Fire Brigade Charges Refund Act 1977 (Qld)

110 ANNO V1C IMO SEXTO No. 12 of 19 77 An Act L provide for th e ref und fire L - . e cha rg es and for "ny-holders c ;" ce in ciden t ' :- -`^ [ASSENTED TO 14TH APRIL, 1977] 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 . This Act may be cited as the Fire Brigade Charges Refund Act 1977. 2. Interpretation . (1) In this Act, save where a contrary intention appears-- Fund " means the Fire Brigades Precepts Special Fund established under this Act; " owner of property" means an owner of property to whom Part IV of the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1976 applies; " policy-holder" means the holder of a policy of fire insurance (other than a policy of comprehensive insurance on a motor vehicle) whose insured risk is situated in the State but outside a district;

F i r e Brigade Charges R e f u n d Act 1977, No. 12 1S1 (2) In this Act, the terms " contributory company ", " Council ", " district " and " fire insurance " have the meanings assigned to them respectively by the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1976. (3) Section 37 of the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1976 shall apply for the purposes of this Act as if it were a provision of this Act. 3. Liability of contributory company and owner of property for additional contribution for year 1977-1978. Each contributory company and owner of property shall, during the year commencing on 1st July 1977 and ending on 30th June 1978 in addition to the contribution assessed provisionally in respect of that company or owner in accordance with section 41 of the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1976, pay to the Council an amount equal to 10 per centum of the total contribution so assessed. The method of obtaining payment of such additional contribution shall be that prescribed by section 41 of the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1976 and that section shall, with all necessary adaptations, apply and extend accordingly. 4. The Fire Brigades Precepts Special Fund , (1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be established and kept at the Treasury a fund to be called the " Fire Brigades Precepts Special Fund ". (2) There shall be paid into the Fund all moneys comprising contributions and other moneys received by the Council under sections 3 and 8. _(3) There shall be paid out of the Fund all moneys comprising refunds payable to policy-holders in accordance with this Act. (4) Moneys standing to the credit of the Fund after all claims made in accordance with this Act have been satisfied shall be paid to the credit of The Fire Brigades Precepts Trust Fund maintained for the purposes of the Fire Brigades Act 1964-1976 and applied towards contributions to be paid by contributory companies and owners of property that have paid additional contributions in accordance with section 3 in respect of the year commencing on 1st July 1979 and thereupon the Fund shall be closed. (5) Where there are insufficient moneys in the Fund to meet a payment required by this Act to be made out of the Fund and the Council certifies accordingly, that payment shall be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund and a payment so made shall be deemed to be an advantc to the Fund and shall remain a charge thereon and shall be recouped out of the Fund immediately sufficient moneys become available therein. 5. Entitlem e nt of policy -holder. Each policy-holder shall he entitled to receive from the Fund moneys by way of a refund bcinb a -prescribed proportion of the premium in respect of fire insurance !Ili, due for payment during the year commencing on 1st July 1977 and and re on 30th June 1978 and paid by hirn, calculated as prescribed, and r.ak:aa into account any cancellation of fire insurance that occurred before the expiration of the period for which that insurance was originally taker, out.

112 Fire Brigade Charges Refund Act 1977, No. 12 6. Procedure on applications for refunds . Applications for refunds under this Act shall be made to the Council in writing and in the prescribed form (if any) on or before 31st December 1978 or. such later date as is determined by the Governor in Council by notification published in the Gazette and the applicant shall comply with the prescribed requirements with respect thereto. 7. Liability of contributory company with respect to excess charges. Where a policy-holder who is entitled to a refund in accordance with this Act has been notified by the contributory company that a specified portion of the fire insurance premium paid by him in respect of which the entitlement arises is a fire brigade charge (by whatever name called) and that charge exceeds the refund to which the policy-holder is so entitled, then the contributory. company shall pay to the policy-holder the difference between the amount of that charge and that refund. 8. Additional payments by contributory companies and owners of property where Fund in debit . Where claims made in accordance with this Act that have been satisfied out of the Fund exceed the total amount of additional contributions paid by contributory companies and owners of property under this Act, those companies and owners of property shall pay to the Council the difference between those claims and contributions in proportion to the contributions paid by them in respect of the year commencing on 1st July 1977 and ending on 30th June 1978. 9. Unpaid moneys to form part of contribution . Moneys due and owing to the Council under section 8 and remaining unpaid shall be included by the Council in and form part of the contribution to be paid by a contributory company or owner of property during the year commencing on 1st July 1978 or such subsequent year as the Council determines. 10. False statements . (1) A person shall not' knowingly make a false statement in or any material omission from any application made in accordance with this Act. (2) The court shall, upon convicting a person on a charge for an offence against subsection (1) where it is satisfied that that person obtained from the Council as a result of the false statement or material omission moneys by way of a refund in accordance with this Act, in addition to any penalty to which he is liable upon conviction, order him to pay to the Council the amount of moneys so'obtained. 11. Offences generally and penalty . (1) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act commits an offence against this Act. (2) A person who commits an offence against this Act is liable to a penalty of $200. . 12. Proceedings for off ences. A prosecution for an offence against this Act shall be taken by way of summary proceedings under the JusticesAct1886-1975 and may be instituted upon the complaint of a person authorized by the chairman of the Council. In a proceeding for an offence against this Act it shall not be necessary to prove the authority of the complainant.

Fire Brigade Charges Refund Act 1977, No. 12 113 13. Regulations . The Governor in Council may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act for or with respect to all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed and all matters that in the opinion of the Governor in Council are necessary or convenient for the proper administration of this Act or to achieve the objects and purposes of this Act.