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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
New South Wales
Racing Legislation Amendment
(Probity) Bill 2000
Contents
Page
1 Name of Act 2
2 Commencement 2
3 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 No
119 2
4 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act
1977 No 57 2
5 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 No
37 2
Schedules
1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 3
2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act
1977 17
3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 30
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New South Wales
Racing Legislation Amendment
(Probity) Bill 2000
No , 2000
A Bill for
An Act to amend the Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985, the Harness Racing
New South Wales Act 1977 and the Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 to make
provision for probity checks of certain persons involved in the control and
regulation of racing; and for other purposes.
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Clause 1 Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
The Legislature of New South Wales enacts: 1
1 Name of Act 2
This Act is the Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Act 2000. 3
2 Commencement 4
This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by 5
proclamation. 6
3 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 No 119 7
The Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 is amended as set out in 8
Schedule 1. 9
4 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 No 57 10
The Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 is amended as set out 11
in Schedule 2. 12
5 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 No 37 13
The Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 is amended as set out in 14
Schedule 3. 15
Page 2
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing 1
Authority Act 1985 2
(Section 3) 3
[1] Section 6 Constitution of Board 4
Insert at the end of section 6 (1): 5
Note. Part 3A provides that a person is not eligible to be appointed as a 6
director of the Board unless the Minister has determined for the purposes 7
of the appointment that the person is a suitable person. 8
[2] Part 3A 9
Insert after Part 3: 10
Part 3A Probity checking of executive officers and 11
key employees 12
15A Definitions 13
(1) In this Part: 14
director executive officer means a person who is a director or 15
who is acting as a director. 16
executive officer means each of the following: 17
(a) a director or a person acting as a director, 18
(b) a person who holds or is acting in the position of chief 19
executive officer, 20
(c) a person who holds or is acting in the position on the 21
Authority's staff of Chief Steward (or such other 22
position on the Authority's staff as may be prescribed 23
by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph as 24
exercising the functions of Chief Steward). 25
key employee means a person who holds or is acting in a 26
position that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes 27
of this definition as a key employee position, being a position 28
on the staff of: 29
Page 3
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
(a) the Authority, or 1
(b) a greyhound racing club that is registered with the 2
Authority. 3
misconduct under this Part--see subsection (2). 4
staff executive officer means a person referred to in paragraph 5
(b) or (c) of the definition of executive officer. 6
(2) A contravention of any of the following provisions of this Part 7
constitutes misconduct under this Part: 8
(a) section 15E (2) or (3) (How probity checks are made), 9
(b) section 15G (Obligation to report change in state of 10
affairs). 11
15B Suitability for appointment as executive officer or key employee 12
(1) A person is not eligible to be appointed as an executive officer 13
unless the Minister has determined for the purposes of the 14
appointment that the person is a suitable person to be an 15
executive officer. 16
(2) A person is not eligible to be appointed as a key employee 17
unless the Authority has determined for the purposes of the 18
appointment that the person is a suitable person to be a key 19
employee. 20
(3) The Minister may carry out a probity check of a person to 21
determine the person's suitability to be an executive officer. 22
(4) The Authority may carry out a probity check of a person to 23
determine the person's suitability to be a key employee. 24
(5) For the purposes of this section, appointed includes employed 25
or engaged, and appointment has a corresponding meaning. 26
15C Ongoing probity checks of executive officers and key employees 27
(1) The Minister may from time to time carry out a probity check 28
of a person who is an executive officer to determine whether 29
the person is a suitable person to be an executive officer. 30
(2) The Authority may from time to time carry out a probity check 31
of a person who is a key employee to determine whether the 32
person is a suitable person to be a key employee. 33
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
(3) The Minister may from time to time request the Authority to 1
conduct a probity check of a person who is a key employee to 2
determine whether the person is a suitable person to be a key 3
employee. The Authority must comply with the Minister's 4
request. 5
15D Determination of suitability 6
In determining for the purposes of this Part the suitability of a 7
person to be an executive officer or a key employee, the 8
