2010 THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (As presented) (Mr Zed Seselja) Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Contents Page Part 1 Preliminary 1 Name of Act 2 2 Commencement 2 3 Dictionary 2 4 Notes 2 5 Objects of Act 2 6 Territory plan 3 7 Appropriate Legislative Assembly committee 3 Part 2 Canberra infrastructure plan 8 Preparation of infrastructure plan 4 9 Contents of infrastructure plan 5 J2009-249 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Page Part 3 Canberra infrastructure commission Division 3.1 Establishment and functions 10 Establishment of Canberra Infrastructure Commission 6 11 Functions of commission 6 12 Ministerial direction 7 Division 3.2 Canberra infrastructure commissioner 13 Appointment of infrastructure commissioner 7 14 Commissioner's functions 8 15 Ending commissioner's appointment 8 Division 3.3 Staff and consultants of commission 16 Staff of commission 9 17 Consultants of commission 9 18 Delegation 10 Part 4 Canberra infrastructure board Division 4.1 Establishment and functions of board 19 Establishment of board 11 20 Board members 11 21 Infrastructure board's functions 11 22 Constitution of board 11 23 Appointment of chair and deputy chair 12 24 Ending board member appointments 12 25 Honesty, care and diligence of board members 14 26 Conflict of interest 14 27 Agenda to require disclosure of interest item 14 28 Disclosure of interests by board members 15 29 Reporting disclosed interests to Chief Minister 16 Division 4.2 Board meetings 30 Time and place of board meetings 17 31 Presiding member at meetings 17 32 Quorum at meetings 17 33 Voting at meetings 18 34 Conduct of meetings etc 18 contents 2 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Page Part 5 Reporting and referral 35 Commissioner to give report to Legislative Assembly 19 36 Commissioner to give mid-year review 19 37 Commissioner's annual report 20 38 Reporting sensitive information 20 39 Referral to auditor-general 21 Part 6 Miscellaneous 40 Protection from liability 23 41 Regulation-making power 23 Dictionary 24 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 contents 3 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY (As presented) (Mr Zed Seselja) Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 A Bill for An Act to establish the Canberra Infrastructure Plan, and for other purposes The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory enacts as follows: J2009-249 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 1 1 Part 1 Preliminary 2 1 Name of Act 3 This Act is the Infrastructure Canberra Act 2010. 4 2 Commencement 5 This Act commences on the day after its notification day. 6 Note The naming and commencement provisions automatically commence on 7 the notification day (see Legislation Act, s 75 (1)). 8 3 Dictionary 9 The dictionary at the end of this Act is part of this Act. 10 Note 1 The dictionary at the end of this Act defines certain terms used in this 11 Act. 12 Note 2 A definition in the dictionary applies to the entire Act unless the 13 definition, or another provision of the Act, provides otherwise or the 14 contrary intention otherwise appears (see Legislation Act, s 155 and 15 s 156 (1)). 16 4 Notes 17 A note included in this Act is explanatory and is not part of this Act. 18 Note See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of 19 notes. 20 5 Objects of Act 21 The main objects of this Act are-- 22 (a) to provide a long-term approach for identifying infrastructure 23 priorities to meet the demands of future population growth in 24 the ACT; and 25 (b) to establish a plan for that purpose; and page 2 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 6 1 (c) to establish a commission and appoint a commissioner to 2 monitor and report on the plan; and 3 (d) to establish an independent board with appropriate expertise to 4 advise on the commission's functions. 5 6 Territory plan 6 This Act does not permit the commissioner to do anything, or 7 authorise the doing of anything, that is inconsistent with the territory 8 plan. 9 7 Appropriate Legislative Assembly committee 10 (1) The Speaker may nominate a standing committee of the Legislative 11 Assembly to be the appropriate committee for this Act. 12 (2) If no nomination under subsection (1) is in effect, the appropriate 13 committee is the standing committee of the Legislative Assembly 14 responsible for the consideration of planning issues. