| Home | Forms | Publications | Requests | Fees and Payments | Contact Us
In early 1987 the National Cooperative Scheme for the Regulation of Travel Agents (the National Scheme) was established to licence and regulate travel agents, and to provide protection for the travel consumer when paid services were not provided by the agent.
The National Scheme is in two parts, consisting of a self funding national compensation scheme know as the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF), and a licensing authority for travel agents in each participating state and territory - in Tasmania, this is the Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading. These two requirements of licensing and TCF membership mean that those wishing to operate in the travel agents industry must satisfy strict criteria covering:
To ensure that these requirements are met, the Scheme has a co-regulatory feature where a person considered not suitable to be licensed by the State authority would not be accepted into the TCF, and a person who does not meet the criteria for financial viability, as assessed by the Fund, would not be licensed.
The participation of Tasmania in the national scheme is provided for under the Travel Agents Act 1987.
Further information on the Travel Compensation Fund is available on their separate pages.
The Travel Agents Act 1987 requires the availability of a public register of travel agents licensed to operate in Tasmania. Click here to view the register.
You will need a PDF viewer such as Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view PDF documents. Please contact us if you have difficulty viewing or printing the document.
In early 1987 the National Cooperative Scheme for the Regulation of Travel Agents (the National Scheme) was established to licence and regulate travel agents, and to provide protection for the travel consumer when paid services were not provided by the agent.
The participation of Tasmania in the national scheme is provided for under the Tasmanian Travel Agents Act 1987, and through a Participation Agreement signed by each participating state and territory.
The Travel Agents Licensing Board existed from 1987 to 2007. The Board members were appointed by the Minister. The role of TALB was to undertake the compulsory licensing and related compliance activities of travel agents. It provided a forum for industry stakeholders and the general public to raise issues relating to travel. Following consultation with the licensed travel agents operating in Tasmania, a decision was made to disband TALB. This took effect on 24 October 2007.
The Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading has taken over the role of TALB and assists the Director of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading with all administrative, advisory and consultative functions under the Travel Agents Act 1987 as well as ongoing communication between the travel industry and Goverment on relevant issues.
A requirement of the Travel Agents Act 1987 was for the Travel Agents Licensing Board (TALB) to produce an Annual Report to table in Parliament. Copies from 1999-2007 are available on our website. Previous copies are available at the Office of Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading during business hours.
To view the Anuual Reports you should have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. To download a copy of the free PDF reader Adobe Acrobat, click on the icon below and follow the download instructions.
Link to adobe acrobat web site
Annual Report 2006 - 2007
[63kb / 16 pages]
Annual Report 2005 - 2006
Annual Report 2004 - 2005
Annual Report 2003 - 2004
Annual Report 2002 - 2003
Annual Report 2001 - 2002
Annual Report 2000 - 2001
Annual Report 1999 - 2000
The Act also requires the Office of Consumer Affairs & Fair Trading to keep a register of licence holders. A list of travel agents licensed in Tasmania is included at the end of each Annual Report. However, it is only current to the time of the Report's writing. For more up to date information, contact Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading on 1300 654 499.
