Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 (Vic)
Version No. 012
Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
No. 105 of 1997
Version incorporating amendments as at
1 July 2024
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
Part 1—Preliminary
1Purpose
2Commencement
3Definitions
4Operation of Act
5Act binds the Crown
Part 2—Snowy Hydro Company
6Shares of State in Company
6ADocuments to be laid before each House of Parliament
7Referral of power to the Parliament of Commonwealth
8Company and subsidiaries not agency of State etc.
9Tax equivalents payable by New South Wales
10Government guarantees
Part 3—Transfers
Division 1—Transfer of existing Snowy hydro undertaking to Company
11Transfer to Company of assets and liabilities of Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority
12Transfer to Company of assets and liabilities of the State of Victoria
13Agreement relating to Commonwealth debt
Division 2—Transfer of electricity transmission undertaking to TransGrid
14Transfer to TransGrid of existing Snowy electricity transmission undertaking
Division 3—Transfer of existing staff
15Transfer to Company of employees of Authority
17Variations of terms and conditions of employment
Part 4—Miscellaneous
18Sharing of land tax with Commonwealth and Victoria
19Treasurer may execute agreements on behalf of State
20Exemption from State taxation
21Excluded matters for purposes of Corporations Act
21ACorporations legislation displacement provision
22Amendment of Register
23Company's financial statements and reports to be laid before the Parliament
24Regulations
Part 5—Repeals, consequential amendments and transitional
28Termination and amendment of certain existing agreements relating to Snowy Mountains Scheme
29Authority and Council abolished
30Savings, transitional and other provisions
Schedules
Schedule 1—Provisions relating to transfer of undertakings
Schedule 2—Savings, transitional and other provisions
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Endnotes
1 General information
2 Table of Amendments
3 Explanatory details
Version No. 012
Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
No. 105 of 1997
Version incorporating amendments as at
1 July 2024
The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:
PART 1—PRELIMINARY
1Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to reform the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme by corporatising the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority and making related changes to the Scheme.
2Commencement
(1)This Part comes into operation on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
(2)Section 26(2) is deemed to have come into operation on 9 August 1995.
(3)The remaining provisions of this Act come into operation on a day or days to be proclaimed.
3Definitions
(1)In this Act—
assets means any legal or equitable estate or interest (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent) in real or personal property of any description, and includes—
(a)money, securities, choses in action and documents; and
(b)rights, powers, privileges and immunities (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent), except any immunity or privilege of the Crown in any capacity;
Commonwealth Corporatisation Act means the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 of the Commonwealth;
corporatisation date means the date on which the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949 of the Commonwealth is repealed by the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act;
existing Snowy electricity transmission undertaking means the assets and liabilities of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, the Snowy Mountains Council, the Commonwealth, the State of New South Wales, the State of Victoria, or authorities of the Commonwealth or any such State, that are transferred to TransGrid by orders under this Act, the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act;
existing Snowy hydro undertaking means—
(a)the assets and liabilities of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority and the Snowy Mountains Council that are transferred to the Snowy Hydro Company by this Act or by the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act; and
(b)the assets and liabilities of the Commonwealth, the State of New South Wales, the State of Victoria, or authorities of the Commonwealth or any such State, that are transferred to the Snowy Hydro Company by orders under this Act, the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act;
liabilities means any liabilities, debts and obligations (whether present or future and whether vested or contingent);
New South Wales Corporatisation Act means the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 of New South Wales;
share, in relation to a company, means a share in the capital of the company;
Snowy Hydro Company or Company means Snowy Hydro Limited;
Snowy hydro-group company means the Snowy Hydro Company or a subsidiary of that Company;
Snowy Mountains Council means the Snowy Mountains Council referred to in Part VI of the agreement set out in Schedule 1 to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949 of the Commonwealth;
SnowyMountains Hydro-electric Authority or Authority means the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority referred to in the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949 of the Commonwealth;
transferred employee means a person who, under Division 3 of Part 3, is taken to have been engaged as an employee of the Snowy Hydro Company;
TransGrid means the New South Wales Electricity Transmission Authority constituted under the Electricity Transmission Authority Act 1994 of New South Wales.