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 3 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 8 1 Part 2 Canberra infrastructure plan 2 8 Preparation of infrastructure plan 3 (1) The Minister must prepare a Canberra Infrastructure Plan that 4 applies to the ACT. 5 (2) In preparing the infrastructure plan, the Minister must consider the 6 following factors: 7 (a) whole-of-life-cycle costs for constructing, maintaining and 8 decommissioning public assets; 9 (b) the scope for technological innovation in building and 10 maintaining infrastructure; 11 (c) environmental sustainability including recycling of materials, 12 waste management and efficient consumption of resources; 13 (d) the supply of labour and training requirements necessary to 14 build and maintain infrastructure; 15 (e) regulatory reform including simplification of government 16 administrative procedures to encourage private investment; 17 (f) availability of funding, including funding from the private 18 sector and the Commonwealth; 19 (g) the economic impact of infrastructure; 20 (h) the national capital plan, the territory plan and other ACT 21 government plans. 22 (3) The infrastructure plan is a notifiable instrument. 23 Note A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act. page 4 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 9 1 9 Contents of infrastructure plan 2 (1) The infrastructure plan must include-- 3 (a) a statement about how the need for and priority of 4 infrastructure projects are to be assessed and developed; and 5 (b) the following categories for infrastructure investment: 6 (i) health and community services; 7 (ii) education and training; 8 (iii) roads, car parking and cycle paths; 9 (iv) public transport; 10 (v) water supply and sustainability; 11 (vi) electricity, gas and alternative energy; 12 (vii) communications including broadband; 13 (viii) interstate freight and import/export; 14 (ix) sporting facilities; 15 (x) cultural and tourism facilities; 16 (xi) public places; 17 (xii) waste management; 18 (xiii) wastewater management, including stormwater and 19 sewerage; 20 (xiv) the city centre and town centres identified in the territory 21 plan. 22 (2) The infrastructure plan may include anything else the Minister 23 considers appropriate. 24 (3) The infrastructure plan may prioritise infrastructure projects. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 5 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 3.1 Establishment and functions Section 10 1 Part 3 Canberra infrastructure 2 commission 3 Division 3.1 Establishment and functions 4 10 Establishment of Canberra Infrastructure Commission 5 The Canberra Infrastructure Commission is established. 6 11 Functions of commission 7 The commission has the following functions: 8 (a) to advise the Minister on the preparation of the infrastructure 9 plan; 10 (b) to consult the community about infrastructure priorities; 11 (c) to monitor and report on the progress of the infrastructure plan; 12 (d) to oversee the state of infrastructure in the ACT; 13 (e) to refer appropriate infrastructure projects to the 14 auditor-general for audit; 15 (f) to report annually to the appropriate Legislative Assembly 16 committee; 17 (g) to publish data that helps to inform the debate on 18 infrastructure; 19 (h) to exercise any other function given to the commission under 20 this Act or any other territory law. 21 Note 1 A provision of a law that gives a function to an entity also gives the 22 entity the powers necessary and convenient to exercise the function (see 23 Legislation Act, s 196). 24 Note 2 Section 7 sets out what is the appropriate Legislative Assembly 25 committee. page 6 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Canberra infrastructure commissioner Division 3.2 Section 12 1 12 Ministerial direction 2 (1) Except as provided by this or any other territory law, the 3 commission is not subject to the direction or control of the Chief 4 Minister. 5 (2) The Chief Minister may give a direction to the commission, but 6 only-- 7 (a) after the Chief Minister has consulted with the commissioner; 8 and 9 (b) a direction of a general nature and not in relation to a particular 10 issue. 11 (3) A direction is a notifiable instrument. 12 Note A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act. 13 (4) The Chief Minister must present a direction to the Legislative 14 Assembly within 5 sitting days after the notification of the direction. 15 Division 3.2 Canberra infrastructure commissioner 16 13 Appointment of infrastructure commissioner 17 (1) The Chief Minister must appoint a person, other than a public 18 servant, to be the Canberra Infrastructure Commissioner. 19 Note 1 For the making of appointments (including acting appointments), see 20 the Legislation Act, pt 19.3. 