The Act introduces a statutory exclusion regime keyed to insolvency and bankruptcy events, operationalised through a set of interlocking concepts in a newly inserted Division 3A of the Principal Act. Core concepts are:

• Excluded person: an individual, body corporate or organisation that, for the purposes of the Principal Act, is disqualified from holding or being associated with prescribed building services licences for a three‑year period following a qualifying bankruptcy or insolvency event (s 37AB definition and s 37AC(1), (5)). For individuals linked to construction companies, the exclusion applies if they were directors, secretaries or influential persons at the time of, or within two years before, the insolvency event (s 37AC(2)).

• Specified event: defined as a bankruptcy event (individual) or an insolvency event (body corporate) (s 37AB). Bankruptcy event includes applying for relief or becoming bankrupt; insolvency event, for a body corporate, includes appointment of liquidators, administrators or controllers or winding up (s 37AB).

• Influential person: an individual who, other than a director/secretary/partner, is in a position to control or substantially influence the organisation’s conduct (s 37AD(2)). The definition includes senior executives, persons holding or controlling 50% or more of shares, or those who give instructions which are followed (s 37AD(4)), but explicitly excludes professionals whose advice influences conduct and specified regulators (s 37AD(3)).

• Permitted individual: a statutory escape valve allowing an individual affected by a specified event to apply to the Administrator to be declared permitted provided they can show they took all reasonable steps to avoid the circumstances that produced the event (s 37AE(1), (4)). An application is a one‑time chance per specified event (s 37AE(6)).

• Prescribed building services licence: a class of licence subject to the exclusion regime (defined by regulation as a prescribed class, s 37AB). Excluded licences are expressly excluded from being prescribed (s 37AB).

• Permanent exclusion: occurs where the Administrator declares a person permanently excluded on a second occasion that their prescribed licence is cancelled under s 37F, provided the two cancellations are within five years (s 37G).

Operational mechanisms created or amended:

• Application disclosure and inquiry: licence applications must include details of any specified events (s 37A(2)(b)(iv)); the Administrator may make reasonable inquiries (s 37A(5)).

• Mandatory refusal/disqualification/cancellation: Administrator must refuse a prescribed licence application if the applicant is an excluded person (subject to exceptional circumstances), and must cancel a licence if the holder becomes an excluded person, unless exceptional circumstances are established (s 37B(1A), s 37F(1)).

• Notice and submissions: prior to disqualification, cancellation, permanent exclusion declaration or publication of details the Administrator must give written notice and allow submissions within specified periods (ss 37E(6B)-(6D), 37F(2)-(4), 37G(3)-(4), 37I(3)-(4)).

• Publication power: the Administrator may publish relevant details of persons whose licences were refused, disqualified, cancelled or who are permanently excluded (s 37I(2)-(5)), but only after providing notice, receiving submissions and ensuring review/appeal periods are exhausted or finalised (s 37I(3)-(5)).

• Employment and contracting prohibitions: organisations holding prescribed licences must not employ excluded persons as directors/secretaries/partners/influential persons (s 37J(1)) and must not use their licence when such persons are in those roles (s 37J(4)); excluded persons may not perform notifiable or permit building work (s 99A, s 148A) nor enter residential building work contracts while excluded (s 78A).

Administrative and disciplinary architecture:

• Centralisation of investigatory and disciplinary power to the Administrator: disciplinary panels are removed (s 92 and s 94 repealed), and the Administrator may conduct investigations to determine disciplinary action (s 91(5)), replacing panel‑based processes (s 93 amended).

• Reviewability: a broad list of new decisions is expressly reviewable under s 79(1)(a) as amended, including permitted individual declarations, refusal/disqualification/cancellation decisions, permanent exclusion declarations, revocations, and publication decisions (s 79(1)(a) amendments).

Temporal and transitional rules:

• Non‑retrospectivity for specified events: the transitional clause excludes bankruptcy or insolvency events that occurred before commencement day from the definition of specified event for Division 3A (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 2).

• Transitional treatment of outstanding disciplinary panel matters: any pending panel matter is treated as revoked/dissolved and materials transferred to the Administrator; the Administrator deals with the matter under the amended Act (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3).

Other technical amendments:

• Insurance link: s 28(2) (insurance cover for contractors) now explicitly refers to cancellation under s 37F (s 28 amendment).

