, were carried out to ensurefairness in the marketplace. An Enforcement ActionReport is now being published each quarter on theFair Trading website. It details the names ofoffenders, their offences and the penalties imposedfor breaches of fair trading law. It sends a warningto individuals who might consider flouting the lawas well as encouragement to the honest majority oftraders who value the reputation and integrity oftheir industries.

Cost effective complianceThe Cost Effective Compliance Review, a majorproject in our 2005-2006 Corporate Plan, wasoverseen by a steering committee that engaged theservices of an expert in regulatory strategies andseconded two project staff to develop issuespapers in consultation with relevant staff.

The report was endorsed by the Commissioner anda summary was released to staff in December2006. The report identifies opportunities for greaterco-ordination of compliance activities, enhancedinformation support systems, screening andreporting, a renewed commitment to staff trainingand improved co-operation between consumerprotection agencies.

The report's recommendations are considered ablue print for achieving best compliance outcomesthrough the cost effective use of Fair Trading'sinspection, investigation and legal resources.

MVRIA integrationThe integration of the Motor Vehicle Repair IndustryAuthority (MVRIA) into Fair Trading is designed tobring improved efficiencies to the regulation of theindustry. A management plan for the totalintegration of MVRIA into Fair Trading has beenreleased and is now subject to consultation withstaff and unions. The plan envisages a new MotorVehicle Industry Branch being established that willfocus on compliance in the motor vehicle retail andrepair sector. The new branch will bring improvedefficiencies to the regulation of the industry.

Regional Inspection ProgramsRegional compliance continues to be a priority toensure businesses comply with their legislativeresponsibilities. This year our compliance activitiesincluded:• inspection of travel agents' records to ensure

compliance with legislation• inspection and monitoring of motor dealers, auto

dismantlers, second-hand dealers andpawnbrokers

• checking of weighing and scanning equipment atsupermarkets and other retail outlets

• inspection of petrol pumps, LPG and high flowaviation fuel units to ensure accuracy,certification and safety of equipment

• inspection of weekend markets to ensurestallholders comply with trade measurement andsecond hand dealer legislation, and Australiansafety standards

• inspection of liquor dispensing units andglassware at hotels and licensed clubs andrestaurants

It sends a warning toindividuals who mightconsider flouting thelaw as well asencouragement to thehonest majority oftraders...

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• inspection of weighbridges to ensure accuracy• checking of jewellery advertising in the lead up

to Mother's Day to ensure legitimacy of discounts• checking of packaging at supermarkets and other

retail outlets to ensure compliance with trademeasurement legislation.

EnforcementBy enforcing the law, the Office of Fair Tradingprotects consumers from unscrupulous people andpromotes confidence in the market place. Thereputation and integrity within industry groups isimproved by removing fraudulent or sub-standardtraders. Through inspections, investigations and byresponding to complaints Fair Trading takesenforcement action against individuals orbusinesses that contravene the law. Enforcementaction may include disciplinary action, fines,rectification orders, compensation payments,disqualification, restraining orders orimprisonment.

Associations Incorporation ActThe Associations Incorporation Act provides non-profit community based groups with an easy andrelatively inexpensive means of establishing andregistering as a legal entity. It protects theindividual members and allows the association tocontinue regardless of changes to membership.

Significant enforcement actionLive at Home Goulburn & Districts Inc (Inliquidation)We have been conducting a major and ongoinginvestigation into the affairs of this incorporatedassociation which was registered in October 1992

Successful prosecutionsAct Defendants Offences PenaltiesAssociations Incorporation Act 1 1 $362Business Names Act 1 1 $362Credit (Finance Brokers) Act 1 7 $35,027Consumer Credit Administration Act 2 23 $41,541Crimes Act 7 8 $20,877Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 2 3 $2,284Electricity Safety Act 5 18 $11,153Fair Trading Act 10 45 $34,075Home Building Act 31 141 $313,583Motor Dealers Act 29 113 $292,431Motor Vehicle Repairs Act 21 38 $29,759Property Stock and Business Agents Act 6 8 $35,081Trade Measurement Act 2 7 $4,538Total 120 416 $825,178

Total Prosecutions: 440Total Successful Prosecutions: 416 % Successful: 95%

Offences under an Act include offences under a regulation made pursuant to that Act.Total Prosecutions refers to offences subject of prosecutions commenced by Office of Fair TradingSuccessful prosecutions means prosecutions resulting in conviction as well as prosecutions where the offender isfound guilty of an offence but a conviction is not recorded.

to provide care and services to disabled clients inthe Goulburn area. The Department of Ageing,Disability and Home Care (DADAHC) providedsubstantial funding to the association for thispurpose.

Following an application to the Supreme Court bythe Registry, the Court granted an order that theassociation be wound up on grounds of insolvency.Since that time the Registry has been assisting theliquidator in investigating an allegedmisappropriation of association funds. Theliquidator has served a claim for reimbursement ofthe monies on the former manager and her husbandwho was the former treasurer of the association.

Christian Housing Association IncorporatedEstablished in August 2005, the principal activitiesof this association were meeting the needs of theunfortunate through housing and provision of food.We received complaints about a scheme promotedby the association involving persons making a'registration' payment of $500 to the association andobtaining further payments of $500 by up to 20people in order to secure housing. On threeseparate occasions our investigators servednotices on Mr Tui to produce the financial records ofthe association. Despite Mr Tui promising toproduce the documents in January 2006 no recordswere ever produced. Result: On 30 March 2007, MrJohn Tui, public officer of the association pleadedguilty to a charge of failing to produce records. MrTui was convicted and fined a total of $220 forfailing to produce records of the association. Inaddition to the fine Mr Tui was directed to pay courtand professional costs totalling $142. The

By enforcing the law,Fair Trading protects

consumers fromunscrupulous people

and promotesconfidence in the

market place.

41


conviction sends a message to incorporatedassociation office bearers that their responsibilitiesare not to be taken lightly and they must beaccountable for their actions.

Business Names ActRegistering business names protects consumersand businesses by keeping a register of the detailsof the entity behind a trading name for the purposesof law enforcement or consumer redress.Registration also ensures that no registeredbusiness in a state or territory has a name thatcould be confused with another registeredbusiness.

Significant enforcement actionJenni MarshallJenni Marshall issued documents under theunregistered business names of 'The Advocate forPeoples Rights' and 'Advocate for Consumer Traderand Tenancy Matters', as well as the registeredbusiness name 'Advocate for Tenants Rights'.Result: Ms Marshall was convicted of using anunregistered business name and fined $1,000. MsMarshall has since appealed her convictions at theDistrict Court. The appeal was set for hearing on 18September 2007.

