Omani v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force

[2008] NSWADT 322

CITATION:	Omani v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force [2008] NSWADT 322
DIVISION:	General Division
PARTIES:	APPLICANT Maake Taukolo Omani RESPONDENT Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force
FILE NUMBER:	083235
HEARING DATES:	14 October 2008
SUBMISSIONS CLOSED:	14 October 2008
EXTEMPORE DECISION DATE:	14 October 2008
DATE OF DECISION:	4 December 2008
BEFORE:	Hennessy N - Magistrate (Deputy President)
CATCHWORDS:	Mandatory refusal of security industry licence
LEGISLATION CITED:	Security Industry Act 1997 Security Industry Regulation 2007
REPRESENTATION:	APPLICANT In Person RESPONDENT R Saunders, agent
ORDERS:	The decision of the Commissioner of Police to refuse the applicant’s application for a Class 1 AC security licence is affirmed.

1 The Commissioner of Police refused Mr Omani’s application for a security licence because he had been convicted of common assault on 27 April 2008. He applied to the Tribunal for a review that decision. After the hearing on 28 October 2008 I gave oral reasons for agreeing with the decision of the Commissioner. Mr Omani has asked for written reasons for that decision. Those reasons are set out below.

2 The Commissioner must refuse to grant an application for a security industry licence if the applicant has, within the period of 10 years before the application for the licence was made, been convicted of certain kinds of offences: Security Industry Act 1997, section 16. One of those offences is an offence involving assault of any description where the penalty imposed was imprisonment or a fine of $200: Security Industry Regulation 2007, clause 18(1)(c). Mr Omani was convicted of common assault and sentenced to imprisonment for 9 months. The sentence was suspended on condition that Mr Omani enter into a good behaviour bond for 9 months: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999, section 12.

3 During the course of the hearing Mr Omani gave a statement explaining the circumstances of the assault, apologising and saying he needed a security licence to work. After hearing from Mr Omani I made the following comment:

Thank you very much for telling me about your situation. As I tried to explain before I have no choice because the legislation says I must refuse if you have been convicted of this kind of offence in the last ten years. I cannot take into account your situation. Parliament has passed the law that says if you are convicted of assault you have no security licence so the only thing I have to check is that you have been convicted and it is in the last ten years. That is the only thing that I need to check and I know you were convicted in April this year so I have no choice but to affirm the decision that the police have made to refuse your licence.