(2)For the purposes of this Act, the question of whether a body corporate is a subsidiary of another body corporate is to be determined in the same way as that question is determined under the Corporations Act.
4Operation of Act
It is the intention of the Parliament that this Act—
(a)is to operate concurrently with the Commonwealth and New South Wales Corporatisation Acts; and
(b)is to have effect only to the extent to which it is within the legislative power of the Parliament.
5Act binds the Crown
This Act binds the Crown not only in right of Victoria but also, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
PART 2—SNOWY HYDRO COMPANY
6Shares of State in Company
(1)Subject to subsection (2A), the State of Victoria may acquire, hold, dispose of or deal with shares in the Snowy Hydro Company.
(2)Shares in the Snowy Hydro Company held by the State of Victoria, being the initial issue to the State of shares in the Company—
(a)are taken to have been fully paid up; and
(b)are taken to have been issued for valuable consideration, being the relevant percentage of the value of the existing Snowy hydro undertaking.
(2A)The State of Victoria must not dispose of or transfer shares held by it in the Snowy Hydro Company without the approval of each House of Parliament given by a resolution passed by that House.
(3)For the purposes of this section—
(a)the value of the existing Snowy hydro undertaking is the value determined by agreement between the State of New South Wales, the Commonwealth and the State of Victoria; and
(b)the relevant percentage of that value is the percentage of all issued shares in the Snowy Hydro Company that are shares initially issued to the State of Victoria.
6ADocuments to be laid before each House of Parliament
(1)The member of Parliament who gives notice in a House of Parliament of a resolution to approve the disposal or transfer of shares held by the State of Victoria in the Snowy Hydro Company must cause a copy of any relevant document to be laid before that House on the day on which that notice is given.
Note
Section 6(2A) prevents the State from disposing of or transferring its shares in the Snowy Hydro Company without the approval of each House of Parliament by resolution.
(2)For the purposes of subsection (1) a relevant document is any agreement (including an agreement effected by exchange of letters) entered into by the State of Victoria with the State of New South Wales or any other party, in connection with, or that is otherwise relevant to, the proposed disposal or transfer of shares, being an agreement that deals with—
(a)water flows (including environmental flows and flows to farmers or irrigators or any other person); or
(b)the issue, review, variation, revocation, renewal or transfer of a licence under Part 5 of the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 of New South Wales; or
(c)the constitution (for the time being) of the Snowy Hydro Company or the modification or repeal of that constitution or the adoption by that Company of a new constitution; or
(d)the Snowy Water Inquiry Outcomes Implementation Deed entered into on behalf of the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victoria on 3 June 2002 or the amendment or revocation of that Deed; or
(e)the supply of information between the Snowy Hydro Company and the Murray-Darling Basin Authority established under the Water Act 2007 of the Commonwealth; or
(f)the Agreement within the meaning of the Murray-Darling Basin Act 1993 or any proposed amendment of that Agreement.
(3)Nothing in this section prevents the member of Parliament from causing a copy of any other document to be laid before the House together with any document required by this section to be so laid and the member may do so if he or she thinks fit.
7Referral of power to the Parliament of Commonwealth
(1)The matter of the Commonwealth of Australia holding shares in the Snowy Hydro Company, to the extent to which it is not otherwise included in the legislative powers of the Parliament of the Commonwealth, is referred to the Parliament of the Commonwealth for a period commencing on the day on which this section commences and ending on the day fixed under subsection (2) as the day on which the reference under this section terminates, but no longer.
(2)The Governor in Council may, at any time, by Order published in the Government Gazette, fix a day as the day on which the reference under this section terminates.
(3)In this section, a reference to holding shares includes a reference to acquiring, disposing of or dealing with those shares.
8Company and subsidiaries not agency of State etc.
(1)A Snowy hydro-group company is not, and does not represent, the State of Victoria.
(2)Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a Snowy hydro-group company—
(a)is not an instrumentality or agency of the State of Victoria; and
(b)is not entitled to any immunity or privilege of the State of Victoria; and
(c)is not a public authority for any purpose and is taken not to have been constituted or established for a public purpose or for a purpose of the State of Victoria.
(3)This section has effect subject to any express provision to the contrary made by any law of Victoria.