Consumer Credit Administration ActThe Consumer Credit Administration Act protectsconsumers by regulating all finance brokers whonegotiate with credit providers to obtain consumercredit for clients. Brokers must provide sufficientinformation for clients to make appropriate choicesand enter into a written contract with a consumerbefore commencing finance broking. Financebrokers are prohibited from claiming commissionin advance. The Act provides a disciplinary regimefor finance brokers and credit providers with anultimate sanction of prohibiting them from trading. Italso sets out powers for conducting an inquiry intoany credit-related matter.

Significant enforcement actionCameron SpeersCameron Speers was a finance broker offering toarrange finance to consumers who may otherwisenot be able to access mainstream lenders forvarious reasons including unemployment or poorcredit history. Speers took up-front fees beforeobtaining the finance, in contravention of theConsumer Credit Administration Act and the FairTrading Act. Consumers were misled by Speers'representations that the loans had been approvedbut the funds would not be released until the fee hadbeen paid. Loans were not obtained and the feeswere not refunded. Despite our intervention, Speersrefused to refund consumers and negotiate asettlement of the matter. Result: On 23 May 2007,in the Downing Centre Local Court, Speers wasconvicted and sentenced to pay fines and coststotalling $30,446.70 after pleading guilty to 30

charges relating to: charging an up front fee, financebroking without a written contract, misrepresentingthe benefits of a service and accepting a paymentwhen not intending to provide a service or providinga different service.

Stephen John JonesStephen John Jones ran a business styled as amortgage advisory service and finance brokerunder the names NSW Mortgage Advisory Serviceand Amazing Home Loans Pty Ltd. Jones wouldarrange an appointment in consumers' homes todiscuss mortgage finance or refinancing.Misrepresentations were made in relation to theservice provided and fees were charged prior to theloan being obtained. Finance broking contracts didnot comply with the Consumer CreditAdministration Act and Jones failed to providecopies of the contracts to consumers. Result: On 4October 2006, Jones was convicted and sentencedto pay fines and costs totalling $67,563.27 afterpleading guilty to a variety of offences.

Consumer Credit ActThe Consumer Credit (New South Wales) Actprotects consumers by making the ConsumerCredit Code, which governs all credit transactionsin Australia, law in NSW. Information must be clearand easy to understand. The consumer's rights andobligations must be set out in a written contract thatincludes interest rates, fees, and commissions. TheAct provides for those matters which are outside ofthe Consumer Credit Code, including a maximumannual percentage rate and the payment ofpenalties into a trust fund to finance financialcounselling.

Significant enforcement actionQantas Staff Credit UnionIn October 2006, the Consumer, Trader and TenancyTribunal endorsed an agreement we reached withthe Qantas Staff Credit Union to impose a civilpenalty of $156,888 Australia wide with $110,000apportioned to New South Wales to be paid into theFinancial Counselling Trust Fund. The matter relatedto a number of breaches of the key requirements ofthe Uniform Consumer Credit Code, including non-disclosure of credit fees and charges and non-disclosure of loan disbursement details. Thebreaches were primarily technical in nature withfew consumers suffering any financial detriment.

Consumer "rental" contractsWe became concerned at the increase incompanies offering 'rental agreements' toconsumers as a way for them to obtain householdgoods such as entertainment systems, securitysystems, furniture and whitegoods. The consumerswho use these types of contracts predominantlylive in country or remote communities and are oftenindigenous consumers. Many are on fixed incomes,including Centrelink benefits, and may not be able

The conviction sendsa message toincorporatedassociation officebearers that theirresponsibilities arenot to be takenlightly.

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to obtain goods under a typical personal loanarrangement due to previous credit defaults. Whilecertain aspects of consumer leases are covered bythe Uniform Consumer Credit Code, there aresignificant disclosure and other provisions that donot apply to goods subject to rental style contracts.Our concerns include:• Consumers appear to have little understanding of

the contracts they have entered into;• The contracts appear to have caused

considerable financial hardship;

• There are allegations the businesses may havemade misleading/deceptive representations toinduce consumers to sign contracts;

• Some contracts are written as 'rental'agreements, but in reality are credit contracts asthey provide customers with the option topurchase the goods at the end of the term.

Fair Trading is closely liaising with the AustralianSecurities and Investments Commission andCentrelink to weed out rogue traders and raisetrading standards.

Civil Litigation includes:• injunctive and ancillary relief in the

Supreme Court• complaints in the Local and District Court• objections in licensing matters under the

Property Stock and Business Agents Act• proceedings in the Administrative

Decisions Tribunal regarding review ofdecisions under the ConveyancersLicensing Act, Fair Trading Act, HomeBuilding Act, Motor Dealers Act,Pawnbrokers and Second-hand DealersAct and the Travel Agents Act

• proceedings in the Consumer, Trader andTenancy Tribunal under the Home BuildingAct relating to building insurance andlicence disciplinary matters.

The Office of Fair Trading’s Legal ServicesDivision also acts or instructs in variouscourts and tribunals where the Minister orCommissioner intervenes in proceedings.

Civil litigationCourt/Tribunal Act No. of mattersSupreme Court

CTTT Act 5Injunction FT Act 3

RP Act 1RV Act 1

Contempt SC Rules 2Other 9

District CourtHB Act 1

Local CourtAI Act 1HB Act 3SSMA 5

Administrative Decisions TribunalADT Act 8CL Act 2HB Act 33MD Act 4MVRA 3PSBA 22PSHD Act 1V Act 1Other 1

Administrative Appeals TribunalTTMRA 1

Consumer Trader & Tenancy TribunalCC(NSW)C 1HB Act 23RP Act 2

TotalSupreme Court 21District Court 1Local Court 9Administrative Decisions Tribunal 75Administrative Appeals Tribunal 1Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal 26Total 133

LegendADT Act – Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act, AI Act – Associations Incorporation Act, CLAct – Conveyancers Licensing Act, CC(NSW)C – Consumer Credit (NSW) Code, CTTT Act –Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal Act, FT Act – Fair Trading Act, HB Act – Home BuildingAct, MD Act – Motor Dealers Act, MVRA – Motor Vehicle Repairs Act, PSBA – Property,Stock & Business Agents Act, PSHD Act – Pawnbrokers & Second-hand Dealers Act, RP Act– Residential Parks Act, RV Act – Retirement Villages Act, SC Rules – Supreme Court Rules,SSMA – Strata Schemes Management Act, TTMRA – Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act,V Act – Valuers Act

Fair Trading is closelyliaising with ASIC and

Centrelink to weedout rogue traders and

raise tradingstandards.

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Conveyancers Licensing ActThe Conveyancers Licensing Act allows peoplewho are appropriately qualified to undertakeconveyancing work. Consumers who then uselicensed conveyancers to assist in the purchase ofa property are protected by the consumerprotection provisions in the Act. For example;conveyancers must have professional indemnityinsurance to protect clients, their trust accounts areaudited, they must tell clients of costs they chargeand they are required to contribute to acompensation fund.