• Registers: an item in s 49(4) is removed by omitting paragraph (k) (s 14). The Act also creates a statutory requirement for the Minister to commission a review of these amendments and table a report within four years (s 104A).

This Act creates legal consequences for multiple discrete groups. Identify who pays, who decides and who changes behaviour.

Directly affected individuals and entities

• Individuals who have experienced a bankruptcy event: such persons become excluded persons for three years and are barred from being nominated as licensed persons for prescribed building services licences, being deemed registrants, or holding such licences (s 37AC(1); s 37C(3A); s 37E(6A)). They are also prohibited from performing notifiable or permit building work (ss 99A, 148A) and entering residential building work contracts (s 78A).

• Directors, secretaries and influential persons of construction companies that suffer insolvency events: individuals in these positions may be excluded for three years where the insolvency event occurred and they were in office at the time or within two years prior (s 37AC(2)). The Administrator may decline exclusion where the company was solvent at the time the person ceased to hold the position (s 37AC(4)), subject to application under s 37AF.

• Bodies corporate that experience insolvency events: a corporation that undergoes an insolvency event is an excluded person for three years (s 37AC(5)). That status directly affects the corporation’s entitlement to hold prescribed building services licences and to contract for building work (ss 37B(1A), 37F, 37J(4)).

• Organisations with excluded directors/secretaries/partners/influential persons: such organisations can become excluded persons (s 37AC(6)), which impacts their ability to hold prescribed building services licences and to use those licences to enter contracts (s 37J(4)). However, an organisation will not be taken to have been excluded solely because a person becomes excluded if the organisation did not know, could not reasonably be expected to know, or removes the person within 28 days of becoming aware (s 37AC(7)).

• Persons holding prescribed building services licences: must monitor whether they or key officers become excluded persons, because licences must be cancelled if the holder becomes excluded (s 37F(1)). Deemed registrants may be disqualified (s 37E(6A)).

• Employers and licence‑holding organisations: organisations that hold prescribed building services licences face offences and penalties if they employ or continue to engage excluded persons in specified roles (s 37J(1)). They must vet and potentially remove people within 28 days once aware to rely on the statutory defence (s 37J(2)).

Indirectly affected persons and markets

• Consumers and clients of building services: projects may be disrupted if a contractor, nominated licensed person, or influential person becomes excluded and the organisation must substitute persons or risk licence cancellation or contractual invalidity (ss 22A(2A), 37F, 37J(4)). Residential building customers are protected by a prohibition on excluded persons entering into residential building work contracts (s 78A).

• Insurers and insurers’ cover conditions: s 28(2) is amended to refer to s 37F, signalling insurance cover for contractors may be linked to cancellations under s 37F. Where a licence is cancelled, coverage questions and claims for work done may be affected (s 28(2) amendment).

• Administrators and regulators: the Administrator assumes substantially increased investigatory, adjudicative and publication responsibilities (ss 37E(6B)-(6D), 37F(2)-(4), 37I(3)-(5), s 91(5)). The Minister must commission a review (s 104A), which creates administrative workload and oversight tasks.

• Professional advisors and potential influential persons: the definition of influential person excludes professionals merely because their advice influences conduct (s 37AD(3)(a)), but senior professionals who exercise control or influence beyond advice as defined in s 37AD(4) may be caught.

Who decides

• The Administrator: the Act centralises decision‑making in the Administrator. The Administrator makes determinations under s 37AC(4), decides applications for permitted individual status (s 37AE), must refuse or cancel licences in prescribed circumstances (ss 37B(1A), 37F(1)), may permanently exclude persons (s 37G), and may publish details (s 37I). The Administrator must provide written notice and consider submissions in prescribed circumstances (ss 37E(6B)-(6D), 37F(2)-(4), 37G(3)-(4), 37I(3)-(4)).

• Courts and review bodies: the Act expands the list of reviewable decisions under s 79(1)(a) to include many of the Administrator’s new decisions, enabling external review or appeal pathways for affected persons (s 79 amendment). The Act itself does not create a new tribunal but references review rights under the Principal Act framework.

Behavioural changes required

• Disclosure obligations for licence applicants: licence applications must disclose specified events affecting the applicant and related persons (s 37A(2)(b)(iv)). Applicants should expect the Administrator to make enquiries (s 37A(5)).