9Tax equivalents payable by New South Wales
(1)The Treasurer may make an agreement with the Treasurer of New South Wales for the payment to Victoria of such proportion of a payment made by the Snowy Hydro Company under section 9 of the New South Wales Corporatisation Act as is equal to the proportion of the shares in the Company held by Victoria during the period in respect of which the payment is made.
(2)The Treasurer may approve the nomination by the Premier of New South Wales of a person to be the Tax Assessor for the Snowy Hydro Company for the purposes of section 9 of the New South Wales Corporatisation Act.
10Government guarantees
(1)The liabilities of a Snowy hydro-group company are not guaranteed by the State of Victoria.
(2)However, the State of Victoria may agree to guarantee obligations of a Snowy hydro-group company with respect to any debt owed by a Snowy hydro-group company to the Commonwealth on the corporatisation date until the debt is repaid.
(3)Any liability arising from any such agreed guarantee is to be met out of the Consolidated Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.
(4)Any such agreed guarantee may provide for charges to be paid by a Snowy hydro-group company for the benefit of the guarantee.
PART 3—TRANSFERS
Division 1—Transfer of existing Snowy hydro undertaking to Company
11Transfer to Company of assets and liabilities of Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority
(1)Subject to this section, the assets and liabilities of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, immediately before the corporatisation date, are transferred to the Snowy Hydro Company.
(2)The assets and liabilities transferred by this section include the assets and liabilities (if any) of the Snowy Mountains Council. For the purposes of this Act, any such assets and liabilities are taken to be the assets and liabilities of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority.
(3)The liabilities transferred by this section include any liability, immediately before the corporatisation date, arising from the works constructed or the activities carried out (or purporting to be constructed or carried out) under the agreements terminated by section 28(1) (being a liability of the Authority, the Commonwealth, the State of New South Wales, the State of Victoria or any authority of the Commonwealth or any such State). For the purposes of this Act, any such liability is taken to be a liability of the Authority.
(4)The assets and liabilities transferred by this section do not include the assets and liabilities that are transferred to TransGrid by an order under section 14.
(5)The assets transferred by this section do not include stored water.
(6)Schedule 1 applies to the transfer of assets and liabilities under this section.
12Transfer to Company of assets and liabilities of the State of Victoria
(1)The Minister may, by order in writing and in accordance with an agreement between the Commonwealth and the States of New South Wales and Victoria, direct that such assets or liabilities of the State of Victoria relating to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme (including those relating to the trading of electricity generated by that Scheme), as are specified or referred to in the order, be transferred to the Snowy Hydro Company.
(2)An order under this section may be combined with an order under the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act that transfers assets or liabilities to the Snowy Hydro Company.
(3)Schedule 1 applies to an order under this section.
13Agreement relating to Commonwealth debt
(1)The State of Victoria may enter into an agreement with the Commonwealth and the State of New South Wales with respect to liabilities of the Authority to the Commonwealth that are to be transferred to the Snowy Hydro Company on the corporatisation date and with respect to the discharge of those liabilities.
(2)The agreement may contain any related provisions (including guarantees) that are considered appropriate.
Division 2—Transfer of electricity transmission undertaking to TransGrid
14Transfer to TransGrid of existing Snowy electricity transmission undertaking
(1)The Minister may, by order in writing and in accordance with an agreement between the Commonwealth and the States of New South Wales and Victoria, direct that such assets or liabilities of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, of the State of Victoria or of an authority of that State relating to the transmission of electricity generated by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, as are specified or referred to in the order, be transferred to TransGrid.
(2)The consideration for the transfer, and the value, of the existing Snowy electricity transmission undertaking (and any other matter concerning the transfer) may be determined by agreement between the State of New South Wales, the Commonwealth and the State of Victoria.
(3)An order under this section may be combined with an order under the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act that transfers assets or liabilities to TransGrid.
(4)Schedule 1 applies to an order under this section.
Division 3—Transfer of existing staff
15Transfer to Company of employees of Authority
(1)A person who was an employee of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority immediately before the corporatisation date is taken—
(a)to have ceased to be employed by the Authority immediately before that date; and
(b)to have been engaged by the Snowy Hydro Company as an employee of the Company with effect on and from that date; and
(c)to have been so engaged on the terms and conditions on which the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act declares, or purports to declare, the employee to have been so engaged by the Company; and
(d)to have accrued an entitlement to benefits, in connection with that engagement by the Company, that is equivalent to the entitlement that the person had accrued, as an employee of that Authority, immediately before that date.
