Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts[s. 20]
Division 1 — General provisions
1 . Term used: appointed member
In this Division
—
appointed member means a person appointed under
section 19(1)(a) or (c).
(1) An appointed
member holds office for such period, not exceeding 3 years, as is specified in
the instrument of his or her appointment, and is eligible for reappointment.
(2) Despite subclause
(1), if the period of office of an appointed member expires by effluxion of
time without a person having been appointed to fill the vacancy, the appointed
member continues in office until a person is appointed to fill the vacancy.
[ 3. Deleted: No. 6 of 2015 s. 50.]
(1) The office of an
appointed member becomes vacant if —
(a) the
member resigns the office by written notice addressed to the Minister;
(b) the
member is an insolvent under administration as defined in the
Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth);
(c) the
member is absent, without leave of the Minister, from 3 consecutive meetings
of which the member has had notice;
(d) the
member is removed from office by the Minister under subclause (2).
(2) The Minister may
remove an appointed member from office if the Minister is satisfied that the
member —
(a) is
incompetent, has misbehaved or has neglected his or her duties as a member; or
(b) is
suffering from mental or physical incapacity impairing the performance of his
or her functions.
The Minister may grant
leave of absence to a member on such terms and conditions as the Minister
thinks fit.
The Minister must
designate one of the members appointed under section 19(1)(a) as the deputy
chairman of the board and that person has, during any period when the chairman
is absent or otherwise unable to perform the functions of chairman, all of the
functions and entitlements of the chairman.
(1) Where a member,
other than the chairman, is unable to act by reason of sickness, absence or
other cause, the Minister may appoint a person who, as far as is practicable,
has similar knowledge and experience as that member to act in place of that
member, and while so acting the appointee has all the functions and
entitlements of a member.
(2) An appointment
under subclause (1) may be revoked by the Minister at any time.
(3) If the deputy
chairman is performing the functions of the chairman at a meeting, subclause
(1) applies as though the deputy chairman were absent from the meeting.
(4) No act or omission
of a person acting in place of another under this clause is to be questioned
on the ground that the occasion for so acting had not arisen or had ceased.
8 . Meetings, times and places of, quorum at etc.
(1) Subject to
subclause (2), meetings must be held at the times and places determined by the
board.
(2) The chairman or
any 4 members may, on reasonable notice to all members, call a meeting at any
time.
(3) At a meeting of
the board, 5 members constitute a quorum.
(4) The chairman must
preside at all meetings of the board at which he or she is present, or in
which he or she is participating under clause 10.
(5) If both the
chairman and the deputy chairman are not present or participating, the members
present or participating must appoint a member to preside.
(6) Questions arising
at a meeting of the board must be decided, in open voting, by a majority of
the votes of members present.
(7) If the votes of
members present or participating at a meeting and voting on a question are
equally divided, the person presiding has a casting vote in addition to a
deliberative vote.
(8) In this clause
—
member includes a person who attends a meeting
under section 22.
9 . Resolution may be passed without meeting
(1) If —
(a) a
document containing a statement to the effect that a resolution has been
passed is sent or given to all members;
(b) the
document is assented to by not less than 5 members,
that resolution is to
be taken as having been passed by a meeting of the board.
(2) Subclause (1) does
not apply to a resolution that relates to a relevant matter for a local
government as defined in section 22(2) unless the local government has
consented in writing to the passing of the resolution.
(3) For the purposes
of subclause (1) —
(a) the
meeting is to be taken as having been held —
(i)
if the members assented to the document on the same day
— on the day on which the document was assented to and at the time at
which the document was last assented to by a member; or
(ii)
if the members assented to the document on different days
— on the day on which, and at the time at which, the document was last
assented to by a member;
and
(b) 2 or
more separate documents in identical terms each of which is assented to by one
or more members are to be taken to constitute one document; and
(c) a
member may signify assent to a document —
(i)
by signing the document; or
(ii)
by notifying the Trust of the member’s assent in
person or by post, facsimile transmission, telephone, email or other method of
written, electronic, audio or audiovisual communication.
(4) Where a member
signifies assent to a document otherwise than by signing the document, the
member must by way of confirmation sign the document at the next meeting of
the board attended by the member, but failure to do so does not invalidate the
resolution to which the document relates.
(5) Where a document
is assented to in accordance with subclause (1), the document is to be taken
as a minute of a meeting of the board.
(6) The chairman must
report the passing of a resolution under subclause (1) to the next meeting of
the board.
10 . Meetings by telephone etc.
(1) In this clause
—
member includes a person who participates in a
meeting under section 22.
(2) A communication
between a majority of members by telephone, audiovisual or other electronic
means is a valid meeting of the board if —
(a) each
participating member is capable of communicating with every other
participating member instantaneously at all times during the proceedings; and
(b) all
members were advised that the communication would be taking place and were
given the opportunity to participate.
The board must cause
accurate records to be kept of the proceedings at its meetings.
Subject to this Act,
the board is to determine its own procedures.
Division 2 — Disclosure of interests
In this Division
—
member includes a person who attends a meeting
under section 22.
14 . Material personal interests to be disclosed
(1) A member who has a
material personal interest in a matter being considered or about to be
considered by the board must, as soon as possible after the relevant facts
have come to the member’s knowledge, disclose the nature of the interest
at a meeting of the board.
Penalty: a fine of $10 000.
(2) A disclosure under
subclause (1) must be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
15 . Member with material personal interest not to
vote etc.
A member who has a
material personal interest in a matter that is being considered by the board
—
(a) must
not vote whether at a meeting or otherwise —
(i)
on the matter; or
(ii)
on a proposed resolution under clause 16 in respect of
the matter, whether relating to that member or a different member;
and
(b) must
not be present while —
(i)
the matter; or
(ii)
a proposed resolution of the kind referred to in
paragraph (a)(ii),
is being considered at
a meeting.
[Clause 15 amended: No. 6 of 2015 s. 53.]
16 . Clause 15 may be declared inapplicable
Clause 15 does not
apply if the board has at any time passed a resolution that —
(a)
specifies the member, the interest and the matter; and
(b)
states that the members voting for the resolution are satisfied that the
interest should not disqualify the member from considering or voting on the
matter.
(1) Despite clause
8(3), if a member of the board is disqualified under clause 15 in relation to
a matter, a quorum is present during the consideration of the matter if at
least 4 members are present who are entitled to vote on any motion that may be
moved at the meeting in relation to the matter.
(2) The Minister may
deal with a matter to the extent that the board cannot deal with it because of
subclause (1).
18 . Minister may declare cl. 15 and 17
inapplicable
(1) The Minister may,
in writing, declare that clause 15 or 17 or both of them do not apply in
relation to a specified matter either generally or in voting on particular
resolutions.
(2) The Minister must
cause a copy of a declaration made under subclause (1) to be laid before each
House of Parliament or dealt with under clause 19 within 14 days after the
declaration is made.
19 . Supplementary provision about laying
documents before Parliament
(1) If —
(a) at
the commencement of a period referred to in clause 18(2) in respect of a
document a House of Parliament is not sitting; and
(b) the
Minister is of the opinion that that House will not sit during that period,
the Minister must
transmit a copy of the document to the Clerk of that House.
(2) A copy of a
document transmitted to the Clerk of a House is to be —
(a)
taken to have been laid before that House; and
(b)
taken to be a document published by order or under the authority of that
House.
(3) The laying of a
copy of a document that is taken to have occurred under subclause (2) is to be
recorded in the Minutes, or Votes and Proceedings, of the House on the first
sitting day of the House after the Clerk received the copy.