EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULE NO. 399 OF 1982
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRANSPORT AND CONSTRUCTION
NAVIGATION (ORDERS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 425 of the Navigation Act 1912, (the Act), provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Section 15 of the Navigation Act provides inter alia:
‘(1) The regulations may specify standards of competence to be attained and other conditions to be satisfied, or specify conditions to be satisfied, by a person in order to be a qualified master, officer or seaman of any designation for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Without limiting the generality of sub-section (1), the conditions specified in regulations made for the purposes of that sub-section may include conditions as to age, character, health, nationality, citizenship or residence, and regulations made for the purposes of that sub-section may make provision for and in relation to -
(a) the manner in which the attainment of any standard or the satisfaction of any other condition is to be evidenced, and, in particular, the obtaining of certificates and other documents to be held by masters, officers and seamen as evidence that they are qualified masters, officers or seamen of particular designations for the purposes of this Act;
(b) the issue, recall, surrender, replacement, form and recording of such certificates and other documents;
(c) the duration, variation, renewal, suspension and cancellation of such certificates and other documents;
(f) the reconsideration of decisions made under regulations made for the purposes of sub-section (a) or under orders made in pursuance of regulations made by virtue of paragraph (h) of this sub-section;
(h) empowering the Minister to make orders with respect to any matter for or in relation to which provision may be made by the regulations by virtue of this section.
(3) In sub-section (2) “decision” has the same meaning as in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975.’
The purpose of the regulations is to amend the Navigation (Orders) Regulations to provide that where a decision in respect of a certificate within the meaning of paragraph 15 (2)(a) of the Navigation Act has been made by an officer, under orders made in pursuance of the Navigation (Orders) Regulations, then the person whose interests are affected by that decision may apply to the Secretary for a reconsideration of the decision.
Details of the regulations are set out below:
Regulation 1 repeals and remakes regulation 2 of the Navigation (Orders) Regulations to include a definition of “Secretary” for the purposes of the Navigation (Orders) Regulations, to mean the person who, for the time being is, or is performing the duties of, the Permanent Head of the Department within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1922.
Regulation 2 inserts a new regulation 3A into the Navigation (Orders) Regulations. New regulation 3A provides the means whereby a person, whose interests have been affected by a decision made under orders, may apply to have that decision reconsidered. In addition new regulation 3A provides the processes to be followed when a decision is being reconsidered.