Significant enforcement actionLong Gin MaThe Office of the Legal Services Commissionerreferred a complaint about Mr Ma to us forinvestigation about unauthorised legal work inregard to residential properties. The investigationidentified falsification of legal documents,misrepresentation and deception of clients as to thetrue status of their matters. This includedunauthorised legal work undertaken prior to Mr Mabeing issued with a conveyancer's licence. Result:Mr Ma's licence was suspended and at the sametime the police arrested Mr Ma and charged himwith seven offences under the Crimes Act forconduct relating to his conveyancing business. On16 August 2006, Mr Ma was charged with fourfurther Crimes Act offences relating to assisting asan agent in making an unlawful transfer of aproperty, obtaining financial benefit andmisappropriating funds. Mr Ma has since beencharged with another five offences under theCrimes Act relating to passing valueless cheques;obtaining property by false pretences andmisappropriating funds. On 9 November 2006, MrMa was served with a notice cancelling hisconveyancer's licence.

Crimes ActFair Trading also uses certain aspects of theCrimes Act to protect consumers. Under this Act itis illegal to: create forgeries or false instruments

such as documents, credit cards or informationrecorded electronically; dishonestly obtain money,valuables, or financial advantage; or provide falseor misleading information.

Significant enforcement actionMichael KewAn Investigation was carried out into the allegedtheft of approximately $250,000 in rental bonds byan employee of a real estate agency Michael Kew.Proceedings for offences under the Crimes Actwere commenced against Kew in the Local Court.Kew appealed to the Supreme Court challenging thecapacity of the officer to commence proceedingsunder the Crimes Act. Result: On 1 May 2007 theSupreme Court handed down its decisiondismissing the appeal and holding that aninvestigator as a public officer could commenceproceedings for offences under the Crimes Act.Kew has lodged a holding appeal with the Court ofAppeal.

Julie WiseJulie Wise forged a certificate of registration inorder to work as a salesperson in a real estateagency. The matter was prosecuted under section300(2) of the Crimes Act. Result: Julie Wisepleaded guilty and was convicted and placed on agood behaviour bond for 12 months with costs anda fine of $4,000.

Ben Akari and Akari Design and Construction PtyLtdAn investigation was carried out into allegationsthat Akari Design and Construction Pty Ltd hadcontracted to do residential building work atBlacktown and Croydon when it was not licensed todo that work. The company was also found to beusing false instruments, being certificates of homewarranty insurance. Result: In November 2006 thecompany and Mr Akari were due to appear in theBurwood Local Court to answer charges relating tobreaches of the Home Building Act (9 offences) andbreaches of the Crimes Act (48 offences). The

Penalty noticesAct/Regulation Defendants Offences PenaltiesBusiness Names Act 25 25 $9,600Community Land Management Act 1 1 $500Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act 3 3 $600Fair Trading Act 14 15 $8,250Fitness Services (Pre-Paid Fees) Act 1 1 $440Home Building Act 647 813 $595,800Landlord and Tenant (Rental Bonds) Act 7 7 $3,850Motor Dealers Act 84 196 $100,980Motor Vehicle Repairs Act 2 2 $5,830Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Act 12 20 $9,600Property Stock and Business Agents Act 139 164 $194,150Trade Measurement Act 34 41 $14,850Total 969 1,288 $944,450

Offences under an Act include offences under a regulation made pursuant to that Act.

Fair Trading also usesthe Crimes Act toprotect consumers.

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defendants failed to appear and a warrant wasissued for the arrest of Mr Akari, who is currentlybelieved to be overseas.

Electricity (Consumer Safety) ActThe Electricity (Consumer Safety) Act regulateselectrical safety by requiring that electrical ar ticlesmeet minimum standards before they are madeavailable to the public, and that work on electricalinstallations is done to a minimum standard. Acompliance certificate is to be completed by anelectrical contractor every time the contractor adds,alters, disconnects, reconnects or replaces anelectrical installation. The Act also requires thereporting of all electrical accidents.

Compliance OperationsOperation Cool Runnings in February-March 2007and operation Hardwire in June 2007 focussed onthe requirement to give notice to consumers and incertain circumstances, the electricity networkproviders, about the testing of electrical wiringwork carried out by licensed electrical contractors.

In particular, we checked that discount stores andair conditioning retail outlets were using licensedcontractors when selling air conditioning units on a"supply and install" basis and that certificatesattesting to the safety of the electrical wiring workare provided.

Significant Enforcement ActionCounterfeit power pointsAs a result of information received from theAustralian Competition and Consumer Commission,an investigation was conducted into the sale ofcounterfeit miniature over-current circuit breakersand socket outlets. A number of individuals andtraders were identified throughout this investigationresulting in eight formal cautions being issued andthe prosecution of eight traders. We alerted thepublic regarding the sale of socket outlets bypublishing brochures and posters for consumersand tradespeople. Chandru International Pty Ltdentered into enforceable undertaking under the FairTrading Act in 2005. During the past year ChandruInternational Pty Ltd has been detected breachingthe conditions of the undertaking. As aconsequence Supreme Court action is currentlyunder consideration.

Fair Trading ActThe Fair Trading Act protects consumers andtraders by prohibiting misleading, deceptive andunconscionable conduct in trade or commerce;providing for statutory conditions and warranties inconsumer sales; prescribing product informationand safety standards; regulating trading practicessuch as direct commerce and lay-by sales;prohibiting unfair practices such as pyramid sellingand providing for redress and enforcement of fairtrading laws.

Significant enforcement actionSale of gas heaters - possibly uncertifiedFor a number of years, complaints were receivedconcerning activities involving a private dwellinglocated at 44 Melrose Avenue, Sylvania. It wasalleged a number of different types of white goods,gas appliances and general consumer goods ofpoor quality were being sold. Due to the numberand nature of complaints, an investigation wasconducted which revealed a number of personsusing the premises for various activities. A searchwarrant was executed at the premises on the 20October 2006 and a number of articles were seized.The occupant at the time did not fit the descriptionof the person who was the subject of thecomplaints. The investigation has not located theowner however, following the search warrantselling from the premises has ceased.

Kent Publishing Pty LtdKent Publishing Pty Ltd and Dean James King claimto publish a number of national directories andmagazines with industrial or tourist themes. Wereceived over 80 complaints from smallbusinesses alleging misleading or deceptiveconduct designed to dupe them into paying up to$489.50 for unauthorised entries or advertisements.Among the allegations was Kent Publishing staffroutinely made false and misleading claims toprospective clients that the advertisement was a'renewal' and immediate payment was required asthe publication was about to go to print. Otherallegations related to the unauthorised debiting ofcustomers' accounts. Result: On 8 June 2007, theSupreme Court of NSW granted interim orderspreventing Kent Publishing, and its sole director,Dean James King, from demanding money fromany person without first obtaining a signed orderfrom the customer containing details of thepublisher, the publication and the proposed listing.We are seeking final orders to permanently restrainKent Publishing and Dean James King from beinginvolved in the publishing, advertising or directoryindustry. A final hearing in relation to thatapplication is expected in late 2007.

