Australia Council Amendment Act 1980 (Cth)

Australia Council Amendment Act 1980

No. 114 of 1980

An Act to amend the Australia Council Act 1975

[Assented to 8 September 1980]

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:

Short title, &c.

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Australia Council Amendment Act 1980.

(2) The Australia Council Act 1975 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

Commencement

2. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), this Act (other than sections 25, 26, 27 and 28) shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(2) An amendment made by this Act shall not take effect until such date as is fixed by Proclamation with respect to that amendment.

(3) A Proclamation under sub-section (2) may relate to 2 or more, or to all, of the amendments made by this Act.

(4) Sections 25, 26, 27 and 28 shall come into operation as provided in those sections.

Functions of Council

3. Section 5 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (b).

Public lending right scheme

4. Section 5a of the Principal Act is repealed.

Delegation

5. Section 7 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting paragraph (f) of sub-section (1) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(f) an officer or employee appointed or engaged, as the case may be, under section 41.”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (2) “a Board or”; and

(c) by omitting from sub-section (2) “the Board or” (wherever occurring).

Membership of Council

6. Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting sub-section (1) and substituting the following sub-section:

“(1) The number of members of the Council shall be not less than 10 nor more than 14.”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (2) “The Council” and substituting “Subject to sub-section (4b), the Council”;

 

(c) by omitting paragraph (b) of sub-section (2) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(b) such number (not being less than 2) of persons as the Governor-General thinks fit, each of whom is the Chairman of a Board;”;

(d) by adding at the end of paragraph (c) of sub-section (2) “and”;

(e) by omitting paragraph (d) of sub-section (2);

(f) by omitting paragraph (e) of sub-section (2) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(e) subject to sub-sections (1) and (4), such number of other persons who practise or have practised the arts or are otherwise associated with the arts as the Governor-General thinks fit.”;

(g) by omitting sub-sections (3) and (4) and substituting the following sub-sections:

“(3) The members of the Council shall be appointed by the Governor-General and, subject to sub-section (4a), shall be so appointed as part-time members.

“(4) In appointing members of the Council referred to in paragraph (2) (e), the Governor-General shall endeavour to ensure that—

(a) a majority of the members holding office pursuant to that paragraph are persons who practise or have practised the arts; and

(b) the membership of the Council includes a reasonable balance of persons who practise or have practised the various arts.

“(4a) The Chairman may be appointed either as a full-time member or as a part-time member.

“(4b) In the event that the Chairman is a part-time member, the person from time to time holding, or performing the duties of, the office of General Manager is, ex officio, a member of the Council.”; and

(h) by omitting from paragraph (b) of sub-section (5) “15” and substituting “10”.

Term of office

7. Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after sub-section (4) the following sub-sections:

“(4a) A person who has attained the age of 65 years shall not be appointed, or re-appointed, as a full-time Chairman of the Council and a person shall not be appointed, or re-appointed, as a full-time Chairman of the Council for a period that extends beyond the date on which he will attain the age of 65 years.

“(4b) A member of the Council appointed under paragraph 9(2)(b) holds office until he ceases to be the Chairman of the relevant Board.”.

8. Section 12 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted:

Leave of absence

“12. The Minister may grant leave of absence to a full-time Chairman of the Council on such terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise as the Minister determines.”.

9. Section 14 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted:

Termination of appointment

“14. (1) The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of a member of the Council by reason of misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.

“(2) If—

(a) a member of the Council—

(i) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his creditors or makes an assignment of his remuneration for their benefit; or

(ii) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with his obligations under section 19;

(b) a full-time Chairman of the Council—

(i) engages, without the consent of the Minister, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or

(ii) is absent from duty, except on leave of absence granted by the Minister, for 14 consecutive days or for 28 days in any period of 12 months; or

(c) a part-time member of the Council is, except with the permission of the Council, absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the Council,

the Governor-General shall terminate the appointment of that member.

“(3) In this section, ‘member of the Council’ does not include the General Manager.”.

10. Section 19 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted:

Disclosure of interest

“19. (1) A member of the Council who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter being considered or about to be considered by the Council shall, as soon as possible after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Council.

“(2) A disclosure under sub-section (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Council and the member shall not—

(a) be present during any deliberation of the Council with respect to that matter; or

(b) take part in any decision of the Council with respect to that matter.”.

Acting General Manager

11. Section 19e of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (5) all the words after the words “General Manager” (second occurring).

Termination of office

12. Section 19f of the Principal Act is amended by inserting in paragraph (e) of sub-section (2) “without reasonable excuse” after “fails”.

Establishment of Boards

13. Section 20 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-sections:

“(2) The Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette,revoke the notice under sub-section (1) by which a Board was established.

“(3) A notice under sub-section (2) shall take effect on a date specified in the notice, not being a date earlier than the date of publication of the notice.

“(4) Where a notice under sub-section (2) is published in the Gazette, then, on the day on which the notice takes effect—

(a) the Board to which the notice relates ceases to exist; and

(b) the members of the Board cease to hold office as such members.”.

