A Padbury motor vehicle repairer who failed to disclose his criminal convictions has been reprimanded and banned from working in the industry in WA by the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT).
Ean Jacob Rozario was deemed to be unfit to be the holder of a motor vehicle repairer’s certificate for failing to comply with a condition of his licence which required him to submit a National Police Clearance certificate and advise Consumer Protection of any relevant criminal convictions as required by the Motor Vehicle Repairers Act. The SAT order was delivered on 24 May 2017.
Mr Rozario’s first certificate was granted in November 2011 but with a condition that a National Police Clearance certificate which is less than three months old be submitted to Consumer Protection every year. Despite numerous reminders in 2012 and 2013, the police clearances were not provided to the Department and disciplinary action was initiated.
In April 2014, Mr Rozario was reprimanded and fined $1,500 by the SAT for failing to comply with the condition on his certificate.
Between January 2013 and February 2016, Mr Rozario was convicted of seven offences, including stealing two motor vehicles. These relevant criminal convictions were not reported to Consumer Protection within seven days, in breach of the Act.
Acting Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said that the licensing system is designed to ensure that only fit and proper people are employed in the motor vehicle repair industry.
“The Department needs to be fully informed about any criminal convictions when deciding to approve applications for certificates or deciding whether the person should continue to be licensed,” Mr Hillyard said.
“To conceal information concerning criminal history is a serious offence and action will be taken against those who fail to inform us about convictions or fail to abide by the conditions on their certificate or licence.”
Consumers can check whether a motor vehicle repairer is licensed by doing a search on the Consumer Protection website: www.commerce.wa.gov.au/cp/licencesearch or look for the distinctive yellow and black sign with the tick of approval displayed at their premises.
Enquiries about motor vehicle repairers can be made by emailing consumer@commerce.wa.gov.au or by calling 1300 30 40 54.
Media contact (Consumer Protection)