Mearns v Commissioner for Fair Trading (Occupational Regulation)

The case of Mearns v Commissioner for Fair Trading (Occupational Regulation) involved the respondent's decision to automatically cancel the applicant's security licence following a conviction. The applicant had appealed the conviction, and the parties subsequently proposed consent orders to the Tribunal. The dispute centred on whether the Tribunal had the authority to implement these consent orders.

The central legal issue was whether the Tribunal could approve consent orders that would effectively overturn the automatic cancellation of the security licence. This required a careful examination of the statutory framework governing occupational regulation and the scope of the Tribunal's powers under the Occupational Regulation Act.

The Tribunal determined that the consent orders were not within the Tribunal's jurisdiction. It found that the Tribunal did not have the authority to approve orders that would nullify the statutory requirement for automatic licence cancellation upon conviction. The Tribunal's power was limited to reviewing the decision and could not extend to approving orders that would circumvent the legislative intent behind automatic cancellation. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the decision and remitted the matter for reconsideration by the Commissioner.