AGY-6846 | National Occupational Licensing Authority

Full description

Background
On 10 February 2006 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed on a process for improving mutual recognition of licensed occupations throughout Australia. By 3 July 2008 COAG agreed to the introduction of a National Occupational Licensing System as part of a program of regulatory reform to increase Australia’s productivity. The introduction of national licensing aimed to: improve business efficiency and the competitiveness of the national economy; reduce red tape; improve labour mobility; enhance productivity; and boost consumer confidence and protection without imposing unnecessary costs or lessening competition. (1) On 30 April 2009 COAG signed the Intergovernmental Agreement for a National Licensing System for Specified Occupations. This enable the setting of transitional arrangements in the form of a national licensing steering committee prior to the commencement of the national licensing legislation. Interim advisory committees for each occupational area were also established to provide advice to the project team. (2)

National Occupational Licensing Authority
The National Occupational Licensing Authority (NOLA) was established on 7 February 2012 as an independent statutory authority. The National Occupational Licensing Authority was established to develop policy about and administer the National Occupational Licensing System (NOLS). This was to include national licensing procedures and guidelines; and the development, implementation and maintenance of a national public register for the included occupations. (3) The Authority was funded jointly by State and Territory governments. The Authority was a unique body, established by a mix of applied and model laws and, as such, defied precise legal classification.

The Authority was governed by the National Occupational Licensing Board comprising nine members, including a Chair and two regulators. The Board was appointed by the Standing Council and had to include a balance of people with appropriate licensing skills or experience in unions, representing employers, consumer advocacy work or in training. The Board included representatives of two current jurisdictional regulators that were delegated agencies under NOLS. The Board was responsible for controlling the affairs of the Authority and ensured the Authority performed its functions in a proper, effective and efficient way (section 104 of the National Law). (4)

COAG had agreed that the national system would initially apply to the following trades: air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics occupations; building occupations; electrical occupations; land transport occupations (passenger vehicle drivers, dangerous goods); maritime occupations; plumbing occupations; and property agent occupations.

Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory had enacted legislation giving effect to the national scheme:
- Victoria as host jurisdiction enacted the Occupational Licensing National Law Act 2010 (Vic), applying the Occupational Licensing National Law set out in the Schedule to the Victorian Act as a law of Victoria.
- New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania enacted legislation applying the Victorian law ‘as in force from time to time’ as a law of their respective jurisdictions.
- South Australia enacted the Occupational Licensing National Law (South Australia) Act 2011 (SA, applying the Occupational Licensing National Law (South Australia) set out in the Schedule of the South Australia Act as a law of South Australia. Similarly, the Northern Territory enacted the Occupational Licensing (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011, applying the Occupational Licensing National Law (NT) set out in the Appendix to the Northern Territory Act as a law of the Northern Territory.
- The Commonwealth, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, while parties to the agreement, had not passed any legislation giving effect to the national scheme before its disestablishment.

On 13 December 2013 COAG decided to discontinue the national licensing scheme and disestablish the Authority. New South Wales lead the administrative wind up of the Authority and was legislated under the Occupational Licensing National Law Repeal Act 2015 (NSW) to take custody of the records of the entity which were transferred to the NSW Treasury. (5) Victoria took the responsibility for the model repeal legislation. The Occupational Licensing National Law Repeal Act 2015 [NSW] provided for the dissolution of the National Occupational Licensing Authority to take place when the Occupational Licensing National Law Act 2010 [Victoria] was repealed. (6) The Occupational Licensing National Law Repeal Act 2016 (Act No.25, 2016) [Victoria] commenced on 11 May 2016, repealing the 2010 Victorian Act from that date, thereby dissolving the National Occupational Licensing Authority on 11 May 2016. (7)

Recordkeeping system
All of the records were digital born as NOLA ran a paperless office.

The records were held on an Electronic Document Management System called Objective. The file structure was built around the functions of governance and establishment. Once the Authority was closed the file structure was extracted form Objective and loaded on to a portable hard drive. NSW Treasury retained the hard drive before migrating the archival records to the Digital State Archive.

Endnotes
1. Submission to the Productivity Commission in relation to Geographic Labour Mobility Issues Inquiry, 21 August 2013, p.3. http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/125818/sub017-labour-mobility.pdf (accessed 26 February 2016).
2. Intergovernmental Agreement for a National Licensing System for Specified Occupations. https://www.coag.gov.au/sites/default/files/National_Licensing_System_IGA.pdf (accessed 11 August 2016).
3. Submission to the Productivity Commission in relation to Geographic Labour Mobility Issues Inquiry, 21 August 2013, p.5. http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/125818/sub017-labour-mobility.pdf (accessed 26 February 2016).
4. Ibid, p.6.
5. Occupational Licensing National Repeal Act 2015 [NSW] (Act No.49, 2015), s.8.
6. Occupational Licensing National Law Repeal Act 2015 [NSW] (Act No.49, 2015), ss.2, 3, 5.
7. Occupational Licensing National Law Repeal Act 2016 [Victoria] (Act No.25, 2016), s.1 and 4; Victorian Government Gazette, Special S139, 10 May 2016, p.1.