Canadian Diamond TradersIn December 2005 we became aware of a schemeoperating under the name of Canadian DiamondTraders. The scheme was being promoted in anumber of Australian States including NSW.According to promotional material it was aCanadian based company engaged in thedistribution of loose diamonds at less than retailvalue. The scheme offered a 'Diamond TraderProgram' requiring a US$500 entry fee and also a'feeder' program requiring payment of US$100 toenter. Both programs used 'tables' in a pyramidstructure with levels, escalating from DiamondMiners to Diamond Cutters to Diamond Polishersand, at the peak of the pyramid, a DiamondCollector. The scheme promised participants who

The Fair Trading Actprotects consumers

and traders byprohibiting misleading,

deceptive andunconscionable

conduct...

45


reached the peak of the feeder program US$800 ofwhich US$300 was used to purchase a diamond(with an alleged retail value in excess of US$400).A participant could then 'cycle out' of the programor use the remaining US$500 as the entry fee intothe Diamond Trader Program. An identical scheme,Treasure Traders International, which dealt inprecious stones such as emeralds, sapphires andrubies, collapsed in Canada earlier in 2007 leavingthousands of participants out of pocket. Result: Weconfirmed the scheme was a pyramid sales withinthe meaning of Section 60U of the Fair Trading Act1987 (NSW) and a statement was issued by theMinister warning the public that it was an offence toparticipate, induce or attempt to induce any personto participate in a pyramid sales scheme withpenalties of up to $22,000 for individuals and$110,000 for corporations.

Jeremiah HunterPreviously known as Jeffrey Peter Dummett, MrHunter has been prosecuted successfully by FairTrading for offences of misleading conduct and wasconvicted and fined a substantial amount of money.He conducts 'Live Blood Analysis' and claims to beable to diagnose illnesses and diseases then offertreatment and cures for the illnesses and diseases.His claims are advertised by way of newspaperscirculated in local areas and by word of mouth. Hecharges consumers exorbitant amounts of moneyfor his services. The NSW Supreme Court hasgranted an interim injunction preventing JeremiahJeffrey Hunter from providing health services until afurther order is granted.

Product safetySafe products surveyWe administer some parts of the Electricity SafetyAct 1945, the Gas Supply Act 1996 and all of theFair Trading (General) Regulation 2002. This meansthat we certify electrical and natural gas appliancesfor sale and conduct investigations into the safety ofelectrical, natural gas appliances and certaingeneral consumer products like children's toys,textile products, sunglasses, helmets, elasticluggage straps, babywalkers, portable soccergoals and cigarette lighters. There are 21mandatory product safety standards under the FairTrading (General) Regulation and 56 declaredelectrical articles under the Electricity Safety Act1945.

Each year Fair Trading undertakes marketplacesurveys to detect unsafe, non compliant productsand takes action to have them removed from sale.This year 2,009 inspections have been conducted atretail stores, markets and field days in over 151towns across NSW.

Product RecallsIn 2006-2007, 32 products were publicly recalledfollowing intervention or after consultation with theOffice of Fair Trading.

Royal Easter ShowAt this year's inspection, which took place on 6March 2007, the contents of 274 showbagssupplied by nine exhibitors were inspected forcompliance with safety and information standards.We directed that 28 toys not be supplied until areport showing the toys comply to the AustralianStandards was produced. We do not allowchildren's toys to be offered at the Royal EasterShow unless reports are available. Exhibitors wereable to provide pass test report for all but six ofthese toys. These six toys were not supplied at theRoyal Easter Show.

Investigators also attended traditional lead upshows held at Maitland, Castle Hill and Camdenprior to the Royal Easter Show. At these shows sixstallholders were directed to remove seven noncompliant toys. These six stallholders did notsupply any showbags or attend the Royal EasterShow.

Home Building ActThe Home Building Act protects consumers byrequiring builders and tradespeople to be licensedfor the residential building work that they do. Thelicensing regime establishes standards in relationto matters including competence, probity, contracts,statutory warranties and home warranty insuranceto protect people against faulty or incomplete work.

Compliance programsOur investigators undertook a range of proactivecompliance programs during 2006-2007, designedto detect unlicensed residential building work andother offences under the Home Building Act.

Operation MortarA number of sites in the eastern suburbs of Sydneywere targeted by investigators for unlicensedresidential building activity in a complianceprogram from 24 to 28 July 2006. A total of 358people were spoken to during the operation. Thesevisits revealed a high level of non-compliancewhich resulted in 58 penalty notices being issued.Total monetary value of penalty notices issued was$37,900.

Operation NailIn the southern region of NSW in September 2006we targeted unlicensed traders, home warrantyinsurance, owner builders and general compliance.The operation took place in September 2006covering Albury, Wagga Wagga, Queanbeyan, Yassand Goulburn and their surrounding districts.Investigators conducted unannounced siteinspections on specific and randomly selectedresidential building sites to identify offences. Duringthe operation 271 sites were visited with a total of573 traders being spoken to. This resulted in a totalof 113 penalty notices being issued, including 72 forunlicensed work and 41 for other offences. Total

Each year Fair Tradingundertakesmarketplace surveysto detect unsafe, noncompliant products...

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monetary value of penalty notices issued was$62,650.

Operation DumpyIn an operation conducted in October 2006 in theTweed and Far North Coast region we visited 222sites with a total of 545 traders being spoken to.This resulted in a total of 73 penalty notices beingissued. The investigators detected 27 offences ofunlicensed contracting, 37 for unlicensed work, 3for unsupervised work, 1 for failing to obtain homewarranty insurance and 3 owner builders for failingto contract with licensed contractors. Two penaltynotices were also issued for failing to display asign on-site. Total monetary value of penaltynotices issued was $54,000.

Operation RipsawDuring Operation Ripsaw 146 sites were visitedand 356 traders were spoken to in various areas ofthe North Coast of NSW, including the Tweed, Byronand Ballina Shires. This resulted in a total of 39penalty notices being issued and three warningletters were issued for unlicensed contracting. Totalmonetary value of penalty notices issued was$28,500.

Significant Enforcement ActionThe Home Building Service undertook numerousmajor compliance investigations during 2006-2007,which resulted in some significant fines beingimposed by the courts. Some of the successfulprosecutions include the following:

Keith BlairOn the far north coast of NSW Keith Blair wasundertaking extensive renovations to a familyhome. Mr Blair collected $350,000 over a period of8 months yet left the job unfinished and with nohome warranty insurance. Result: Blair wasconvicted in the Murwillumbah Local Court on 18April 2007 for doing residential building work whileunlicensed and for failing to provide home warrantyinsurance. The court imposed total fines and costsamounting to $20,617.

Donald Ronald HarperDonald Ronald Harper of St Clair advertised hisservices as a concreter while not being licensed tocontract to do that work. He contracted withconsumers in Doonside and Bidwell in Sydney'swest and while he accepted payment, Harper failedto complete the work. Result: In June 2007, MrHarper was convicted of 11 counts of breaching theHome Building Act and the Business Names Act.Blacktown Local Court imposed total fines andcosts of $94,400.

