Information about Council's community initiatives and support.
Information about Council's regular services and programs.
Information about doing business and investing in the shire.
Information about how Council operates.
An issue has come to Council’s attention relating to trading for larger businesses over the Easter period
Monday 21 March 2016
An issue has come to Council’s attention relating to trading for larger businesses over the Easter period. It appears that unless a business is exempt under the Retail Trading Act 2008, or was granted exemption under the Shops and Industries Act 1962, those businesses need to apply for exemption from NSW Industrial Relations to open on a restricted trading day.
These restricted trading days are Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Operators of shops and businesses in the Shire have the choice of applying for an exemption, however it should be noted that many small business types are already covered by exemptions granted by NSW Industrial Relations. These include:
The specific Local Government Area exemptions referred to in the Retail Trading Act 2008 apply trading periods for the Bega Valley as “12 days coinciding with School Holidays in April-May and the last 14 days in December.” Obviously as Easter has fallen within school holidays for many years this has not been an issue for some time. Of the 152 Councils in NSW only 38 have exemptions for the Easter period, Bega Valley has the one mentioned above and the rest do not have this general exemption at all.
In the last four years individual shops and larger companies have sought exemptions but most have not been successful.
Council is considering possible solutions for this year and Mayor Michael Britten has contacted local member Andrew Constance and Minister for Industrial Relations, Gladys Berejiklian, to see if they can assist local traders. Council will work with local Chambers of Commerce and the Business Forum to make a submission to have the gazettal notice amended to cover Easter for future years.
For more information, please visit the NSW Industrial Relations website
All media enquiries and interview requests are coordinated by Council's Communication and Events team under the adopted Communications Policy. To view this policy, visit Public Policies and search 'communications'.
To submit a media enquiry or to request an interview:
Councillors can be contacted directly for enquiries regarding decisions of the elected Council and non-operational matters. Interviews with the Mayor should be arranged through the Communication and Events team contact details above.
If you’re a journalist or media organisation that would like to receive media releases and notifications about media opportunities, please email your name, title and contact details to media@begavalley.nsw.gov.au and we will add you to our distribution list.
You can also subscribe to Bega Valley Together and Business News, Council's fortnightly e-newsletters, or follow @begavalleyshirecouncil on Facebook and Instagram.
Zingel Place
PO Box 492
Bega NSW 2550
Monday to Friday 9.00AM to 4.30PM
Administration building Zingel Place Bega
Australia
ABN: 26 987 935 332
Was this helpful?