Queensland Building Services Authority v Bencee Pty Ltd

The Queensland Building Services Authority (Applicant) filed an application against Bencee Pty Ltd (Respondent) regarding the Respondent's failure to comply with the allowable annual turnover (AATO) provisions under the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991. The Applicant alleged that Bencee Pty Ltd breached sections 89(a) and/or 89(k) of the Act by exceeding its AATO on two separate occasions without proper notification or consent. This case was determined on the papers, and the Tribunal was required to decide the appropriate penalty for the breaches.

The Tribunal had to consider various factors in determining the appropriate penalty, including Bencee's breach history, the size of the breaches, the lack of adequate management controls, and the company's compliance history. The Tribunal also considered comparable previous decisions and adjusted the penalties to account for inflation and changes in penalty unit values. The Tribunal found that Bencee's breaches were not inadvertent and that the company had not implemented sufficient measures to prevent future breaches. However, the Tribunal also noted that Bencee had accepted responsibility for the breaches and cooperated with the Applicant.

Based on the factors considered, the Tribunal determined that the appropriate penalty for Bencee Pty Ltd was $11,000. The Tribunal also found that the Applicant was entitled to its costs in the amount of $1,500.

The Tribunal ordered that Bencee Pty Ltd pay the penalty of $11,000 and the Applicant's costs of $1,500 by 3 February 2014.