The ACT Government is introducing legislation designed strengthen tenants' rights and make de-regulatory reforms for charities and recruitment companies.
The Housing and Consumer Affairs Legislation Amendment Bill 2024 will promote a more efficient and equitable environment for consumers, community groups, and businesses.
Key changes include:
- Delivering several measures in the Better Deal for Renters reforms agreed by National Cabinet: Allowing victim-survivors of domestic and family violence to end tenancies quickly and without penalty, and introducing mandatory break-lease fee clauses which limit the amount tenants must pay if they end a tenancy early.
- Implementing nationally agreed fundraising principles: This will reduce red tape for charities by ensuring the same fundraising rules apply across the country, allowing charities to focus on their vital work.
- Delivering on the ACT Government's Better Regulation Agenda commitment to remove licensing requirements for recruitment companies: This reform removes the need for employment agents at recruitment companies to obtain a license to undertake their work, taking away the cost and regulatory burden for companies.
While the requirement to hold a licence will be removed, employment agents must still comply with provisions under the Agents Act 2003. This includes specific offence provisions that prohibit an employment agent from taking a fee from a job seeker (other than a model or a performer). This prevents potential exploitation of vulnerable job seekers.
- ·Enhanced consumer protections by giving the Commissioner for Fair Trading the ability to issue fines where businesses fail to attend conciliations for low value consumer claims.
In 2022, the Access Canberra piloted a new compulsory conciliation scheme to deal with low-value consumer matters (less than $5000). So that the parties involved may reach an agreement to resolve the matter, the Commissioner for Fair Trading can compel a business to attend compulsory conciliation meeting with the consumer. Through the early stages of the pilot, it has been identified that many businesses who are required to attend a conciliation meeting do not actually attend. This results in the only enforceable option available to Commissioner being an application to the ACT Magistrates Court to seek a penalty order. This is a costly and time-consuming course of action.
- The Bill also includes streamlined rental processes for tenants and landlords in share-house situations, by enabling the same condition report prepared for an initial tenancy to be used for subsequent tenancies for the same premises, when at least one of the original tenants will be a party to the subsequent tenancy. This amendment reflects the practicalities of share-housing, where co-tenants often move in and out, and it is impractical to complete a final inspections and condition reports (which require the property to be vacated).
"This Bill is about fairness and ensuring strong protections for renters as well as removing unnecessary regulatory burdens for charities and recruitment companies," said Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury.
The government consulted widely with key stakeholders in drafting the Bill, including with community legal services, victim services organisations and real estate bodies.