Minister or the Authority is to assess: 9
(a) the integrity, responsibility and personal background of 10
the person, and 11
(b) the general reputation of the person having regard to 12
character, honesty and integrity. 13
The Minister or the Authority may also have regard to the 14
financial stability of the person, and the person's suitability to 15
exercise the functions of the executive officer or key employee 16
position. 17
15E How probity checks are made 18
(1) For the purposes of carrying out a probity check, the Minister 19
or the Authority may conduct such investigations and inquiries 20
as the Minister or the Authority thinks fit and may, by notice in 21
writing served on the person concerned, require the person to 22
do any one or more of the following: 23
(a) to consent, in accordance with directions in the notice, 24
to having his or her photograph, fingerprints and palm 25
prints taken, 26
(b) to provide, in accordance with directions in the notice, 27
the information (verified by statutory declaration) 28
relevant to him or her that is specified in the notice, 29
(c) to produce, in accordance with directions in the notice, 30
the documents relevant to him or her that are specified 31
in the notice and to permit examination of the 32
documents and the taking of extracts from, and the 33
making of copies of, them, 34
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
(d) to attend before the Minister or the Authority, or a 1
specified person, for an examination in relation to any 2
matters relevant to him or her and to answer any 3
questions relating to those matters, 4
(e) to furnish the authorities and consent that the Minister 5
or the Authority may require for the purpose of 6
obtaining further information (including financial and 7
other confidential information) from other persons and 8
institutions. 9
(2) An executive officer or key employee must not fail to comply 10
with a requirement of a notice under this section. 11
Note. Failure to comply with this subsection is not a criminal offence, but 12
constitutes misconduct under this Part under section 15A (2) (a). 13
(3) A person must not, in purported compliance with a requirement 14
of a notice under this section, provide information that the 15
person knows is false or misleading in a material particular. 16
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 17
(4) A person who complies with a requirement of a notice under 18
this section does not on that account incur a liability to another 19
person. 20
(5) The Authority is to bear the costs of a probity check, whether 21
the check is carried out by the Authority or by the Minister. 22
The Minister may certify as to the costs of a probity check 23
carried out by the Minister and the Minister's certificate is 24
evidence of the matters certified. 25
15F Privileges 26
(1) Except as provided by this section, a person is not excused 27
from complying with a notice under section 15E on the ground 28
that compliance may incriminate or tend to incriminate the 29
person, or on any other ground of privilege, or on the ground 30
of duty of secrecy or other restriction on disclosure, or on any 31
other ground. 32
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
(2) If the person claims, before complying with the notice, that 1
compliance may tend to incriminate the person, information 2
provided in compliance with the notice is not admissible in 3
evidence against the person in criminal proceedings except 4
proceedings under this Part for the offence of providing false 5
or misleading information in purported compliance with the 6
notice. 7
(3) A person is excused from complying with a notice under 8
section 15E if: 9
(a) the person would not in court proceedings be required 10
to comply with a similar requirement on the grounds of 11
legal professional privilege or other privilege, and 12
(b) the person does not have authority to waive the 13
privilege. 14
15G Obligation to report change in state of affairs 15
(1) Whenever a change of a kind prescribed by the regulations for 16
the purposes of this section takes place in relation to an 17
executive officer, the executive officer must notify the Minister 18
in writing of the prescribed particulars relating to the change 19
within 14 days after it takes place. 20
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 21
(2) Whenever a change of a kind prescribed by the regulations for 22
the purposes of this section takes place in relation to a key 23
employee, the key employee must notify the Authority in 24
writing of the prescribed particulars relating to the change 25
within 14 days after it takes place. 26
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 27
(3) A person must not furnish information in purported compliance 28
with this section that the person knows is false or misleading in 29
a material particular. 30
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 31
15H Report by the Minister regarding probity and misconduct 32
(1) The Minister may make a report in writing to the Authority on 33
any matter that, in the opinion of the Minister, suggests or 34
indicates that: 35
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
(a) a staff executive officer is not or may not be a suitable 1
person to be an executive officer, or 2
(b) a staff executive officer has or may have engaged in 3
misconduct under this Part. 4
(2) The Minister's report may include details of any probity check 5
on which the report is based. 6
(3) The Authority is to decide what action to take in respect of the 7
Minister's report and is to inform the Minister of the 8
