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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Food Amendment (Public Information
on Offences) Bill 2008
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Amendment of Food Act 2003 No 43 2
4 Consequential amendment of Fines Act 1996 No 99 2
5 Repeal of Act 2
Schedule 1 Amendment of Food Act 2003 3
Schedule 2 Consequential amendment of Fines Act 1996 12
b2007-162-04.d11
New South Wales
Food Amendment (Public Information
on Offences) Bill 2008
No , 2008
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Food Act 2003 to make further provision for the disclosure of
offences relating to the handling and sale of food, to provide for the disclosure of
penalty notice information, and to make further provision for payments into the Food
Authority Fund.
Clause 1 Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) 3
Act 2008. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation. 6
3 Amendment of Food Act 2003 No 43 7
The Food Act 2003 is amended as set out in Schedule 1. 8
4 Consequential amendment of Fines Act 1996 No 99 9
The Fines Act 1996 is amended as set out in Schedule 2. 10
5 Repeal of Act 11
(1) This Act is repealed on the day following the day on which all of the 12
provisions of this Act have commenced. 13
(2) The repeal of this Act does not, because of the operation of section 30 14
of the Interpretation Act 1987, affect any amendment made by this Act. 15
Page 2
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Amendment of Food Act 2003 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Food Act 2003 1
(Section 3) 2
[1] Section 4 Definitions 3
Insert in alphabetical order in section 4 (1): 4
Food Authority Fund means the fund established under section 5
117A. 6
register of offences means the register of offences kept under 7
Part 10A. 8
register of penalty notices means the register of penalty notices 9
kept under Part 10A. 10
[2] Section 5 Meaning of "food" 11
Omit "section 3B" from section 5 (1) (e). Insert instead "section 6". 12
[3] Section 117D 13
Insert after section 117C: 14
117D Payment of penalties and fines into Food Authority Fund 15
(1) Any monetary penalty or fine imposed for an offence under this 16
Act or the regulations and recovered in proceedings instituted by 17
the Food Authority is to be paid into the Food Authority Fund. 18
(2) If the amount paid into the Food Authority Fund under this 19
section in any financial year exceeds the maximum amount for 20
the financial year, the amount of the excess is to be paid into the 21
Consolidated Fund. 22
(3) The maximum amount for a financial year is $250,000 or, if the 23
regulations make provision for the determination of the 24
maximum amount for the financial year, the maximum amount 25
determined in accordance with those regulations. 26
(4) The regulations may make provision for the determination of the 27
maximum amount for a financial year by prescribing a maximum 28
amount for a financial year or by providing for the manner in 29
which the maximum amount for a financial year is to be 30
determined. 31
(5) Any such regulation may be made only with the approval of the 32
Treasurer. 33
Page 3
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Schedule 1 Amendment of Food Act 2003
(6) In this section, a reference to proceedings instituted by the Food 1
Authority includes: 2
(a) a reference to proceedings instituted under the direction or 3
on behalf, or for the benefit, of the Food Authority, and 4
(b) a reference to penalty notices issued by or under the 5
direction or on behalf of the Food Authority. 6
(7) In this section: 7
financial year means the period of 12 months commencing on 8
1 July in any year. 9
fine does not include any costs (including expenses or 10
disbursements) payable by a person under an order made by a 11
court in proceedings for an offence under this Act or the 12
regulations. 13
[4] Part 10A 14
Insert after Part 10: 15
Part 10A Disclosure of information about offences 16
and alleged offences 17
133 Register of offences 18
(1) The Food Authority may keep a register of information about 19
offences under this Act or the regulations relating to the handling 20
or sale of food (the register of offences). 21
(2) The register may contain any of the following information in 22
relation to a person who has been convicted by a court of an 23
offence under this Act or the regulations relating to the handling 24
or sale of food, or whose employee or agent has been convicted 25
of such an offence: 26
(a) the name of the person, 27
(b) the name and address of the place of business at which the 28
offence was committed, including the local government 29
area in which it is located, 30
(c) the name and address of the usual place of business of the 31
person, 32
(d) the trade name under which the person trades, 33
(e) if the person is a company, the name of the chief executive 34
officer and any director of the company, 35
Page 4
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Amendment of Food Act 2003 Schedule 1
(f) a description of the nature and circumstances of the 1