(2)The service of a transferred employee as an employee of the Company is taken for all purposes to have been continuous with the service of the employee, immediately before the corporatisation date, as an employee of the Authority.
(3)A transferred employee is not entitled to receive any payment or other benefit merely because he or she stopped being an employee of the Authority as a result of this section or of any other provision of this Act or the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act.
(4)An auditor of the Authority does not, because of the operation of this Act, become an auditor of the Company.
(5)This section has effect subject to this Division.
* * * * *
17Variations of terms and conditions of employment
(1)This Division does not prevent the terms and conditions of a transferred employee's employment after the corporatisation date from being varied—
(a)in accordance with those terms and conditions; or
(b)by or under a law, award, determination or agreement.
(2)In this section—
vary, in relation to terms and conditions, includes—
(a)omitting any of those terms and conditions; or
(b)adding to those terms and conditions; or
(c)substituting new terms and conditions for any of those terms and conditions.
PART 4—MISCELLANEOUS
18Sharing of land tax with Commonwealth and Victoria
(1)The State of Victoria may enter into an agreement with the State of New South Wales with respect to the payment to the State of Victoria of a requisite proportion of land tax paid to the State of New South Wales by the Snowy Hydro Company.
(2)The requisite proportion is the proportion of shares in the Company held by the State of Victoria during the relevant period for which the land tax was paid.
19Treasurer may execute agreements on behalf of State
The Treasurer may execute, on behalf of the State of Victoria, any agreement that the State is authorised to enter into by this Act or any other agreement that is necessary or convenient to give effect to the purpose of this Act.
20Exemption from State taxation
(1)In this section—
exempt matter means—
(a)the issue or transfer of shares in the Snowy Hydro Company to the Commonwealth or to the State of New South Wales or Victoria (or to any person acting on behalf of the Commonwealth or any such State); or
(b)the operation of the provisions of this Act, the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act and the New South Wales Corporatisation Act relating to the transfer of assets and liabilities to the Snowy Hydro Company or TransGrid; or
(c)an agreement referred to in section 19 or any agreement under the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act to which the Commonwealth or the State of New South Wales is a party; or
(d)a debt of the Snowy Hydro Company to the Commonwealth at the corporatisation date (including the refinancing of such a debt); or
(e)giving effect to any of the above;
State tax means stamp duty and any other tax, duty, fee, levy or charge payable under the law of Victoria.
(2)State tax is not payable in relation to—
(a)an exempt matter; or
(b)anything done (including, for example, a transaction entered into or an instrument or oral agreement made, executed, lodged or given) because of, or for a purpose connected with or arising out of, an exempt matter.
(3)The Treasurer, or a person authorised by the Treasurer, may, in writing, certify whether—
(a)a particular matter or thing is an exempt matter; or
(b)a particular thing was done (including, for example, a transaction entered into or an instrument or oral agreement made, executed, lodged or given) because of, or for a purpose connected with or arising out of, a particular exempt matter.
(4)For all purposes and in all proceedings, a certificate under subsection (3) is conclusive evidence of the matter certified, except to the extent (if any) to which the contrary is proved.
(5)Unless the contrary is proved, a document purporting to be a certificate under subsection (3) is taken to be such a certificate and to have been duly signed.
21Excluded matters for purposes of Corporations Act
The following matters are declared to be excluded matters for the purposes of section 5F of the Corporations Act in relation to Chapter 2E and Part 2J.3 of that Act—
(a)any debt to the Commonwealth, or other liability, acquired by the Snowy Hydro Company (or the giving of any related security) in accordance with this Act or the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act or any agreement under any such Act;
(b)the acquisition of initial shares in the Company by the Commonwealth or the State of New South Wales or Victoria.
Note
This section ensures that the provisions of Chapter 2E (Related party transactions) and Part 2J.3 (Financial assistance) of the Corporations Act will not apply in relation to the matters referred to in this section. Section 5F of the Corporations Act provides that if a State law declares a matter to be an excluded matter in relation to specified provisions of the Corporations legislation, then those provisions will not apply in relation to that matter in the State concerned.
