Djamirze v Director General, Department of Services Technology and Administration [2012] NSWADT 17

Administrative Decisions Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Djamirze v Director General, Department of Services Technology and Administration [2012] NSWADT 17 Hearing dates: 18 April 2011, 1 June 2011, 13 September 2011 Decision date: 09 February 2012 Jurisdiction: General Division Before: S Montgomery, Judicial Member Decision: The decision under review is affirmed. Catchwords: Business name - cancellation of registration Legislation Cited: Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997 Business Names Act 2002 Cases Cited: Drake v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs [1979] AATA 179; (1979) 46 FLR 409 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Alan Djamirze (Applicant) Director General, Department of Services Technology and Administration (Respondent) Representation: Remington & Co (Applicant) Legal Services, NSW Fair Trading (Respondent) File Number(s): 113007 Publication restriction: S75 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997 applies in respect of material provided to the Tribunal or to the Respondent in relation to the Applicant's family history is to be used only for the purpose of these proceedings and is not to be made publicly available.

REasons for decision 1GENERAL DIVISION (S MONTGOMERY, (JUDICIAL MEMBER)):The Applicant seeks a review of the Respondent's decision to cancel the registration of the business name "HRH Prince Alan Djamirze".

Background 2The Respondent registered the business name to the Applicant on 24 August 2010 pursuant to section 5 of the Business Names Act 2002 ("the Act"). 3However, shortly afterwards, on 14 September 2010, the Respondent sent the Applicant a letter and Notice under section 17(4) of the Act and advised that the business name had been registered inadvertently. The Notice advised that the name should not have been registered because it contravenes clause 6 of the Ministerial Prohibition. The Notice gave the Applicant the opportunity to make written submissions to the Commissioner for Fair Trading in relation to the proposed cancellation of the Registration. 4The Applicant provided submissions in response to that invitation. However, the registration of the business name was cancelled on 21 October 2010 and a letter was sent to the Applicant informing him of the cancellation. 5The Applicant subsequently sought an Internal Review of the decision to cancel the registration of the business name. The internal review affirmed the original determination. In cancelling the registration of the business name the Respondent has applied a Prohibition Order issued by the Minister for Fair Trading which specifically precludes the registration of a business name if the name suggests a connection with a member of a royal family and the connection suggested does not exist ("the Prohibition Order"). 6The Applicant has applied to the Tribunal for external review of the decision to cancel the registration of the business name.