Boarding Houses Act 2012 (NSW)

Boarding Houses Act 2012 No 74

An Act to provide for the registration and regulation of certain boarding houses and the licensing and regulation of assisted boarding houses.

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Act This Act is the Boarding Houses Act 2012.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

3 Object of this Act The object of this Act is to establish an appropriate regulatory framework for the delivery of quality services to residents of registrable boarding houses, and for the promotion and protection of the wellbeing of such residents, by— (a) providing for a registration system for registrable boarding houses, and (b) providing for certain occupancy principles to be observed with respect to the provision of accommodation to residents of registrable boarding houses and for appropriate mechanisms for the enforcement of those principles, and (c) providing for the licensing and regulation of assisted boarding houses and their staff (including providing for service and accommodation standards at such boarding houses), and (d) promoting the sustainability of, and continuous improvements in, the provision of services at registrable boarding houses.

4 Definitions (1) In this Act— Act administrator means any of the following— (a) a Minister administering the whole or any part of this Act (whether jointly or otherwise), (b) the Secretary, (c) the Commissioner. assisted boarding house—see section 37. boarding premises means premises (or a complex of premises) that— (a) are wholly or partly a boarding house, rooming or common lodgings house, hostel or let in lodgings, and (b) provide boarders or lodgers with a principal place of residence, and (c) may have shared facilities (such as a communal living room, bathroom, kitchen or laundry) or services that are provided to boarders or lodgers by or on behalf of the proprietor, or both, and (d) have rooms (some or all of which may have private kitchen and bathroom facilities) that accommodate one or more boarders or lodgers. Commissioner means— (a) the Commissioner for Fair Trading, Department of Customer Service, or (b) if there is no person employed as Commissioner for Fair Trading—the Secretary of the Department of Customer Service. council means a council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1993. enforcement officer means a person appointed as an enforcement officer under section 66. function includes a power, authority or duty, and exercise a function includes perform a duty. general boarding house—see section 5 (2) and (3). Government Department means a Public Service agency within the meaning of the Government Sector Employment Act 2013. manager, in relation to premises, means an individual who is responsible for the day to day running of the premises. person with additional needs—see section 36. premises includes— (a) a building or structure, or (b) land or a place (whether built on or not), or (c) a vehicle, vessel or aircraft. proprietor, in relation to premises, means— (a) in the case of premises that are leased—a tenant or sub-tenant who is entitled to immediate possession of the premises, or (b) in any other case—an owner of the premises. registrable boarding house—see section 5. regulated assisted boarding house—see section 5 (1) (b). relative, in relation to a person, means any of the following— (a) another person who is the spouse or de facto partner of the person, (b) another person who is a parent, step-parent, son, daughter, step-son, step-daughter, grandparent, grandchild, brother, sister, step-brother, step-sister, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew (whether by blood, marriage, affinity or adoption) of the person, (c) another person who is a guardian of the person, (d) another person in whose care or custody the person has been placed in accordance with the provisions of the Adoption Act 2000, (e) in the case of an Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander— another person who is, or has been, part of the extended family or kin of the person according to the Indigenous kinship system of the person's culture.