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Queensland
Local Government and Other
Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Queensland
Local Government and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2006
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Part 2 Amendment of Local Government Act 1993
2 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3 Amendment of s 9 (Act applies only so far as expressly provided) 8
4 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 1, div 8A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Division 8A Reviewable local government matters from
SSS reviews
Subdivision 1 Preliminary
151A Definitions for div 8A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Subdivision 2 Referral and certification
151B Referral of SSS review recommendation to
commissioner ........................... 10
151C Certification by commissioner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Subdivision 3 Certified minor recommendation
151D Dealing with minor recommendation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Subdivision 4 Certified significant recommendation
151E Application of sdiv 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
151F Requirement for referendum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
151G Advice to Minister and local governments . . . . . . . . . 12
Subdivision 5 Implementation of significant recommendation
151H Referendum question approved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
151I Referendum question not approved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Subdivision 6 Implementation
151J Implementation of reviewable local government matter 14
5 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
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Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Division 5 Financial controllers
188A Procedures before appointment of financial controller 14
188B Appointment of financial controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
188C Functions of financial controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
188D Power of financial controller to advise chief executive
about resolution or order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
188E Countersigning cheques and authorising electronic
funds transfers .......................... 17
188F Local government to cooperate with financial
controller ............................ 17
188G Financial controller's employment conditions . . . . . . . 17
188H Recovery of amounts from local government . . . . . . . 18
6 Amendment of s 222 (Disqualification and vacation of office
for certain offences) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
7 Amendment of s 230 (Limitation on councillors' roles) . . . . . . . . . 19
8 Amendment of s 242 (Requirements of councillors before
acting in office) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
9 Insertion of new s 246A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
246A Recording of conflict of interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
10 Amendment of s 248 (Access to registers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
11 Amendment of s 250 (Improper use of information by councillors) 21
12 Amendment of s 304 (Deposit to accompany nomination). . . . . . 22
13 Amendment of s 308 (Termination of candidature before noon
on nomination day) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
14 Amendment of s 309 (Death of candidate). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
15 Amendment of s 313 (Procedure on death of candidate
when poll to be conducted) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
16 Amendment of s 314 (Disposal of deposits generally) . . . . . . . . . 23
17 Amendment of s 316 (Extension of times) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
18 Insertion of new s 316A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
316A Special provision about refunding deposits . . . . . . . . 23
19 Amendment of s 329 (Correction of errors etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
20 Replacement of ss 383 and 384. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
383 False or misleading information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
21 Amendment of s 385 (Bribery) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
22 Amendment of s 386 (Providing money for illegal payments) . . . 24
23 Amendment of s 389 (Forging or uttering electoral papers) . . . . . 25
24 Amendment of s 392 (Responsibility for election matter) . . . . . . . 25
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Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
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25 Insertion of new s 392B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
392B Lodging of how-to-vote cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
26 Amendment of s 393 (Headline to electoral advertisements). . . . 27
27 Amendment of s 394 (Misleading voters) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
28 Amendment of s 396 (Leave to vote) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
29 Amendment of s 397 (Canvassing in or near polling booths). . . . 28
30 Amendment of s 399 (Influencing voting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
31 Amendment of s 401 (Voting if not entitled) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
32 Amendment of ch 5, pt 8, hdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
33 Amendment of s 414 (Definitions for pt 8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
34 Insertion of new ss 417A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
417A Adjustment of prescribed amount in relation to
disclosure period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
35 Amendment of s 423A (Disclosure period for s 427A) . . . . . . . . . 31
36 Insertion of new s 425 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
425 Disclosure period for s 430A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
37 Amendment of ch 5, pt 8, div 3, hdg (Disclosure of gifts). . . . . . . 32
38 Amendment of s 426 (Definitions for div 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
39 Amendment of s 427 (Gifts to candidates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
40 Amendment of s 427A (Gifts to groups of candidates). . . . . . . . . 33
41 Amendment of s 428 (Certain gifts not to be received) . . . . . . . . 33
42 Insertion of new ss 428A to 428C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
428A Valuation of fundraising activity gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
428B Loans to candidates or groups of candidates. . . . . . . 35
428C Certain loans not to be received. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
43 Amendment of s 429 (Chief executive officer to give reminder
notice to candidates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
44 Amendment of s 430 (Gifts for third party expenditure for
political purposes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
45 Insertion of new s 430A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
430A Third party expenditure for political purposes . . . . . . 39
46 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 8, div 3, sdiv 2A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Subdivision 2A Disclosure by donors
431A Donations to candidates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
47 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 8, div 3, sdiv 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Subdivision 4 Operation of accounts
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Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
432A Requirement for candidate to operate dedicated
account ............................. 42
432B Requirement for group of candidates to operate
dedicated account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
48 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 8, div 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Division 4A Recording of group's membership and group's
agent
435A Definitions for div 4A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
435B Offence to advertise or fundraise for group if
nomination requirements not complied with . . . . . . . . 44
435C Record of group membership requirement. . . . . . . . . 45
435D Group agent nomination requirement. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
435E Register of group agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
49 Amendment of s 436 (Offences about returns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
50 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Part 9 Miscellaneous election matters
Division 1 Preliminary
441A Application of pt 9 to Brisbane City Council . . . . . . . . 48
Division 2 Code of conduct for candidates
441B Code of conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Division 3 Caretaker period arrangements
441C Definitions for div 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
441D Prohibition on major policy decision in caretaker
period ............................. 49
441E Invalidity of major policy decision in caretaker period
without approval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
441F Prohibition on election material in caretaker period . . 50
51 Insertion of new s 461A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
461A Recording of reasons for particular decisions . . . . . . 50
52 Amendment of s 1077 (Indictable offences and summary
offences) ...................................... 52
53 Insertion of new s 1077A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
1077A Designated election offences and application of
Criminal Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
54 Insertion of new ch 15, pt 5, div 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Division 11 Consideration of errors or omissions in
registers of interests and election disclosure
returns
Subdivision 1 Preliminary
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Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
1105A Definitions for div 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Subdivision 2 Investigating officers
1105B Appointment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
1105C Investigating officer's powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
1105D Investigating officer's identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
1105E Production or display of identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
1105F When investigating officer ceases to hold office. . . . . 56
1105G Resignation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
1105H Return of identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
1105I Impersonation of an investigating officer . . . . . . . . . . 57
Subdivision 3 Investigations
1105J Making of inquiries for local government . . . . . . . . . . 57
1105K Making of inquiries for department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
1105L Power to require information or document for local
government investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
1105M Power to require information or document for
department investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
1105N Referral to department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
1105O Access to information in register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Subdivision 4 Chief executive officer's authority under div 11
1105P Chief executive officer not subject to local government 61
55 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Part 3 Amendment of City of Brisbane Act 1924
56 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
57 Amendment of s 3A (Application of Local Government Act) . . . . 62
58 Insertion of new s 39BA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
39BA Recording of reasons for particular decisions . . . . . . 62
Part 4 Amendment of Electoral Act 1992
59 Act amended in pt 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
60 Amendment of s 162 (Headline electoral advertisements). . . . . . 64
61 Amendment of s 165 (Leave to vote) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
62 Amendment of s 166 (Canvassing etc. in or near polling places) 64
63 Amendment of s 167 (Interrupting voting etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
64 Amendment of schedule (Election Funding and financial
disclosure based on part XX of the Commonwealth Electoral Act) 65
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Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Part 5 Amendment of Local Government (Community Government
Areas) Act 2004
65 Act amended in pt 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
66 Amendment of s 11 (Provisions of Local Government Act
1993 that apply) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
2006
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Local Government Act 1993, and for other
purposes
s1 8 s4
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Preliminary 2
Clause 1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Local Government and Other 4
Legislation Amendment Act 2006. 5
Part 2 Amendment of Local 6
Government Act 1993 7
Clause 2 Act amended in pt 2 8
This part amends the Local Government Act 1993. 9