Esber Toufic EsberMr Esber entered into a $65,000 contract with anAshfield homeowner to do internal renovations. Hemisrepresented himself as a licensed contractor by

using a licence number belonging to anotherbuilder. Result: On 1 June 2007 Mr Esber wasconvicted on 4 counts of contravening the HomeBuilding Act and the court imposed total fines andcosts of $9,567.

George HadchityUnlicensed builder George Hadchity undertookmajor construction works for homeowners in theHebersham and Minchinbury regions of Sydney'swest. Mr Hadchity was charged with multipleoffences relating to unlicensed conduct. Result: MrHadchity was convicted on 22 September 2006 on9 counts of breaching the Home Building Act. TheParramatta Local Court imposed fines and costs onMr Hadchity totalling $19,103.

Richard KnebelIn Sydney's west, Richard Knebel demandedpayment for residential building work when therewas no contract of home warranty insurance inplace. Result: On 29 September 2006 Knebel wasconvicted in the Parramatta Local Court on 6 countsof accepting payment for residential building workwithout home warranty insurance being in placeand was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling$15,368.

Neale Raynor DennisOn the Central Coast of NSW, Neale Raynor Denniscontracted to do and did residential building workwhile unlicensed. He also failed to provide acertificate of home warranty insurance anddemanded payment when there was no contract ofinsurance in place. Result: He was convicted in theToronto Local Court on 13 October 2006 in relationto 4 breaches of the Home Building Act and wasordered to pay fines and costs totalling $20,568.

Motor Dealers ActThe Motor Dealers Act protects consumers byestablishing a licensing regime for businessesbuying, selling and dismantling new or second-hand motor vehicles. A licensee must be a fit andproper person to hold a license, have appropriateknowledge and expertise, and demonstratesufficient financial resources to manage thebusiness. Licensed dealers must meet warrantyobligations, pass on unencumbered title to thevehicle and contribute to the Motor DealersCompensation Fund that provides compensation topeople who have suffered a loss when dealing witha licensed motor dealer. The Act also establishes aone day cooling off period for vehicles where thedealer has a relationship with the provider offinance.

Significant Enforcement ActionPurnell Motors Pty LtdPurnell Motors Pty Ltd, a licensed dealer in prestigevehicles at Arncliffe, sold hail damaged new anddemonstrator motor vehicles that had been repaired

Over 600 visits toresidential building

sites and interviewswith some 1,800

traders resulted infines for a range of

offences.

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without informing its customers the vehicles hadbeen damaged by hail. Dealers must disclosedamage to new and demonstrator vehicles even ifthey have been repaired. We commenceddisciplinary proceedings against Purnell and as aresult of the action, required the dealer to paycompensation to 19 customers who had purchaseddamaged vehicles. The dealer appealed thedisciplinary action in the NSW Supreme Court.Result: On 29 January 2007 the Supreme Courtdismissed the dealer's application and the dealerfinally paid compensation totalling $102,393.

NMP Trading Pty LtdNMP Trading Pty Ltd is the holder of a wholesalelicence and as such cannot retail cars to the public.Investigations revealed the dealer had soldvehicles to the public and in a number of cases theodometers in the vehicles had been wound backsubstantially misrepresenting the true history of thevehicle. Result: On 23 March 2007 the dealer wasconvicted and fined in the Parramatta Local Courtfor trading whilst unlicensed and five counts ofodometer interference. The dealer was fined andordered to pay a total of $11,400.

DNS Motors Australia Pty LtdDNS Motors Australia Pty Ltd operated an autodismantling business in Cabramatta although theydid not hold the appropriate licence. Initially theywere issued with a formal warning and when theyfailed to obtain the licence, an infringement noticefor $5,500 was issued. They elected to have thematter heard by a Court claiming another companywas allegedly operating the business. Result: On21 February 2006 the matter was heard in theLiverpool Local Court. The trader was convictedand ordered to pay a total of $10,938.

Wholesale Licensee Compliance ProgramDuring 2006 we conducted a compliance programtargeting holders of motor vehicle wholesalelicences. The main concern was some dealers hadobtained licences for purposes other than that of agenuine wholesaler, in some cases for their ownpersonal use and to avoid payment of stamp dutyfor prestige vehicles.

Investigations revealed some wholesalers had notcarried on the business of a wholesaler for aconsiderable time and these were asked to showcause why they should keep the licence.Disciplinary action can be taken if the licensee hasnot traded for a period of one month or more. In total40 wholesalers were issued with show causenotices and of these 17 had their licencescancelled.

Unlicensed Motor Vehicle Dealing and OdometerInterferenceThrough various complaints and information fromthe Roads and Traffic Authority concerning

registering large numbers of motor vehicles, thefollowing people were taken to court for unlicensedmotor dealing and/or odometer interference:• Milorad Borovic - interfered with the odometers

of five motor vehicles - ordered to pay a total of$20,809 including costs and consumercompensation

• Ibrahim Awali - unlicensed dealer and interferedwith five odometer readings - ordered to pay atotal of $17,452 including costs and consumercompensation

• Sami Awali - unlicensed dealer and interferedwith an odometer reading - ordered to pay a totalof $17,122 including costs and consumercompensation

• Walied Askarzai - unlicensed dealer andinterfered with seven odometer readings -ordered to pay a total of $61,508.00 includingcosts and consumer compensation

• Frishta Askarzai - interfered with one odometerreading - ordered to pay a total of $3,457.00including costs and consumer compensation

Motor Vehicle Repairs ActThe Motor Vehicle Repairs Act protects consumersby licensing motor vehicle repair businesses andcertifying tradespeople working in thosebusinesses. It ensures that people undertakingmotor vehicle repairs are appropriately trained andhave the necessary skills to carry out repairs to theusual trade standard. The Act establishes aContingency Fund to cover losses in relation torepair work that is not done competently.

We received 325 complaints about possiblebreaches of the Act. Following investigation, themajority of matters were found to be repairslegitimately done by the vehicle owner on their ownvehicle, or those of family members. As a result ofour investigations into other matters 22 peoplewere prosecuted for a total of 32 offences, with$29,759 being awarded by the Courts in fines andcosts.

The offences related to conducting or advertisingthe business of motor vehicle repairer without alicence and the employment of uncertificatedtradespeople. The offences also included the failureto produce records and providing false informationin licence and tradesperson's certificateapplications.

Nineteen formal disciplinary matters wereconsidered during the year. The majority of mattersrelated to repair work that had been performedbelow the usual trade standard. In seven mattersthe licence holder's licence was cancelled andthree people relating to these licenses were alsodisqualified for a period of five years each frombeing concerned in the direction, management orconduct of a repair business.