21 Note 2 In particular, an appointment may be made by naming a person or 22 nominating the occupant of a position (see Legislation Act, s 207). 23 (2) However, the Chief Minister must not appoint a person as 24 commissioner unless satisfied that the person has the experience or 25 expertise necessary to exercise the functions of the commissioner. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 7 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 3.2 Canberra infrastructure commissioner Section 14 1 (3) The commissioner must be appointed for not longer than 5 years. 2 Note A person may be reappointed to a position if the person is eligible to be 3 appointed to the position (see Legislation Act, s 208 and dict, pt 1, 4 def appoint). 5 (4) The conditions of appointment of the commissioner are the 6 conditions agreed between the Chief Minister and the commissioner, 7 subject to any determination under the Remuneration Tribunal 8 Act 1995. 9 14 Commissioner's functions 10 The commissioner has the following functions: 11 (a) to exercise functions for the commission; 12 (b) to exercise any other function given to the commissioner under 13 this Act or any other territory law. 14 15 Ending commissioner's appointment 15 (1) The Chief Minister may end the commissioner's appointment-- 16 (a) if the commissioner contravenes a territory law; or 17 (b) for misbehaviour; or 18 (c) if the commissioner becomes bankrupt or personally insolvent; 19 or 20 (d) if the commissioner is convicted, in the ACT, of an offence 21 punishable by imprisonment for at least 1 year; or 22 (e) if the commissioner is convicted outside the ACT, in Australia 23 or elsewhere, of an offence that, if it had been committed in the 24 ACT, would be punishable by imprisonment for at least 1 year. 25 (2) However, before ending the commissioner's appointment under 26 subsection (1) (d) or (e) the Chief Minister must be satisfied that the 27 conviction affects the commissioner's suitability to be 28 commissioner. page 8 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Staff and consultants of commission Division 3.3 Section 16 1 (3) The Chief Minister must end the commissioner's appointment-- 2 (a) if the commissioner is absent for 14 consecutive days or for 3 28 days in any 12-month period, otherwise than on approved 4 leave; or 5 (b) for physical or mental incapacity, if the incapacity substantially 6 affects the exercise of the commissioner's functions. 7 Note A person's appointment also ends if the person resigns (see Legislation 8 Act, s 210). 9 Division 3.3 Staff and consultants of commission 10 16 Staff of commission 11 (1) The commission staff must be employed under the Public Sector 12 Management Act 1994. 13 (2) The commissioner has all the powers of a chief executive in relation 14 to the staff of the commission as if the staff were employed in a 15 department under the control of the commissioner. 16 17 Consultants of commission 17 (1) The commissioner may engage consultants for this Act. 18 (2) Consultants are to be engaged on terms decided by the 19 commissioner. 20 (3) However, this section does not give the commissioner a power to 21 enter into a contract of employment. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 9 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 3.3 Staff and consultants of commission Section 18 1 18 Delegation 2 The commissioner may delegate the commissioner's functions under 3 this Act to-- 4 (a) a member of the staff of the commission; or 5 (b) a person engaged by the commissioner under section 17. 6 Note For the making of delegations and the exercise of delegated functions, 7 see the Legislation Act, pt 19.4. page 10 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Establishment and functions of board Division 4.1 Section 19 1 Part 4 Canberra infrastructure board 2 Division 4.1 Establishment and functions of board 3 19 Establishment of board 4 The Canberra Infrastructure Board is established. 5 20 Board members 6 (1) The board has at least 5, but not more than 7, members. 7 (2) The commissioner is a member of the board. 8 21 Infrastructure board's functions 9 The board has the function of giving advice to the commissioner on 10 anything relevant to the commissioner's functions. 11 22 Constitution of board 12 (1) The Chief Minister must appoint the members of the board. 13 Note 1 For the making of appointments (including acting appointments), see 14 the Legislation Act, pt 19.3. 15 Note 2 Certain Ministerial appointments require consultation with an Assembly 16 committee and are disallowable (see Legislation Act, div 19.3.3). 