Clause 3 Amendment of s 9 (Act applies only so far as expressly 10
provided) 11
Section 9(2), `chapter 5, part 8'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`chapter 5, parts 8 and 9'. 14
Clause 4 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 1, div 8A 15
Chapter 3, part 1, after section 151-- 16
insert-- 17
s4 9 s4
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`Division 8A Reviewable local government 1
matters from SSS reviews 2
`Subdivision 1 Preliminary 3
`151A Definitions for div 8A 4
`In this division-- 5
minor matter means a relevant reviewable local government 6
matter the implementation of which has been agreed to in 7
writing by-- 8
(a) all local governments whose areas, or parts of whose 9
areas, are the subject of the matter; and 10
(b) all owners of land that is the subject of the matter. 11
minor recommendation means an SSS review 12
recommendation, if it is for the implementation of a minor 13
matter. 14
relevant reviewable local government matter means a 15
reviewable local government matter-- 16
(a) mentioned in section 64(1)(a), (c), (f) or (l); and 17
(b) that involves 2 or more local governments. 18
relevant SSS review, in relation to an SSS review 19
recommendation, means the SSS review out of which the SSS 20
review recommendation arose. 21
significant recommendation means an SSS review 22
recommendation, other than a minor recommendation. 23
SSS review means a review that-- 24
(a) examines governance and service delivery arrangements 25
in relation to 2 or more local governments; and 26
(b) is carried out under a review framework-- 27
(i) put in place by the Local Government Association, 28
local governments and the department; and 29
s4 10 s4
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(ii) generally referred to using the expression `Size, 1
Shape and Sustainability'. 2
SSS review recommendation means a recommendation, 3
arising out of an SSS review, for the implementation of a 4
relevant reviewable local government matter. 5
`Subdivision 2 Referral and certification 6
`151B Referral of SSS review recommendation to 7
commissioner 8
`(1) A local government may ask the Minister to refer an SSS 9
review recommendation to the commissioner. 10
`(2) Alternatively, the Minister may decide, without being asked 11
by a local government, to refer an SSS review 12
recommendation to the commissioner. 13
`(3) The Minister may require a request under subsection (1) to be 14
made in an approved form. 15
`(4) A request under subsection (1) may be made jointly by some 16
or all of the local governments that are the subject of the 17
recommendation. 18
`(5) In deciding under subsection (1) or (2) whether to refer the 19
SSS review recommendation to the commissioner, the 20
Minister may require the local governments that are the 21
subject of the recommendation to give the Minister all 22
information about the conduct of the relevant SSS review the 23
Minister reasonably requires. 24
`151C Certification by commissioner 25
`(1) If the Minister refers the SSS review recommendation to the 26
commissioner, the commissioner must decide whether or not 27
to certify the consultation for the relevant SSS review. 28
`(2) For subsection (1), the commissioner is only required to 29
decide whether the nature and extent of the consultation 30
forming part of the relevant SSS review was, in substance, at 31
s4 11 s4
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
least equivalent to the nature and extent of consultation 1
required of a commission-- 2
(a) under section 88, in relation to the reference of a 3
reviewable local government matter; and 4
(b) under section 90, in relation to a proposal to determine 5
that a reviewable local government matter be 6
implemented. 7
`(3) In deciding whether or not to certify the consultation, the 8
commissioner may require the local governments the subject 9
of the recommendation to give the commissioner all 10
information about the conduct of the relevant SSS review the 11
commissioner reasonably requires. 12
`(4) The commissioner must advise the Minister of the 13
commissioner's decision under this section as soon as 14
practicable after the decision is made. 15
`Subdivision 3 Certified minor recommendation 16
`151D Dealing with minor recommendation 17
`(1) This section applies if-- 18
(a) the SSS review recommendation is a minor 19
recommendation; and 20
(b) the commissioner certifies the consultation for the 21
relevant SSS review. 22
`(2) The Governor in Council must implement the reviewable 23
local government matter the subject of the recommendation as 24
soon as practicable after the Minister receives the 25
recommendation under subsection (1). 26
s4 12 s4
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`Subdivision 4 Certified significant 1
recommendation 2
`151E Application of sdiv 4 3
`This subdivision applies if-- 4
(a) the SSS review recommendation is a significant 5
recommendation; and 6
(b) the commissioner certifies the consultation for the 7
relevant SSS review. 8
`151F Requirement for referendum 9
`(1) A referendum must be held in relation to the SSS review 10
recommendation. 11
`(2) Division 7 applies, with any necessary changes, to the 12
referendum as if the referendum in relation to the SSS review 13
recommendation were a referendum to be held in relation to a 14
commission's proposed determination of a reviewable local 15
government matter. 16
`(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the necessary changes 17
mentioned in subsection (2) include any necessary changes to 18
words defined in schedule 2. 19
`151G Advice to Minister and local governments 20
`(1) As soon as practicable after the final result of the referendum 21
is known, the commissioner must give the Minister, and all 22
local governments the subject of the SSS review 23
recommendation, a report that includes the details of the result 24
of the referendum that the Minister reasonably requires. 25
`(2) The Minister may require a report under subsection (1) to be 26
given in an approved form. 27
s4 13 s4
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`Subdivision 5 Implementation of significant 1
recommendation 2
`151H Referendum question approved 3
`(1) This section applies if the report of the commissioner under 4
subdivision 4 indicates that the referendum question has been 5
approved by the affected area for the reviewable local 6
government matter that is the subject of the SSS review 7
recommendation. 8
`(2) The Governor in Council must implement the reviewable 9
local government matter the subject of the recommendation as 10
soon as practicable after the Minister receives the 11
commissioner's report. 12
`151I Referendum question not approved 13
`(1) This section applies if the report of the commissioner under 14
subdivision 4 indicates that the referendum question has not 15
been approved by the affected area for the reviewable local 16
government matter that is the subject of the SSS review 17
recommendation. 18
`(2) The Minister may, within 7 sitting days after the Minister 19
receives the report, table in the Legislative Assembly-- 20
(a) the commissioner's report; and 21
(b) a copy of the material that the Minister considered in 22
deciding whether to refer the SSS review 23
recommendation to the commissioner for certification of 24
the consultation for the relevant SSS review. 25
`(3) Within 7 sitting days after the Minister tables the 26
commissioner's report and other material under subsection 27
(2), the Legislative Assembly may resolve that the Governor 28
in Council be asked to make a regulation implementing the 29
reviewable local government matter. 30
`(4) If the Legislative Assembly resolves that the Governor in 31
Council be asked to implement the matter, the Governor in 32
Council must implement the matter as soon as practicable 33
after the resolution is passed. 34
s5 14 s5
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`Subdivision 6 Implementation 1
`151J Implementation of reviewable local government matter 2
`(1) This section applies if the Governor in Council is to 3
implement a reviewable local government matter under this 4
division. 5
`(2) Division 10 applies to the implementation. 6
`(3) However, for applying section 158(1), the reference to the 7
commissioner's and the commission's compliance with this 8
Act is taken to be a reference to the commissioner's and the 9
Minister's compliance with this division. 10
`(4) If a regulation is made to implement the matter and the 11
regulation is to commence on a later day fixed in it, for this 12
division, the matter must not be taken not to have been 13
implemented as soon as practicable only because of the later 14
commencement. 15
16
Examples of subsection (4)--
17
1 Because of the holding of quadrennial elections under this Act, or
18
fresh elections under the regulation, the regulation may commence
19
after its notification.
20
2 Because of financial implications, the regulation may commence at
21
the start of a financial year.'.
Clause 5 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 5 22
Chapter 3, part 2-- 23
insert-- 24
`Division 5 Financial controllers 25
`188A Procedures before appointment of financial controller 26
`(1) Before the Governor in Council or Minister exercises a power 27
under section 188B in relation to a local government, the 28
Minister must give a written notice of the proposed exercise 29
of the power to the local government. 30
`(2) However, the notice need not be given if-- 31
s5 15 s5
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(a) the local government has asked for the power to be 1
exercised; or 2
(b) the Minister reasonably considers giving the notice-- 3
(i) is likely to defeat the purpose of the proposed 4
exercise of the power; or 5
(ii) would serve no useful purpose. 6
`(3) The notice must state-- 7
(a) the reasons for the proposed exercise of the power; and 8
(b) a period within which the local government may make 9
submissions to the Minister about the proposed exercise 10
of the power. 11
`(4) The reasons stated in the notice are the only reasons that can 12
be relied on in support of the exercise of the power. 13
`(5) The Minister must have regard to all submissions made by the 14
local government within the stated period. 15
`(6) The power may be exercised without further notice to the 16
local government if-- 17
(a) the proposed exercise of the power is to proceed despite 18
the local government's submissions; or 19
(b) no submissions of the local government are received by 20
the Minister within the stated period. 21
`188B Appointment of financial controller 22
`(1) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, appoint a 23
financial controller for a local government. 24
`(2) The Minister must not recommend the Governor in Council 25
act under subsection (1) unless the Minister is satisfied on 26
reasonable grounds that the local government-- 27
(a) has not applied financial management policies and 28
principles required by the Local Government Finance 29
Standards for funds under its control; or 30
(b) has acted, or is about to act, in a way that-- 31
s5 16 s5
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Bill 2006
(i) caused, or may cause, a significant deterioration in 1
its financial viability; or 2
(ii) will, or may, cause it to become insolvent. 3
`188C Functions of financial controller 4
`(1) A financial controller appointed for a local government is 5
responsible for ensuring the local government adheres to its 6
budget. 7
`(2) Also, the financial controller-- 8
(a) may give advice about financial management to the 9
local government, including, for example, advice about 10
the preparation of a plan to address any financial 11
difficulties it may be experiencing; and 12
(b) may undertake other administrative duties requested by 13
the local government; and 14
(c) must undertake other administrative duties directed by 15
the Minister. 16
`188D Power of financial controller to advise chief executive 17
about resolution or order 18
`(1) This section applies if a financial controller for a local 19
government reasonably believes a resolution of the local 20
government, or an order of the local government giving effect 21
to a resolution of the local government-- 22
(a) will result in unlawful expenditure by the local 23
government; or 24
(b) will result in expenditure from grant moneys for a 25
purpose other than the purpose for which the grant was 26
given; or 27
(c) will cause the local government to become insolvent. 28
`(2) The financial controller must advise the chief executive of the 29
department of the resolution or order. 30
s5 17 s5
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`(3) The financial controller's advice to the chief executive under 1
subsection (2) must include reasons for the financial 2
controller's belief under subsection (1). 3
`(4) Neither the State nor the financial controller is legally liable 4
for any loss or expense incurred by a person because of the 5
advice given under subsection (2). 6
`188E Countersigning cheques and authorising electronic 7
funds transfers 8
`(1) If a financial controller is appointed for a local government, a 9
payment may be made from an account with a financial 10
institution kept by the local government only by a cheque 11
countersigned, or an electronic funds transfer authorised, by 12
the financial controller. 13