It ensures that peopleundertaking motorvehicle repairs areappropriately trainedand have thenecessary skills tocarry out repairs tothe usual tradestandard.

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In two other matters the tradesperson's certificatewas cancelled and two holders surrendered theirtradesperson's certificates after disciplinary actionhad commenced. We also issued reprimands inrelation to six matters.

Pawnbrokers and Second-handDealers ActThe Pawnbrokers and Second-hand Dealers Actreduces the trade in stolen goods by providing alicensing regime with appropriate record keeping,which includes passing records on to the NSWpolice and proof of identity requirements. Itprovides a mechanism to return stolen property torightful owners quickly and equitably and requireslicensees to post signage about consumers' rights.It also sets out how pawn agreements must beconducted, what information must be provided topawners and controls the manner in which interestand other charges can be made.

Enforcement action under this Act resulted inissuing 20 penalty notices in 2006-2007.

Property, Stock and BusinessAgents ActThe Property, Stock and Business Agents Actprotects consumers by establishing licensingrequirements for real estate agents, stock andstation agents, strata managing agents, on siteresidential property managers and businessagents. The licensing regime establishes probityand educational entry requirements and establishesa range of standards in relation to business conductincluding agency agreements, auctions, handling oftrust money, disclosure of conflicts of interest, andrepresentations to property owners, purchasersand tenants. Agents who breach the legislation maybe prosecuted and subjected to disciplinarysanctions, including loss of licence. Acompensation fund provides for protection wherethere is a failure to account for trust money.

Significant enforcement actionRandwick City Realty Pty Ltd trading as L J HookerRandwick and Radoslav StojanovicRadoslav Stojanovic, the licensee in charge,through the corporation, obtained a beneficialinterest in properties listed with the corporation forsale, without disclosing the intended purchase byhimself to the vendor. The properties werepurchased by using a stooge purchaser. Theproperties were renovated and subsequently soldin a short time with considerable profit to him.Result: The corporation's licence was cancelledand Radoslav Stojanovic was disqualified fromholding a licence for a period of ten years. Thecorporation appealed its cancellation to theSupreme Court and applied for an urgent stay in theAdministrative Decisions Tribunal. The appeal to

the Supreme Court was dismissed. The stay in theAdministrative Decisions Tribunal lapsed. On 28February 2007 the corporation's licence wascancelled.

Mahevi Pty Ltd t/a L J Hooker North Ryde, PeterHinton and Erica HintonAn investigation was carried out into the allegedfailure of L J Hooker North Ryde to disclose toprospective purchasers that a violent crime hadbeen committed in a property listed with theagency. It was considered failure to disclose thisfact was misrepresentation and in breach of theAct. Result: Disciplinary action was taken by theCommissioner against the three licensees. MaheviPty Ltd was fined $13,200, Peter Hinton was fined$5,500 and Erica Hinton was fined $2,200. Theappeals by the licensees to the AdministrativeDecisions Tribunal and to the Appeal Panel of theTribunal were unsuccessful. The basis of theirappeals was that the failure by the selling agent todisclose information about the listed property inthis case did not contravene the law applicable tothe obligations of a real estate agent under the Actor general fair trading law. These submissionswere rejected.

Money Management Pty Ltd and Gregory MoneyMr Money had been pre-drawing commissions andcharges from the trust account resulting in a trustaccount deficiency. Result: On 19 December 2006Mr Money's licence was cancelled and he waspermanently disqualified from holding a licence.

Teena Borger and Elders LimitedIn July 2005, Fair Trading conducted an inspectionof the trust account of the corporation's Griffithbranch office known as Elders VP Lorraine Murphy.The inspection revealed: a deficiency in its trustaccount; failure to bank trust moneys received on124 occasions; failure to lodge 115 rental bondswith the Rental Bond Service on behalf of theirtenants; and Ms Teena Borger, a former employeeof the corporation misappropriated funds from thetrust account of the branch office. We assisted theNSW Police Service by providing them with a briefof evidence. Result: Ms Borger was charged andconvicted for larceny under the Crimes Act. InMarch 2007, Ms Borger pleaded guilty to obtainingbenefit by deception and was sentenced at theWagga Court for a 2.5 years non parole gaol term.On 22 January 2007, Elders Limited was issuedwith a notice to show cause under the Act and werereprimanded.

Mark Manning Davidson and Elders LimitedAs the licensee, Mr Davidson was responsible forthe supervision of Elders Limited trading as EldersVP Lorraine Murphy in Griffith. This included thecare and maintenance of the corporation's trustaccount.

A compensationfund provides forprotection where

there is a failure toaccount for trust

money.

49


On 22 January 2007, Mr Davidson was issued witha notice to show cause in respect to his failure tosupervise: the banking of trust moneys on 124occasions to the value of $434,253.72; end of monthreconciliation of the corporation's trust accountwhich held deficiencies from April 2004 to February2005; the lodgement of 115 rental bonds with theRental Bond Services on behalf of tenants; and thelodgement of the audit report for the period ending30/6/03 and 30/6/04. Result: Mr Davidson'slicence was cancelled and he is disqualified fromholding a licence for five years. Mr Davidsonapplied for a stay which was granted on 13 July2007, subject to stringent conditions. Mr Davidsonis not to act as a licensee in charge or director of areal estate agency, not to be involved in the day today management of a real estate agency, not to actin any supervisory capacity, not to be a signatoryon a trust account, and to advise any new employerof these conditions and to advise Fair Trading of anychange of his employment. The matter is listed forhearing on 30 and 31 October 2007.

Trade Measurement ActThe Trade Measurement Act protects consumersand businesses when they buy and sell goods byensuring accuracy of weights and measures whichare uniform across Australia. The Act covers thesale of goods by measurement, for example,weight, volume, or length; labelling andmeasurement requirements for pre packagedgoods; measuring equipment used by tradersincluding shop scales, petrol flow-meters andliquor dispensers. The Act also covers the licensingof certifiers of measuring equipment and theoperators of public weighbridges. We regularlyconduct inspections to check that industry andtraders are compliant. Fair Trading maintains andverifies the reference standards of measurementfor use by certifiers, inspectors and industry.

Trade measurement inspection programs focusedon packaged items at supermarkets and other retailoutlets; liquor dispensing units and glassware atlicensed premises; and petrol, gas and LPG fuelpumps. In all, 11,813 inspections were carried outduring 2006-2007 with 41 penalty notices beingissued.

Travel Agents ActThe Travel Agents Act aims to ensure that travelagents, and the managers of their businesses, havethe appropriate skills and experience to effectivelyprovide travel services to the public. The Actestablishes a register of travel agents, ensuresminimum levels of industry-related and businesscompetence, regulates certain operations of travelagents, and requires travel agents to contribute to acompensation fund for consumers of travelservices.