17 (2) The Chief Minister must ensure that the following areas of 18 experience or expertise are represented among the members 19 appointed: 20 (a) engineering; 21 (b) architecture or planning; 22 (c) construction, including residential construction; 23 (d) community welfare; Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 11 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 4.1 Establishment and functions of board Section 23 1 (e) economics, finance or business. 2 (3) A member must be appointed for not longer than 3 years. 3 Note A person may be reappointed to a position if the person is eligible to be 4 appointed to the position (see Legislation Act, s 208 and dict, pt 1, 5 def appoint). 6 (4) The conditions of appointment of a member are the conditions 7 agreed between the Chief Minister and the member, subject to any 8 determination under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1995. 9 23 Appointment of chair and deputy chair 10 (1) The Chief Minister may appoint a chair and a deputy chair for the 11 board. 12 Note 1 For the making of appointments (including acting appointments), see 13 the Legislation Act, pt 19.3. 14 Note 2 Certain Ministerial appointments require consultation with an Assembly 15 committee and are disallowable (see Legislation Act, div 19.3.3). 16 (2) However, the Chief Minister must not appoint the commissioner as 17 chair or deputy chair. 18 (3) The Chief Minister must try to ensure that the board always has a 19 chair and deputy chair. 20 24 Ending board member appointments 21 (1) The Chief Minister may end the appointment of a member, other 22 than the commissioner-- 23 (a) if the member contravenes a territory law; or 24 (b) for misbehaviour; or 25 (c) if the member becomes bankrupt or personally insolvent; or 26 (d) if the member is convicted, in the ACT, of an offence 27 punishable by imprisonment for at least 1 year; or page 12 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Establishment and functions of board Division 4.1 Section 24 1 (e) if the member is convicted outside the ACT, in Australia or 2 elsewhere, of an offence that, if it had been committed in the 3 ACT, would be punishable by imprisonment for at least 1 year; 4 or 5 (f) if the member contravenes section 28 (Disclosure of interests 6 by board members); or 7 (g) if the member exercises the member's functions other than in 8 accordance with section 25 (Honesty, care and diligence of 9 board members). 10 Note The commissioner's appointment may be ended under s 15. 11 (2) However, before ending the member's appointment under 12 subsection (1) (d) or (e) the Chief Minister must be satisfied that the 13 conviction affects the member's suitability to be a member. 14 (3) The Chief Minister must end the member's appointment-- 15 (a) if the member is absent from 3 consecutive meetings of the 16 board, otherwise than on approved leave; or 17 (b) for physical or mental incapacity, if the incapacity substantially 18 affects the exercise of the member's functions; or 19 (c) if the member contravenes section 26 (Conflict of interest). 20 (4) The Chief Minister may end the appointment of the member 21 (the member concerned) if the board tells the Chief Minister in 22 writing that it has resolved, by a majority of the members, to 23 recommend to the Chief Minister that the member's appointment be 24 ended. 25 Note A person's appointment also ends if the person resigns (see Legislation 26 Act, s 210). Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 13 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 4.1 Establishment and functions of board Section 25 1 (5) The board may pass a resolution mentioned in subsection (4) only 2 if-- 3 (a) at least 21 days written notice of the intention to consider the 4 proposed resolution has been given to the member concerned; 5 and 6 (b) the member concerned has been given an opportunity to make 7 submissions and present documents to a meeting of the board; 8 and 9 (c) the board has considered any submission or document 10 presented to the board as mentioned in paragraph (b). 11 (6) The board's minutes in relation to a resolution under subsection (4) 12 must include-- 13 (a) a summary of any submissions made by the member 14 concerned; and 15 (b) a copy of any documents presented by the member concerned. 16 25 Honesty, care and diligence of board members 17 A member must, in exercising the member's functions, exercise the 18 degree of honesty, care and diligence required to be exercised by a 19 director of a corporation in relation to the affairs of the corporation. 20 26 Conflict of interest 21 A member must take all reasonable steps to avoid being placed in a 22 position where a conflict of interest arises in the exercise of the 23 member's functions. 