Commonwealth Numbered Acts Commonwealth Numbered ActsAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989
1 After Part 4A
Insert:
Part 4B—Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs)
193V Definitions
"Australian Government body "means:
(a) a Department of State, a Department of the Parliament or a prescribed
Agency within the meaning of the Financial Management and Accountability Act
1997 ; and
(b) a Commonwealth authority within the meaning of the Commonwealth
Authorities and Companies Act 1997 ; and
(c) a Commonwealth company within the meaning of the Commonwealth
Authorities and Companies Act 1997 ; and
(d) a body established for a public purpose by or under a law of the
Commonwealth.
"evaluate or audit "includes evaluate and audit.
"individual or organisation "includes any person, body corporate or unincorporated body.
"Office" means the Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs) referred to in section 193W.
"relevant program" means a program, or a program component, under which money is provided, including on loan, or a guarantee is given, or an interest in land or other property is transferred, for the purpose of furthering the social, economic or cultural development of Aboriginal persons or Torres Strait Islanders.
193W Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs)
(a) to evaluate or audit relevant programs administered by Australian
Government bodies; and
(b) to evaluate or audit the activities of any individual or organisation
that has received funding under any relevant program; and
(c) to report to the Minister on those evaluations or audits and to report
to other Ministers in accordance with the directions of the Minister.
193X Functions of the Office
(a) in accordance with a program developed by the Director under
section 193Y, or, in the circumstances referred to in
subsection (2), at the request of the Minister—to evaluate or audit:
(i) relevant programs administered by an Australian Government body; or
(ii) particular aspects of the operations of Australian Government bodies,
but only to the extent that the evaluation or audit concerns relevant
programs administered by such a body; and
(b) when requested to do so by the Minister—to evaluate or audit the
activities of any individual or organisation:
(i) who has received money, including money on loan, or an interest in
land or other property, from an Australian Government body under a
relevant program; or
(ii) who has had a loan guaranteed by an Australian Government body under
such a program; or
(iii) who has derived income or other benefit, directly or indirectly, from
money (including money on loan), or a guarantee, provided by an
Australian Government body under such a program or from a transfer of
an interest in land or other property from such a body under such a
program;
but only to the extent that the evaluation or audit concerns the money, land
or other property, or the guarantee, provided under that program or concerns
the income or other benefit derived from such money, land or other property or
from such a guarantee; and
(c) when a funding or loan agreement entered into with any individual or
organisation under a relevant program provides that the Office can
evaluate or audit the activities of the individual or organisation:
(i) that directly or indirectly relate to the use of money provided under
the agreement; or
(ii) that relate to any matter facilitated by income derived from the use
of money so provided;
with the consent of the Minister—to evaluate or audit those activities in
accordance with that agreement; and
(d) to report on evaluations or audits conducted under this section in a
manner required by the Minister; and
(e) to inform the Minister about any significant issues that have arisen,
or may arise, in relation to audits or evaluations conducted under
this section; and
(f) to inform the Minister about any issues affecting the independence of
the Office.
(a) relevant programs administered by an Australian Government body; or
(b) particular aspects of the operations of an Australian Government body,
to the extent that the evaluation or audit concerns relevant programs
administered by such a body;
the Minister may request the Office to conduct such an evaluation or audit whether or not an evaluation or audit would ordinarily be conducted at that time under a program developed under section 193Y.
193Y Programs of evaluation and audit
193Z Minister may table reports in the Parliament
193ZA Director of Evaluation and Audit
193ZB Period of appointment
193ZC Acting Director
(a) during a vacancy in the office of Director; or
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the Director is absent
from duty or from Australia or is, for any reason, unable to perform
the duties of the office;
but a person appointed to act during a vacancy must not continue so to act for more than 6 months.
(a) the occasion for the appointment had not arisen; or
(b) there was a defect or irregularity in connection with the appointment;
or
(c) the appointment had ceased to have effect; or
(d) the occasion to act had not arisen or had ceased.
193ZD Resignation
193ZE Termination of appointment
193ZF Director not personally liable
(a) by the Office; or
(b) by the Director in the capacity of Director.
193ZG Examination of
documents etc.
(a) is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to documents
relating to the body, individual or organisation; and
(b) may make copies, or take extracts from, any such document; and
(c) by notice in writing, may require a person:
(i) to answer such questions; and
(ii) to produce such documents in the person's possession or to which the
person has access;
within such reasonable period, not being a period of less than 14 days, as is
specified in the notice.
(a) to give information; or
(b) to produce a document;
in accordance with a requirement made of the person, on the ground that the information or production of the document might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to a penalty. However:
(c) evidence as to the giving of the
information or the producing of the document; or
(d) any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or indirect
consequence of the giving of the information or the producing of the
document;
is not admissible in evidence against the person in any proceedings in a court that may expose the person to a penalty, other than proceedings for an offence against, or arising out of, subsection (7) or (11).
In this Part, unless the contrary
intention appears:
"ATSIC abolition day" means the day on which
Schedules 1 and 2 to this Act commence.
"ATSIC Act" means the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Act 1989 .
"Commission"
means the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission that was
established under section 6 of the ATSIC Act.
"Indigenous Business
Australia" means the body of that name referred to in section 145 of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 .
"Indigenous Land
Corporation" means the body of that name established under section 191A
of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 .