• Due diligence and ongoing monitoring by licence‑holding organisations: organisations must vet directors, secretaries, partners and influential persons for excluded status and act within 28 days of becoming aware to avoid penalties (s 37AC(7), s 37J(2)).

• Use of licences and contracting behaviour: excluded persons cannot act under another person’s licence (s 22A(2A)), and organisations cannot use prescribed licences if an excluded person occupies certain roles (s 37J(4)). Excluded persons are barred from performing notifiable or permit building work (ss 99A, 148A) and from entering residential building work contracts (s 78A).

• Application for relief via permitted individual route: individuals who consider they took all reasonable steps to avoid the specified event can apply to be declared permitted individuals (s 37AE), requiring preparation of documentary evidence and submissions.

The Act sets out specific duties imposed on licence applicants, licence holders, organisations, and obligations on the Administrator, and it creates procedural rights for affected persons. Below are the principal duties and rights, linked to sections.

Duties on applicants and licence holders

• Full disclosure on application: applicants for a building services licence must include details of any specified event affecting the applicant or related persons including directors, secretaries and influential persons (s 37A(2)(b)(iv)). Failure to disclose may lead to refusal under the new mandatory refusal rule (s 37B(1A)).

• Cooperation with Administrator enquiries: the Administrator may make reasonable inquiries and investigations when deciding whether to issue a licence (s 37A(5)); applicants and licence holders must respond to requests for information (s 37AF(2)(c) re: applications for determinations must include any information requested by Administrator).

• Non‑delegation of excluded persons to others’ licences: excluded persons are not authorised to manage or carry out building services work, or to enter contracts under another’s prescribed building services licence (s 22A(2A)).

• Ongoing obligation to avoid employing excluded persons: organisations holding prescribed licences must not employ or continue to engage excluded persons as directors, secretaries, partners or influential persons (s 37J(1)). They must remove such persons within 28 days of becoming aware to avail the statutory defence (s 37J(2)(b)).

Duties on the Administrator

• Mandatory decisions in specified circumstances: the Administrator must refuse a prescribed licence application if the applicant is an excluded person unless exceptional circumstances exist, and must refuse where a person has been declared permanently excluded (s 37B(1A)). The Administrator must cancel a prescribed building services licence where the holder is an excluded person unless there are exceptional circumstances (s 37F(1)).

• Procedural fairness through notice and submission windows: before disqualification, cancellation or permanent exclusion the Administrator must give written notice that identifies the relevant specified event and reasons and allow submissions within a stated period (ss 37E(6B)-(6D), 37F(2)-(4), 37G(3)-(4)).

• Publication duties: although the Administrator has a discretion to publish relevant details, the Administrator must follow prescribed steps before publishing, including notice and an opportunity to make submissions, and may only publish after review/appeal periods have concluded or been finally determined (s 37I(2)-(5)).

Rights of affected persons

• Right to make submissions and to be heard: the Act repeatedly requires written notice and gives the person an opportunity to make submissions to the Administrator before disqualification/cancellation/permanent exclusion/publication (ss 37E(6C)(d), 37F(3)(c), 37G(3)(d), 37I(3)(b)).

• Right to apply to be a permitted individual: individuals may apply to be declared permitted individuals for a specified event and must state reasons why the Administrator should grant the status (s 37AE(1),(2)). If refused, they may not reapply in relation to the same specified event (s 37AE(6)).

• Right to apply for a determination about whether Division 3A should apply to them as an individual linked to an insolvency event (s 37AF). The Administrator must decide as soon as practicable and give written reasons (s 37AF(4)).

• Review rights: affected persons have access to review mechanisms because s 79(1)(a) is amended to make many new Administrator decisions reviewable, including permitted individual declarations and cancellation/disqualification decisions (s 79 amendments).

Procedural changes to disciplinary processes

• Centralisation of investigatory power in Administrator: the disciplinary panel mechanism is removed (s 92 and s 94 repealed) and the Administrator may conduct investigations for disciplinary action (s 91(5) amendment). The content of s 93 is amended so that the Administrator considers the licence holder’s written response to a notice under s 91 as part of disciplinary action (s 93(1) amendment).

Consequential duties in other Acts

• Prohibitions in Building Act and Residential Building Work Contracts Act: excluded persons must not perform notifiable or permit building work (ss 99A, 148A) and building contractors must not enter residential building work contracts if excluded (s 78A). These statutory prohibitions create duties on practitioners and licence‑holding organisations across regulatory frameworks.

