Secretary may delegate to Defence Force officers or SES etc.
(1) The Secretary may, by signed instrument, delegate any of the powers or functions of the Secretary under this Act or the regulations to any of the following:
(a) an officer of the Navy who holds the rank of Commodore or a higher rank;
(b) an officer of the Army who holds the rank of Brigadier or a higher rank;
(c) an officer of the Air Force who holds the rank of Air Commodore or a higher rank;
(d) an SES employee or acting SES employee in the Department.
Note: SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 17AA of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .
Secretary may delegate to authorised Commonwealth contractor
(2) The Secretary may, by signed instrument, delegate to a senior employee of a person (the authorised Commonwealth contractor ) covered by subsection (3) any or all of the Secretary's functions or powers under this Act or the regulations, other than a power or function under:
(a) section 73, 74 or 75 (review of decisions); or
(b) section 77 (approval of forms).
(3) This subsection covers a person who provides, or proposes to provide, services for the purposes of this Act to the Commonwealth under an agreement that has been entered into:
(a) if the person is a Commonwealth agency--with the Department; or
(b) if the person is not a Commonwealth agency--with the Commonwealth.
Delegate subject to direction of Secretary
(4) In exercising powers or functions under a delegation, a delegate under subsection (1) or (2) must comply with any directions of the Secretary.
Section 70 of the Crimes Act 1914
(5) For the purposes of the application of the definition of Commonwealth officer in subsection 3(1) of the Crimes Act 1914 to section 70 of that Act, a person who performs functions, or exercises powers, under a delegation under subsection (2) is taken to be a person who performs services for the Commonwealth.
Meaning of senior employee
(6) In this section:
"senior employee" , of the authorised Commonwealth contractor, means:
(a) if the authorised Commonwealth contractor is a Commonwealth agency--an SES employee or acting SES employee in the agency; or
(b) in any case--an employee of the contractor whose skills and responsibilities are equivalent to, or exceed, the skills and responsibilities expected of an SES employee.
Note: SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 17AA of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .