EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1983 No. 18
Issued by Authority of the Treasurer
CENSUS AND STATISTICS ACT 1905 –
STATISTICS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
These amendments to the Statistics Regulations are being made in pursuance of Section 27 of the Census and Statistics Act 1905 (the Act).
The Statistics Regulations (Amendment) prescribe 1 March 1983, being the date of proclamation of the Census and Statistics Amendment Act (No. 2) 1981, as the date of their commencement. They repeal some of the existing regulations and schedules and respecify, and where necessary amend, these matters to reflect the changed provisions of the Act.
Section 3 of the Act defines an officer as, inter alia, “a person engaged in accordance with the regulations to assist in the carrying out of the functions of the Statistician”. These amendments to the Statistics Regulations provide the Statistician, rather than the Minister, with the power to engage persons to assist in the carrying out of his functions. This is consistent with the general approach that has been adopted in the amending Act of avoiding the involvement of the Minister in administrative matters.
The Act requires officers to sign an undertaking of fidelity and secrecy in accordance with the form prescribed in the regulations. Section 7 of the Act is as follows:
“7. Every officer executing any power or duty conferred or imposed on any officer under this Act or the regulations, shall, before entering upon his duties or exercising any power under this Act, sign, in the presence of a witness, an undertaking of fidelity and secrecy in accordance with the prescribed form.”
The Statistics Regulations (Amendment) specify, in the Schedule, a revised form for the undertaking which corresponds to the revised secrecy provision, Section 19, of the Act.
The evidentiary provisions of the existing regulations are repealed by the Statistics Regulations (Amendment) and replaced by revised provisions which relate to proceedings for an offence against the Act, as amended. These proposed amendments provide for certification of documents specified in the Act which would be used as evidence in prosecution action.