"Office of
Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs) "means the office, referred to in
section 193W of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 ,
that was originally established by section 75 of the ATSIC Act and that
became, on ATSIC abolition day, the Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous
Programs).
"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department.
"TSRA" means
the Torres Strait Regional Authority established by section 142 of the
ATSIC Act.
3 Office of Evaluation and Audit to continue under new name
The Office of Evaluation and Audit that was established within the Commission by section 75 of the ATSIC Act becomes, by force of this item, on ATSIC abolition day, for the purposes of section 193W of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 , the Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs) established in the Department.
4 Current Director of Evaluation and Audit
(1) The person holding office as Director of
Evaluation and Audit under section 77 of the ATSIC Act immediately before
ATSIC abolition day continues, on and after that day, by force of this item
and despite section 193ZA of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 , to hold office as the
Director of Evaluation and Audit as if the person had been duly appointed by
the Minister under section 193ZA of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 .
(2) The person referred to
in subitem (1):
(a) is taken to have been so appointed under
section 193ZA of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 , by
instrument in writing, for the balance of the term of appointment under
section 77 of the ATSIC Act; and
(b) is taken to have been so appointed on the same terms and conditions as
applied to the person immediately before ATSIC abolition day.
(3) Despite section 193ZA of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 , the person referred to in subitem (1):
(a)
is entitled to remuneration and allowances in accordance with
section 194 of that Act; and
(b) is to have such recreation leave entitlements as are determined by the
Remuneration Tribunal.
(4) Section 193ZE of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 does not apply in
relation to the deemed appointment of the person referred to in
subitem (1).
(5) The Minister may grant the person referred to
in subitem (1) leave of absence (other than recreation leave) on
such terms and conditions, as to remuneration or otherwise, as the
Minister determines in writing.
(6) The Minister may terminate the
appointment of the person referred to in subitem (1) as Director
of Evaluation and Audit because of incompetence, misbehaviour or
physical or mental incapacity.
(7) The Minister must terminate the
appointment of the person referred to in subitem (1) as Director
of Evaluation and Audit if the person:
(a) is absent from duty,
except on leave granted to that person, for 14 consecutive days or for
28 days in any period of 12 months; or
(b) becomes bankrupt; or
(c) applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or
insolvent debtors; or
(d) compounds with his or her creditors; or
(e) makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for the benefit of his
or her creditors; or
(f) fails, without reasonable excuse, to make a disclosure of financial
interests equivalent to the disclosure required to be made by an SES
employee; or
(g) engages in paid employment outside the duties of the office of
Director of Evaluation and Audit without the written consent of the
Minister.
(8) The person referred to in subitem (1) holds office on such terms and conditions (if any) in respect of matters not provided for by operation of subitems (1) to (7) as are determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette .
5 Transitional evaluation and audit functions
(1) The Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs) has, in addition to the functions imposed on it under section 193X of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 , the following functions:
(a) when requested to do so by the Minister—to
evaluate or audit the activities of any individual or organisation
who, before ATSIC abolition day, received one or more grants or loans
from the Commission, but only to the extent that the evaluation or
audit concerns those grants or loans;
(b) when requested to do so by the Minister—to evaluate or audit the
activities of a borrower, being any individual or organisation, one or
more of whose loans were guaranteed, before ATSIC abolition day, by
the Commission, but only to the extent that the evaluation or audit
concerns those guarantees;
(c) to report on evaluations or audits conducted in accordance with
paragraph (a) or (b), in writing, to the Minister as required by
the Minister.
(2) A requirement under paragraph (1)(c) is not a
legislative instrument for the purposes of the
Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
(3) Subsection 193X(3) and
section 193ZG of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act
2005 apply in relation to any evaluation or audit commenced at the
request of the Minister under this item.
6 Evaluations or audits begun but not completed before ATSIC abolition day
(1) If:
(a)
before ATSIC abolition day, the Office of Evaluation and Audit has
begun an evaluation or audit in relation to a body corporate, an
unincorporated body or an individual under section 76 of the
ATSIC Act, whether at the request of the Minister, the Commission,
Aboriginal Hostels Limited, Indigenous Business Australia, the TSRA,
or the Indigenous Land Corporation; and
(b) that evaluation or audit has not been completed before that day;
the Office of Evaluation and Audit (Indigenous Programs) must continue that evaluation or audit and, subject to subitem (3), report on that evaluation or audit, as if the amendments of the ATSIC Act made by this Act had not been made.
(2) An instrument under
subitem (1) reporting on an evaluation or audit is not a
legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative
Instruments Act 2003 .
(3) If the evaluation or audit is one in
respect of which the Office of Evaluation and Audit would have been
required to report in accordance with subitem (1) both to the
Minister and to the Commission, the Office of Evaluation and Audit
(Indigenous Programs) is required to report only to the Minister.
(4)
For the avoidance of doubt, the Director of Evaluation and Audit must
include in any report of the operations of the Office of Evaluation
and Audit (Indigenous Programs) in a particular year that is given
under subsection 193ZA(4) of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 , a report of the
operations of the Office that are carried out during that year under
item 5 and under this item.
(5) The Office of Evaluation and
Audit must:
(a) under subsection 77(3) of the ATSIC Act, make a final
report of its operations for the period commencing on 1 July 2004
and ending immediately before ATSIC abolition day as if that period
were a financial year; and
(b) ensure that a copy of that report is included in the final annual
report of the Commission.