`(2) However, the financial controller may refuse to countersign 14
the cheque, or authorise the electronic funds transfer, only if 15
the financial controller reasonably believes-- 16
(a) the payment will result in unlawful expenditure by the 17
local government; or 18
(b) the payment will result in expenditure from grant 19
moneys for a purpose other than the purpose for which 20
the grant was given; or 21
(c) the payment will cause the local government to become 22
insolvent. 23
`188F Local government to cooperate with financial 24
controller 25
`If a financial controller is appointed for a local government, 26
the local government must cooperate with the financial 27
controller in relation to the performance of the financial 28
controller's functions under section 188C. 29
`188G Financial controller's employment conditions 30
`A financial controller appointed for a local government is to 31
be employed under the Public Service Act 1996. 32
s6 18 s6
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`188H Recovery of amounts from local government 1
`(1) The Governor in Council may direct a local government for 2
which a financial controller is appointed to pay the Minister a 3
stated amount for the costs and expenses of the financial 4
controller. 5
`(2) The stated amount may include salary and allowances payable 6
to the financial controller as a public service officer. 7
`(3) The direction may state a time for payment. 8
`(4) The stated amount is a debt payable to the State.'. 9
Clause 6 Amendment of s 222 (Disqualification and vacation of 10
office for certain offences) 11
(1) Section 222(1)(b), `384'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`383'. 14
(2) Section 222(1)(c), after `247'-- 15
insert-- 16
`, 250'. 17
(3) Section 222(3), from `satisfied that'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`satisfied that-- 20
(a) for a person who is not a local government 21
councillor--there are special circumstances why the 22
person should not be disqualified under the subsection 23
from becoming a local government councillor; or 24
(b) for a person who is a local government 25
councillor--there are special circumstances why-- 26
(i) the person should not be disqualified under the 27
subsection from again becoming a local 28
government councillor; and 29
(ii) the person's office as a local government 30
councillor should not be vacated.'. 31
s7 19 s9
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 7 Amendment of s 230 (Limitation on councillors' roles) 1
Section 230-- 2
insert-- 3
`(3) Subsection (4) applies if a councillor directs, purports to 4
direct or attempts to direct, an employee of the local 5
government, or another person otherwise engaged to provide 6
services to the local government, about the way the employee 7
or other person is to perform a relevant duty. 8
`(4) The councillor commits an offence. 9
Maximum penalty--85 penalty units. 10
`(5) In this section-- 11
relevant duty means the duty of giving the local government a 12
recommendation or advice about-- 13
(a) the grant of a licence, permit or approval, however 14
named, under an Act or under a local law of the local 15
government; or 16
(b) the grant of a concession, rebate or waiver in relation to 17
an amount owed to the local government; or 18
(c) the local government entering into a contract under 19
chapter 6, part 3; or 20
(d) disposing of land or a non-current asset; or 21
(e) allocating any of the local government's resources for 22
carrying out local government programs or projects. 23
resources, of the local government, means staff, funds, plant 24
and equipment of the local government.'. 25
Clause 8 Amendment of s 242 (Requirements of councillors before 26
acting in office) 27
Section 242(3A)-- 28
omit. 29
Clause 9 Insertion of new s 246A 30
After section 246-- 31
s 10 20 s 10
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
insert-- 1
`246A Recording of conflict of interest 2
`(1) This section applies if a councillor of a local government has a 3
conflict of interest, or could reasonably be taken to have a 4
conflict of interest, in an issue being considered or to be 5
considered at a meeting of the local government or any of its 6
committees. 7
`(2) For subsection (1), a councillor has a conflict of interest in an 8
issue if there is a conflict between the councillor's private 9
interest and the honest performance of the councillor's role of 10
serving the public interest. 11
`(3) The councillor must declare the conflict of interest to the 12
meeting. 13
`(4) The local government must ensure the declaration is recorded 14
in the minutes for the meeting. 15
`(5) The record must include-- 16
(a) the nature of the conflict of interest as described by the 17
councillor; and 18
(b) how the councillor dealt with the conflict of interest; and 19
(c) if the councillor voted on the issue--how the councillor 20
voted. 21
`(6) In this section-- 22
conflict of interest, for a councillor in an issue, does not 23
include a conflict of interest arising out of a material personal 24
interest the councillor has in the issue. 25
private interest includes both pecuniary and non-pecuniary 26
interests, and may include having received a donation to be 27
used for electoral purposes.'. 28
Clause 10 Amendment of s 248 (Access to registers) 29
(1) Section 248(2), from `other than'-- 30
omit, insert-- 31
`other than by, for each local government, the following-- 32
s 11 21 s 11
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(a) any councillor of the local government; 1
(b) the chief executive officer of the local government; 2
(c) a person permitted by law to have access to information 3
in the register, or the person's agent.'. 4
(2) Section 248-- 5
insert-- 6
`(5A) Subsections (3) to (5) do not apply to the accessing of 7
information included in a register of councillor's interests if 8
the information is prescribed under a regulation. 9
`(5B) The information prescribed under subsection (5A) must relate 10
only to the following-- 11
(a) gifts received; 12
(b) hospitality benefits received; 13
(c) memberships of organisations. 14
`(5C) The local government must ensure the information prescribed 15
under subsection (5A) is made available-- 16
(a) to any member of the public who asks to see it, at the 17
public office of the local government; and 18
(b) if the local government maintains a publicly accessible 19
website--by being displayed, as soon as practicable 20
after it is received, on the website.'. 21
Clause 11 Amendment of s 250 (Improper use of information by 22
councillors) 23
(1) Section 250(1) from `a councillor'-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`a councillor to gain, directly or indirectly, a financial 26
advantage for the person or someone else.'. 27
(2) Section 250, penalty, `35 penalty units'-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
`100 penalty units'. 30
s 12 22 s 15
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 12 Amendment of s 304 (Deposit to accompany nomination) 1
Section 304(1), after `a candidate'-- 2
insert-- 3
`, or another person on behalf of the person nominating as a 4
candidate,'. 5
Clause 13 Amendment of s 308 (Termination of candidature before 6
noon on nomination day) 7
Section 308(2)(b), `to the person'-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`to the person who paid the deposit'. 10
Clause 14 Amendment of s 309 (Death of candidate) 11
Section 309(b)-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`(b) the person's deposit must be refunded to-- 14
(i) if the deposit was paid by someone other than the 15
person--the other person; or 16
(ii) otherwise--the person's personal representative.'. 17
Clause 15 Amendment of s 313 (Procedure on death of candidate 18
when poll to be conducted) 19
(1) Section 313(2), from `must be refunded'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`must be refunded to-- 22
(a) if the deposit was paid by someone other than the 23
candidate--the other person; or 24
(b) otherwise--the candidate's personal representative.'. 25
(2) Section 313(3), `to the candidates'-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`to the persons who paid the deposits'. 28
s 16 23 s 20
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(3) Section 313(4) and (5), `Governor in Council'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`Minister'. 3
Clause 16 Amendment of s 314 (Disposal of deposits generally) 4
Section 314(1), `to the candidate'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`to the person who paid the deposit'. 7
Clause 17 Amendment of s 316 (Extension of times) 8
Section 316(2), `Governor in Council'-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`Minister'. 11
Clause 18 Insertion of new s 316A 12
Chapter 5, part 6, division 4, after section 316-- 13
insert-- 14
`316A Special provision about refunding deposits 15
`If under this division a deposit is to be refunded to a person 16
(the person entitled), it may be refunded to someone else with 17
the written authority of the person entitled.'. 18
Clause 19 Amendment of s 329 (Correction of errors etc.) 19
Section 329, `Governor in Council'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`Minister'. 22
Clause 20 Replacement of ss 383 and 384 23
Sections 383 and 384-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
s 21 24 s 22
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`383 False or misleading information 1
`(1) A person must not give information under this chapter to a 2
returning officer or to the chief executive officer of a local 3
government, including information in a document, that the 4
person knows is false or misleading in a material particular. 5
Maximum penalty--7 years imprisonment. 6
`(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person giving a document 7
if, when giving the document to someone, the person-- 8
(a) informs the other person, to the best of the person's 9
ability, how it is false or misleading; and 10
(b) if the person has, or can reasonably obtain, the correct 11
information--gives the other person the correct 12
information. 13
`(3) It is enough for a charge against a person for an offence 14
against subsection (1) to state the information, without 15
specifying which part of the information, was `false or 16
misleading'.'. 17
Clause 21 Amendment of s 385 (Bribery) 18
(1) Section 385(2)-- 19
insert-- 20
`Maximum penalty--7 years imprisonment.'. 21
(2) Section 385(3), penalty-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`Maximum penalty for subsection (3)--7 years 24
imprisonment.'. 25
Clause 22 Amendment of s 386 (Providing money for illegal 26
payments) 27
Section 386, penalty-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
`Maximum penalty--2 years imprisonment.'. 30
s 23 25 s 25
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 23 Amendment of s 389 (Forging or uttering electoral 1
papers) 2
(1) Section 389(1), penalty-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`Maximum penalty--10 years imprisonment.'. 5
(2) Section 389(2), penalty-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`Maximum penalty for subsection (2)--10 years 8
imprisonment.'. 9
Clause 24 Amendment of s 392 (Responsibility for election matter) 10
Section 392(1), penalty-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`Maximum penalty-- 13
(a) for an individual--20 penalty units; or 14
(b) for a corporation--85 penalty units.'. 15
Clause 25 Insertion of new s 392B 16
After section 392A-- 17
insert-- 18
`392B Lodging of how-to-vote cards 19
`(1) The person who authorised a how-to-vote card for a political 20
party, or for a candidate endorsed by a political party, for an 21
election must, not later than 5p.m. on the Friday that is 7 days 22
before the polling day for the election, lodge with the 23
returning officer for the election-- 24
(a) the required number of the how-to-vote cards; and 25
(b) a statutory declaration relating to any financial 26
contribution received from another political party or 27
another candidate, whether directly or from someone 28
else on behalf of the party or candidate, in relation to the 29
production of the how-to-vote card that states-- 30
s 25 26 s 25
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(i) who the financial contribution was received from 1
or on behalf of; and 2
(ii) the nature and amount of the financial contribution. 3
`(2) The person who authorised a how-to-vote card for a candidate 4
or a group of candidates for an election, other than a candidate 5
or group of candidates endorsed by a political party for the 6
election, must, by 5p.m. on the Friday that is 7 days before the 7
polling day for the election, lodge with the returning officer 8
for the election-- 9
(a) the required number of the how-to-vote cards; and 10
(b) a statutory declaration relating to any financial 11
contribution received from a political party or another 12
candidate, whether directly or from someone else on 13
behalf of the party or candidate, in relation to the 14
production of the how-to-vote card that states-- 15
(i) who the financial contribution was received from 16
or on behalf of; and 17
(ii) the nature and amount of the financial contribution. 18
19
Example for subsections (1) and (2)--
20
If polling day is Saturday, 15 January, the how-to-vote cards and
21
statutory declaration must be lodged by 5p.m. on Friday, 7 January.