Administrative transparency and review

• Review of the amendments: the Minister must cause a review of the amendments to be made over the three‑year period starting on commencement and table the report within four years (s 104A). This creates an accountability duty on the executive to evaluate the operation of the new rules.

The Act specifies statutory penalties across the Principal Act, the Building Act and the Residential Building Work Contracts Act and centralises enforcement powers, primarily through the Administrator. The sanctions are a mixture of administrative sanctions (refusals, cancellations, disqualifications, permanent exclusions, publication) and criminal/penal fines for certain offences.

Monetary penalties and criminal offences

• Employment/appointment offences (s 37J):

  • Organisation (body corporate): fine not exceeding 400 penalty units for employing, appointing or engaging a person as director/secretary/partner/influential person who is an excluded or permanently excluded person (s 37J(1)(a)).
  • Individual: fine not exceeding 200 penalty units for the organisation that is an individual (s 37J(1)(b)).
  • Defence: the organisation can defend itself by proving it did not know and could not reasonably have been expected to know, or that it removed the person within 28 days of becoming aware (s 37J(2)).

• Personal offence for excluded persons acting in prohibited roles (s 37J(3)):

  • A person commits an offence by accepting appointment or continuing to act as director/secretary/partner/influential person for an organisation that holds a prescribed licence while they are excluded or permanently excluded; penalty: fine not exceeding 200 penalty units (s 37J(3)).

• Contracting/use of licence offences (s 37J(4)):

  • Organisations must not use a prescribed licence to enter into a contract for building services work if a person in the specified roles is an excluded or permanently excluded person; penalties mirror employment offences (400 penalty units body corporate, 200 units individual) (s 37J(4)).

• Building Act offences:

  • Notifiable building work: performing notifiable building work while an excluded or permanently excluded person, penalties: natural person up to 100 penalty units; body corporate up to 500 penalty units (s 99A).
  • Permit building work: same penalties as notifiable building work (s 148A).

• Residential Building Work Contracts Act offence:

  • Building contractors must not enter into residential building work contracts while excluded; penalties: body corporate up to 800 penalty units; individual up to 300 penalty units (s 78A).

Administrative sanctions and publication

• Mandatory cancellation/disqualification: the Administrator must cancel prescribed building services licences where the holder is an excluded person unless exceptional circumstances exist (s 37F(1)); must disqualify deemed registration holders who are excluded persons (s 37E(6A)).

• Permanent exclusion declaration: the Administrator may declare a person permanently excluded where, on a second occasion, their prescribed licence was cancelled under s 37F and the two cancellations are less than five years apart (s 37G(1)-(2)). The Administrator must follow notice and submission procedures (s 37G(3)-(4)).

• Publication of details: the Administrator may publish relevant details about persons whose licences were refused, cancelled, disqualified or who were permanently excluded. Publication is governed by notice, submissions and the exhaustion of review/appeal avenues (s 37I(2)-(5)).

Enforcement process and procedural safeguards

• Notice and opportunity to respond: before cancelling a licence or declaring permanent exclusion, the Administrator must provide written notice identifying the specified event and reasons and allow the licence holder an opportunity to make written submissions (ss 37F(2)-(4), 37G(3)-(4)). Similarly, disqualification of deemed registrants triggers specific notice and submission windows (ss 37E(6B)-(6D)).

• Investigations and disciplinary action: the Administrator may conduct investigations for disciplinary purposes (s 91(5) amendment). The removal of disciplinary panels (s 92 and s 94 repealed) concentrates investigatory and disciplinary discretion with the Administrator, who must consider the licence holder’s written response to notices under s 91 (s 93(1) amendment).

• Reviewable decisions: the amended s 79 expands the list of decisions subject to review, which creates an external check on the Administrator’s exercise of power (s 79(1)(a) amendments). The Act requires the Administrator to provide written reasons in some contexts (e.g., s 37AF(4) - determinations on applications for s 37AC(4)).

Interaction of administrative and penal enforcement

• Cancellation does not criminalise past work: cancellation or disqualification does not render unlawful prescribed work carried out before notice of cancellation or disqualification was received (s 37F(5), s 37E(6E)). However, continuing to act in prohibited roles or perform building work while excluded is a separate penal offence (s 37J(3), ss 99A, 148A, 78A), exposing persons and organisations to fines.

