Comments on the Australian Federal Government’s cross-border licensing scheme close in 10 days – the Automatic Mutual Recognition legislation allows a person who is licenced or registered for an occupation, including security, in one Australian state to use that license freely in all states.
It’s estimated that AMR could lead to an additional $A2.4 billion in economic activity over 10 years as a result of savings to workers and businesses, productivity improvements and extra surge capacity in response to natural disasters. Over 160,000 workers would benefit, including HVAC&R technicians, electricians and security workers.
The draft legislation core elements include:
* No application or renewal fee will be required to work in another state under automatic deemed registration (ADR – with certain conditions)
* The laws of each state/territory will apply to any work done within that jurisdiction, even if the worker is registered elsewhere
* States can exempt registrations from the scheme if they believe there will be a significant risk to consumer protection, or the health or safety of workers or the public
* The legislation is intended to only apply to those states and territories that have an occupational licence in place – other recognition schemes will not be affected
* Local regulators are proposed to play a key role
* Information sharing between states and territories will be expanded to allow them to confirm a person’s eligibility for automatic recognition and their authority to carry out an activity.
The Cross-Border Security Licensing Scheme will begin on July 1, 2021. The closing date for submissions on the AMR scheme and draft legislation is Friday, February 12. To read more, and to make a submission, click here.
#sen.news
