Appealing a licensing decision

The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 lists a number of decisions that are reviewable, meaning that if  you are refused a licence or have conditions or sanctions placed on it, then you  may seek a review of the decision or appeal.

The list of reviewable decisions (PDF, 0.42 MB) outlines who is eligible to apply for  a review and who would undertake the external review.

You have 28 days to appeal once you  receive the decision.

To seek a review of a licensing decision the legislation prescribes that  the first step is seek an internal review of the decision. To do this you will  need to lodge an application for internal review (PDF, 0.27 MB).

Licensing decisions that can be  reviewed typically include refusals to grant or renew a licence or the  suspension or cancellation of a licence. You should have received a notice  which clearly explains why the original decision was made.

Having a review of decision is your  opportunity to mount a case for the decision to be changed. You should:

• Address the reasons that the Office of Industrial Relations gave for refusing or restricting your licence.
• Provide documented evidence to support your case, such as
  • copies of course results
  • statements from employers
  • copies of interstate or overseas licences or qualifications.

The copies need to be certified by a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations or similar.

Late applications

If your application for a review is  lodged after 28 days, you will have to give reasons for the delay. These  reasons will be taken into consideration when deciding whether to proceed with  a late application.

You cannot apply for review after two  months of being told of the decision.

What happens next?

The Regulator will appoint an  independent person or body to review decisions on applications, however the  person who made the original decision cannot review the decision.

The process is as follows:

1. The internal  reviewer must review the reviewable decision and make a decision as soon as  practicable, and within 14 days after the application for internal review, or  the additional information requested under subsection 3 is received.
2. The decision may be
   1. To confirm or vary the reviewable decision; or
   2. To set aside the reviewable decision and substitute another decision that  the internal reviewer considers appropriate.
3. The internal reviewer may ask the applicant to provide additional  information in relation to the application.
4. If you are required to provide additional information, you must provide  this within the time stated by the internal reviewer i.e. in not less than 7  days.
5. If you do not provide the additional information within the required time,  the reviewable decision is taken to be confirmed by the internal reviewer at  the end of that time.
6. If the reviewable decision is not varied or set aside within the 14 day  period referred to in subsection 1, the reviewable decision is taken to have  been confirmed by the internal reviewer.
7. Within 14 days of making the decision on the internal review, the internal  reviewer must give the applicant written notice of  –
   1. The decision on the internal review; and
   2. The reasons for the decision.
8. If you still disagree with the outcome following the internal review, you  may appeal to the  Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an external review.