Good luck Muttley.
I was Melbourne's first "card carrying" "official busker". It happened because I went into the Melbourne Town Hall and asked for a permit to busk. Nobody had ever asked for permission before and the nice man behind the counter didn't know what to do so he gave me a letter of authority. Several months later the council started giving us cards. I got the first one. No auditions. No unreasonable rules. Things are different now I'm sure.

Don't know what the moral of this story is -- but I imagine it's got one.
Cheers, Joy