The Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is progressively updating certain formatting styles in versions of NSW in force legislation published from 29 July 2019. For example, colons are being replaced by em-rules (em-dashes). Text of the legislation is not affected.
This version has been updated.
An Act to protect the community from disruption to essential services; and for related purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Essential Services Act 1988.
This Act commences on the date of assent.
In this Act—
In this Act, a reference to the provision of an essential service includes a reference to the conduct, performance, maintenance, supply and distribution of an essential service.
In this Act, a reference to the community includes a reference to any part of the community.
In this Act—
(a) a reference to function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and
(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.
For the purposes of this Act, a service is an essential service if it consists of any of the following—
(a) the production, supply or distribution of any form of energy, power or fuel or of energy, power or fuel resources,
(b) the public transportation of persons or the transportation of freight (including the provision of rail infrastructure for those purposes),
(c) the provision of fire-fighting services,
(d) the provision of public health services (including hospital or medical services),
(e) the provision of ambulance services,
(f) the production, supply or distribution of pharmaceutical products,
(g) the provision of garbage, sanitary cleaning or sewerage services,
(h) the supply or distribution of water,
(i) the conduct of a welfare institution,
(j) the conduct of a prison,
(k) a service declared to be an essential service under subsection (2),
(l) a service comprising the supply of goods or services necessary for providing any service referred to in paragraphs (a)–(k).
The Governor may, by order published on the NSW legislation website, declare any service to be an essential service for the purposes of this Act.
To avoid doubt, the regulation of bulk water supply by the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation in the exercise of its rights…