offence, the decision of the court, the penalty imposed and 2
any forfeiture incurred, 3
(g) the enforcement agency or other body under the direction 4
of which, or on behalf of whom, the relevant prosecution 5
was conducted, 6
(h) such other information of a general nature in relation to 7
matters connected with food safety or other interests of 8
consumers in food as the Food Authority thinks necessary. 9
(3) Information relating to a particular offence is not to be published 10
on the register until after the last day on which an appeal may be 11
made against the conviction. 12
(4) If an appeal is made against the conviction, information relating 13
to the offence is not to be published on the register unless a final 14
order has been made on appeal affirming the conviction. 15
(5) The register of offences may be kept in such form as the Food 16
Authority considers appropriate. 17
(6) For the purposes of this Part, an order under section 10 of the 18
Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 in relation to an offence 19
is taken to be a conviction for the offence. 20
133A Register of information about penalty notices 21
(1) The Food Authority may keep a register of information about 22
penalty notices issued for alleged offences under this Act or the 23
regulations relating to the handling or sale of food (the register of 24
penalty notices). 25
(2) The register may contain any of the following information: 26
(a) the name of any person served with a penalty notice for an 27
alleged offence under this Act or the regulations relating to 28
the handling or sale of food, 29
(b) the name and address of the place of business at which the 30
offence is alleged to have been committed, including the 31
local government area in which it is located, 32
(c) the name and address of the usual place of business of the 33
person, 34
(d) the trade name under which the person trades, 35
(e) if the person is a company, the name of the chief executive 36
officer and any director of the company, 37
(f) a description of the nature and circumstances of the alleged 38
offence, including the short title of the offence, 39
Page 5
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Schedule 1 Amendment of Food Act 2003
(g) the date, time and place of the alleged offence, 1
(h) the penalty notice infringement number, 2
(i) the amount payable under the penalty notice, 3
(j) the date the penalty notice was served, 4
(k) the enforcement agency or other body under the direction 5
of which, or on behalf of whom, the penalty notice was 6
served, 7
(l) the status of the penalty notice (that is, particulars of 8
whether the penalty notice has been fully or partly paid, 9
whether a penalty notice enforcement order under Part 3 of 10
the Fines Act 1996 has been issued in respect of the penalty 11
notice or whether the penalty notice is unresolved), 12
(m) such other information of a general nature in relation to 13
matters connected with food safety or other interests of 14
consumers in food as the Food Authority thinks necessary. 15
(3) Information relating to a penalty notice served on a person is not 16
to be published on the register unless: 17
(a) the amount payable under the penalty notice has been fully 18
or partly paid, or 19
(b) a penalty notice enforcement order under Part 3 of the 20
Fines Act 1996 has been issued in respect of the penalty 21
notice, or 22
(c) at least 70 days has elapsed since the penalty notice was 23
served and the penalty notice is unresolved. 24
(4) For the purposes of this section, a penalty notice is unresolved 25
until one of the following occurs (whichever happens first): 26
(a) the amount payable under the penalty notice is paid (in part 27
or in full), 28
(b) a penalty notice enforcement order under Part 3 of the 29
Fines Act 1996 has been issued in respect of the penalty 30
notice, 31
(c) an election is made by the person served with the penalty 32
notice to have the matter determined by a court in 33
accordance with Part 3 of the Fines Act 1996, 34
(d) a decision is made by the enforcement agency or other 35
body under the direction of which, or on behalf of whom, 36
the penalty notice was issued not to enforce the penalty 37
notice, 38
(e) a penalty reminder notice in respect of the offence is 39
withdrawn under the Fines Act 1996. 40
Page 6
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Amendment of Food Act 2003 Schedule 1
(5) The register of penalty notices may be kept in such form as the 1
Food Authority considers appropriate. 2
133B Publication of information on registers 3
(1) Any register kept under this Part is to be made available for 4
public inspection on an internet website of the Food Authority. 5
(2) Information contained in a register may be provided to members 6
of the public in any other manner approved by the Food 7
Authority. 8
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the Food Authority may publish 9
any information contained in a register kept under this Part in the 10
Gazette or in a newspaper circulating in this State. 11
133C Correction of register 12
