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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Contents
Page
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Definitions 2
Part 2 Appointment and functions of justices of the peace
4 Appointment of justices of the peace 3
5 Persons who are eligible to be appointed as justices of the
peace 3
6 Applications to Minister 3
7 Oaths of office to be taken 4
8 Functions of justices of the peace 4
9 Vacation of office 4
Part 3 Miscellaneous
10 Notification of matters to Minister 5
11 Register of justices of the peace 5
12 Nature of proceedings for offences 5
Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Contents
Page
13 Guidelines to be publicly available 5
14 Regulations 6
15 Savings and transitional provisions 6
16 Amendment of Imperial Acts Application Act 1969 No 30 6
17 Review of Act 6
Schedule 1 Savings and transitional provisions 7
Contents page 2
I certify that this PUBLIC BILL, which originated in the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, has
finally passed the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL and the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY of NEW
SOUTH WALES.
Clerk of the Legislative Assembly.
Legislative Assembly,
Sydney, , 2002
New South Wales
Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Act No , 2002
An Act to provide for the appointment and functions of justices of the peace; and
for other purposes.
I have examined this Bill, and find it to correspond in all respects with the Bill as
finally passed by both Houses.
Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Assembly.
Clause 1 Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Part 1 Preliminary
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts:
Part 1 Preliminary
1 Name of Act
This Act is the Justices of the Peace Act 2002.
2 Commencement
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by
proclamation.
3 Definitions
In this Act:
exercise a function includes perform a duty.
function includes a power, authority or duty.
justice of the peace means a person who holds office as a justice of the
peace under this Act.
Page 2
Justices of the Peace Bill 2002 Clause 4
Appointment and functions of justices of the peace Part 2
Part 2 Appointment and functions of justices of the
peace
4 Appointment of justices of the peace
(1) The Governor may, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoint
a person as a justice of the peace.
(2) A person may not be appointed as a justice of the peace unless the
person is eligible to be so appointed.
(3) A person appointed as a justice of the peace is to hold office for a
period of 5 years from the date of his or her appointment and may, if
eligible to be appointed as a justice of the peace, be re-appointed.
5 Persons who are eligible to be appointed as justices of the peace
(1) A person is eligible to be appointed as a justice of the peace if the
person meets all of the following requirements:
(a) the person is at least 18 years of age,
(b) the person is nominated for appointment by a member of the
Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council,
(c) the person satisfies the criteria for appointment as a justice of
the peace prescribed by the regulations.
(2) A person seeking re-appointment as a justice of the peace is not
required to be nominated for re-appointment by a member of the
Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council.
(3) The Minister may issue guidelines with respect to the appointment of
justices of the peace.
6 Applications to Minister
(1) A person may apply to the Minister for appointment or re-appointment
as a justice of the peace.
(2) An application is to be in the form approved by the Minister and
accompanied by:
(a) except in the case of an application for re-appointment, a
written nomination signed by a member of the Legislative
Assembly or the Legislative Council, and
(b) any other documents required by the Minister.
Page 3
Clause 7 Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Part 2 Appointment and functions of justices of the peace
7 Oaths of office to be taken
A person who is appointed as a justice of the peace must not exercise
the functions of a justice of the peace unless the person has taken an
oath of office in the form and manner prescribed by the regulations.
8 Functions of justices of the peace
(1) A justice of the peace may exercise any function conferred or imposed
on a justice of the peace by or under the Oaths Act 1900 or any other
Act.
(2) The Minister may issue guidelines with respect to the exercise of
specified functions by justices of the peace under this or any other Act.
9 Vacation of office
(1) A person ceases to hold the office of a justice of the peace if the
person:
(a) completes a term of office and fails to apply for re-appointment
before the end of that term, or is not re-appointed, or
(b) resigns the office by instrument in writing addressed to the
Minister, or
(c) is removed from office by the Governor under subsection (2).
(2) The Governor may at any time, on the recommendation of the
Minister, remove a justice of the peace from office.
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the Governor may at any time, on the
recommendation of the Minister, remove a justice of the peace from
office:
(a) if the person becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of
any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors,
compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of
his or her remuneration for their benefit, or
(b) if the person becomes a mentally incapacitated person, or
(c) if the person is convicted in New South Wales of an offence
that is punishable by imprisonment for 12 months or more or is
convicted elsewhere than in New South Wales of an offence
that, if committed in New South Wales, would be an offence so
punishable, or
(d) in any other circumstances prescribed by the regulations.
Page 4
Justices of the Peace Bill 2002 Clause 10
Miscellaneous Part 3
Part 3 Miscellaneous
10 Notification of matters to Minister
(1) A justice of the peace must notify the Minister in writing of the
following:
(a) any matter that may cause the justice of the peace to cease to
satisfy the prescribed criteria for appointment as a justice of the
peace,
(b) if the justice of the peace satisfies any of the grounds for
removal from office under section 9 (3).
(2) The notice must be given as soon as practicable after the justice of the
peace becomes aware of the matter concerned.
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.
11 Register of justices of the peace
(1) The Minister is to cause to be kept and maintained a register of justices
of the peace.
(2) The register is to be in the form determined by the Minister and is to
contain the particulars prescribed by the regulations.
(3) The register is to be available for inspection by the public, free of
charge, during business hours at such places as the Minister
determines.
(4) The Director-General of the Attorney General's Department may issue
a certificate certifying as to whether a person was registered on the
register at a particular time. The certificate is admissible in legal
proceedings as evidence of the matters certified.
(5) Information entered on the register is presumed (in the absence of
evidence to the contrary) to be correct.
12 Nature of proceedings for offences
Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be
dealt with summarily before a Local Court.
13 Guidelines to be publicly available
The Minister must ensure that guidelines issued by the Minister under
this Act are publicly available.
Page 5
Clause 14 Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Part 3 Miscellaneous
14 Regulations
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for
or with respect to any matter that is required or permitted to be
prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for
carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
(2) The regulations may create offences punishable by a penalty not
exceeding 10 penalty units.
15 Savings and transitional provisions
Schedule 1 has effect.
16 Amendment of Imperial Acts Application Act 1969 No 30
The Imperial Acts Application Act 1969 is amended by omitting
Division 8 (Justices of the Peace) of Part 3.
17 Review of Act
(1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy
objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act
remain appropriate for securing those objectives.
(2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of
5 years from the date of assent to this Act.
(3) A report of the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of
Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years.
Page 6
Justices of the Peace Bill 2002
Savings and transitional provisions Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Savings and transitional provisions
(Section 15)
1 Regulations
(1) The regulations may contain provisions of a savings or transitional
nature consequent on the enactment of the following Acts:
this Act
(2) Any such provision may, if the regulations so provide, take effect from
the date of assent to the Act concerned or a later date.
(3) To the extent to which any such provision takes effect from a date that
is earlier than the date of its publication in the Gazette, the provision
does not operate so as:
(a) to affect, in a manner prejudicial to any person (other than the
State or an authority of the State), the rights of that person
existing before the date of its publication, or
(b) to impose liabilities on any person (other than the State or an
authority of the State) in respect of anything done or omitted to
be done before the date of its publication.
2 Existing justices of the peace
(1) A person who, immediately before the commencement of section 4,
was appointed, or held office, as a justice of the peace for the State, is
taken to be so appointed, or to hold such office, under this Act until the
third anniversary of the commencement of section 4, unless the justice
of the peace sooner ceases to hold office.
(2) Nothing in this clause prevents a person referred to in subclause (1)
from being re-appointed, or from resigning or being removed from
office, in accordance with this Act, as a justice of the peace.
Page 7
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