Authority's decision within one month after the Authority 9
receives the report from the Minister (or within such other time 10
as may be specified by the Minister). 11
(4) The Minister may make a report under this section even if the 12
Minister had previously determined that the staff executive 13
officer was a suitable person to be an executive officer 14
(whether before or after the staff executive officer became an 15
executive officer). 16
15I Powers of Minister and Authority to deal with unsuitable 17
persons and misconduct 18
(1) The Minister may take special disciplinary action against a 19
director executive officer if the Minister determines (whether 20
or not based on the findings of a probity check under this Part) 21
that: 22
(a) the director executive officer is not a suitable person to 23
be an executive officer, or 24
(b) the director executive officer has engaged in misconduct 25
under this Part. 26
(2) The Authority may take special disciplinary action against a 27
staff executive officer or key employee if the Authority 28
determines (whether or not based on the findings of a probity 29
check under this Part) that: 30
(a) the staff executive officer or key employee is not a 31
suitable person to be an executive officer or key 32
employee, or 33
(b) the staff executive officer or key employee has engaged 34
in misconduct under this Part. 35
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
(3) The special disciplinary action that the Minister may take 1
against a director executive officer is as follows: 2
(a) the Minister may admonish the officer, 3
(b) the Minister may suspend the officer from the Board for 4
a specified period of up to 3 months, 5
(c) the Minister may recommend to the Governor the 6
removal from office of the officer. 7
Note. Clause 6 (3) of Schedule 1 provides for the removal from office of 8
a director by the Governor on such recommendation. 9
(4) The special disciplinary action that the Authority may take 10
against a staff executive officer or a key employee is as 11
follows: 12
(a) the Authority may admonish the officer or employee, 13
(b) the Authority may temporarily suspend the officer or 14
employee (or direct that the officer or employee be 15
temporarily suspended), with or without payment of 16
salary, 17
(c) the Authority may terminate the employment of the 18
officer or employee (or direct that the officer or 19
employee's employment be terminated). 20
Note. Section 15K provides for the Authority to direct a greyhound racing 21
club to suspend or dismiss a key employee. 22
(5) The Minister may temporarily suspend a director executive 23
officer pending the taking of special disciplinary action against 24
the officer under this section. 25
(6) The Authority may temporarily suspend a staff executive 26
officer or key employee (or direct that the officer or employee 27
be temporarily suspended) pending the taking of special 28
disciplinary action against the officer or employee under this 29
section. The suspension may be with or without salary. 30
(7) Special disciplinary action may be taken against an executive 31
officer or key employee whether or not the officer or employee 32
has been prosecuted, convicted or penalised for any 33
contravention that constitutes misconduct under this Part. 34
(8) This section does not: 35
(a) limit the power of the Governor to remove a director 36
from office, or 37
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
(b) limit the action that the Authority can take against an 1
executive officer or key employee. 2
15J Procedure for exercise of powers 3
(1) Before taking special disciplinary action against a person under 4
section 15I, the Minister or the Authority is to give the person 5
a reasonable opportunity to make oral or written submissions 6
to the Minister or the Authority about the matter. 7
(2) The Minister or the Authority is required to give a reasonable 8
opportunity for a person making oral submissions to be legally 9
represented. 10
15K Power to terminate employment of key employee at Authority's 11
direction 12
(1) This section applies in respect of a direction given by the 13
Authority under section 15I to a greyhound racing club to 14
suspend or terminate the employment of a key employee or any 15
other arrangement by reason of which a key employee is a key 16
employee. 17
(2) It is taken to be a condition of any agreement or other 18
arrangement entered into between a greyhound racing club and 19
a key employee that the club has the rights required to enable 20
the club to give effect to a direction to which this section 21
applies. 22
(3) The suspension or termination of employment or an 23
arrangement in accordance with this section has effect despite 24
any other Act or law, or any contract, award or enterprise or 25
other agreement, and the State does not incur any liability 26
because of such a termination. 27
15L Police assistance 28
(1) The Minister or the Authority may refer to the Commissioner 29
of Police copies of photographs, fingerprints and palm prints 30
obtained in respect of a person under this Part and any 31
supporting information that the Minister or the Authority 32
considers should be referred to the Commissioner. 33
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
(2) The Commissioner of Police is to inquire into, and report to the 1
Minister or the Authority on, any matters concerning a person 2
who is the subject of a probity check under this Part that the 3
Minister or the Authority may request. 4
(3) The Minister may enter into arrangements for the supply to the 5