21ACorporations legislation displacement provision
Section 6(2A) is declared to be a Corporations legislation displacement provision for the purposes of section 5G of the Corporations Act in relation to the Corporations legislation.
Note
Section 5G of the Corporations Act provides that if a State law declares a provision of State law to be a Corporations legislation displacement provision for the purposes of that section, any provision of the Corporations legislation with which the State provision would otherwise be inconsistent does not operate to the extent necessary to avoid the inconsistency.
22Amendment of Register
(1)The Registrar of Titles, on being requested to do so and on delivery of any relevant certificate of title or instrument and certificate of the chief executive officer of the Snowy Hydro Company, must make any amendments in the Register that are necessary because of the operation of this Act.
* * * * *
23Company's financial statements and reports to be laid before the Parliament
(1)This section applies when, under the Corporations Act, the Snowy Hydro Company sends to—
(a)the State of Victoria as the holder of shares in the Company; or
(b)a person who holds shares in the Company as nominee for the State—
copies of the documents required by that Act to be laid before a particular annual general meeting of the Company.
(2)The Treasurer must, as soon as practicable, cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament copies of the documents referred to in subsection (1) (whether made from the copies first referred to in subsection (1) or otherwise).
24Regulations
(1)The Governor in Council may make regulations for or with respect to any matter or thing required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed or necessary to be prescribed to give effect to this Act.
(2)The regulations may create offences punishable by a penalty not exceeding 10 penalty units.
PART 5—REPEALS, CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS AND TRANSITIONAL
* * * * *
* * * * *
* * * * *
28Termination and amendment of certain existing agreements relating to Snowy Mountains Scheme
(1)The agreements set out in the First and Second Schedules to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Agreements Act 1958 are terminated on the corporatisation date.
(2)The termination of the agreements referred to in subsection (1) extinguishes the rights and obligations of the parties under the agreements.
(3)An exemption (if any) arising under the agreements referred to in subsection (1) from any written or unwritten laws of the Commonwealth, New South Wales or Victoria is terminated on the corporatisation date and is not transferred by or under this Act, the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act.
(4)A right (if any) arising under an agreement referred to in subsection (1) to collect, divert, store, use or release water or to generate or supply electricity is terminated on the corporatisation date and is not transferred by or under this Act, the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act.
(5)Subsection (4) is enacted to avoid doubt.
29Authority and Council abolished
On the corporatisation date—
(a)the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority is abolished; and
(b)the Snowy Mountains Council is abolished—
to the extent that they were, immediately before that date, constituted or recognised as legal entities by any Act.
30Savings, transitional and other provisions
Schedule 2 has effect.
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULE 1—PROVISIONS RELATING TO TRANSFER OF UNDERTAKINGS
1Definitions
corresponding law means the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act;
transfer instrument, see clause 2;
transferee means the person or body to whom any assets or liabilities are transferred by a transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies;
transferor means the person or body from whom any assets or liabilities are transferred by a transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies.
2Application
This Schedule applies to the following instruments—
(a)section 11 of this Act and a provision of the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act transferring assets and liabilities of the Authority to the Snowy Hydro Company;
(b)an order under section 12 of this Act transferring assets or liabilities of the State of Victoria to the Snowy Hydro Company;
(c)an order under a provision of the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act transferring assets or liabilities of the Commonwealth to the Snowy Hydro Company;
(d)an order under a provision of the New South Wales Corporatisation Act transferring assets or liabilities of the State of New South Wales to the Snowy Hydro Company;
(e)an order under section 14 of this Act transferring assets or liabilities of the Authority or the State of Victoria or an authority of the State to TransGrid;
(f)an order under a provision of the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act transferring assets or liabilities of the Authority or the Commonwealth to TransGrid;
(g)an order under a provision of the New South Wales Corporatisation Act transferring assets or liabilities of the Authority, the State of New South Wales or an authority of that State to TransGrid.
