Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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OMBUDSMAN REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1991 NO. 431

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1991 No. 431

Issued by the authority of the Prime Minister

Ombudsman Act 1976

Ombudsman Regulations (Amendment)

Section 38 of the Ombudsman Act 1976 (the Act), so far as is relevant, provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Section 5 of the Act provides for the Ombudsman to investigate actions relating to matters of administration taken by Departments or prescribed authorities.

Section 3 of the Act, so far as is relevant, provides that:

" 'prescribed authority' means -

(a)       a body corporate, or an unincorporated body, established for a public purpose by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an enactment, other than - ...

(iii)       a body that, under sub-section (2) or the regulations, is not to be taken to be a prescribed authority for the purposes of this Act ...

(b)       any other body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, declared by the Regulations to be a prescribed authority ...

(c)       the person holding, or performing the duties of, an office established by an enactment, other than such a person who, under sub-section (3) or the regulations, is not to be taken to be a prescribed authority ...

'principal officer' means -...

(c)       in relation to a prescribed authority -

(i)       if the regulations declare an office to be the principal office in respect of the authority the person holding, or performing the duties of, that office ..."

The purpose of the amendments to the Regulations is to correct anomalies in the Schedules made under Regulations 4, 5, 6 and 9. Some bodies and offices identified in the Regulations as being or not being prescribed authorities or as being principal offices have been abolished or replaced or have passed from the Commonwealth, and reference to these bodies and offices is removed from the Regulations as being redundant or substituted by reference to replacement bodies or offices. Other bodies that are expressly excluded by the Regulations have become companies and moved outside the definition of prescribed authority, and the need for their exclusion thus no longer arises. The names of some of the bodies identified in the Regulations have changed.

The National Health and Medical Research Council is included as a prescribed authority and the Commonwealth Bank Officers Superannuation Corporation is listed as a body that is not to be taken to be a prescribed authority.

These amendments come into effect on the date of gazettal.

It is also necessary to amend the Regulations to take account of the pending merger of the Australian Telecommunications Corporation (Telecom) and OTC Limited into the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited (AOTC), by deleting reference to OTC Limited in Schedule 2 to the Regulations and inserting AOTC as a prescribed authority, and by deleting the offices in the Australian Telecommunications Commission and OTC listed in the new Schedule 4 and inserting the Chief Executive of AOTC. These amendments come into effect on the date of the merger.

Details of the proposed Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

ATTACHMENT

DETAILS OF OMBUDSMAN REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Regulation 1

As it will be necessary for the amendments to be effected by subregulations 4.1, 4.5, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 and 6.7 to come into effect upon the merger of Telecom and OTC Ltd into AOTC, proposed Regulation 1 provides for those subregulations to commence on the commencement of Part 4 of the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Act 1919 (the AOTC Act). The remainder of the Regulations commence on gazettal.

Regulation 2

This regulation causes the present Ombudsman Regulations to be amended as set out in the Regulations.

Regulation 3

Schedule 1 lists bodies coming within the definition of "prescribed authority" that are to be excluded from the operation of the Act. Regulation 3 omits the present Schedule 1 and substitutes a new Schedule 1 with the Commonwealth Bank Officers Superannuation Corporation (established pursuant to the Commonwealth Banks Restructuring Act 1990) inserted and the following bodies removed:

•       Academic Salaries Tribunal, which was abolished pursuant to the Industrial Relations (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988;

•       Australian National Airlines Commission, which became a company pursuant to the Australian Airlines (Conversion to Public Company) Act 1988;

•       Australian Shipping Commission, which became a company pursuant to the ANL (Conversion to Public Company) Act 1988;

•       Commonwealth Trading Bank, which became the Commonwealth Bank of Australia pursuant to the Commonwealth Banks Amendment Act 1984;

•       Commonwealth Banking Corporation which became a company (Commonwealth Bank of Australia Limited) pursuant to the Commonwealth Banks Restructuring Act 1990. The Commonwealth Banking Corporation Board ceased to be established under an enactment at the same time;

•       the Executive Committees of the Boards of the Commonwealth Development Bank, the Commonwealth Savings Bank and the Commonwealth Trading Bank which were abolished pursuant to the Commonwealth Banks Amendment Act 1984; and

•       Flight Crew Officers Industrial Tribunal which was abolished pursuant to the Industrial Relations (Consequential Provisions) Act 1988.