(1) The Food Authority must correct any error in information in a 13
register kept under this Part as soon as practicable after becoming 14
aware of the error. 15
(2) The Food Authority may, at any time, correct any omission from 16
information in a register kept under this Part. 17
(3) The Food Authority may correct any error in, or omission from, 18
a register kept under this Part on its own initiative or on an 19
application by a person under this Part. 20
133D Removal of information from register 21
(1) The Food Authority may remove any information from a register 22
kept under this Part. 23
(2) The Food Authority must remove information about a conviction 24
for a particular offence from the register of offences as soon as 25
practicable after it has become aware that: 26
(a) the conviction has been quashed or annulled, or 27
(b) an appeal has been made against the conviction, or 28
(c) a period of 2 years has elapsed since the end of the period 29
during which an appeal could have been made against the 30
conviction, or if an appeal was made against the 31
conviction, the date on which a final order was made 32
affirming the conviction. 33
(3) However, in a case where the Food Authority removes 34
information from the register of offences because an appeal is 35
made against a conviction for an offence, the Food Authority may 36
Page 7
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Schedule 1 Amendment of Food Act 2003
restore information regarding the offence to the register if it is 1
satisfied that any such appeal was unsuccessful. 2
(4) The Food Authority may remove any information about a 3
conviction for an offence from the register of offences if it is 4
appropriate in the circumstances to remove the information from 5
the register. 6
(5) The Food Authority must remove information about a particular 7
penalty notice from the register of penalty notices as soon as 8
practicable after it has become aware that: 9
(a) the relevant penalty notice was not properly served, or 10
(b) the person on whom the notice was served has elected to 11
have the matter dealt with by a court, or 12
(c) a decision has been made by the enforcement agency or 13
other body under the direction of which, or on behalf of 14
whom, the penalty notice was issued not to enforce the 15
penalty notice, or 16
(d) a penalty reminder notice or penalty notice enforcement 17
order in respect of the penalty notice has been withdrawn 18
under the Fines Act 1996 (unless the enforcement action 19
authorised by the enforcement order is authorised by 20
another penalty notice enforcement order), or 21
(e) a penalty notice enforcement order in respect of the 22
penalty notice has been annulled under the Fines Act 1996 23
and the matter has been referred to a court, or 24
(f) a period of 12 months has elapsed since the date on which 25
the Food Authority was first authorised to publish 26
information about the particular penalty notice on the 27
register. 28
(6) The Food Authority may remove any information about a 29
particular penalty notice from the register of penalty notices if it 30
is satisfied it is appropriate in the circumstances to remove the 31
information from the register (for example, if the issue of the 32
penalty notice contravened any policy of the Food Authority 33
relating to enforcement of the Act). 34
(7) The Food Authority may remove information from a register on 35
its own initiative or on an application by a person under this Part. 36
133E Addition of information to register 37
(1) If any business named in a register is sold or otherwise disposed 38
of after the date on which an offence is committed, or a penalty 39
notice served, in relation to an offence committed or alleged to 40
Page 8
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Amendment of Food Act 2003 Schedule 1
have been committed in the conduct of the business, the Food 1
Authority may add information to the register for the purpose of 2
indicating that the business has been sold or otherwise disposed 3
of. 4
(2) The Food Authority may make such an addition to information 5
on a register on its own initiative or on an application by a person 6
under this Part. 7
133F Applications for changes to register 8
(1) An interested person in relation to any information on a register 9
kept under this Part may, by application to the Food Authority, 10
request the Food Authority: 11
(a) to make any correction or addition to information on the 12
register that the Food Authority is authorised or required to 13
make under this Part, or 14
(b) to remove information from the register on the ground that 15
the Food Authority is authorised or required by this Part to 16
remove the information. 17
(2) A person is an interested person in relation to information on a 18
register only if the information relates to the person or to the 19
person's employee or agent, or to a business or company which 20
the person owns or has an interest in. 21
(3) An application must: 22
(a) be made in a form approved by the Food Authority, and 23
(b) be accompanied by the fee (if any) prescribed by the 24
regulations. 25