Minister or the Authority of information contained in the 6
records of the Police Service, to assist in the effectual 7
administration of this Act. 8
(4) Those arrangements are sufficient authority for the supply of 9
that information. 10
15M Destruction of fingerprints and palm prints 11
(1) Any fingerprints or palm prints obtained by the Minister or the 12
Authority under this Act, and any copies of them, must be 13
destroyed as soon as the Minister or the Authority (as the case 14
may be) has no further use for them. 15
(2) The Minister or the Authority is to be considered to have no 16
further use for them if the person concerned does not become, 17
or ceases to be, an executive officer or key employee. 18
(3) A person: 19
(a) who has possession of fingerprints or palm prints 20
obtained by the Minister or the Authority under this 21
Part, or copies of them, and 22
(b) who fails to deliver them to the Minister or the 23
Authority, in accordance with the written directions of 24
the Minister or the Authority to enable subsection (1) to 25
be complied with, 26
is guilty of an offence. 27
Maximum penalty (subsection (3)): 100 penalty units. 28
15N Secrecy 29
(1) A person who acquires information in the exercise of a 30
function under this Part must not directly or indirectly make a 31
record of the information or divulge it to another person, except 32
in the exercise of a function under this Part. 33
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 34
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
(2) Despite subsection (1), information may be divulged: 1
(a) to a particular person or persons, if the Minister certifies 2
that it is necessary in the public interest that the 3
information be divulged to the person or persons, or 4
(b) to a person who is expressly or impliedly authorised to 5
obtain it by the person to whom the information relates, 6
or 7
(c) to the Authority, Harness Racing New South Wales or 8
the Thoroughbred Racing Board, or 9
(d) to a person or authority prescribed by the regulations. 10
(3) A person cannot be required: 11
(a) to produce in any court any document or other thing that 12
has come into the person's possession, custody or 13
control by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of 14
the person's functions under this Part, or 15
(b) to divulge to any court any information that has come to 16
the person's notice in the exercise of the person's 17
functions under this Part. 18
(4) Despite subsection (3), a person may be required to produce a 19
document or other thing in court or to divulge information to a 20
court if: 21
(a) the Authority certifies that it is necessary in the public 22
interest to do so, or 23
(b) a person to whom the information relates (or to whom 24
the information contained in the document or thing 25
relates) has expressly authorised it to be divulged to or 26
produced in the court. 27
(5) An authority or person to whom information is divulged under 28
this section, and a person or employee under the control of that 29
authority or person, are, in respect of that information, subject 30
to the same rights, privileges and duties under this section as 31
they would be if that authority, person or employee were a 32
person exercising functions under this Part and had acquired 33
the information in the exercise of those functions. 34
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
(6) This section does not apply to the divulging of information to 1
any of the following: 2
(a) the Independent Commission Against Corruption, 3
(b) the National Crime Authority, 4
(c) the New South Wales Crime Commission, 5
(d) the Ombudsman, 6
(e) the Police Integrity Commission, 7
(f) the Inspector of the Police Integrity Commission, 8
(g) the Commissioner of Police of New South Wales, the 9
Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police or a 10
Commissioner (however designated) of the police force 11
of another State or Territory, 12
(h) any other person or body prescribed for the purposes of 13
this subsection. 14
(7) This section does not prevent a person being given access to a 15
document in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 16
1989 unless the document: 17
(a) contains matter the disclosure of which could 18
reasonably be expected to do any of the following: 19
(i) prejudice the investigation of any contravention 20
or possible contravention of the law (including 21
any revenue law) whether generally or in a 22
particular case, 23
(ii) enable the existence or identity of any 24
confidential source of information, in relation to 25
the enforcement or administration of the law, to 26
be ascertained, 27
(iii) prejudice the effectiveness of any lawful method 28
or procedure for preventing, detecting, 29
investigating or dealing with any contravention 30
or possible contravention of the law (including 31
any revenue law), or 32
(b) is a document the disclosure of which would disclose 33
any of the following information: 34
(i) information concerning the business, 35
commercial, professional or financial affairs of 36
an executive officer or a key employee, 37
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
(ii) information obtained in the course of an 1
investigation of an executive officer or a key 2
employee. 3
(8) In this section, a reference to the divulging of information 4
includes a reference to the production of a document or other 5
thing and the provision of access to the document or other 6
thing. 7
(9) In this section: 8
court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power 9
to require the production of documents or the answering of 10