• Insurance linkage: s 28(2) is amended to refer to cancellation under s 37F, which can affect whether insurance covers work performed once a licence is cancelled. The text ties insurance cover to the existence of a licence, so cancellation may have downstream financial and claims consequences.

Practical enforcement sequence

• Identification of specified event (bankruptcy/insolvency) triggers administrative review and potential immediate exclusion (s 37AC).

• Administrator notification, opportunity to make submissions, and then exercise of mandatory powers (refusal/disqualification/cancellation) subject to exceptional circumstances and internal discretion (ss 37B(1A), 37E(6A), 37F(1)).

• If a licence is cancelled on a second occasion within five years, the Administrator may permanently exclude the person (s 37G).

• Publication of details may follow, after notice and submission and only after appeal/review windows are closed (s 37I(5)).

• Criminal penalties apply for those who ignore bars on performing work, entering contracts or acting in specified roles while excluded (ss 99A, 148A, 78A, 37J).

The Act is expressly cross‑referential and creates points of interaction with the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 (Principal Act), the Building Act 2016, the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016, and implicitly with insolvency and bankruptcy law concepts. The text emphasises regulatory coherence by using insolvency/ bankruptcy events as triggers and by integrating disciplinary, licensing, contracting and insurance consequences. Relevant interactions follow.

With the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 (Principal Act)

• Core amendments: Division 3A (ss 37AB-37AF, 37F-37J) is inserted into the Principal Act; numerous operational changes,application disclosures (s 37A), determination rules (s 37B), organisation nomination rules (s 37C), continuation and deemed registration changes (ss 37D, 37E), disciplinary changes (ss 91-94 repeals/amendments), publication and reviewability amendments (s 79),all modify the Principal Act’s administrative architecture.

• Centralised Administrator role: the Administrator’s investigatory and adjudicative role is expanded; decisions under Division 3A are reviewable under s 79(1)(a) as amended, integrating new administrative decisions with existing review mechanisms in the Principal Act.

With the Building Act 2016

• Direct prohibitions: the Act inserts two offences into the Building Act that prevent excluded persons from performing notifiable building work (s 99A) and permit building work (s 148A), with specified fines. This makes excluded status a cross‑statutory bar to carrying out regulated building activities, not just a licence condition in the Principal Act.

• Licensing substitution prevented: section 22A(2A) of the Principal Act now explicitly states that being an excluded person does not authorise someone to operate under another person’s prescribed building services licence. This prevents circumvention of Building Act obligations through subcontracting or nominal licensing arrangements.

With the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016

• Contracting prohibition: the Act inserts s 78A into the Residential Building Work Contracts Act prohibiting building contractors who are excluded persons from entering residential building work contracts (s 78A), with substantial fines for bodies corporate (800 penalty units) and individuals (300 penalty units). This connects excluded status to contract formation, not just licensing.

With insolvency and bankruptcy law concepts

• Triggering events: the Act uses standard insolvency/bankruptcy events (bankruptcy applications, bankruptcies, appointment of provisional liquidator/liquidator/administrator/controller, winding up) as statutory triggers (s 37AB). It does not alter insolvency law but imports those events to create regulatory disqualification in the building licensing space.

• Determinations about timing and solvency: the Administrator may determine that Division 3A does not apply to an individual in respect of an insolvency event if the Administrator is satisfied the company was solvent when the individual ceased to be influential, director or secretary (s 37AC(4)); such determinations require applications under s 37AF. This creates an administrative interface with corporate insolvency chronologies and factual inquiries around solvency.

With the Corporations Act and company law roles

• Interaction with corporate roles: s 37AD defines "influential person" and recognises that an individual may exercise control through share ownership or instruction. Section 37C(5)(c) explicitly refers to the Corporations Act in the context of continuity and nomination provisions (s 37C(5)(c) as amended), so corporate governance events, share transfers and company officer changes under company law are relevant to the application of the exclusion regime.

With insurance law and insurance cover for contractors

• Insurance link: s 28(2) of the Principal Act is amended by inserting a reference to s 37F, signalling that cancellations under s 37F are relevant to insurance cover for contractors. The precise effect on policy coverage depends on policy terms, but the statutory amendment ties licence status to insurance eligibility and potential liability.

