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Department of Justice and Community Safety

APPLYING FOR A TRAVEL AGENT LICENCE - SOLE-TRADER OR PERSONAL

ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR THIS LICENCE?

The Agents Act 2003 and Agents Regulation 2003 determine eligibility for a Travel Agent Licence. You can find the Act and the Regulation on the following website: www.legislation.act.gov.au

Section 24 of the Agents Act 2003 deals with eligibility:

  • You must be an adult (18 years of age or older)
  • You must hold the relevant qualifications
  • You must not be disqualified from obtaining the licence
  • The travel agents board of trustees has decided that you are eligible under the travel agents trust deed to be a compensation scheme participant [i.e. eligible for TCF](this does not apply if you intend only to be the licensed director or a company)
  • You have paid the amount payable under the travel agents trust deed as an initial contribution [i.e. you are a contributing member of the TCF](this does not apply if you intend only to be the licensed director of a company)

Section 27 of the Agents Act 2003 lists those matters that will disqualify you from being licensed - please refer to the section. This includes bankruptcy and any conviction for an offence involving dishonesty. For the purpose of answering questions in the statutory declaration (Form 09 AG), "relevant offence" means any offence involving dishonesty.

APPLICATION FORMS

There are a number of forms you must complete and lodge with the Office of Regulatory Services, Business and Industry Licensing Unit:

  • Application form front page - Form 01 TAP
  • Personal particulars form - Form 04 (this also requires 2 forms of personal identification - see Infotext G 01)
  • Statutory declaration for an agent licence or salesperson registration - Form 09 AG
  • National Police Check from the Australian Federal Police
  • Additional particulars (about qualifications, licensed employer and advertisement in newspaper) - Form 21
  • Premises particulars – Form 24 AG (if you intend to operate your own business in the ACT)

Downloads

Travel Agent Licence (Sole-Trader or Personal) Application Package- includes all of the above forms plus instructions

QUALIFICATIONS

Clause 6 of the Agents Regulations 2003 deals with qualifications for a travel agent licence:

  • At least 2 years experience (prior to 1 November 2003) selling tickets international air travel to or from a place outside Australia (or arranged someone else’s entitlement for such travel)
  • Has successfully completed a travel agents course approved by the Commissioner for Fair Trading

POLICE RECORDS CHECK

You must obtain and lodge with us a National Police Check. You must apply to the Australian Federal Police for this report. It may take several weeks for you to obtain this report from the AFP.

We will NOT licence you until we have received the police records check and have determined that you are eligible to hold the relevant licence.

If you have any convictions or finding of guilt in a court, whether Magistrates, Children’s or other courts, recorded against you, whether in the ACT or any other state, territory or country, you must declare this on the police consent form. The rule of "spent convictions" applies. Details of convictions or findings of guilt that have become "spent" will not be provided to us by the Australian Federal Police.

ADVERTISEMENT

You must publish a notice of your intention to apply for a licence (specifying the licence category or categories), in a daily ACT newspaper, before you apply for a licence (see suggested wording for this on the rear of Form 21). You must lodge your application within 10 business days after the notice is published and include a copy of the page on which your notice of intention is published.

MUTUAL RECOGNITION

If you hold a current travel agent licence in another State or Territory of Australia you may be eligible to apply for a licence in the ACT under the "mutual recognition" principles. In addition to each of the forms listed above you will require a "Mutual Recognition statutory declaration" (Form 13). Ask us for this form. You will need to provide us with a certified copy of your interstate licence(s). We will make inquiries with the interstate licensing authority to confirm your status. This may take about a week.

LICENCE CERTIFICATE

Your licence will be in the form of an A4 paper licence certificate, showing your name, place of business and expiry date.

LICENCE FEES

We will advise you about the fees and the method of payment. We will contact you when the period for objections to be lodged has passed and the Commissioner for Fair Trading has determined your eligibility to be licensed. Licences expire annually on 30 June.