Department of Justice and Community Safety

Fair Trading & the ICRC

PAWNBROKERS

The Office of Regulatory Services licenses Pawnbrokers in the ACT.

A person must not carry on business as a pawnbroker unless the person is licensed as a pawnbroker.

Advice & Complaints

The Advice and Complaints Unit operates an inquiry line each Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm (excluding public holidays). Staff of the Unit will inform you of your rights and responsibilites under fair trading legislation.

If your complaint warrants further investigation, you will be asked to lodge an official complaint with the Office.

Telephone: 6207 0400 Fax: 6207 538

Compliance & Safety

Sometimes complaints that come to our attention involve breaches of fair trading legislation or codes of practice. When this occurs, the Compliance Unit may take compliance action. This action may range from:

cautioning the trader
asking the trader to substantiate claims being made
publically naming the trader
referring the trader to a dispute resolution committee
accepting and enforcing written undertakings received from the trader where breaches of a code of practice have occurred
taking prosecution action

The choice of compliance action will depend on the trader's history, the severity of the breach and the level of consumer detriment.

Telephone: 6207 0559 Fax: 6207 0538

Education

The Business and Community Relations Unit promotes consumer and business confidence by providing effective consumer affairs information in a variety of ways such as distribution of material at promotions, attendance at community events, media releases, media and television exposure.

Telephone: 6207 0610 Fax: 6207 0538

Governance

Fair Trading Advisory Committee

The Fair Trading Advisory Committee is responsible for advising the government and the Commissioner for Fair Trading on issues affecting the interest of consumers and unfair commercial practices affecting traders.

Secretariat and Support Unit

Telephone: 6205 0419 Fax: 6207 0538