Administrative law and review

• Reviewable decisions: s 79(1)(a) is expanded to include many of the new decisions (s 37AC(4), s 37AE, s 37B(1A), s 37C(4A), s 37E(6A), s 37F(1), s 37G(1), s 37H(2), s 37I(4)(a) or (c)), which integrates Division 3A decisions with existing rights of review under the Principal Act. The Act does not alter external judicial review rights but ensures administrative review pathways are preserved for many new decisions.

Transitional and temporal interactions

• Non‑retrospectivity for specified events: Schedule 5 Part 5 clause 2 explicitly excludes bankruptcy/insolvency events that occurred before commencement day from the scope of Division 3A, creating a temporal boundary between pre‑existing insolvency events (excluded) and future events that will trigger exclusion.

• Transitional discipline transfer: pending disciplinary panel matters are revoked and panels dissolved on commencement, with documents transferred to the Administrator for action under the amended Act (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3). This moves previously panelised matters into the Administrator’s investigatory processes.

Potential operational intersections not amended in text

• The Act references insolvency events and corporate positions but does not alter corporate insolvency law or the Corporations Act beyond making references. Questions of how the Administrator will investigate company solvency, timing for decisions, or marshal corporate records will require operational procedures and may implicate other statutory obligations or confidentiality regimes.

The Act itself sets out the line‑by‑line amendments it makes to existing statutes and the timeframe for review and repeal. The mechanical amendment history as recorded in the text is:

• Principal Act reference (s 3): the Occupational Licensing Act 2005 is the Principal Act being amended (s 3).

• Interpretation changes to Principal Act (s 4): inserts definitions into s 3(1) including excluded person and permanently excluded person (s 4).

• Licence operational change (s 5): inserts s 22A(2A) disallowing excluded persons from managing or carrying out building services work under another person’s prescribed building services licence.

• Insurance linkage (s 6): s 28(2) amended to insert a reference to s 37F, linking insurance cover to cancellations under the new regime.

• New Division 3A insertion (s 7): before s 37A, inserts ss 37AB-37AF containing interpretation, excluded person criteria, influential person, permitted individual and application procedures (ss 37AB-37AF).

• Amendments to application decision process (s 8-11): changes to ss 37A (application contents and Administrator investigatory power), 37B (mandatory refusal where excluded/permanently excluded), 37C (organisation nomination prohibitions and automatic refusal in prescribed circumstances), 37D (nominating persons for continuation of licences with exclusion checks), and 37E (deemed registration disqualification with notice and submissions).

• New cancellation/permanent exclusion/publication offences and mechanisms (s 13): inserts ss 37F-37J including mandatory cancellation (37F), permanent exclusion (37G), revocation (37H), publication of details (37I), and offences where excluded persons are employed or act (37J).

• Register amendment (s 14): removes paragraph (k) from s 49(4) of the Principal Act.

• Reviewable decisions list (s 15): s 79(1)(a) amended to include a range of new decisions under Division 3A as reviewable, expanding the set of decisions that can be externally reviewed.

• Disciplinary process changes (s 16-19): s 91 amended to permit investigations by the Administrator (s 91(5) new), s 92 repealed (removing disciplinary panels), s 93 amended to change what the Administrator considers in disciplinary action and to remove a cost‑recovery element, and s 94 repealed.

• Statutory review requirement (s 20): inserts s 104A requiring the Minister to cause a review of the amendments to be made in respect of the first 3 years after commencement and to table the review within 4 years.

• Transitional and savings (s 21): amends Schedule 5 to add Part 5 with transitional rules including definition of commencement day, non‑retrospectivity for specified events (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 2) and transitional handling of pending disciplinary panel matters (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3).

• Building Act 2016 amendments (s 22-24): Principal Act reference, and inserts ss 99A and 148A to prohibit excluded persons from performing notifiable or permit building work with specified penalties (ss 99A, 148A).

• Residential Building Work Contracts Act 2016 amendment (s 25-26): inserts s 78A into that Act prohibiting excluded persons from entering residential building work contracts with specified penalties (s 78A).

• Repeal clause (s 27): the Act is repealed on the first anniversary of the day on which its last uncommenced provision commenced.

Transitional sequencing and temporal effects

• Commencement: various provisions commence on days to be proclaimed (s 2), and the Schedule clarifies that specified events before commencement day are excluded from the Division’s scope (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 2).

• Transitional dissolution of disciplinary panels: where disciplinary matters were mid‑process before commencement, those referrals are revoked and panels dissolved, with materials to be provided to the Administrator who will then proceed under the amended Act (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3).

