Consumer Affairs Act Amendment Act 1983 (Qld)

301 (ewenglaub ANNO TRICESIMO SECUNDO ELIZABETHAE SECUNDAE REGINAE No. 30 of 1983 An Act to amend the Consumer AffairsAct 1970 -1982 in certain particulars [ASSENTED TO 22ND APRIL, 1983]

302 Consumer Affairs Act Amendment Act 1983, No. 30 BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:- 1. Short title and citation . (1) This Act may be cited as the Consumer Affairs Act Amendment Act 1983. (2) In this Act the Consumer Affairs Act1970-1982 is referred to as the Principal Act. (3) The Principal Act as amended by this Act may be cited as the Consumer Affairs Act1970-1983. 2. Amendment of s. 3. Division of Act. Section 3 of the Principal Act is amended by- (a) omitting the reference " PART II-CONSUMER AFFAIRS AUTHORITIES (ss. 5-23); " and substituting the reference "PART II- CONSUMER AFFAIRS AUTHORITIES (ss. 5-23L);"; (b) inserting after the reference "Division 2-Consumer Affairs Bureau; " the reference " Division 3-Product Safety Committee ; ". 3. Amendment of s. 4 . Definitions . Section 4 of the Principal Act is amended by- (a) inserting after the definition " Commissioner " the following definition:- " CCommitttteeee " means the Product Safety Committee established under this Act;"; (b) in the definition of " sell " omitting the word " letting " and substituting the words " letting: " Sale " shall have a corresponding meaning ". 4. New Part II , Division 3. The Principal Act is amended by inserting after section 23 the following heading and sections:- " Division 3 -Product Safety Committee 23A. Product Safety Committee . (1) There shall be established a Committee to be known as the Product Safety Committee. (2) The Committee shall consist of- (a) the person for the time being holding the office, Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, or the person for the time being acting in that office, who shall be a member ex officio; (b) the nominee from time to time of the Minister for Health; and (c) such number of other members as the Minister appoints from time to time. (3) The members referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) are in this Division referred to as the " appointed members ".

Consumer Affairs Act Amendment Act 1983, No. 30 303 ( 4) The member ex officio shall be Chairman of the Committee. (5) The appointed members of the Committee shall be persons who, in the Minister's opinion, have expertise in product safety and shall be appointed by the Minister by notification published in the Gazette. 23B. Term of appointment . (1) The term of appointment of appointed members of the Committee shall be for 3 years save where the appointment is to a casual vacancy therein. (2) Every appointed member shall, subject to this Act, hold his office as a member until his term of appointment expires by effluxion of time or until his successor's appointment as a member takes effect, whichever is the later date. (3) Every appointed member is eligible for reappointment as a member. (4) The Minister for any reason appearing to him to be sufficient, may remove an appointed member from office. 23C. Casual vacancies . (1) Where a vacancy occurs in the office of an appointed member during the currency of his term of office as such member the Minister shall appoint another person to fill that vacancy. (2) A person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall, subject to this Act, be appointed and hold office for the balance of his predecessor's term of office or until his successor's appointment as a member takes effect, whichever is the later date and shall be eligible for reappointment as a member. (3) If for any reason any appointed member is unable to carry out the duties of his office as a member the Minister shall appoint some person to act as a member during the period of such inability. 23D. Vacation of Office. The office of an appointed member shall become vacant if the member- (a) dies; (b) declines to act or act further as a member; (c) resigns his office in writing under his hand addressed to the Minister (such resignation to be complete and take effect from the time it is received by the Minister); (d) is absent from three consecutive meetings of the Committee and is not excused by the Committee for his absence , either in advance or at its meeting next following his third absence; (e) is convicted upon indictment of an indictable offence; or (f) is removed from office as a member by the Minister.