24 27 Agenda to require disclosure of interest item 25 The agenda for each meeting of the board must include an item 26 requiring any material interest in relation to an issue to be 27 considered at the meeting to be disclosed at the meeting. page 14 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Establishment and functions of board Division 4.1 Section 28 1 28 Disclosure of interests by board members 2 (1) If a member has a material interest in an issue being considered, or 3 about to be considered, by the board, the member must disclose the 4 nature of the interest at a board meeting as soon as practicable after 5 the relevant facts come to the member's knowledge. 6 (2) The disclosure must be recorded in the board's minutes and, unless 7 the board otherwise decides, the member must not-- 8 (a) be present when the board considers the issue; or 9 (b) take part in a decision of the board on the issue. 10 (3) In this section: 11 associate, of a person, means-- 12 (a) the person's business partner; or 13 (b) a close friend of the person; or 14 (c) a family member of the person. 15 executive officer, of a corporation, means a person, by whatever 16 name called and whether or not the person is a director of the 17 corporation, who is concerned with, or takes part in, the 18 corporation's management. 19 indirect interest--without limiting the kinds of indirect interests a 20 person may have, a person has an indirect interest in an issue if any 21 of the following has an interest in the issue: 22 (a) an associate of the person; 23 (b) a corporation, if the corporation has not more than 24 100 members and the person, or an associate of the person, is a 25 member of the corporation; 26 (c) a subsidiary of a corporation mentioned in paragraph (b); 27 (d) a corporation, if the person, or an associate of the person, is an 28 executive officer of the corporation; Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 15 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 4.1 Establishment and functions of board Section 29 1 (e) the trustee of a trust, if the person, or an associate of the 2 person, is a beneficiary of the trust; 3 (f) a member of a firm or partnership, if the person, or an associate 4 of the person, is a member of the firm or partnership; 5 (g) someone else carrying on a business, if the person, or an 6 associate of the person, has a direct or indirect right to 7 participate in the profits of the business. 8 material interest--a board member has a material interest in an 9 issue if the member has-- 10 (a) a direct or indirect financial interest in the issue; or 11 (b) a direct or indirect interest of any other kind if the interest 12 could conflict with the proper exercise of the member's 13 functions in relation to the board's consideration of the issue. 14 29 Reporting disclosed interests to Chief Minister 15 (1) Not later than 3 months after the day an interest is disclosed under 16 section 28, the chair of the board must report to the Chief Minister 17 in writing about-- 18 (a) the disclosure; and 19 (b) the nature of the interest disclosed; and 20 (c) any decision by the board under section 28. 21 (2) The chair must also give the Chief Minister, not later than 31 days 22 after the end of each financial year, a statement that sets out the 23 information given to the Chief Minister in reports under 24 subsection (1) that relate to disclosures made during the previous 25 financial year. 26 (3) The Chief Minister must make a statement about the report to the 27 relevant committee of the Legislative Assembly not later than 28 31 days after the day the Chief Minister receives the statement. page 16 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Board meetings Division 4.2 Section 30 1 (4) In this section: 2 relevant committee means-- 3 (a) a standing committee of the Legislative Assembly nominated 4 by the Speaker for subsection (3); or 5 (b) if no nomination under paragraph (a) is in effect--the standing 6 committee of the Legislative Assembly responsible for public 7 accounts. 8 Division 4.2 Board meetings 9 30 Time and place of board meetings 10 (1) Meetings of the board are to be held when and where it decides. 11 (2) However, the board must meet at least once every 3 months. 12 (3) The chair-- 13 (a) may at any time call a meeting of the board; and 14 (b) must call a meeting if asked by the Chief Minister or at least 15 2 other members. 16 (4) The chair must give the other members reasonable notice of the time 17 and place of a meeting called by the chair. 