Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) There shall be a
Commissioner for Corporate Affairs, who shall be appointed and hold office
under and in accordance with Part 3 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994
and shall, in the performance of a function or the exercise of a power under
an Act or law in force in the State, represent the Crown in right of the
State.
(2) Subject to Part 3
of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 , such Deputy or Assistant
Commissioners for Corporate Affairs and other officers shall be appointed, and
such employees shall be employed, as are required to assist the Commissioner
in the exercise of the functions and powers of the Commissioner under or for
the purposes of this or any other Act or law.
(3) A person holding
or acting in the office of the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs, or Deputy
or Assistant Commissioner for Corporate Affairs, or of an officer or employee
referred to in subsection (2) or (4) is, for the purposes of the National
Companies and Securities Commission (State Provisions) Act 1980 6 , a person
appointed for the purposes of this Act.
(4) All persons
appointed or employed under, pursuant to or for the purposes of the
Companies Act 1961 3 or the Securities Industry Act 1975 7 and so holding
office or employed immediately prior to the coming into operation of this
section shall be deemed to have been appointed or employed pursuant to this
section, and, without limiting the generality of this subsection —
(a) the
person who was the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs; and
(b)
every person who was a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner for Corporate Affairs,
at that time shall
without any further or other appointment be the Commissioner for Corporate
Affairs or, as the case may be, a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner for
Corporate Affairs for the purposes of this Act.
(5) Officers and
employees referred to in this section shall be under the direction of the
Commissioner and shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the
Commissioner.
(6) For the purpose of
the performance or exercise of the functions or powers of the Commissioner,
the Commissioner may, with the approval of the Minister and of the body or
person concerned and on such terms and conditions as may be approved by the
Public Sector Commissioner —
(a) make
use of the services of any of the officers, employees or servants of a body or
person; or
(b)
appoint a body to act as, or a person to be, an officer assisting the
Commissioner in relation to the conduct of investigations or inspections
pursuant to any law relating to the regulation of companies or the securities
industry,
and, if the terms and
conditions on which he is appointed so provide, any specified provisions of
the Public Service Act 1978 9 or the regulations thereunder, whether with or
without specified modifications, may be applied to and in respect of an
officer referred to in this subsection.
(7) Subject to the
Companies (Application of Laws) Act 1981 4 and the Companies (Western
Australia) Code 4 the Commissioner under this Act is the successor in law of
the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs under the Companies Act 1961 3 as in
force immediately before the coming into operation of this section and where,
whether before or after the coming into operation of this section —
(a) any
duty or burden of proof is or was imposed on, or any obligation or liability
is or was incurred by, or any right, privilege, property or power is or was
acquired by or vested in, the Registrar of Companies 10 or the Commissioner
for Corporate Affairs for the time being by the operation of the
Companies Act 1961 3 or any other Act or otherwise according to law, it shall
be deemed, in so far as the Companies (Application of Laws) Act 1981 4 does
not apply thereto, to have been imposed on, incurred or acquired by, or vested
in the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of
Commissioner; and
(b)
reference is or was made to the Registrar of Companies 10 or the Deputy or an
Assistant Registrar, or to the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs or the
Deputy or an Assistant Commissioner, expressly or impliedly, in —
(i)
an Act, regulations, rules or by-laws or any instrument
having effect thereunder;
(ii)
in any document or instrument made, executed, entered
into or done;
(iii)
any contract or proceeding; or
(iv)
any other manner,
that reference shall,
unless the context is such that it would be incorrect or inappropriate to do
so, be read and construed as a reference to the Commissioner.
[Section 4 amended: No. 32 of 1994 s. 19; No. 39
of 2010 s. 90.]