304 Consumer Affairs Act Amendment Act 1983, No. 30 23E. Meetings of the Committee . (1) The Chairman of the Committee shall preside at all meetings of the Committee. (2) The Committee shall meet at such times and places and conduct its business in such manner as prescribed or, in so far as not prescribed, as it determines from time to time. (3) A quorum shall be three quarters of the members of the Committee and business shall not be conducted at a meeting of the Committee unless a quorum is present. (4) All matters before a meeting of the Committee shall be determined by the majority vote of its members present at the meeting and in the event of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a casting vote. (5) A member of the Committee who is present at a meeting and abstains from voting shall be taken to have voted in the negative. 23F. Validity of Acts. No act or proceeding of the Committee shall be invalid or unlawful by reason only of any defect in the membership or appointment of any member thereof or a vacancy in the membership of the Committee at the time of that act or proceeding. 23G. Fees and allowances . (1) Subject to subsection (2), each member shall be paid such fees and allowances, if any, as the Governor in Council from time to time determines. (2) Fees and allowances shall not be paid to a member who is an officer of the Public Service of Queensland for attendance at any meeting held during ordinary office working hours of that officer. 23H. Committee may obtain advice. (1) The Committee may co-opt any person who in its opinion has expertise in product safety to advise it in relation to any question referred to it by the Minister or the Commissioner. (2) A person co-opted pursuant to subsection (1) shall for the purposes of this Division be deemed to be a member of the Committee during the period he is co-opted. 231. Reference of Questions to the Committee . The Minister or the Commissioner may request the Committee to consider whether the sale of any particular goods, or goods of a class or description specified, should be prohibited or allowed only subject to conditions or restrictions on the ground that they are likely to cause death or injury to the body or health of any person. 23J. Committee to report to Minister or Commissioner . (1) The Committee shall, on reference of any matter to it by the Minister or the Commissioner, conduct investigations in respect of that matter and make recommendations in a report to the Minister or the Commissioner whoever referred the matter to it.

Consumer Affairs Act Amendment Act 1983, No. 30 305 (2) Where a member or members of the Committee disagrees with the recommendations of the Committee this fact, and the reasons, if any, for the disagreement shall be included in the report to the Minister or the Commissioner. (3) Any report or recommendation made to the Minister or the Commissioner shall be confidential and shall not, except with the consent of the Minister, be disclosed or made available to any person. 23K. Commissioner to assist investigations . (1) The Commissioner shall, if so requested by the Committee, provide it with- (a) all documentation and information that relates to the matter being considered ; and (b) any other assistance which he is able to give regarding the matter being considered. (2) The Commissioner shall assign an officer of the Bureau to perform the duties of Secretary to the Committee. 23L. Powers of Committee to investigate matters . The Committee shall in considering any matter- (a) take into account any representations made to it by any person that, in its opinion, has a substantial interest in the matter; and (b) conduct such other investigations as it considers necessary to enable it to make a recommendation with respect to the matter.". 5. Amendment of s. 39A. Minister may make orders prohibiting or restricting sale of dangerous goods. Section 39A of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsections:- " (4) The Minister shall, before he makes an order under subsection (1), cause to be given to every person that in his opinion has a substantial interest in the matter, a notice in writing accompanied by a copy of the order he intends to make calling on that person to show cause in writing why he should not make that order. (5) A person that has been called upon to show cause by the Minister shall, if he wishes to do so, make written submissions to the Minister so that these submissions are received by the Minister within 7 days of receipt by that person of the notice and copy of the order from the Minister and the Minister shall consider any submissions received by him within ( t1h)e>p, eriod specified prior to taking any further action under subsection 6. Amendment of s. 39B. Offence to contravene order under s. 39A. Section 39B of the Principal Act is amended by inserting at the foot of the section the words " Penalty: $10,000.". 7. Amendment of s. 42. Extent of authority to make disclosures for purposes of Act and of protection for such disclosures and for things done under Act. Section 42 of the Principal Act is amended in subsection (4)

306 ConsumerAffairsAct Amendment Act, 1983, No. 30 by omitting the words " any member of the Council " and substituting the words " the Minister, any member of the Council or the Committee ".