PAYMENT SYSTEMS (REGULATION) ACT 1998 - SECT 21 Directions

PAYMENT SYSTEMS (REGULATION) ACT 1998 - SECT 21

  (1)   The Reserve Bank may give a direction to a participant in a designated payment system if the Reserve Bank considers that:

  (a)   the participant has failed to comply with a standard; or

  (b)   the participant has failed to comply with an access regime.

  (2)   The direction is to require the participant to take specified action, or to refrain from specified action, as the Reserve Bank considers appropriate having regard to the failure.

  (3)   The direction must be consistent with any applicable standards and with any applicable access regime.

  (4)   The direction may deal with the time by which, or the period during which, it is to be complied with.

  (5)   The direction is to be given by notice in writing given to the participant.

  (6)   The participant commits an offence if:

  (a)   the participant does, or fails to do, an act; and

  (b)   doing, or failing to do, the act results in a contravention of the direction; and

  (c)   the doing of the act, or the failure to do the act, occurs at a time when:

  (i)   the participant is still a participant in the payment system referred to in subsection   ( 1); and

  (ii)   that payment system is still a designated payment system.

Penalty:   50 penalty units

Note 1:   Chapter   2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.

Note 2:   If a body corporate is convicted of an offence against this subsection, subsection   4B(3) of the Crimes Act 1914 allows a court to impose a fine of up to 5 times the penalty stated above.

  (7)   If a contravention of the direction occurs in circumstances that give rise to the participant committing an offence against subsection   ( 6), the participant commits an offence against that subsection in respect of:

  (a)   the day on which the contravention occurs; and

  (b)   each subsequent day (if any) on which the contravention continues (including the day of conviction for any such offence or any later day).

Note:   This subsection is not intended to imply that section   4K of the Crimes Act 1914 does not apply to offences against this Act or the regulations.

  (8)   The direction:

  (a)   comes into force:

  (i)   unless subparagraph   ( ii) applies--on the day on which it is given; or

  (ii)   if the instrument giving the direction specifies a later day as the day on which it comes into force--on the day so specified; and

  (b)   continues in force until it is revoked.

  (9)   The Reserve Bank may revoke the direction by notice in writing given to the participant if, at the time of revocation, it considers that the direction is no longer necessary or appropriate.