3Vesting of undertaking in transferee
When any assets or liabilities are transferred by a transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies, the following provisions have effect (subject to the transfer instrument)—
(a)those assets of the transferor vest in the transferee by this Schedule and without the need for any conveyance, transfer, assignment or assurance;
(b)those liabilities of the transferor become by virtue of this Schedule the liabilities of the transferee;
(c)all proceedings relating to those assets or liabilities begun before the transfer by or against the transferor or a predecessor of the transferor and pending immediately before the transfer are taken to be proceedings pending by or against the transferee;
(d)any act, matter or thing done or omitted to be done in relation to those assets or liabilities before the transfer by, to or in respect of the transferor is (to the extent that that act, matter or thing has any effect) taken to have been done or omitted by, to or in respect of the transferee;
(e)a reference in any Act, in any instrument made under any Act or in any document of any kind to the transferor or a predecessor of the transferor is (to the extent that it relates to those assets or liabilities but subject to the regulations or other provisions under Schedule 2), to be read as, or as including, a reference to the transferee.
4Operation of Schedule
(1)The operation of this Schedule is not to be regarded—
(a)as a breach of contract or confidence or otherwise as a civil wrong; or
(b)as a breach of any contractual provision prohibiting, restricting or regulating the assignment or transfer of assets or liabilities; or
(c)as giving rise to any remedy by a party to a legal instrument, or as causing or permitting the termination of any legal instrument, because of a change in the beneficial or legal ownership of any asset or liability.
(2)The operation of this Schedule is not to be regarded as an event of default under any contract or other instrument.
(3)No attornment to the transferee by a lessee from the transferor is required.
(4)The operation of this Schedule includes the enactment or making of a transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies.
(5)In this clause—
legal instrument means an instrument (other than this Act or a corresponding law) that creates, modifies or extinguishes rights or liabilities (or would do so if lodged, filed or registered in accordance with any law), and includes any judgment, order or process of a court.
5Date of vesting
A transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies takes effect on the date it is enacted or made, or such other date as is specified in the instrument.
6Value of particular assets transferred
The respective values of particular assets transferred by a transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies may be determined by agreement between the Commonwealth and the States of New South Wales and Victoria.
7Transfer of interests in land
(1)A transfer instrument to which this Schedule applies may transfer an interest in respect of land vested in the transferor without transferring the whole of the interests of the transferor in that land.
(2)If the interest transferred is not a separate interest, the transfer instrument operates to create the interest transferred in such terms as are specified in the instrument.
(3)This clause does not limit any other provision of this Schedule.
8Confirmation of vesting in Snowy Hydro Company
(1)The Minister may, by order in writing, confirm the transfer to the Snowy Hydro Company of particular assets or liabilities by the operation of section 11.
(2)Such an order is evidence of that transfer.
(3)An order under this clause may be combined with an order under the Commonwealth Corporatisation Act or the New South Wales Corporatisation Act that confirms the transfer of assets or liabilities to the Snowy Hydro Company by that Act.
9Successor of former Authority
The Snowy Hydro Company is taken for all purposes, including the rules of private international law, to be the successor of the former Authority (except in respect of assets and liabilities transferred under this Act or a corresponding law to any other body or person).
SCHEDULE 2—SAVINGS, TRANSITIONAL AND OTHER PROVISIONS
Section 30
Part 1—Preliminary
1Regulations
(1)The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or transitional nature consequent on the enactment of this Act.
(2)Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect from the date of assent to the Act or a later day.
(3)To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date that is earlier than the date of its publication in the Government Gazette, the provision does not operate so as—
(a)to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than the State or an authority of the State), the rights of that person existing before the date of its publication; or
(b)to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or an authority of the State) in respect of any thing done or omitted to be done before the date of its publication.
Part 2—Provisions consequent on enactment of this Act
2Judicial notice
Despite the repeal of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Agreements Act 1958, all courts, judges and people acting judicially must take judicial notice of the imprint of the official seal of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority appearing on a document and must presume that the seal was duly affixed.
3Final report by Authority
(1)Despite sections 25 and 29, the relevant provisions of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Agreements Act 1958 continue in force, and the Authority continues in existence, solely for the purpose of enabling the Authority to comply with any of its outstanding obligations under section 63H(1) of the Audit Act 1901 of the Commonwealth in respect of any period before the corporatisation date.