Review and expiry

• The Minister must cause a formal review of the amendments covering the first three years after commencement and table a report within four years (s 104A) , this creates a statutory mechanism for Parliament to receive an evaluation of operation. Separately, the Act contains an automatic repeal clause (s 27) setting a finite statutory life for the Act: it will be repealed one year after its last uncommenced provision commences.

The text of the Act itself contains no cases, no judicial decisions, and does not reference litigation. Consequently, there is no litigation history recorded in the statute. The Act creates a number of new administrative decisions and criminal offences that are expressly reviewable under the Principal Act’s review provisions (s 79(1)(a) as amended), which will create the routes for external challenges and judicial review of the Administrator’s exercise of power going forward.

What the Act says about review and dispute resolution procedures that could generate litigation

• Reviewable decisions: s 79(1)(a) as amended incorporates the Administrator’s decisions under Division 3A into the set of reviewable decisions, including s 37AC(4) determinations, s 37AE permitted individual decisions, s 37B(1A) licence refusals for prescribed licences, s 37C(4A) organisation application refusals, s 37E(6A) deemed registration disqualifications, s 37F(1) licence cancellations, s 37G(1) permanent exclusion declarations, s 37H(2) revocations, and s 37I(4)(a) or (c) publication decisions. These reviewable decisions will be the typical subject matter for merits review or judicial review claims.

• Administrator's obligation to give reasons and consider submissions: several sections require the Administrator to give written notice and consider submissions (e.g. ss 37E(6B)-(6D), 37F(2)-(4), 37G(3)-(4), 37I(3)-(4)). Failures in procedural fairness or inadequate reasons could form grounds for review in court or tribunal.

• Transitional handling of disciplinary matters: Schedule 5 Part 5 clause 3 dissolves disciplinary panels and transfers materials to the Administrator. Parties affected by such a transfer may seek review of subsequent Administrator actions where they consider procedural defects or substantive unfairness. The Act explicitly entitles the Administrator to take disciplinary action under s 93 using panel materials (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3(5)), so any changes in legal position resulting from the transition could be challenged under the reviewable decisions list.

No recorded cases in the text

• The statute does not cite any judicial authority, precedent or past litigation. Any case law that develops in response to the Act will arise after commencement and from the new decisions, prosecutions and administrative actions the Act authorises.

Practical expectation about litigation drivers (based on statutory structure)

• The list of reviewable decisions and the centralisation of discretionary administrative power in the Administrator are the most likely sources of litigation. Typical disputes are likely to involve (a) whether the Administrator properly identified a specified event as making the person an excluded person, (b) whether procedural fairness was afforded prior to cancellation or publication, (c) challenges to the meaning of "influential person" in specific factual contexts, (d) applications for permitted individual declarations refused for lack of proof that the individual took all reasonable steps, and (e) corporate clients challenging the imposition of organisational exclusions despite alleged lack of knowledge or prompt removal of an excluded person (s 37AC(7)).

The Act creates several practical traps for applicants, licence‑holding organisations, professional advisers and insurers. The following are concrete potential pitfalls drawn directly from the statutory language.

1. Broad and partly undefined threshold of "influential person" (s 37AD)

• The influential person concept captures more than formal office‑holders. It reaches those who "control or substantially influence" conduct and specifically lists CEOs, acting equivalents, persons who own or control 50%+ shares, those who give instructions followed in practice and those who participate in decisions affecting a substantial part of the organisation's business (s 37AD(2), (4)). The list is non‑exhaustive. This can catch senior advisers or shareholders who exert practical control even if not formally directors, and it is not limited to a particular form of title or instrument.

2. Organisation exclusion via association and the 28‑day removal window (s 37AC(6)-(7); s 37J(2))

• An organisation may be treated as an excluded person if a director, secretary, partner or influential person is an excluded or permanently excluded person (s 37AC(6)). The safety valve requires an organisation to demonstrate it did not know and could not reasonably be expected to know, or to remove the person within 28 days of becoming aware (s 37AC(7)). Similarly, the statutory defence for employment offences requires removal within 28 days (s 37J(2)(b)). That 28‑day clock imposes a concrete compliance obligation: organisations must have monitoring and rapid removal procedures or face fines up to 400 penalty units (s 37J(1)(a)).

