Australia, July 28 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on June 27:

1. This is an application by Mr Omid Khademi ("the Applicant") for review of a decision by a delegate of the Secretary, Department of Customer Services ("the Respondent"). The Applicant applied for a contractor licence in "general building work" under the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) ("the HBA"). The delegate decided to refuse to grant the application.

2. Section 20(2) of the HBA permits the Secretary, by notice published in the Gazette, to specify qualifications and experience, or additional standards or other requirements, required to be held or met by an applicant for a contractor licence. The Commissioner of Fair Trading signed an Instrument on 15 December 2022 ("the Instrument").

3. The Applicant previously held a contractor licence in the category of carpentry, that was issued in 2016 and cancelled in 2022. As he had not held an authority in the category of general building work, he was required to demonstrate at least two years' relevant industry experience. That requirement is set out in the Instrument. Relevant experience must have been gained while working as an employee of a licensed contractor authorised to perform the relevant class of residential building work.

4. The delegate found that the Applicant had not demonstrated that he had attained the necessary experience and refused the licence application in accordance with sections 33D(1)(a) and 33D(1)(b) of the HBA. The delegate was not satisfied that the Applicant was an employee when he gained the experience that he claimed to have gained.

5. The Applicant requested an internal review of the refusal decision. He said that he had been working in the building and construction industry since 2013 and identified sites where he had been working. He submitted that he had met the mandatory 24 months experience in a wide range of building construction work as provided for in the Instrument.

6. An internal review of the original decision was undertaken in accordance with section 53 of the Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997 ("the ADR Act"). The internal review affirmed the decision to refuse to grant the application but refused the application on different grounds. The internal reviewer found:

The Instrument clearly requires a referee to have supervised and directed the applicant in doing the work detailed in the onsite building experience forms. However, neither the Instrument nor the HBA specifies that the referee or the applicant's employer must also have been the principal contractor in respect of the sites where the experience was gained.

...

Mr Khademi has not assuredly demonstrated he has at least two years' relevant industry experience in a wide range of building construction work and therefore does not satisfy the requirements of sections 33D(1)(b)(i) and 33D(1)(b) of the HBA for an endorsed contractor licence in the category of general building work at this time.

Having regard to the information provided in the original decision and internal review submission, I determine the decision is correct in concluding that Mr Khademi has not demonstrated at this time that he has had experience of such a kind and for such a period as the Secretary considers would enable him to do, or to supervise, the work for which the endorsed contractor licence is required. ...

Therefore, I conclude refusal in accordance with sections 33D(1)(a) and 33D(1)(b) of the HBA is incorrect and the application must instead be refused in accordance with section 20(1)(a2).for the issue of a contractor licence in the category of general building work.

7. The Applicant was not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review and lodged an application with the Tribunal for external review of the Respondent's decision.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/197aaa0c463967225fb13f1e)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.