(4) The Food Authority may reduce or waive payment of the whole 26
or any part of the fee. 27
(5) A person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Food Authority 28
not to make any correction or addition to information, or not to 29
remove any information, in accordance with the person's request 30
under this section may apply to the Administrative Decisions 31
Tribunal for a review of the decision. 32
(6) An application for such a review must be made within 28 days 33
after the day on which notice of the decision of the Food 34
Authority is received by the person. 35
133G Protection from liability (including defamation) 36
(1) No liability is incurred by the State, the Minister or the Food 37
Authority, a person acting under the direction of the Minister or 38
Page 9
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Schedule 1 Amendment of Food Act 2003
the Food Authority or any person or body engaged in the 1
administration of this Act or the Fines Act 1996 in respect of 2
anything done, or omitted to be done, in good faith in connection 3
with the keeping of a register under this Part or the making public 4
of any information contained on a register. 5
(2) No liability is incurred by a person for publishing in good faith: 6
(a) any information contained on a register kept under this 7
Part, or 8
(b) a fair report or summary of any such information. 9
(3) In this section: 10
liability includes liability for defamation. 11
the State includes the Crown in right of the State and the 12
Government of the State. 13
133H Privacy and personal information 14
(1) The Food Authority may exercise its functions under this Part 15
despite any prohibition in, or the need to comply with, the 16
Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. 17
(2) A public sector agency that holds personal information about a 18
person may disclose the information, without the consent of the 19
person, to the Food Authority, or to any person engaged in the 20
administration of this Act, for the purpose of enabling the Food 21
Authority to exercise its functions under this Part. 22
(3) In particular, the State Debt Recovery Office, and any person 23
engaged in the administration of the Fines Act 1996, is authorised 24
to disclose personal information about a person obtained under 25
that Act to the Food Authority, or to any person engaged in the 26
administration of this Act, for the purpose of enabling the Food 27
Authority to exercise its functions under this Part. 28
(4) In this section: 29
personal information has the same meaning as in the Privacy 30
and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. 31
public sector agency has the same meaning as in the Privacy and 32
Personal Information Protection Act 1998. 33
[5] Section 135 Exclusion of liability of the State and others 34
Insert after section 135 (3): 35
(4) This section does not affect the operation of section 133G. 36
Page 10
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Amendment of Food Act 2003 Schedule 1
[6] Section 137 Publication of names of offenders 1
Omit the section. 2
[7] Schedule 2 Savings, transitional and other provisions 3
Insert at the end of clause 1 (1): 4
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Act 2008 5
[8] Schedule 2, Part 5 6
Insert after Part 4: 7
Part 5 Provisions consequent on enactment of 8
Food Amendment (Public Information on 9
Offences) Act 2008 10
20 Payment of penalties and fines to Food Authority Fund 11
Section 117D, as inserted by the Food Amendment (Public 12
Information on Offences) Act 2008, applies to monetary penalties 13
and fines recovered on or after the commencement of that section 14
(regardless of when the relevant proceedings were instituted). 15
21 Register of offences 16
(1) New section 133 applies only to offences committed on or after 17
the commencement of that section. 18
(2) Section 137 (as in force immediately before its repeal by the 19
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Act 2008) 20
continues to apply in relation to any conviction for an offence 21
committed before the commencement of new section 133, as if 22
section 137 had not been repealed. Accordingly, the Food 23
Authority may continue to exercise its functions under section 24
137 in respect of offences committed before the commencement 25
of new section 133. 26
(3) In this clause: 27
new section 133 means section 133, as inserted by the Food 28
Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Act 2008. 29
22 Register of penalty notices 30
Section 133A (as inserted by the Food Amendment (Public 31
Information on Offences) Act 2008) applies only to penalty 32
notices served on or after the commencement of that section. 33
Page 11
Food Amendment (Public Information on Offences) Bill 2008
Schedule 2 Consequential amendment of Fines Act 1996
Schedule 2 Consequential amendment of Fines Act 1
1996 2
(Section 4) 3
Section 117A Disclosure of information by State Debt Recovery Office 4
Insert at the end of section 117A (1): 5
, or 6
(d) as authorised or required by or under any other Act. 7
Page 12
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