3. Mandatory cancellation/disqualification with an "exceptional circumstances" carve‑out (ss 37B(1A), 37F(1))

• The Administrator "must refuse" or "must cancel" where the person is an excluded person "unless the applicant establishes that exceptional circumstances exist" or "unless the Administrator is satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist" (ss 37B(1A)(a), 37F(1)). The Act does not define "exceptional circumstances", embedding significant administrative discretion and legal uncertainty about what will meet the standard. Practitioners must prepare to argue for this undefined exception in submissions and likely appeals.

4. No retrospective reach but possible immediate effect on ongoing projects (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 2; s 37F(5))

• The transitional clause excludes specified events that occurred before commencement day from Division 3A (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 2). However, for specified events that occur after commencement, cancellations do not render unlawful work carried out before receipt of the cancellation notice (s 37F(5)), but project continuity and insurance issues remain. The insurance cross‑reference (s 28(2) amended) could mean insurers deny cover where licences are cancelled after work is performed if policy conditions tie cover to licence validity.

5. Publication powers with reputational and commercial effects (s 37I)

• The Administrator may publish relevant details including names and business addresses, periods of exclusion, and other particulars (s 37I(1)-(2)). Publication is subject to prescribed notice and appeal windows (s 37I(3)-(5)), but once published it may have long‑term reputational, procurement and contractual consequences even where the period of exclusion is limited.

6. Removal of disciplinary panels and consolidation of investigatory powers (ss 91-94 repeals/amendments; Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3)

• The repeal of s 92 and s 94 and amendments to ss 91 and 93 centralise investigative and disciplinary decision‑making in the Administrator. Pending panel matters are transferred to the Administrator and panels dissolved (Schedule 5 Part 5 cl 3). Parties accustomed to panel processes or expecting panel composition protections should note that the procedural landscape has changed and submissions may need reframing.

7. Divergent penalty maxima across statutes and actors (ss 37J, 99A, 148A, 78A)

• Penalty units differ by offence and actor: s 78A imposes the most stringent corporate penalty for entering residential building work contracts while excluded (800 penalty units for bodies corporate). The combination of administrative sanctions and criminal penalties creates exposure on multiple fronts.

8. Deemed registration disqualification and timing of notice (s 37E(6A)-(6D))

• The Administrator must give notice and an opportunity to make submissions before disqualifying deemed registrants (s 37E(6B)-(6D)). The timing of notice and submissions matters because disqualification does not criminalise prior work done before notice (s 37E(6E)), but it does affect future conduct and contractual capacity.

9. One‑time permitted individual application per specified event (s 37AE(6))

• If an application for permitted individual status is refused, the individual may not make another application in relation to the same specified event (s 37AE(6)). This restricts iterative attempts to cure exclusion for a given event and places a premium on a well‑prepared initial application.

10. Reviewability plus statutory review of the scheme (ss 79, 104A)

• Many Administrator decisions are reviewable (s 79(1)(a) amendments), but the Act itself compels the Minister to cause a three‑year review and tabling of a report within four years (s 104A). While this creates institutional scrutiny, affected persons must act within statutory timeframes on submissions and appeals; the external review of the scheme does not substitute for individual review rights.

Compliance requires practical steps mapped to statutory requirements. Below are actions, timing, documentation and monitoring measures that organisations, individuals and advisers should adopt to align conduct with the Act’s obligations, as drawn from the statutory language.

1. Pre‑engagement due diligence and onboarding

• Vet directors, secretaries, partners and influential persons for bankruptcy and insolvency events before nomination or appointment. The Act bars nomination as a licensed person if the person is an excluded person (s 37C(3A)) and mandates organisations not to employ excluded persons in specified roles (s 37J(1)). Maintain written due diligence checklists, searches, and declarations as part of onboarding, and retain evidence of reasonable steps taken.

• Ask licence applicants to disclose specified events: licence application forms should be updated to request the items required by s 37A(2)(b)(iv), including any specified events affecting the applicant and any specified events affecting organisational officers or influential persons.

2. Monitoring and ongoing compliance

• Implement monitoring systems to detect if key persons become the subject of bankruptcy or insolvency events. The statutory defence to employment offences requires organisations to remove excluded persons within 28 days of becoming aware; adopt protocols for immediate removal and documentation of the date of awareness and removal action (s 37J(2)(b); s 37AC(7)(b