`(3) The returning officer must reject a how-to-vote card received 22
under subsection (1) or (2) that does not comply with section 23
392A. 24
`(4) Before polling day, the returning officer must make a 25
how-to-vote card that the returning officer has not rejected 26
available for public inspection for free at-- 27
(a) the place of nomination under section 301; and 28
(b) if the place of nomination is not also the public office of 29
the local government to which the election relates--the 30
local government's public office. 31
`(5) On polling day, the returning officer must, to the extent that it 32
is reasonably practicable to do so, make the how-to-vote card 33
mentioned in subsection (4) available for public inspection for 34
free at each polling booth for which the how-to-vote card is 35
relevant. 36
s 26 27 s 26
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(6) An election is not invalid only because the returning officer 1
does not comply with subsection (4) or (5). 2
`(7) A person must not distribute, or permit or authorise someone 3
else to distribute, a how-to-vote card to which subsection (1) 4
or (2) applies on polling day unless subsection (1) or (2) has 5
been complied with for the card. 6
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 7
`(8) If, on polling day, an electoral officer reasonably suspects a 8
person is distributing a how-to-vote card to which subsection 9
(1) or (2) applies and that subsection (1) or (2) has not been 10
complied with for the card, the electoral officer may-- 11
(a) require the person to produce the how-to-vote card for 12
inspection; and 13
(b) confiscate any how-to-vote cards that have not been 14
lodged as required by subsection (1) or (2). 15
`(9) A person must not obstruct an electoral officer in the exercise 16
of the power under subsection (8)(b), unless the person has a 17
reasonable excuse. 18
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 19
`(10) In this section-- 20
financial contribution means a contribution in the form of 21
money, property or other valuable consideration. 22
obstruct includes hinder and attempt to obstruct. 23
required number, of how-to-vote cards, means 12 more than 24
the number of polling booths within the local government's 25
area at which the cards are to be distributed.'. 26
Clause 26 Amendment of s 393 (Headline to electoral 27
advertisements) 28
Section 393, penalty-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
`Maximum penalty-- 31
s 27 28 s 29
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(a) for an individual--10 penalty units; or 1
(b) for a corporation--40 penalty units.'. 2
Clause 27 Amendment of s 394 (Misleading voters) 3
(1) Section 394(1) and (2)-- 4
insert-- 5
`Maximum penalty--40 penalty units.'. 6
(2) Section 394-- 7
insert-- 8
`(4) In this section-- 9
publish includes publish on the Internet, even if the Internet 10
site on which the publication is made is located outside 11
Queensland.'. 12
Clause 28 Amendment of s 396 (Leave to vote) 13
Section 396, penalty-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`Maximum penalty-- 16
(a) for an individual--10 penalty units; or 17
(b) for a corporation--40 penalty units.'. 18
Clause 29 Amendment of s 397 (Canvassing in or near polling 19
booths) 20
(1) Section 397(1)(b), after `6m'-- 21
insert-- 22
`, or a shorter distance approved under subsection (3),'. 23
(2) Section 397-- 24
insert-- 25
`(3) The returning officer may approve a shorter distance for 26
subsection (1)(b) only on the conditions mentioned in 27
subsection (4). 28
s 30 29 s 33
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(4) For subsection (3), the conditions are-- 1
(a) the shorter distance applies only in relation to 2
canvassing for votes mentioned in subsection (2)(a); and 3
(b) the polling booth mentioned in subsection (1)(b)(i) must 4
be a place declared as a polling booth under section 5
352(1);1 and 6
(c) the shorter distance applies only in relation to the 7
casting of declaration votes before polling day under 8
section 352.'. 9
Clause 30 Amendment of s 399 (Influencing voting) 10
Section 399, penalty, `85 penalty units or'-- 11
omit. 12
Clause 31 Amendment of s 401 (Voting if not entitled) 13
Section 401, penalty-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`Maximum penalty--3 years imprisonment.'. 16
Clause 32 Amendment of ch 5, pt 8, hdg 17
Chapter 5, part 8, heading, after `gifts'-- 18
insert-- 19
`and loans and requirements for accounts'. 20
Clause 33 Amendment of s 414 (Definitions for pt 8) 21
(1) Section 414, definition disclosure period, paragraphs (b) and 22
(c)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`(b) for sections 427A, 428(1A), 428B and 428C--see 25
section 423A; and 26
1 Section 352 (Declaration voting before polling day)
s 34 30 s 34
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(c) for section 430--see section 424; and 1
(d) for section 430A--see section 425.'. 2
(2) Section 414, definition disposition of property-- 3
insert-- 4
`(g) payment for attendance at or participation in a 5
fundraising activity. 6
7
Example for paragraph (g)--
8
a payment made for admission to a social function, as the
9
highest bidder for an item at an auction or for buying a ticket in a
10
raffle'.
(3) Section 414, definition prescribed amount, paragraph (a)-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`(a) in sections 427(2)(b)(iii), 427A(2)(e), 428(1), 428B(4), 13
428C(1), 430A(1)(b) and 431A(6)2--$200; or'. 14
(4) Section 414, definition relevant details, paragraph (b)(ii)-- 15
omit, insert-- 16
`(ii) the title or other description of the trust fund or the 17
name of the foundation; and 18
(iii) if the gift is made out of a trust account of a lawyer 19
or accountant under the instructions of a person 20
who is in substance the giver of the gift--the name 21
and residential or business address of the person; 22
or'. 23
Clause 34 Insertion of new ss 417A 24
Chapter 5, part 8, division 1-- 25
insert-- 26
2 Sections 427 (Gifts to candidates), 427A (Gifts to groups of candidates), 428
(Certain gifts not to be received), 428B (Loans to candidates or groups of
candidates), 428C (Certain loans not to be received), 430A (Third party expenditure
for political purposes) and 431A (Donations to candidates)
s 35 31 s 36
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`417A Adjustment of prescribed amount in relation to 1
disclosure period 2
`(1) This section applies if-- 3
(a) during a disclosure period under this part, a regulation 4
prescribes an amount (the new amount) as the 5
prescribed amount for section 414, definition prescribed 6
amount, for a provision of this part; and 7
(b) the new amount is still in force as the prescribed amount 8
for the provision at the end of the disclosure period; and 9
(c) a person is required, under the provision, to give the 10
chief executive officer of a local government a return 11
that relates to the disclosure period. 12
`(2) For the completion of the return, the prescribed amount is 13
taken always to have been, for the whole of the disclosure 14
period, the new amount.'. 15
Clause 35 Amendment of s 423A (Disclosure period for s 427A) 16
(1) Section 423A, heading, `for s 427A'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`for particular sections'. 19
(2) Section 423A, `For section 427A,'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`For sections 427A, 428(1A), 428B and 428C,'. 22
Clause 36 Insertion of new s 425 23
Chapter 5, part 8, division 2, subdivision 2-- 24
insert-- 25
`425 Disclosure period for s 430A 26
`(1) For section 430A, the disclosure period for an election for a 27
local government other than the Brisbane City Council-- 28
(a) starts on the day after the day the returning officer 29
publishes notice of the election in a newspaper under 30
section 301; and 31
s 37 32 s 38
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(b) ends at 6p.m. on the polling day for the election. 1
`(2) For section 430A, the disclosure period for an election for the 2
Brisbane City Council-- 3
(a) starts on the day after the day of the issue of the writ for 4
the election; and 5
(b) ends at 6p.m. on the polling day for the election.'. 6
Clause 37 Amendment of ch 5, pt 8, div 3, hdg (Disclosure of gifts) 7
Chapter 5, part 8, division 3, heading, after `gifts'-- 8
insert-- 9
`and loans and requirements for accounts'. 10
Clause 38 Amendment of s 426 (Definitions for div 3) 11
(1) Section 426, definition group of candidates-- 12
omit. 13
(2) Section 426-- 14
insert-- 15
`agent, for a group of candidates for an election, means the 16
agent for the group recorded in a register of group agents 17
under section 435E. 18
group of candidates, for an election-- 19
1 A group of candidates, for an election, means a group of 20
individuals, each of whom is a candidate for the 21
election, if the group was formed-- 22
(a) to promote the election of the candidates; or 23
(b) to share in the benefits of fundraising for the 24
purposes of promoting the election of the 25
candidates; or 26
(c) for both paragraphs (a) and (b). 27
2 However, a group of candidates, for an election, does 28
not include a political party or an associated entity.'. 29
s 39 33 s 41
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 39 Amendment of s 427 (Gifts to candidates) 1
Section 427(2), `3 months'-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`15 weeks'. 4
Clause 40 Amendment of s 427A (Gifts to groups of candidates) 5
(1) Section 427A(2), `Within 3 months after the conclusion of the 6
election, the candidate'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`Within 15 weeks after the conclusion of the election, the 9
group's agent'. 10
(2) Section 427A(3), `A candidate'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`The agent'. 13
(3) Section 427A(3)(a), `the candidate gives'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`each candidate who is a member of the group gives'. 16
(4) Section 427A(3)(a), `states the candidate'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`states'. 19
(5) Section 427A(3)(a)(i), `does not'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`the candidate does not'. 22
(6) Section 427A(3)(a)(ii), `will give a return under the 23
section'-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`the group's agent will give a return under this section'. 26
Clause 41 Amendment of s 428 (Certain gifts not to be received) 27
(1) Section 428-- 28
s 41 34 s 41
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
insert-- 1
`(1A) It is unlawful for a group of candidates for an election, or a 2
person acting on behalf of a group of candidates for an 3
election, to receive, during the disclosure period for the 4
election, a gift made to or for the benefit of the group of 5
candidates, the value of which is the prescribed amount or 6
more unless-- 7
(a) the relevant details for the gift are known to the group or 8
person receiving the gift; or 9
(b) when the gift is made-- 10
(i) the person making the gift gives the group or 11
person receiving the gift details of the gift; and 12
(ii) the group or person receiving the gift has no 13
reasonable grounds to believe that the details given 14
are not the relevant details for the gift.'. 15
(2) Section 428(2), `person'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`person or group'. 18
(3) Section 428(2), `subsection (1)'-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`subsection (1) or (1A)'. 21
(4) Section 428(3), `subsection (1)'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`subsections (1) and (1A)'. 24
(5) Section 428(4), after `one candidate'-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`or group of candidates'. 27
(6) Section 428(5)-- 28
insert-- 29
`person acting on behalf of a group of candidates for an 30
election includes the group's campaign committee for the 31
election.'. 32
s 42 35 s 42
