The NSW government has introduced legislation for the abolition of licences for air-conditioning and refrigeration
work.
The laws also recommend the removal of continuing professional development requirements for home building licence
and certificate holders.
NSW Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox said the legislation will cut red tape and make it easier for licensed
tradespersons to do business across state borders.
The Mutual Recognition (Automatic Licensed Occupations Recognition) Bill 2014 will enable certain licensed
occupations such as electricians to carry out their trade in NSW on the basis of the licence they hold in their home
state.
Under the proposals, specified licences issued in another State or Territory will be deemed the same as an equivalent
local licence which is issued in NSW, provided that the holder of the recognised licence has their principal place of
residence in that other jurisdiction.
Mason-Cox said the Bill proposes a low cost model for labour mobility which will make it easier to do business in
NSW and drive economic growth in regional border communities.
"Business drives the economy and by removing unnecessary business regulation and costs we can boost our
economy, drive down costs for consumers, support job creation and lift productivity,” Mason-Cox said.
"Automatic Mutual Recognition supports our tradespeople and small businesses living in border communities. It
places consumer protection and business needs at the forefront, ensuring that only appropriately qualified people
perform work while removing the need to hold two licences to do the same work”.
The Bill also includes a number of Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recommendations to reduce
red tape for tradespeople and the business community.
"The Liberal-Nationals Government is fast-tracking key IPART recommendations to deliver reforms for small
business and meet our target for reducing red tape by 20 per cent by June 2015,” Mason-Cox said.
IPART's Draft Report: Reforming licensing in NSW recommends reforms including the abolition of licences for
air-conditioning and refrigeration work. The report also recommends the removal of continuing professional
development requirements for home building licence and certificate holders," he said.
“The removal of duplicative licensing requirements for refrigeration and air-conditioning work in NSW in favour of
the Commonwealth licence is expected to generate a net benefit of $16.5 million for industry and save NSW
tradespeople up to $860 on licence fees."
Another key red tape saving for business being proposed includes removal of mandatory continuing professional
development requirements for home building licence and certificate holders.
"According to IPART’s review, savings of about $8 million can be achieved through the removal of continuing
professional development requirements for home building licence and certificate holders, saving every builder
between $100 and $500 annually," Mason-Cox said.
“The reforms, which will come into effect by the end of 2014, will benefit small business and the wider community by
eliminating an unnecessary regulatory burden.
"The recommendations will come into effect in NSW by the end of 2014."
The IPART report, is part of a state government review to help achieve a target of $750 million in savings by June
2015. It is available at IPART's website www.ipart.nsw.gov.au
Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) CEO Glenn Evans said there are 22 million licences in force in NSW which
represents a ‘licensing burden’ of around three licenses per NSW resident.
Of the 780 licence types in NSW, Evans said only 269 are considered ‘significant’ and those 269 represent 95 per
cent of all licences by volume.
He said one recommendation is the abolition of the RAC licence scheme in favour of the Arctick scheme, which
would results in a saving in NSW for business and consumers of $16.5 million.
Comment is sought from stakeholders by July 4, 2014.