(2)The Snowy Hydro Company must provide the Authority with any assistance that the Authority reasonably requires for the performance of its duties under subsection (1).
4Final report by Council
(1)Despite sections 25 and 29, the Snowy Mountains Council continues in existence solely for the purpose of performing any necessary duties under clause 21 of the Agreement set out in the First Schedule to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Agreements Act 1958.
(2)The Snowy Hydro Company is to provide any assistance that the Council reasonably requires for the performance of those duties.
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ENDNOTES
1 General information
See for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
Minister's second reading speech—
Legislative Assembly: 18 September 1997
Legislative Council: 9 December 1997
The long title for the Bill for this Act was "A Bill to corporatise the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority in accordance with arrangements made between the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victoria, to repeal the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Agreements Act 1958 and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (Victoria) Act 1971 and for other purposes."
The Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 was assented to on 16 December 1997 and came into operation as follows:
Section 26(2) on 9 August 1995: section 2(2); Part 1 (sections 1–5) on 16 December 1997: section 2(1); section 22(2) was never proclaimed, repealed by No. 85/1998 section 24 (Schedule item 54); section 26(3) was never proclaimed, repealed by No. 69/2000 section 62; Part 2 (sections 6–10), Part 3 (except sections 11, 15–17), Part 4 (except section 22(2)), section 30, Schedules 1 and 2 on 15 May 2001: Special Gazette (No. 71) 15 May 2001 page 1; rest of Act on 28 June 2002: Special Gazette (No. 110) 25 June 2002 page 1.
INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)
Style changes
Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.
References to ILA s. 39B
Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided section or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subsections or subclauses, the original section or clause becomes subsection or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original section or clause.
Interpretation
As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:
• Headings
All headings included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any heading inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; sections; clauses; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms. See section 36(1A)(2A).
• Examples, diagrams or notes
All examples, diagrams or notes included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Act. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Act. See section 36(3A).
• Punctuation
All punctuation included in an Act which is passed on or after 1 January 2001 forms part of that Act. Any punctuation inserted in an Act which was passed before 1 January 2001, by an Act passed on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Act. See section 36(3B).
• Provision numbers
All provision numbers included in an Act form part of that Act, whether inserted in the Act before, on or after 1 January 2001. Provision numbers include section numbers, subsection numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).
• Location of "legislative items"
A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of an Act is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.
• Other material
Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of an Act.
See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).
2 Table of Amendments
This publication incorporates amendments made to the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997 by Acts and subordinate instruments.
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Electricity Industry (Amendment) Act 1998, No. 10/1998
Assent Date: 28.4.98 Commencement Date: S. 10(4) on 1.6.98: s. 2(3) CurrentState: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
Transfer of Land (Single Register) Act 1998, No. 85/1998
Assent Date: 17.11.98 Commencement Date: S. 24(Sch. item 54) on 1.1.99: s. 2(3) CurrentState: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
Electricity Industry Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2000, No. 69/2000
Assent Date: 21.11.00 Commencement Date: S. 62 on 1.1.01: s. 2(4) CurrentState: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
Corporations (Consequential Amendments) Act 2001, No. 44/2001
Assent Date: 27.6.01 Commencement Date: S. 3(Sch. item 103) on 15.7.01: s. 2 CurrentState: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
Snowy Hydro Corporatisation (Parliamentary Approval) Act 2006, No. 64/2006
Assent Date: 29.8.06 Commencement Date: 30.8.06: s. 2 CurrentState: All of Act in operation
Water (Commonwealth Powers) Act 2008, No. 75/2008
Assent Date: 4.12.08 Commencement Date: S. 24 on 15.12.08: Special Gazette (No. 358) 11.12.08 p. 1 CurrentState: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
Statute Law Revision Act 2011, No. 29/2011
Assent Date: 21.6.11 Commencement Date: S. 3(Sch. 1 item 88) on 22.6.11: s. 2(1) CurrentState: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
State Electricity Commission Amendment Act 2024, No. 11/2024
Assent Date: 26.3.24 Commencement Date: S. 109 on 1.7.24: Special Gazette (No. 319) 18.6.24 p. 1 Current State: This information relates only to the provision/s amending the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997
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3 Explanatory details
No entries at date of publication.
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