Tran and Commissioner of Police (NSW)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Tran to the Tribunal regarding the Commissioner of Police (NSW)'s decision to refuse his application for a NSW security licence (Class 1A and 1C) made under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 (Cth). The refusal was based on the ground that Mr Tran's previous NSW security licence had been revoked and that he had provided false or misleading information in his application.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether Mr Tran could satisfy the notice requirements of section 19(2)(e) of the Mutual Recognition Act, which hinged on determining whether the revocation of his NSW licence was a cancellation as a result of disciplinary action. This also required the Tribunal to consider whether Mr Tran's answer to a question in his application, stating that no licences he held or had previously held had been cancelled or suspended as a result of disciplinary action, was false or misleading.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Security Industry Act 1997 (NSW) and its associated regulations, as clarified by section 6.2 of the application form itself, defined a licence revoked due to failure to comply with a required training upgrade as a cancellation or suspension as a result of disciplinary action. Mr Tran's NSW licence had been revoked on 1 October 2014 because he failed to complete the required units of competency by the stipulated deadline. Therefore, the revocation constituted disciplinary action. Consequently, Mr Tran could not truthfully state that his registration was not cancelled as a result of disciplinary action, and his answer in the application was false or misleading.

The Tribunal affirmed the Commissioner's decision to refuse Mr Tran's application for a security licence under the Mutual Recognition Act. However, the Tribunal noted that Mr Tran was not precluded from applying for a security licence in New South Wales anew, outside of the mutual recognition provisions.