Significant enforcement actionT C B Associates Pty LtdT C B Associates Pty Ltd trading as OverseasTravel operated a licensed travel agency businessat Liverpool. Following complaints about thecompany, an investigation revealed the personoperating the business as a manager had aprevious criminal conviction for misappropriation ofmonies and was therefore not a suitable person tobe conducting the business. Result: Disciplinaryaction was taken against the licensee and theManager. The Manager was disqualified from beinginvolved in the business for a period of seven yearsand a restriction placed on the licence that theperson was not be involved in the business of TCBAssociates in any capacity whatsoever. Thebusiness closed shortly after the disciplinary actionwas issued.

Valuers ActThe Valuers Act protects people who seek avaluation of property by establishing a registrationsystem for valuers. To be eligible for registration,valuers must satisfy educational and probitystandards. The Act also provides for disciplinaryaction to be taken against valuers. Rules of conductprovide valuers with a guide to the professional andethical standards expected by their clients.

Significant enforcement actionSydney Glenn HarrisonSydney Glenn Harrison, a registered valuer,became bankrupt on 30 August 2006 which madehim a disqualified person under the Act. On 2March 2007 he was issued with a Notice to ShowCause why disciplinary action should not be takenagainst him. Mr Harrison made writtenrepresentation and it was determined that MrHarrison took all reasonable steps to avoid thebankruptcy. Result: It was determined on 28 March2007 no further action would be taken, given that hehad taken all reasonable steps to avoid thebankruptcy and it therefore had no effect on MrHarrison's ability to hold or obtain a Valuer'sRegistration under the Act. The first line of

defence in the fairtrading complianceprogram is an activestate-wide inspectionprogram.

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Performance measures and indicatorsWe achieve our objective through strategies that include our leaders providing clear and consistentdirection and being accessible and visible; through service delivery priorities that drive what we do withour assets and by highlighting our achievements to staff and stakeholders.

Organisation and peopleObjective 5: The Office of Fair Trading is a credible, efficient andeffective organisation.

Strategy: • Leaders provide clear and consistent direction and areaccessible and visible

• Our service delivery priorities drive what we do with ourassets

• Our achievements are highlighted to staff andstakeholders

Target 2006-2007

• Commerce and Fair Trading objectives provided to all staff• Fair Trading Executive Meetings held each month• Senior Officers Forums held quarterly• Commissioner's Update issued monthly• Fair Trading business plans link service delivery priorities to budget allocations• Annual review of Guarantee of Service• Fair Trading strategic plans (IM&T, People management, Asset Management, Risk and Audit) developed and monitored• Fair Trading meets recurrent budget, forward estimates targets and capital budget

Performance targets

Organisational initiativesDuring the year accommodation fit outmodifications and expansion of existing leasedpremises were undertaken to provide improvedoperational functionality, better public access andsecurity arrangements with respect to our over thecounter customer services and also Tribunalhearing facilities. We operated within our totalexpenditure budgetary allocation of $160.2m for2006-2007 and also net cost of services limits.Strategies were implemented that resulted inimproved operational efficiency without anyadverse impact on frontline service capability. AnInformation, Communications & Technologystrategic plan was developed for a three-yearperiod from 2007 to 2010. The Plan highlightedpriorities for capital investment in the upgrade orreplacement of existing service delivery business

applications and the potential introduction of newtechnology in support of improved delivery offrontline services to consumers and traders. Thestrategy is aligned with the Commerce CorporatePlan as well as the State Plan priorities of DeliveringBetter Services and Growing Prosperity. During theyear a number of strategies were developed andimplemented to ensure the adoption of effectiveclaims processing and debt management policiesand practices.

Fair Trading places major importance upon thecontinued learning and development of our staff.During the year 173 training courses were conductedwith over 2700 participates. This represents asignificant proportion of our staff improving theirbusiness and technical skills, ensuring that weremain a credible, efficient and effective organisation.

02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 Target

Percentage of services meeting published GOS standards 93% 93% 93% 93% 93% 90%

Guarantee of service performance

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Publications

Fair Trading online services andpublications

Print publicationsWe continued to maintain a suite of publications tosupport the delivery of Fair Trading information andeducation to consumers and traders across NewSouth Wales. All titles were available electronicallyfrom the Fair Trading website and from theGovernment’s online shop website. Of the 172titles, 25 were available in up to 28 languages. Themost popular publications accessed from thewebsite were: Car buyers handbook, Tenancyhandbook, Strata living and Registering and usingyour business name.

Many publications were printed, and distributed tocustomers from our Information Centre, Fair TradingCentres, at community events and throughintermediaries such as real estate agents andcommunity organisations. During the year, 18 newand 69 revised print publication titles wereproduced for distribution. More than 2 million ofthese items were produced for distribution toconsumers and traders across NSW. The processfor ordering quantities of these publications, wasimproved for customers during the year with theintroduction of online ordering.

Information resources were also developed tosupport targeted campaigns and events, forexample the anti-graffiti and electrical safetycampaigns.

Website content and online publicationsIn addition to publications and campaign materials,an extensive collection of general as well as moretargeted information was available for customersfrom our website. We continued to develop andmaintain more than 1,800 pages of information onthe site. The website is now a significant accesspoint for customers to Fair Trading’s informationand services, with an average of over 216,000visits to the site each month, a 24% increase fromthe previous year. The most popular pages wereabout registering a business name and performinglicence checks on home building tradespeople.

During the year we improved online access toinformation and services for customers in thefollowing ways:• We commenced an email alert service, allowing

customers to subscribe to weekly email alerts tonew information on the website. Subscriptionsgrew from a nil base to 1,480 by the end of theyear.

• We trialled an online event registration servicefor Fair Trading Week and other events. Thisservice will be fully implemented during 2007-2008.

• We commenced publication on the website, of aquarterly report of Fair Trading’s enforcementactions.

• From November, we implemented onlineordering of printed publications using theGovernment’s online shop system. As a result,an average of 264 orders were placed onlineeach month.

• We revised the copyright policy to allow morefree use of information by third parties foreducational purposes.

• We revised the website privacy statement toinclude information about the collection ofpersonal information by third parties on behalf ofFair Trading.

The website is asignificant accesspoint for customers toFair Trading’sinformation andservices.

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Fair Trading CentresOur Fair Trading Centres are located at the addresses below. Call 13 32 20 for all fairtrading enquiries. If you are located outside the Sydney Metropolitan region you cancontact the Fair Trading Centre nearest you on 13 32 20. Calls to this number from withinthe Sydney Metropolitan region and from all mobile telephones will be received at theFair Trading Information Centre.