18 31 Presiding member at meetings 19 (1) The chair presides at all meetings at which the chair is present. 20 (2) If the chair is absent, the deputy chair presides. 21 (3) If the chair and the deputy chair are absent, the member chosen by 22 the members present presides. 23 32 Quorum at meetings 24 Business may be carried on at a meeting of the board only if a 25 majority of the members appointed are present. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 17 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Division 4.2 Board meetings Section 33 1 33 Voting at meetings 2 (1) At a meeting of the board each member has a vote on each question 3 to be decided. 4 (2) A question is decided by a majority of the votes of the members 5 present and voting but, if the votes are equal, the member presiding 6 has a deciding vote. 7 34 Conduct of meetings etc 8 (1) The board may conduct its proceedings (including its meetings) as it 9 considers appropriate. 10 (2) A meeting may be held using a method of communication, or a 11 combination of methods of communication, that allows a board 12 member taking part to hear or otherwise know what each other 13 member taking part says without the members being in each other's 14 presence. 15 Examples 16 a phone link, a satellite link, an internet or intranet link 17 Note An example is part of the Act, is not exhaustive and may extend, but 18 does not limit, the meaning of the provision in which it appears (see 19 Legislation Act, s 126 and s 132). 20 (3) A board member who takes part in a meeting conducted under 21 subsection (2) is taken, for all purposes, to be present at the meeting. 22 (4) A resolution is a valid resolution of the board, even if it is not 23 passed at a meeting of the board, if all members agree to the 24 proposed resolution in writing or by electronic communication. 25 Example--electronic communication 26 email 27 (5) The board must keep minutes of its meetings. page 18 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 35 1 Part 5 Reporting and referral 2 35 Commissioner to give report to Legislative Assembly 3 (1) The commissioner must report to the appropriate Legislative 4 Assembly committee about the commission's operations and 5 functions for each financial year including the following: 6 (a) progress in relation to the infrastructure plan; 7 (b) the number of referrals to the auditor-general the commissioner 8 has made under section 39; 9 (c) anything the Chief Minister directs the commissioner to report 10 on. 11 Note Section 7 sets out what is the appropriate Legislative Assembly 12 committee. 13 (2) The commissioner must give the report to the appropriate 14 Legislative Assembly committee not later than 15 August following 15 the financial year. 16 (3) The commissioner may at any time prepare a report for the 17 appropriate Legislative Assembly committee on any matter arising 18 in connection with the exercise of the commissioner's functions. 19 36 Commissioner to give mid-year review 20 (1) The commissioner must prepare a mid-year review of infrastructure 21 projects for each financial year. 22 (2) The commissioner must give the mid-year review to the appropriate 23 Legislative Assembly committee not later than 15 February in the 24 financial year. 25 Note Section 7 sets out what is the appropriate Legislative Assembly 26 committee. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 19 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 37 1 37 Commissioner's annual report 2 A report prepared by the commissioner under the Annual Reports 3 (Government Agencies) Act 2004 for a financial year must include-- 4 (a) a copy of any direction given under section 12 (Ministerial 5 direction) during the year; and 6 (b) a statement by the commissioner about action taken during the 7 year to give effect to any direction given (whether before or 8 during the year) under that section. 9 38 Reporting sensitive information 10 (1) The commissioner must not include information in a report for the 11 appropriate Legislative Assembly committee if the commissioner is 12 of the opinion that the disclosure of the information would be 13 contrary to the public interest because the disclosure could-- 14 (a) be an unreasonable disclosure of personal information about a 15 person; or 16 (b) disclose a trade secret; or 17 (c) disclose information (other than a trade secret) having a 18 commercial value that would be, or could reasonably be 19 expected to be, destroyed or diminished if the information were 20 disclosed; or 21 (d) be an unreasonable disclosure of information about the 22 business, commercial or financial interests or affairs of an 23 entity; or 24 Note Entity includes a person (see Legislation Act, dict, pt 1). 