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 42 Insertion of new ss 428A to 428C 1
After section 428-- 2
insert-- 3
`428A Valuation of fundraising activity gifts 4
`For the application of section 427, 427A or 428 to a gift in 5
the form of a payment for attendance at or participation in a 6
fundraising activity, the value of the gift is taken to be the 7
gross amount of the payment, regardless of the value of 8
anything received in consideration for the payment. 9
`428B Loans to candidates or groups of candidates 10
`(1) Each candidate for an election must, within 15 weeks after the 11
conclusion of the election, give the chief executive officer of 12
the local government to which the election relates a return, in 13
the approved form, covering all loans received by the 14
candidate from a person other than a financial institution 15
during the disclosure period for the election. 16
`(2) The agent for a group of candidates for an election must, 17
within 15 weeks after the conclusion of the election, give the 18
chief executive officer of the local government to which the 19
election relates a return, in the approved form, covering all 20
loans received by the group from a person other than a 21
financial institution during the disclosure period for the 22
election. 23
`(3) A return under subsection (1) or (2) must state-- 24
(a) the total value of the loans; and 25
(b) the number of persons who made loans. 26
`(4) The return must also state the following for each loan with a 27
value of the prescribed amount or more-- 28
(a) the date on which the loan was made; 29
(b) for a loan from the members of an unincorporated 30
association-- 31
(i) the association's name; and 32
s 42 36 s 42
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(ii) unless the association is a registered industrial 1
organisation--the names and residential or 2
business addresses of the members of the executive 3
committee (however described) of the association; 4
(c) for a loan purportedly made out of a trust fund or out of 5
the funds of a foundation-- 6
(i) the names and residential or business addresses of 7
the trustees of the fund or other persons 8
responsible for the funds of the foundation; and 9
(ii) the title or other description of the trust fund or the 10
name of the foundation; and 11
(iii) if the loan is made out of a trust account of a 12
lawyer or accountant under the instructions of a 13
person who is in substance the lender--the name 14
and residential or business address of the person; 15
(d) if neither of paragraphs (b) and (c) apply to the 16
loan--the name and residential or business address of 17
the person who made the loan; 18
(e) the terms and conditions of the loan. 19
`428C Certain loans not to be received 20
`(1) It is unlawful for a candidate for an election, a group of 21
candidates for an election, or a person acting on behalf of a 22
candidate or group of candidates for an election, to receive a 23
loan of the prescribed amount or more from a person other 24
than a financial institution during the disclosure period for the 25
election unless the candidate, group or person keeps a record 26
of the following-- 27
(a) the terms and conditions of the loan; 28
(b) if the loan was received from a registered industrial 29
organisation other than a financial institution-- 30
(i) the name of the organisation; and 31
(ii) the names and addresses of the members of the 32
executive committee (however described) of the 33
organisation; 34
s 42 37 s 42
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(c) if the loan was received from an unincorporated 1
association-- 2
(i) the name of the association; and 3
(ii) unless the association is a registered industrial 4
organisation--the names and residential or 5
business addresses of the members of the executive 6
committee (however described) of the association; 7
(d) if the loan was paid out of a trust fund or out of the 8
funds of a foundation-- 9
(i) the names and residential or business addresses of 10
the trustees of the fund or other persons 11
responsible for the funds of the foundation; and 12
(ii) the title or other description of the trust fund, or the 13
name of the foundation; and 14
(iii) if the loan is made out of a trust account of a 15
lawyer or accountant under the instructions of a 16
person who is in substance the lender--the name 17
and residential or business address of the lender; 18
(e) if none of paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) applies--the name 19
and residential or business address of the person. 20
`(2) If a candidate, group or person receives a loan that, because of 21
subsection (1), it is unlawful for the candidate, group or 22
person to receive, an amount equal to the amount or value of 23
the loan-- 24
(a) is payable by the candidate, group or person to the local 25
government to which the election relates; and 26
(b) may be recovered by the local government from the 27
candidate, group or person as a debt. 28
`(3) In this section-- 29
person acting on behalf of a candidate or group of 30
candidates for an election includes the candidate's or group's 31
campaign committee for the election.'. 32
s 43 38 s 44
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
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Clause 43 Amendment of s 429 (Chief executive officer to give 1
reminder notice to candidates) 2
(1) Section 429(1A), after `apply'-- 3
insert-- 4
`because of subsection (1)'. 5
(2) Section 429-- 6
insert-- 7
`(1B) This section also applies if the agent for a group of candidates 8
for an election has not given the return the agent is required, 9
under section 427A(2), to give for the election. 10
`(1C) To remove any doubt, it is declared that this section does not 11
apply because of subsection (1B) if, under section 427A(3), 12
the agent is not required to give the return.'. 13
(3) Section 429(2), `2 months'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`10 weeks'. 16
(4) Section 429(2), `candidate'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`candidate or agent'. 19
(5) Section 429(3)(a), `3 months'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`15 weeks'. 22
(6) Section 429(3)(b)-- 23
insert-- 24
`· section 428B'. 25
Clause 44 Amendment of s 430 (Gifts for third party expenditure for 26
political purposes) 27
Section 430(2), `before the end of 3 months'-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
`within 15 weeks'. 30
s 45 39 s 45
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
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Clause 45 Insertion of new s 430A 1
After section 430-- 2
insert-- 3
`430A Third party expenditure for political purposes 4
`(1) This section applies if, during the disclosure period for this 5
section for an election (the relevant election) relating to a 6
local government (the relevant local government)-- 7
(a) a person (other than a political party, an associated 8
entity or a candidate for the relevant election) incurs or 9
has incurred expenditure for a political purpose in 10
relation to the relevant election; and 11
(b) the total amount of all the expenditure mentioned in 12
paragraph (a) is the prescribed amount or more. 13
14
Note--
15
The disclosure period for this section is defined in section 425.
`(2) The person must, within 15 weeks after the conclusion of the 16
relevant election, give the chief executive officer of the 17
relevant local government a return in the approved form 18
stating the following details about the expenditure-- 19
(a) the total value of the expenditure; 20
(b) when the expenditure was incurred; 21
(c) the particular purpose of the expenditure. 22
`(3) For subsection (1), a person does not include persons 23
appointed to form a committee to help the campaign in an 24
election of a candidate who has been nominated for election 25
by the registered officer of a political party if the campaign 26
committee is recognised by the political party as being part of 27
the political party. 28
`(4) Also, for subsection (1), a person does not include a person 29
who is a member of a candidate's campaign committee or a 30
group's campaign committee for an election of the candidate 31
or members of a group of candidates for the election. 32
`(5) Expenditure for a political purpose relating to 2 or more local 33
governments is taken to have been incurred for a political 34
purpose about an election relating to each local government. 35
s 46 40 s 46
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
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`(6) In this section-- 1
expenditure, for a political purpose, means expenditure for 1 2
or more of the following-- 3
(a) publication by any means (including radio or television) 4
of election matter; 5
(b) public expression of views on an issue in an election; 6
(c) a gift to a political party; 7
(d) a gift to a candidate in an election; 8
(e) a gift to a person on the understanding that the person or 9
someone else will apply, either directly or indirectly, the 10
whole or a part of the gift for a purpose mentioned in 11
paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d).'. 12
Clause 46 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 8, div 3, sdiv 2A 13
Chapter 5, part 8, division 3-- 14
insert-- 15
`Subdivision 2A Disclosure by donors 16
`431A Donations to candidates 17
`(1) This section applies if, during the disclosure period for a 18
candidate for an election for a local government, a person (the 19
donor), other than a political party, an associated entity, 20
another candidate for the election or a group of candidates for 21
the election, makes a gift in relation to the election to-- 22
(a) the candidate; or 23
(b) a group of candidates for the election of which the 24
candidate is a member. 25
`(2) When the candidate or group of candidates receives the gift, 26
the relevant person must inform the donor of the donor's 27
requirement to lodge a return under this section. 28
`(3) The donor must, within 15 weeks after the polling day for the 29
election, give the chief executive officer of the local 30
s 46 41 s 46
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
government a return, in the approved form, stating the 1
required details of the gift. 2
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 3
`(4) Subsection (3) applies to the donor even if at the time the 4
donor made the gift the donor was outside Queensland. 5
`(5) If a person makes a gift to any person with the intention of 6
benefiting a particular candidate, the person is taken for 7
subsection (1) to have made the gift directly to the candidate. 8
`(6) The donor need not give a return under subsection (3) if the 9
total amount or value of all gifts to which subsection (1) 10
applies was less than the prescribed amount. 11
`(7) For subsection (3), the required details of a gift are its amount 12
or value, the date on which it was made and-- 13
(a) if the gift was made to an unincorporated association-- 14
(i) the association's name; and 15
(ii) unless the association is a registered industrial 16
organisation--the names and residential or 17
business addresses of the members of the executive 18
committee (however described) of the association; 19
or 20
(b) if the gift was made to a trust fund or paid into the funds 21
of a foundation-- 22
(i) the names and residential or business addresses of 23
the trustees of the fund or other persons 24
responsible for the funds of the foundation; and 25
(ii) the title or other description of the trust fund or the 26
name of the foundation; or 27
(c) in any other case--the name and residential or business 28
address of the person to whom the gift was given. 29
`(8) In this section-- 30
relevant person means-- 31
(a) if it is the group of candidates that receives the gift--the 32
group's agent; or 33
(b) otherwise--the candidate.'. 34
s 47 42 s 47
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