Shop 1R33 Moore StreetLiverpool 2170

Level 5400 Hunter StreetNewcastle 2300

184-186 Lords PlaceOrange 2800

1 Fitzwilliam StreetParramatta 2150

518 High StreetPenrith 2750

143 Horton StPort Macquarie 2444

Shop T7, City Link PlazaMorisset StreetQueanbeyan 2620

McKell Building2-24 Rawson PlaceSydney 2000

Cnr Kable Ave & Darling StreetTamworth 2340

43 Wharf StreetTweed Heads 2485

8 Baylis StreetWagga Wagga 2650

63 Market StreetWollongong 2500

1 Fitzwilliam StreetParramatta NSW 2150

Head OfficeTel: 9895 0111Fax: 9895 0222

REVSTel: 13 32 20 (7 days)Fax: 9891 5135

Home Building ServiceTel: 13 32 20

Aboriginal enquiries for servicesTel: 13 32 20 or 1800 500 330

234 Sussex StreetSydney NSW 2000

Renting ServicesRental BondsTel: 9377 9000 or 1800 422 021Fax: 9377 9371

Bradfield RoadLindfield West NSW 2070

Standards LaboratoryTel: 8467 4400Fax: 8467 4444

154 Russell StreetBathurst NSW 2795

Registry of Cooperatives & AssociationsTel: 6333 1400 or 1800 502 042Fax: 6333 1444

227 Elizabeth StreetSydney NSW 2000

Policy and StrategyEducation & Information ServicesHome Building Insurance ServicesTel: 9895 0111Fax: 9895 0222

490 David StreetAlbury 2640

85 Faulkner StreetArmidale 2350

154 Russell StreetBathurst 2795

Level 322 Main StreetBlacktown 2148

32 Sulphide StreetBroken Hill 2880

22 Park AvenueCoffs Harbour 2450

50 Wingewarra StreetDubbo 2830

Level 2, 237 Mann StreetGosford 2250

39 Goldsmith StreetGoulburn 2580

50 Victoria StreetGrafton 2460

Level 34-8 Woodville StreetHurstville 2220

17 Conway StreetLismore 2480

Office Locations

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Index

Aboriginal communities ..................... 27Advisory Councils ........................ 14, 16Affordable housing grants .................. 35Agency performance ......................... 18Associations ................................ 28, 40Australia's consumer policyframework ........................................ 13

Bills assented to ............................... 17Business Licence Information Service(BLIS) ............................................... 23Business names ............... 16, 18, 33, 41Business registration ......................... 33

Civil litigation .................................... 42Co-operatives .............................. 28, 36Commercial property agents ............. 11Community access ........................... 26Community land management ........... 17Community schemes ........................ 10Compliance ................................... 3, 38Consumer complaints ....................... 29Consumer credit ............................... 41Consumer, Trader and TenancyTribunal ....................................... 10, 37Continuing professional development . 14Conveyancers ................... 14, 15, 17, 43Corporate plan .................................6, 7Credit .......................................... 30, 41Crimes Act ........................................ 43Customer enquiries ........................... 18

Department of Commerce ................5, 7

Electrical certifications ...................... 37Electricity .................................... 13, 44

Fair Trading Act ............................ 16, 44Fair Trading Centres ................20, 26, 52Fair Trading InformationCentre (FTIC) ............................ 2, 21, 52Fair Trading services ......................... 20Fair Trading Week ............................. 23False billing ...................................... 16Finance brokers ................................ 12Financial Counselling ServicesProgram ........................................... 34

Financial literacy program ................. 25Fitness services .......................... 12, 17Funerals .................................10, 17, 28

Gas .................................................. 13Government Access Centres ...20, 25, 26Government Licensing Service .......... 33Graffiti ......................................... 16, 25Grants .............................................. 34Guarantee of service ..................... 21,50

Highlights ............................. 4, 9, 18, 38Home building...................10, 13, 15, 17, 27, 32, 35, 45Home building complaints ................. 30Home warranty insurance ................. 30

Information sessions ......................... 27Inspection programs ......................... 38Investigations ................................... 38

Legislation ............................ 2, 8, 11, 15Legislative framework ......................... 1Licensing .......................................... 32

Marketplace indicators ............. 8, 18, 38Mission .............................................. 7Money Stuff! ..................................... 23Motor dealers .........................10, 17, 46Motor vehicle insurance and repairindustry ............................................ 25Motor vehicle repairs........................ 23, 26, 30, 34, 36, 39, 47Multicultural Media and CommunityLeaders Conference .......................... 24

Objectives .......................................... 4Online Licence RenewalService (OLRS) ................................. 33Organisation and people ................. 3, 50

Pawnbrokers and second-handdealers ............................................. 48Penalty notices ............................ 38, 43Performance ................ 2, 6, 9, 19, 39, 50Personal property securities .............. 12Planning framework ............................ 6

Policy development ........................... 10Product recalls .................................. 45Product safety .............................. 13, 45Program allocation .............................. 4Property, stock and businessagents .............................. 14, 15, 17, 48Prosecutions ................................ 38, 40Publications ...................................... 51

Qualification requirements ................. 13

Real estate .............................28, 30, 48Regional Access Programs .......... 25, 26Regional Inspection Programs ........... 39Register of EncumberedVehicles (REVS) ......................12, 18, 31Rental bonds ..................... 18, 21, 31, 33Residential parks .............................. 17Residential tenancy ...................... 10, 17Responsible lending .......................... 13Retirement villages ...................... 10, 30Revved Up ........................................ 28

Seminars ..................................... 27, 28Services .................................. 2, 18, 29Skills shortage initiative .................... 14Smash repairs and insurers ............... 15Staff ................................................... 4State Plan ...................................... 6, 21Statute law revision ........................... 17Strata schemes ................................. 29Strategic Plan .......................... 2, 21, 22Structure ............................................. 5Subordinate legislation review ........... 17

Tenants Advice and AdvocacyProgram ........................................... 34Think Smart ................................. 24, 35Trade measurement ................12, 17, 49Travel agents ............................... 17, 49

Unfair contract terms ......................... 12

Valuers ...................................17, 33, 49

Website ....................................... 22, 51

For information and help on fair trading issues call the Office of Fair Trading

General enquiries

13 32 20Language assistance

13 14 50

TTY for hearing impaired

1300 723 404

Aboriginal enquiry officer

1800 500 330

Consumer, Trader & Tenancy Tribunal

1300 135 399

Registry of Co-operatives & Associations

1800 502 042

Or visit a Fair Trading Centre at:• Albury • Armidale • Bathurst • Blacktown • Broken Hill • Coffs Harbour• Dubbo • Gosford • Goulburn • Grafton • Hurstville • Lismore • Liverpool

• Newcastle • Orange • Parramatta • Penrith • Port Macquarie • Queanbeyan• Sydney • Tamworth • Tweed Heads • Wagga Wagga • Wollongong

Visit our website for detailswww.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au

13 32 20

November 2007 FT333

Office of Fair Trading1 Fitzwilliam St Parramatta NSW 2150PO Box 972 Parramatta NSW 2124

9895 0111

A year in review2006 – 2007

Fai r Trading: serv ing consumers

and traders in New South Wales

www.fair t rading.nsw.gov.au

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2006-2007...inspections throughout New South Wales. These focused on estate agents, builders and tradespeople, travel agents, motor dealers and repairers, auto dismantlers, second