Functions and powers of Boards

14. Section 21 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:

“(3) The Council may, by writing under its common seal, give directions to a Board with respect to the exercise of its powers or the performance of its functions under sub-section (1) or (2), including a direction requiring a Board to act, or refrain from acting, as specified in the direction with respect to a particular matter specified in the direction.”.

Membership of Boards

15. Section 22 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end of sub-section (6) “and to any recommendations from that list made to him by the Board”.

Leave of absence

16. Section 25 of the Principal Act is repealed.

Termination of office

17. Section 27 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:

“(2) If a member of a Board fails without reasonable excuse to comply with his obligations under section 19 or 31, the Minister shall terminate the appointment of the member.”.

Acting Chairman

18. Section 28 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (c) of sub-section (5) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(c) if the Chairman is a member of the Council by virtue of an appointment under paragraph 9(2)(b)—the person acting as Chairman shall be deemed to be such a member.”.

19. Section 31 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted:

Disclosure of interest

“31. (1) A member of a Board who has a direct or indirect pecuniary interest in a matter being considered or about to be considered by the Board shall, as soon as possible after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge, disclose the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Board.

 

“(2) A disclosure under sub-section (1) shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the Board and the member shall not—

(a) be present during any deliberation of the Board with respect to that matter; or

(b) take part in any decision of the Board with respect to that matter.”.

Contracts and borrowing

20. Section 34 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (2) and substituting the following sub-sections:

“(2) In sub-section (1), ‘contract’ does not include a contract entered into by the Council in the course of the exercise of its powers under paragraph 6(1)(f).

“(3) The Council shall not borrow moneys from any person.”.

21. After section 36 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Investment

“36a. (1) The Council may invest moneys in the course of the direct performance of its functions.

“(2) Moneys of the Council that are not immediately required to be expended may be invested—

(a) on deposit with a bank that is an approved bank within the meaning of section 35;

(b) in securities of the Commonwealth; or

(c) in any other manner approved by the Treasurer.

“(3) The Council shall not invest moneys otherwise than in accordance with this section.”.

Taxation

22. Section 40 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting “other than Papua New Guinea”.

23. After section 41 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Person holding two offices

“41aa. Where a member of the Council is also the Chairman of a Board, he is entitled to remuneration in respect of each office.”.

Regulations

24. Section 44 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (2).

Transitional provision with respect to the number of members of the Australia Council

25. (1) Until a date to be fixed by Proclamation for the purposes of this section, the number of members of the Australia Council may exceed the maximum number specified by the Principal Act, as amended by paragraph 6(a) of this Act, but shall not exceed the maximum number specified by the Principal Act.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the date on which the amendment made by paragraph 6(a) takes effect.

Transitional provision with respect to Chairmen of Boards

26. (1) Notwithstanding the amendment made by paragraph 6(c), a person who—

(a) immediately before the commencement of this section held office as a member of the Australia Council by reason of his being the Chairman of a Board; and

(b) was appointed to be the Chairman of that Board before 1 July 1980,

continues to hold office as a member of that Council until the expiration of his period of appointment as the Chairman of that Board unless he earlier ceases to be the Chairman of that Board in accordance with the Australia Council Act 1975, as in force from time to time.

(2) Sub-section (1)—

(a) does not apply in relation to a member of the Australia Council appointed under paragraph 9(2)(b) of the Australia Council Act 1975, being an appointment that takes effect on the date of commencement of this section; and

(b) ceases to apply to a person referred to in that sub-section if he is appointed as a member of the Australia Council under paragraph 9(2)(b) of the Australia Council Act 1975, being an appointment that takes effect after the date of commencement of this section.

(3) If a person referred to in sub-section (1) is, except with the permission of the Australia Council, absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the Australia Council, the Minister may, by notice published in the Gazette, declare that the person ceases to be a member of the Australia Council on the date of publication of the notice and, thereupon, this section ceases to apply in relation to that person.

(4) This section shall come into operation on the date on which the amendment made by paragraph 6(c) takes effect.

Transitional provision with respect to General Manager

27. (1) Notwithstanding the amendment made by paragraph 6(e), a person who, immediately before the commencement of this section, held office as a member of the Australia Council by reason of being the General Manager of that Council continues so to hold office, but shall cease to hold office as a member of that Council in accordance with the Australia Council Act 1975, as in force from time to time.

(2) This section shall come into operation on the date on which the amendment made by paragraph 6(e) takes effect.

Transitional provision with respect to certain members of the Australia Council

28. (1) Notwithstanding the amendment made by paragraph 6 (f), a person who immediately before the commencement of this section, held office as a member of the Australia Council by virtue of an appointment under paragraph 9(2)(e) of the Australia Council Act 1975 continues to hold that office until the expiration of his period of appointment unless he earlier ceases to be a member of that Council in accordance with the Australia Council Act 1975, as in force from time to time.

(2)