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Clause 47 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 8, div 3, sdiv 4 1
Chapter 5, part 8, division 3-- 2
insert-- 3
`Subdivision 4 Operation of accounts 4
`432A Requirement for candidate to operate dedicated 5
account 6
`(1) This section applies to a candidate for an election. 7
`(2) The candidate must operate an account with a financial 8
institution if the candidate receives an amount mentioned in 9
subsection (3) or pays an amount mentioned in subsection (4). 10
`(3) All amounts received by the candidate, or by the candidate's 11
campaign committee, during the disclosure period for the 12
candidate for the election for the conduct of the candidate's 13
campaign, including all gifts received by the candidate for the 14
election, and all amounts received as loans to the candidate, 15
must be placed in the account. 16
`(4) All amounts paid by the candidate, or by the candidate's 17
campaign committee, during the disclosure period for the 18
candidate for the election for the conduct of the candidate's 19
campaign must be paid out of the account. 20
`(5) The account must not be used other than for receiving and 21
paying amounts under subsections (3) and (4). 22
`(6) The candidate must take all reasonable steps to ensure the 23
requirements of subsections (2) to (5) are complied with. 24
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 25
`(7) Amounts mentioned in subsections (3) and (4) do not include 26
amounts received or paid out by a group of candidates for the 27
election of which the candidate is a member. 28
`432B Requirement for group of candidates to operate 29
dedicated account 30
`(1) This section applies if a candidate for an election is a member 31
of a group of candidates for the election. 32
s 48 43 s 48
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(2) The group must operate an account with a financial institution 1
if the group receives an amount mentioned in subsection (3) 2
or pays an amount mentioned in subsection (4). 3
`(3) All amounts received by the group, or by the group's 4
campaign committee, during the disclosure period for the 5
candidates for the election for the conduct of the group's 6
campaign, including all gifts received by the group for the 7
election, and all amounts received as loans to the group, must 8
be placed in the account. 9
`(4) All amounts paid by the group, or the group's campaign 10
committee, during the disclosure period for the candidates for 11
the election for the conduct of the group's campaign for the 12
election must be paid out of the account. 13
`(5) The account must not be used other than for receiving and 14
paying amounts under subsections (3) and (4). 15
`(6) Each candidate who is a member of the group must take all 16
reasonable steps to ensure the requirements of subsections (2) 17
to (5) are complied with. 18
Maximum penalty for subsection (6)--100 penalty units.'. 19
Clause 48 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 8, div 4A 20
Chapter 5, part 8-- 21
insert-- 22
`Division 4A Recording of group's membership 23
and group's agent 24
`435A Definitions for div 4A 25
`In this division-- 26
group of candidates means a group of candidates mentioned 27
in division 3. 28
nomination entity, for a candidate's nomination, means-- 29
(a) for a candidate for an election for a local government 30
other than the Brisbane City Council--the returning 31
officer for the election; or 32
s 48 44 s 48
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(b) for a candidate for an election for the Brisbane City 1
Council--the town clerk of the Brisbane City Council. 2
nomination requirements means-- 3
(a) the record of group membership requirement stated in 4
this division; and 5
(b) the group agent nomination requirement stated in this 6
division. 7
relevant period, for a candidate for an election, means the 8
period-- 9
(a) starting at noon on the last day for the receipt of the 10
candidate's nomination for the election; and 11
(b) ending at 6p.m. on the day that is, under the Electoral 12
Act 1992 or this Act, the polling day for the election. 13
`435B Offence to advertise or fundraise for group if 14
nomination requirements not complied with 15
`(1) A candidate for an election who is a member of a group of 16
candidates for the election must not, during the relevant 17
period for the candidate for the election, advertise or fundraise 18
for the election unless the nomination requirements have been 19
complied with. 20
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 21
`(2) For subsection (1), the candidate advertises for the election 22
if-- 23
(a) a person, whether or not a member of the group, but 24
acting for the purposes of the group, prints, publishes, 25
distributes or broadcasts, or permits or authorises 26
someone else to print, publish, distribute or broadcast, 27
any advertisement, handbill, pamphlet or notice 28
containing election matter; and 29
(b) the election matter promotes the election of 1 or more of 30
the members of the group. 31
`(3) For subsection (1), the candidate fundraises for the election if 32
a person, whether or not a member of the group, but acting for 33
the purposes of the group, conducts an activity directed at 34
s 48 45 s 48
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
collecting money to be used for promoting the election of 1 or 1
more members of the group. 2
3
Examples of fundraising activities--
4
conducting a social function at which persons are charged for
5
admission, or conducting an auction or a raffle
`(4) It is a defence in a prosecution under subsection (1) for the 6
candidate to prove the candidate exercised reasonable 7
diligence to ensure no person acted in a way that would cause 8
the candidate to contravene the subsection. 9
`435C Record of group membership requirement 10
`(1) This section states the record of group membership 11
requirement. 12
`(2) The record of group membership requirement is a requirement 13
that, after the candidate was nominated for the election, but 14
before the commencement of the relevant period for the 15
candidate for the election, there was given to the nomination 16
entity for the candidate's nomination a record of the 17
membership of the group complying with subsection (3). 18
`(3) The record of the membership of the group must-- 19
(a) be in the approved form; and 20
(b) state the names of the candidates who are the members 21
of the group; and 22
(c) be signed by each of the candidates who are the 23
members of the group. 24
`(4) As soon as practicable after the nomination entity receives the 25
record of the membership of the group, the nomination entity 26
must ensure a copy of the record is displayed-- 27
(a) at the place of nomination; and 28
(b) if the place of nomination is not also the public office of 29
the local government to which the election relates--at 30
the local government's public office. 31
s 48 46 s 48
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
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`435D Group agent nomination requirement 1
`(1) This section states the group agent nomination requirement. 2
`(2) The group agent nomination requirement is a requirement 3
that, when the record of group membership requirement was 4
complied with, there was also given to the nomination entity 5
for the candidate's nomination an instrument, complying with 6
subsection (3), appointing an adult as an agent for the group. 7
`(3) The instrument appointing the agent must-- 8
(a) be in the approved form; and 9
(b) state the name and address of the person appointed as 10
agent; and 11
(c) be signed by each of the candidates who are the 12
members of the group; and 13
(d) be signed by the person appointed as agent, and include 14
or be accompanied by-- 15
(i) the person's signed agreement to being appointed 16
as the group's agent; and 17
(ii) the person's signed declaration that the person is 18
eligible to be appointed as the group's agent. 19
`(4) The instrument appointing the agent may be included in the 20
record of the membership of the group. 21
`435E Register of group agents 22
`(1) The nomination entity for a candidate's nomination must keep 23
a register to be known as the register of group agents. 24
`(2) The nomination entity must record in its register of group 25
agents the name and address of each person who is appointed 26
as the agent for a group of candidates that includes the 27
candidate as a member. 28
`(3) The appointment of an agent for a group of candidates-- 29
(a) is not effective under this Act until the appointment has 30
been recorded in the relevant register of group agents; 31
and 32
s 49 47 s 50
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(b) ceases to be effective only if the person's name is taken 1
from the register. 2
`(4) The name of a person may be taken from the register under 3
subsection (3)(b) only if-- 4
(a) the person gives the nomination entity a written notice, 5
signed by the person, stating that he or she has resigned 6
the appointment as agent; and 7
(b) the group of candidates gives the nomination entity a 8
written notice, signed by all members of the group, 9
stating that the person has ceased to be the group's 10
agent. 11
`(5) If the name of a person is taken from the register under 12
subsection (4), the group of candidates may act in accordance 13
with the group agent nomination requirement to appoint 14
another agent. 15
`(6) If no agent is currently recorded for a group of candidates in a 16
relevant register of group agents, all obligations under this Act 17
applying to an agent, including liability for any offence, apply 18
to each member of the group of candidates as if each 19
candidate was the appointed agent of the group.'. 20
Clause 49 Amendment of s 436 (Offences about returns) 21
Section 436-- 22
insert-- 23
`(2A) If a candidate is a member of a group of candidates mentioned 24
in division 3, and the group's agent is required under section 25
427A(2) or 428B(2) to give a return, the candidate must not 26
allow the agent to give the return if it contains particulars that 27
are, to the knowledge of the candidate, false or misleading in a 28
material particular. 29
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units.'. 30
Clause 50 Insertion of new ch 5, pt 9 31
Chapter 5-- 32
insert-- 33
s 50 48 s 50
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`Part 9 Miscellaneous election matters 1
`Division 1 Preliminary 2
`441A Application of pt 9 to Brisbane City Council 3
`This part applies to the Brisbane City Council. 4
`Division 2 Code of conduct for candidates 5
`441B Code of conduct 6
`(1) The chief executive of the department may develop, and make 7
publicly available to local governments and otherwise as the 8
chief executive considers appropriate, a code of conduct for 9
candidates for elections for local governments. 10
`(2) A candidate for an election for a local government may, by 11
written notice given to the chief executive officer of the local 12
government, agree in writing to comply with the code of 13
conduct. 14
`(3) The chief executive officer of the local government must keep 15
a register of candidates for elections for the local government 16
who have agreed to comply with the code of conduct. 17
`(4) The chief executive officer must-- 18
(a) make the register publicly available for inspection; and 19
(b) if asked by any person, advise the person whether or not 20
a stated candidate is included in the register. 21
`Division 3 Caretaker period arrangements 22
`441C Definitions for div 3 23
`In this division-- 24
s 50 49 s 50
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
caretaker period, for an election for a local government, 1
means-- 2
(a) for an election for the Brisbane City Council, the period 3
that, under the Electoral Act 1992, is the election period 4
for the election; or 5