Regulation 4

Schedule 2 lists bodies not otherwise coming within the definition of "prescribed authority" that are to be taken to be prescribed authorities for the purposes of the Act. Regulation 4 amends the existing Schedule 2 in the following ways:

•       subregulation 4.2 omits the Australian Bicentennial Authority, which ceased to exist in 1990;

•       subregulation 4.3 omits Commonwealth Accommodation and Catering Services Limited, which has been sold by the Commonwealth;

•       subregulation 4.4 inserts the National Health and Medical Research Council;

•       subregulation 4.5 omits OTC Ltd and is to come into effect on the merger of OTC and Telecom; and

•       subregulation 4.1 inserts the Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited and is to come into effect on the merger of OTC and Telecom.

Regulation 5

Schedule 3 lists those offices coming within the definition of "prescribed authority" that are to be excluded from the operation of the Act. Regulation 5 omits the present Schedule 3 and substitutes a new Schedule 3 with the following bodies omitted:

•       Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Commissioner and General Manager of the Australian National Airlines Commission, as these offices ceased to be established under an enactment pursuant to the Australian Airlines (Conversion to Public Company) Act 1988;

•       Chairman, Vice-Chairman (later Deputy Chairman), Commissioner and General Manager of the Australian Shipping Commission, as these offices ceased to be established under an enactment pursuant to the ANL (Conversion to Public Company) Act 1988;

•       Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Commonwealth Banking Corporation Board, Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of the Commonwealth Banking Corporation and General Manager of the Commonwealth Trading Bank, as these offices ceased to be established under an enactment pursuant to the Commonwealth Banks Restructuring Act 1990; and

•       Public Service Arbitrator and Deputy Public Service Arbitrator, both of which were abolished pursuant to the Conciliation and Arbitration Amendment Act (No 2)1983.

The proposed regulation also inserts:

•       the Chairman of the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal; and

•       the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security.

Regulation 6

Schedule 4 sets out the principal offices of prescribed authorities. Regulation 6 omits the present Schedule 4 and substitutes a new Schedule 4 with the following offices omitted:

•       the Fire Commissioner of the Australian Capital Territory Fire Brigade, whose office now exists under an ACT enactment;

•       Chief Education Officer of the Australian Capital Territory Schools Authority, whose functions are performed by the Secretary of the ACT Department of Education;

•       Managing Director of the former Australian Postal Commission, which office became the Managing Director of the Australian Postal Corporation pursuant to the Postal Services Amendment Act 1988;

•       General Manager of Commonwealth Accommodation and Catering Service Limited, which has been sold by the Commonwealth;

•       Director of the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Commission, which became a company pursuant to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (Conversion to a Public Company) Act 1990 and which is therefore no longer a prescribed authority;

•       Director of the Curriculum Development Centre, which has ceased to exist;

•       General Manager of the Defence Service Homes Corporation, which has ceased to exist pursuant to the Defence Service Homes Amendment Act 1988;

•       Executive Member of the Export Development Grants Board which has ceased to exist; and

•       the Executive Member of the Metric Conversion Board, which has ceased to exist.

The new Schedule also omits and substitutes the names of prescribed authorities and the titles of offices as follows:

•       pursuant to the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1988, the Australian Postal Commission is now the Australian Postal Corporation;

•       pursuant to the Telecommunications Amendment Act 1988, the Australian Telecommunications Commission is now the Australian Telecommunications Corporation;

•       the principal office of the Australian Trade Union Training Authority is now the Executive Officer;

•       the principal office for the Australian Tourist Commission is now the Managing Director; and

•       the relevant prescribed authority for the purposes of the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985 is now the Australian Trade Commission and the principal officer of the Commission is the Managing Director.

Subregulations 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 and 6.7 make amendments consequent upon the merger of Telecom and OTC Limited into AOTC, as follows:

•       subregulations 6.2 and 6.3 add the General Manager of AOTC to Schedule 4 as the principal office of a prescribed authority;

•       subregulations 6.4 and 6.5 omit the Managing Director of Telecom from the Schedule 4 list of the principal offices of prescribed authorities; and

•       subregulations 6.6 and 6.7 omit the Chief Executive Officer of OTC Limited from the Schedule 4 list of the principal offices of prescribed authorities.


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