We will send a notification 60 days before the licence expiry date inviting you (or the responsible person for an organisation) to lodge a renewal application in myCAV.
When you receive this notification you should lodge your renewal application via myCAV as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days before the expiry date.
If your licence has not been renewed by the expiry date it will automatically expire in accordance with section 20 of the Rooming House Operators Act 2016.
Once the licence expires, you will need to lodge a new licence application. The Business Licensing Authority (BLA) has no discretion in this regard.
How to apply
You must use myCAV to renew your licence.
The licensed rooming house operator (or responsible person for an organisation) will need to create a myCAV account (or log into their existing account, if they already have one).
To successfully lodge your renewal application, you must:
- complete and lodge the licence renewal application online, and
- upload all required attachments (see Required additional documents below), and
- pay the fee through the online payment gateway.
For more information, view About myCAV.
Renewal notifications
80 days before the expiry date of the licence, we will send you or the responsible person of an organisation, an ‘upcoming renewal advice’ notification via your myCAV account.
60 days before the expiry date, we will send you a myCAV notification inviting you to lodge a renewal application via myCAV.
Reminders
We will also send reminder notifications via myCAV and SMS both 40 days and 14 days before the expiry date.
Eligibility
You will not be a ‘fit and proper person’ and therefore not eligible to be licensed if any of the ‘licence renewal disqualification criteria’ set out in section 18 of the Rooming House Operators Act 2016 are met by:
- you
- any of your officers (if you are an organisation applying for a licence), or
- any manager you engage to operate a rooming house on your behalf.
The BLA will refuse to renew your licence in these circumstances. The ‘renewal disqualification criteria’ are almost identical to the criteria for a licence application but focus on events that may have occurred during the current licence period.
For more information, view Rooming house operator licensing disqualification.
Records checks
You must provide proof of your identity as part of your renewal application.
You may be able to do this by verifying your identity online. For more information, view Identity verification.
If you can’t complete online identity verification, you must submit certified copies of four identity documents and a signed consent form with your myCAV application. The correct documents, properly certified, will help your application avoid delays. For more information, view Records checks.
The BLA will conduct checks with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), local councils and other agencies to verify the information provided in the application. Any disputes about the accuracy of the results of the checks will be referred to ACIC.
Required additional documents
The BLA requires the following for an individual applicant, each relevant person including all officers of a body corporate (companies, incorporated associations and co-operatives) renewal applicant and nominated rooming house managers:
If you do not have the required documentation for each relevant person when completing the application in myCAV, you can choose to send a request via email to the person inviting them to provide their own information directly to the BLA. You cannot submit the renewal application for processing until the person has submitted the required information.
Licence renewal period
As part of the licence renewal process, the licensee has the option to choose a three, four or five year renewal period. Each period attracts a different licence fee which you can view at Fees for rooming house operators.
The BLA will take into consideration the period chosen and, if renewed, confirm the approved licence period.
Note: The BLA may determine that the licence renewal period will be shorter (but not less than three years) than the period chosen by the licensee. If this is the case, the licensee will receive a refund of the difference in licence fee.
Fees
For the full schedule of fees, view Fees for rooming house operators.
Refusal of renewal
If your licence renewal application is refused, we will send you a refusal letter, which includes details of the grounds of refusal via myCAV notifications.
In very limited circumstances you can appeal the BLA’s decision to VCAT within 28 days from the refusal date on the grounds that the refusal was based on an error of fact in relation to whether a relevant person meets any of the renewal disqualification criteria. If you do not lodge an appeal within this time, we will send you a licence expiry notification via myCAV and by post.
Unlicensed trading
Significant fines apply for operating a rooming house without a licence. For more information, view Penalties.