(b) for an election for a local government other than the 6
Brisbane City Council, the election period for the 7
election under this Act. 8
major policy decision, for a local government, means a 9
decision-- 10
(a) about the appointment of a chief executive officer of the 11
local government; or 12
(b) about the remuneration of the chief executive officer of 13
the local government; or 14
(c) to terminate the employment of the chief executive 15
officer of the local government; or 16
(d) to enter into a contract the total value of which is more 17
than the greater of the following-- 18
(i) $150000; 19
(ii) 1% of the local government's net rate and utility 20
charges as stated in the local government's audited 21
financial statements included in the local 22
government's most recently adopted annual report. 23
`441D Prohibition on major policy decision in caretaker 24
period 25
`(1) A local government must not make a major policy decision in 26
the caretaker period for an election for the local government. 27
`(2) However, if the local government considers that, having 28
regard to exceptional circumstances that apply, it is necessary 29
to make the major policy decision in the public interest, the 30
local government may apply to the Minister for approval to 31
make the decision. 32
`(3) The Minister may give the approval if the Minister is satisfied 33
that, having regard to exceptional circumstances that apply, it 34
s 51 50 s 51
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
is necessary for the local government to make the major 1
policy decision in the public interest. 2
`(4) The Minister's approval may be given on conditions the local 3
government must comply with. 4
`(5) This section applies despite chapter 6, part 3. 5
`441E Invalidity of major policy decision in caretaker period 6
without approval 7
`(1) A major policy decision made by a local government in the 8
caretaker period for an election for the local government is 9
invalid to the extent the local government does not have the 10
Minister's approval under this division to make the decision. 11
`(2) A contract is void if it is the subject of a major policy decision 12
that is invalid. 13
`(3) A person who acts in good faith in relation to a major policy 14
decision of a local government, or in relation to a contract that 15
is the subject of a major policy decision, but who suffers loss 16
or damage because of any invalidity of the decision under 17
subsection (1) or because the contract is void under subsection 18
(2), has a right to be compensated by the local government for 19
the loss or damage. 20
`(4) The person may bring a proceeding to recover the 21
compensation in a court of competent jurisdiction. 22
`441F Prohibition on election material in caretaker period 23
`A local government must not, in the caretaker period for an 24
election for the local government, publish or distribute 25
election matter for the election.'. 26
Clause 51 Insertion of new s 461A 27
After section 461-- 28
insert-- 29
`461A Recording of reasons for particular decisions 30
`(1) This section applies if a decision made at a meeting-- 31
s 51 51 s 51
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(a) is inconsistent with a recommendation or advice given 1
to the local government by a person-- 2
(i) who is an employee of the local government or is 3
otherwise engaged to provide services to the local 4
government; and 5
(ii) whose duties include giving the recommendation 6
or advice; and 7
(b) either or both of the following apply to the decision-- 8
(i) the decision is about entering into a contract the 9
total value of which is more than the greater of the 10
following-- 11
(A) $150000; 12
(B) 1% of the local government's net rate and 13
utility charges as stated in the local 14
government's audited financial statements 15
included in the local government's most 16
recently adopted annual report; 17
(ii) the decision is inconsistent with-- 18
(A) the policy or approach ordinarily followed 19
by the local government for the type of 20
decision; or 21
(B) a policy previously adopted by the local 22
government by resolution, whether or not as 23
required by this Act, and still in force. 24
25
Examples of decisions to which subsection (1) might apply--
26
· the grant of a licence, permit or approval, however named, under an
27
Act or local law
28
· the grant of a concession, rebate or waiver in relation to an amount
29
owed to the local government
30
· disposing of land or a non-current asset
`(2) The chief executive officer of the local government must 31
ensure the minutes of the meeting include a statement of the 32
reasons for not adopting the recommendation or advice.'. 33
s 52 52 s 53
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 52 Amendment of s 1077 (Indictable offences and summary 1
offences) 2
Section 1077(2), after `against this Act'-- 3
insert-- 4
`, other than a designated election offence,'. 5
Clause 53 Insertion of new s 1077A 6
After section 1077-- 7
insert-- 8
`1077A Designated election offences and application of 9
Criminal Code 10
`(1) An offence (a designated election offence) against any of the 11
following provisions is a crime-- 12
· section 383 13
· section 385 14
· section 386 15
· section 389 16
· section 399 17
· section 401. 18
`(2) Sections 1078 and 1079 do not apply to a designated election 19
offence. 20
`(3) The Criminal Code, chapter 58A3 applies to a designated 21
election offence. 22
`(4) Without limiting subsection (3), the chapter applies to a 23
designated election offence as if the offence were an offence 24
mentioned in section 552B(1)(ka) of the code. 25
3 Criminal Code, chapter 58A (Indictable offences dealt with summarily)
s 54 53 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
1
Editor's note--
2
The Criminal Code, section 552B(1)(ka) refers to an offence against
3
chapter 14, chapter division 24 of the code.'.
Clause 54 Insertion of new ch 15, pt 5, div 11 4
Chapter 15, part 5-- 5
insert-- 6
`Division 11 Consideration of errors or 7
omissions in registers of interests 8
and election disclosure returns 9
`Subdivision 1 Preliminary 10
`1105ADefinitions for div 11 11
`In this division-- 12
appointing officer, for an investigating officer, means-- 13
(a) if the investigating officer is an investigating officer for 14
the department--the department chief executive; or 15
(b) if the investigating officer is an investigating officer for 16
a local government--the chief executive officer of the 17
local government. 18
department chief executive means the chief executive of the 19
department. 20
incorrect, for a register or return, includes incomplete. 21
investigating officer-- 22
1 An investigating officer, for the department, means a 23
person who is appointed under this division as an 24
investigating officer for the department. 25
4 Criminal Code, chapter 14 (Corrupt and improper practices at elections), chapter
division 2 (Legislative Assembly and Brisbane City Council elections and
referendums)
s 54 54 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
2 An investigating officer, for a local government, means a 1
person who is appointed under this division as an 2
investigating officer for the local government. 3
register means a register of interests under section 247. 4
return means-- 5
(a) a return under section 242; or 6
(b) a return under chapter 5, part 8. 7
`Subdivision 2 Investigating officers 8
`1105BAppointment 9
`(1) The department chief executive may appoint a person as an 10
investigating officer for the department. 11
`(2) The chief executive officer of a local government may act for 12
the local government to appoint a person as an investigating 13
officer for the local government. 14
`(3) The appointing officer may appoint a person as an 15
investigating officer only if the appointing officer is 16
satisfied-- 17
(a) the appointment is reasonably necessary for the proper 18
administration of this division; and 19
(b) the person has the necessary expertise or experience for 20
the appointment. 21
`1105CInvestigating officer's powers 22
`(1) An investigating officer holds office on the conditions stated 23
in-- 24
(a) the investigating officer's instrument of appointment; or 25
(b) a signed notice given to the investigating officer; or 26
(c) a regulation. 27
s 54 55 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(2) Subject to any limitation under subsection (3), for any matter 1
arising under this division in relation to a register or a return, 2
the investigating officer-- 3
(a) has all the powers of an investigating officer under this 4
division; and 5
(b) without further appointment, is an authorised person 6
under divisions 4, 5, 8 and 9. 7
`(3) The instrument of appointment, a signed notice given to the 8
investigating officer or a regulation may limit the investigating 9
officer's powers under this Act, including the powers the 10
investigating officer may exercise as an authorised person. 11
`(4) In this section-- 12
signed notice means a notice signed by the investigating 13
officer's appointing officer. 14
`1105DInvestigating officer's identity card 15
`(1) An investigating officer's appointing officer must give the 16
investigating officer an identity card. 17
`(2) The identity card must-- 18
(a) contain a recent photograph of the investigating officer; 19
and 20
(b) contain a copy of the investigating officer's signature; 21
and 22
(c) identify the investigating officer as an investigating 23
officer under this Act; and 24
(d) state an expiry date for the card. 25
`(3) This section does not prevent the issue of a single identity 26
card to a person for this division and other provisions, Acts or 27
purposes, including for example for the purposes of the 28
investigating officer's holding office as an authorised person 29
under this part. 30
s 54 56 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`1105E Production or display of identity card 1
`(1) In exercising a power under this division in relation to another 2
person, an investigating officer must-- 3
(a) produce the investigating officer's identity card for the 4
other person's inspection before exercising the power; 5
or 6
(b) have the identity card displayed so it is clearly visible to 7
the other person when exercising the power. 8
`(2) However, if it is not practicable to comply with subsection 9
(1), the investigating officer must produce the identity card 10
for the other person's inspection at the first reasonable 11
opportunity. 12
`1105F When investigating officer ceases to hold office 13
`(1) An investigating officer ceases to hold office if any of the 14
following happens-- 15
(a) the term of office stated in a condition of office ends; 16
(b) under another condition of office, the investigating 17
officer ceases to hold office; 18
(c) the investigating officer's resignation under section 19
1105G takes effect. 20
`(2) Subsection (1) does not limit the ways an investigating officer 21
for a local government may cease to hold office. 22
`(3) In this section-- 23
condition of office means a condition on which the 24
investigating officer holds office. 25
`1105GResignation 26
`An investigating officer may resign by signed notice given to 27
the investigating officer's appointing officer. 28
s 54 57 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`1105HReturn of identity card 1
`A person who ceases to be an investigating officer must 2
return the person's identity card to the investigating officer's 3
appointing officer within 21 days after the person ceases to be 4
an investigating officer, unless the person has a reasonable 5
excuse. 6
Maximum penalty--10 penalty units. 7
`1105I Impersonation of an investigating officer 8
`A person must not pretend to be an investigating officer. 9
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 10
`Subdivision 3 Investigations 11
`1105J Making of inquiries for local government 12
`(1) This section applies if the chief executive officer of a local 13