25 (e) prejudice the investigation of a contravention of a law; or 26 (f) prejudice the fair trial of a person; or 27 (g) prejudice relations between the ACT government and another 28 government. page 20 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 39 1 (2) However, the commissioner may include in the report information 2 mentioned in subsection (1) if the commissioner is satisfied that the 3 substance of the information is public knowledge. 4 (3) If, under subsection (1), the commissioner omits information from a 5 report for the appropriate Legislative Assembly committee, the 6 commissioner may prepare a special report for the public accounts 7 committee that includes the information. 8 (4) The commissioner must give the special report to the presiding 9 member of the public accounts committee. 10 (5) The presiding member must present the special report to the public 11 accounts committee. 12 (6) A special report presented to the public accounts committee is taken 13 for all purposes to have been referred to the committee by the 14 Legislative Assembly for inquiry and any report that the committee 15 considers appropriate. 16 (7) In this section: 17 public accounts committee means the committee of the Legislative 18 Assembly whose functions include the examination of financial 19 statements for the Territory, a department or a territory authority. 20 39 Referral to auditor-general 21 (1) The commissioner may refer an infrastructure project to the 22 auditor-general for audit if-- 23 (a) the project-- 24 (i) has an initial total value of $10 million or more; or 25 (ii) has a revised total value of $10 million or more; or 26 (iii) is declared by the Chief Minister to be an infrastructure 27 project to which this section applies; and Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 21 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 39 1 (b) the commissioner is satisfied that it is in the public interest to 2 refer the project for audit. 3 (2) A declaration is a notifiable instrument. 4 Note A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act. page 22 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] Section 40 1 Part 6 Miscellaneous 2 40 Protection from liability 3 (1) An official is not civilly liable for anything done or omitted to be 4 done honestly and without recklessness-- 5 (a) in the exercise of a function under a territory law; or 6 (b) in the reasonable belief that the act or omission was in the 7 exercise of a function under a territory law. 8 (2) Any civil liability that would, apart from this section, attach to an 9 official attaches instead to the Territory. 10 (3) In this section: 11 official means-- 12 (a) the commissioner; or 13 (b) staff of the commission; or 14 (c) a member of the board; or 15 (d) anyone else exercising a function under this Act. 16 41 Regulation-making power 17 The Executive may make regulations for this Act. 18 Note A regulation must be notified, and presented to the Legislative 19 Assembly, under the Legislation Act. Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 23 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] 1 Dictionary 2 (see s 3) 3 Note 1 The Legislation Act contains definitions and other provisions relevant to 4 this Act. 5 Note 2 For example, the Legislation Act, dict, pt 1, defines the following terms: 6 · ACT 7 · appoint 8 · auditor-general 9 · bankrupt or personally insolvent 10 · Chief Minister 11 · entity 12 · Executive 13 · exercise 14 · financial year 15 · Legislative Assembly 16 · national capital plan 17 · territory plan. 18 appropriate Legislative Assembly committee means the appropriate 19 committee under section 7. 20 board means the Canberra Infrastructure Board established under 21 section 19. 22 commission means the Canberra Infrastructure Commission 23 established under section 10. 24 commissioner means the Canberra Infrastructure Commissioner 25 appointed under section 13. 26 infrastructure plan means the Canberra Infrastructure Plan prepared 27 under section 8. page 24 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au [Page Break] 1 Presentation speech Presentation speech made in the Legislative Assembly on 2010. 2 Notification Notified under the Legislation Act on 2010. 3 Republications of amended laws For the latest republication of amended laws, see www.legislation.act.gov.au. © Australian Capital Territory 2010 Infrastructure Canberra Bill 2010 page 25 Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel--also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au