Full description
The Department of Consumer Affairs was re-established on 1 July 1991 when Business and Consumer Affairs was abolished. The NSW Government Gazette advised that most of the business of Business and Consumer Affairs was transferred to the Department of Consumer Affairs, although some matters were allocated to the Department of State Development, Local Government and Co-operatives and the Property Services Group. (1) In addition the following branches were added to the Department:
. Business Licences Administration Centre
. Business Licences Information Centre
. Business Regulation (Names and Associations)
. Trading Standards Division
. Operational Support Division. (2)
Early in 1992 the Department consisted of the following:
. Directorate
. Compliance Division
. Consumer Services Division
. Legal and Policy Division
. Operational Support Division
. Registration and Licensing Division.
The Department exercised functions in the following areas - Associations (Incorporations, objects and Rules), Business Licence Administration, Business Names and Associations, consumer advice and dispute settling, encumbered vehicles, self regulation and codes of practice. Service was available in offices in 19 major towns and suburban centres. (3)
After the March 1995 State Election the Department added three new responsibilities to its charter. The Office of Real Estate Service, which covered the regulation of the real estate industry and residential tenancy issues was added. The Registry of Co-operatives, dealing with the registration and development of co-operative organisations within NSW, and the Conveyancing Licensing Committee, overseeing the conveyancing industry, were both added to the Department. (4) In 1995 the decision was taken to amalgamate the Building Services Corporation with the department and to alter the name to the Department of Fair Trading. In her annual report for the year ended 30 June, 1955 the Acting Director and Acting Commissioner for Consumer Affairs observed "This latest amalgamation will see the birth of a radically new organisation. The new Department of Fair Trading will provide cohesion and economy in the delivery of fair trading programs for New South Wales and a 'reach' we couldn't have imagined twelve months ago." (5)
The Department of Consumer Affairs was abolished and the Department of Fair Trading formally came into being on 18 October 1995. (6)
Endnotes
1. NSW Government Gazette No.101, 28 June 1991, p.5328.
2. Ibid. p.5335.
3. NSW Government Directory, January 1992, pp.106-108.
4. Department of Consumer Affairs, Annual Report, 1995, p.2.
5. Ibid.
6. NSW Government Gazette No.128, 18 October 1995, pp.7333-7334.
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