government suspects or believes, on reasonable grounds, that 14
information included in a register or return held by the local 15
government is incorrect because of an error or omission. 16
`(2) The chief executive officer, or, if directed by the chief 17
executive officer, an investigating officer for the local 18
government, may make all inquiries the chief executive officer 19
considers to be reasonable to find out whether and to what 20
extent the register or return is incorrect. 21
`1105KMaking of inquiries for department 22
`(1) This section applies if the department chief executive suspects 23
or believes, on reasonable grounds, that information included 24
in a register or return held by a local government is incorrect 25
because of an error or omission. 26
`(2) Without limiting subsection (1), receiving a report under this 27
division from the chief executive officer of the local 28
government may provide reasonable grounds under 29
subsection (1). 30
s 54 58 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(3) An investigating officer for the department, if directed by the 1
department chief executive, may make all inquiries the chief 2
executive considers to be reasonable to find out whether and 3
to what extent the register or return is incorrect. 4
`1105L Power to require information or document for local 5
government investigation 6
`(1) This section applies if the chief executive officer of a local 7
government suspects or believes, on reasonable grounds, 8
that-- 9
(a) either or both of the following applies-- 10
(i) information included in a register or return held by 11
the local government is incorrect because of an 12
error or omission; 13
(ii) an offence against this Act has been committed in 14
relation to a register or return; and 15
(b) a person-- 16
(i) is able to give information about the error, 17
omission or offence; or 18
(ii) holds a document relating to the error, omission or 19
offence. 20
`(2) The chief executive officer, or, if directed by the chief 21
executive officer, an investigating officer for the local 22
government, may require the person to give the information or 23
produce the document. 24
`(3) When making the requirement, the chief executive officer or 25
investigating officer must warn the person it is an offence to 26
fail to comply with the requirement unless the person has a 27
reasonable excuse. 28
`(4) The person must comply with the requirement unless the 29
person has a reasonable excuse. 30
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 31
`(5) If the person is an individual, it is a reasonable excuse for 32
failing to comply with the requirement that giving the 33
s 54 59 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
information or producing the document might tend to 1
incriminate the person. 2
`(6) It is a defence in a prosecution under subsection (4) that the 3
information or document sought by the chief executive officer 4
or investigating officer is not relevant to the error, omission or 5
offence. 6
`(7) If the person produces a document to the chief executive 7
officer or investigating officer, the chief executive officer or 8
investigating officer-- 9
(a) may keep the document to take an extract from it or 10
make a copy of it; and 11
(b) must return the document to the person as soon as 12
practicable after taking the extract or making the copy. 13
`1105MPower to require information or document for 14
department investigation 15
`(1) This section applies if the department chief executive suspects 16
or believes, on reasonable grounds, that-- 17
(a) either or both of the following applies-- 18
(i) information included in a register or return held by 19
a local government is incorrect because of an error 20
or omission; 21
(ii) an offence against this Act has been committed in 22
relation to a register or return; and 23
(b) a person-- 24
(i) is able to give information about the error, 25
omission or offence; or 26
(ii) holds a document relating to the error, omission or 27
offence. 28
`(2) Without limiting subsection (1), receiving a report under this 29
division from the chief executive officer of the local 30
government may provide reasonable grounds under 31
subsection (1). 32
s 54 60 s 54
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(3) The chief executive, or, if directed by the chief executive, an 1
investigating officer for the department, may require the 2
person to give the information or produce the document. 3
`(4) When making the requirement, the chief executive or 4
investigating officer must warn the person it is an offence to 5
fail to comply with the requirement unless the person has a 6
reasonable excuse. 7
`(5) The person must comply with the requirement unless the 8
person has a reasonable excuse. 9
Maximum penalty--40 penalty units. 10
`(6) If the person is an individual, it is a reasonable excuse for 11
failing to comply with the requirement that giving the 12
information or producing the document might tend to 13
incriminate the person. 14
`(7) It is a defence in a prosecution under subsection (5) that the 15
information or document sought by the chief executive or 16
investigating officer is not relevant to the error, omission or 17
offence. 18
`(8) If the person produces a document to the chief executive or 19
investigating officer, the chief executive or investigating 20
officer-- 21
(a) may keep the document to take an extract from it or 22
make a copy of it; and 23
(b) must return the document to the person as soon as 24
practicable after taking the extract or making the copy. 25
`1105NReferral to department 26
`(1) This section applies if, because of inquiries or requirements 27
made under this subdivision by the chief executive officer of a 28
local government or an investigating officer for a local 29
government, the chief executive officer of the local 30
government concludes on reasonable grounds that an offence 31
has been committed under this Act in relation to a return or 32
register. 33
s 55 61 s 55
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
`(2) The chief executive officer must report the chief executive 1
officer's conclusion, including the reasons for the conclusion, 2
to the department chief executive. 3
`(3) Subsection (2) does not limit any duty the chief executive 4
officer may have under the Crime and Misconduct Act 2001 to 5
notify the CMC of any complaint, information or matter that 6
the chief executive officer suspects involves, or may involve, 7
official misconduct under that Act. 8
`1105OAccess to information in register 9
`(1) To remove any doubt, it is declared that a relevant person 10
acting under this division in relation to a register held by a 11
local government is, for section 248(2)(c)(ii), a person 12
permitted by law to have access to information in the register. 13
`(2) In this section-- 14
relevant person means-- 15
(a) the department chief executive; or 16
(b) an investigating officer for the department; or 17
(c) an investigating officer for the local government. 18
`Subdivision 4 Chief executive officer's authority 19
under div 11 20
`1105P Chief executive officer not subject to local government 21
`The chief executive officer of a local government is not 22
subject to direction by or the approval of the local government 23
in acting under this division.'. 24
Clause 55 Amendment of sch 2 (Dictionary) 25
Schedule 2-- 26
insert-- 27
`designated election offence see section 1077A. 28
s 56 62 s 58
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
financial controller, for a local government, means a person 1
appointed under chapter 3, part 2, division 5 as a financial 2
controller for the local government.'. 3
Part 3 Amendment of City of Brisbane 4
Act 1924 5
Clause 56 Act amended in pt 3 6
This part amends the City of Brisbane Act 1924. 7
Clause 57 Amendment of s 3A (Application of Local Government 8
Act) 9
Section 3A(2), `chapter 5, part 8'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`chapter 5, parts 8 and 9'. 12
Clause 58 Insertion of new s 39BA 13
After section 39B-- 14
insert-- 15
`39BA Recording of reasons for particular decisions 16
`(1) This section applies if a decision made at a meeting-- 17
(a) is inconsistent with a recommendation or advice given 18
to the council by a person-- 19
(i) who is an employee of the council or is otherwise 20
engaged to provide services to the council; and 21
(ii) whose duties include giving the recommendation 22
or advice; and 23
(b) either or both of the following apply to the decision-- 24
s 58 63 s 58
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
(i) the decision is about entering into a contract the 1
total value of which is more than the greater of the 2
following-- 3
(A) $150000; 4
(B) 1% of the council's net rate and utility 5
charges as stated in the council's audited 6
financial statements included in the council's 7
most recently adopted annual report; 8
(ii) the decision is inconsistent with-- 9
(A) the policy or approach ordinarily followed 10
by the council for the type of decision; or 11
(B) a policy previously adopted by the council by 12
resolution, whether or not as required by this 13
Act or the Local Government Act, and still in 14
force. 15
16
Examples of decisions to which subsection (1) might apply--
17
· the grant of a licence, permit or approval, however named, under an
18
Act or local law
19
· the grant of a concession, rebate or waiver in relation to an amount
20
owed to the council
21
· disposing of land or a non-current asset
`(2) The town clerk must ensure the minutes of the meeting 22
include a statement of the reasons for not adopting the 23
recommendation or advice. 24
`(3) In this section-- 25
meeting means a meeting of-- 26
(a) the council; or 27
(b) a committee of the council appointed from among its 28
councillors.'. 29
s 59 64 s 63
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Part 4 Amendment of Electoral Act 1
1992 2
Clause 59 Act amended in pt 4 3
This part amends the Electoral Act 1992. 4
Clause 60 Amendment of s 162 (Headline electoral advertisements) 5
Section 162, penalty, `9 penalty units'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`10 penalty units'. 8
Clause 61 Amendment of s 165 (Leave to vote) 9
(1) Section 165, penalty, `9 penalty units'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`10 penalty units'. 12
(2) Section 165, penalty, `42 penalty units'-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`40 penalty units'. 15
Clause 62 Amendment of s 166 (Canvassing etc. in or near polling 16
places) 17
Section 166(1), penalty, `9 penalty units'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`10 penalty units'. 20
Clause 63 Amendment of s 167 (Interrupting voting etc.) 21
Section 167, penalty, `9 penalty units'-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`10 penalty units'. 24
s 64 65 s 66
Local Government and Other Legislation Amendment
Bill 2006
Clause 64 Amendment of schedule (Election Funding and financial 1
disclosure based on part XX of the Commonwealth 2
Electoral Act) 3
Schedule, section 304(4)-- 4
insert-- 5
`(ba) for a gift made out of a trust account of a lawyer or 6
accountant under the instructions of a person who is in 7
substance the giver of the gift--the name and residential 8
or business address of the person; and'. 9
Part 5 Amendment of Local 10
Government (Community 11
Government Areas) Act 2004 12
Clause 65 Act amended in pt 5 13
This part amends the Local Government (Community 14
Government Areas) Act 2004. 15
Clause 66 Amendment of s 11 (Provisions of Local Government Act 16
1993 that apply) 17
Section 11(2), after second dot point-- 18
insert-- 19
`· chapter 3, part 2, division 55'. 20
© State of Queensland 2006
5 Local Government Act 1993, chapter 3 (Interaction with the State), part 2
(Intervention by the State), division 5 (Financial controllers)
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