Commercial and private agent licences

Introduction

This section has information for people who want to work as commercial and private agents in the Northern Territory, including:

Read the Commercial and Private Agents Licencing Act 1979 and Commercial and Private Agents Licencing Regulations 2001 that affect commercial and private agents.


Who needs a licence

You need a licence to work as a commercial agent, inquiry agent, process server or private bailiff in the Northern Territory.

Commercial agent

A commercial agent is someone who is paid to:

  • locate or seize items subject to a hire purchase agreement or bill of sale
  • collect or request payment of debts
  • get evidence for legal proceedings
  • search for missing persons on behalf of someone else
  • seize goods to recover rates, taxes or money
  • carry out legal processes as the result of a judgement or court order.

Inquiry agent

An inquiry agent, or private detective, is paid to collect information. This includes tasks like:

  • getting information about a person's character, actions, business or occupation
  • collecting evidence for legal proceedings
  • searching for missing persons on behalf of someone else.

Private bailiff

A private bailiff executes warrants and processes. They can also make arrests.

Process server

A process server is paid to serve writs, summons or other legal processes on behalf of someone else.

Go to how to apply for an agent licence.


How to apply for a licence

To work as a commercial and private agent in the Northern Territory (NT), you must hold a valid licence.

A commercial and private agent licence is valid for 3 or 5 years and can be applied for by an individual, partnership or company.

Before you apply

Before you apply for a licence in the NT you must:

  • be at least 18 years old
  • have criminal history results  for each person/officer associated with the application
  • have current photo identification for each person/officer associated with the application
  • have a current business name registration extract (if applicable)
  • have a current Australian Security Investment Commission business name extract listing all office- bearers  (corporations only)
  • identify all officers if you are a corporation or partnership such as:
    • director, secretary, partners and executive officer
    • management or person who has control or influence over affairs
  • have an approved agents manager - the manager must reside in Australia.

Mutual recognition

If you hold an individual commercial and private agent licence in another state or territory you can apply for mutual recognition in the NT.

To be eligible to apply you must hold a current relevant licence in that state or territory.

Automatic mutual recognition

You may be eligible for the automatic mutual recognition scheme if you:

  • live in another state or territory and have an interstate commercial and private agent licence
  • are required to work in the NT for a period of time.

Read more about automatic mutual recognition for eligibility and how to apply.

How to apply

You can apply for a commercial and private agent licence through the Licencing NT portal or with one of the below forms:

In accordance with Section 17D of the Commercial and Private Agents Licencing Act 1979, you must apply to renew your licence at least 3 months prior to the licence expiry.

Lodgement

All applicants must be lodged with all supporting documents. An incomplete application will cause delays with processing and issuing the licence.

Complete applications can be lodged with the Territory Business Centre in person, via email or by post.

An application fee is payable on lodgement of the application. You can pay the application fee by credit card, cash, EFTPOS, or cheque payable to the Receiver of Territory Monies.

For further information contact the Territory Business Centre on 1800 193 111 or email TerritoryBusinessCentre@nt.gov.au.


Change a nominee

If you are licensed as an agent under a corporation, you must tell Licensing NT if:

  • you appoint a new nominee or
  • a nominee's details change.

How to notify Licensing NT

You can notify Licensing NT of nominee changes:

  • online
  • by mail, email, fax or in person.

Online

To notify of nominee changes online, go to Licensing NT Online.

You will need to pay a fee when you notify Licensing NT - check the fee.

By mail, email, fax, or in person

To make a notification by mail, email, fax, or in person, follow these steps:

Step 1. Fill in the appointment of new nominee or change of particulars form.

Appointment of new nominee or change of particulars form  PDF (216.9 KB)
Appointment of new nominee or change of particulars form DOCX (53.0 KB)

You can also get this form at a Territory Business Centre.

Step 2. Check the fee.
Step 3. Submit your application and pay the fee at your nearest Territory Business Centre.


Change licence details

If you hold a current commercial and private agent licence you must notify Occupational Licencing if you have changed any of the below details:

  • address details
  • contact details
  • principal place of business
  • other place of business
  • approved manager
  • removed a nominee
  • added a new nominee.

How to apply

You can apply for a variation of a commercial and private agents licence through the Licensing NT Online portal or use below form.

Lodgement

The application must be lodged with all the required supporting documents . An incomplete application will cause delays with processing and issuing the licence.

Complete applications can be lodged with the Territory Business Centre in person, via email or by post.

A fee is payable on lodgement of the application. You can pay the application fee by credit card, cash, ETPOS or cheque payable to the Receiver of Territory Monies.

For further information contact the Territory Business Centre on 1800 193 111 or email  TerritoryBusinessCentre@nt.gov.au


Apply to be a licensed agent manager

Licensed commercial and private agents can only carry out work if they have an approved manager.

Agent managers are responsible for following the law and keeping records for a business.

To be an agent manager, you must pass a character test and have no history of fraud, dishonesty or physical violence offences.

If you have an individual agent licence, you can either:

  • apply to be your own manager or
  • get another approved person to act as a manager.

If you are a corporation, you must get an approved person to be your manager.

Before you apply

Before you apply to become a licensed agent manager in the Northern Territory (NT), you must:

How to apply

You can apply for a commercial and private agent licence through the Licencing NT Online portal or with the below form:

Application for approval as a commercial and private agent manager PDF (180.4 KB)
Application for approval as a commercial and private agent manager DOCX (61.1 KB)

Lodgement

The application must be lodged with all required supporting documents. An incomplete application will cause delays with processing and issuing of the licence.

Complete applications can be lodged with the Territory Business Centre in person, via email or by post.

A fee is payable on lodgement of the application. You can pay the application fee by credit card, cash, EFTPOS or cheque payable to the Receiver of Territory Monies.

For more information contact the Territory Business Centre on 1800 193 111 or email TerritoryBusinessCentre@nt.gov.au.


Fees

You have to pay a processing fee to apply for a commercial or private agent licence.

If your application is successful, you also need to pay the granting fee for each licence category.

Fees do not include GST.

ItemFee
Processing fee - all applications$155
Commercial agent licence granting fee - 3 years$135
Commercial agent licence granting fee - 5 years$201
Inquiry agent licence granting fee  - 3 years$135
Inquiry agent licence granting fee - 5 years$201
Process server licence granting fee - 3 years$135
Process server licence granting fee - 5 years$201
Bailiff licence granting fee - 3 years$135
Bailiff licence granting fee - 5 years$201
Apply to be an approved agent manager$74