questions. 11
[3] Section 18A Appeals 12
Omit section 18A (2). Insert instead: 13
(2) A person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Authority may, 14
in accordance with the regulations, appeal against the decision 15
to the Tribunal, except: 16
(a) a decision in respect of an appeal under subsection (1), 17
or 18
(b) a decision of the Authority under Part 3A. 19
[4] Section 18B Proceedings on appeal and disciplinary inquiries 20
Insert after section 18B (4): 21
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to a probity check or 22
special disciplinary action under Part 3A. 23
[5] Section 25 Regulations 24
Insert after section 25 (1): 25
(1A) In particular, regulations may be made for or with respect to the 26
method or manner in which a person or class of persons is to 27
comply with a requirement or direction by the Minister or the 28
Authority relating to probity checks or reports of changes in a 29
person's state of affairs under Part 3A. 30
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985 Schedule 1
[6] Schedule 1 Provisions relating to directors 1
Insert after clause 1A: 2
1B Chairperson and deputy chairperson 3
(1) The Governor may remove a director from the office of 4
chairperson or deputy chairperson. 5
(2) A person who is a director and chairperson or deputy 6
chairperson is taken to have vacated office as chairperson or 7
deputy chairperson if the person: 8
(a) is removed from that office by the Governor under 9
subclause (1), or 10
(b) resigns that office by instrument in writing addressed to 11
the Minister, or 12
(c) ceases to be a director. 13
[7] Schedule 1, clause 6 14
Omit clause 6 (3). Insert instead: 15
(3) Without limiting the generality of subclause (2), the Governor 16
may: 17
(a) remove from office a director who contravenes the 18
provisions of clause 7, or 19
(b) remove from office a director on the recommendation of 20
the Minister under section 15I (Powers of Minister and 21
Authority to deal with unsuitable persons and 22
misconduct). 23
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 1 Amendment of Greyhound Racing Authority Act 1985
[8] Schedule 3 Savings, transitional and other provisions 1
Insert at the end of the Schedule: 2
Part 3 Provisions consequent on enactment of 3
Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Act 4
2000 5
16 Definitions 6
In this Part: 7
current executive officer means a person who, on the 8
commencement of section 15B, is an executive officer within 9
the meaning of section 15A. 10
current key employee means a person who, on the 11
commencement of section 15B, is a key employee within the 12
meaning of section 15A. 13
17 Suitability of current executive officers and current key 14
employees 15
(1) Section 15B (1) and (2) does not apply to any current executive 16
officers or current key employees. 17
(2) Part 3A extends to current executive officers and current key 18
employees, except as provided by subclause (1). 19
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South 1
Wales Act 1977 2
(Section 4) 3
[1] Section 6 Constitution of Board 4
Insert at the end of section 6 (1): 5
Note. Part 3A provides that a person is not eligible to be appointed as a 6
director of the Board unless the Minister has determined for the purposes 7
of the appointment that the person is a suitable person. 8
[2] Part 3A 9
Insert after Part 3: 10
Part 3A Probity checking of executive officers and 11
key employees 12
10H Definitions 13
(1) In this Part: 14
director executive officer means a person who is a director or 15
who is acting as a director. 16
executive officer means each of the following: 17
(a) a director or a person acting as a director, 18
(b) a person who holds or is acting in the position of chief 19
executive officer, 20
(c) a person who holds or is acting in the position on the 21
staff of HRNSW of Chief Steward (or such other 22
position on the staff of HRNSW as may be prescribed 23
by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph as 24
exercising the functions of Chief Steward). 25
key employee means a person who holds or is acting in a 26
position that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes 27
of this definition as a key employee position, being a position 28
on the staff of: 29
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977
(a) HRNSW, or 1
(b) a harness racing club, or harness racing association, that 2
is registered with the HRNSW. 3
misconduct under this Part--see subsection (2). 4
staff executive officer means a person referred to in paragraph 5
(b) or (c) of the definition of executive officer. 6
(2) A contravention of any of the following provisions of this Part 7
constitutes misconduct under this Part: 8
(a) section 10L (2) or (3) (How probity checks are made), 9
(b) section 10N (Obligation to report change in state of 10
affairs). 11
10I Suitability for appointment as executive officer or key employee 12
(1) A person is not eligible to be appointed as an executive officer 13
unless the Minister has determined for the purposes of the 14
appointment that the person is a suitable person to be an 15
executive officer. 16
(2) A person is not eligible to be appointed as a key employee 17
unless HRNSW has determined for the purposes of the 18
appointment that the person is a suitable person to be a key 19
employee. 20
(3) The Minister may carry out a probity check of a person to 21
determine the person's suitability to be an executive officer. 22
(4) HRNSW may carry out a probity check of a person to 23
determine the person's suitability to be a key employee. 24
(5) For the purposes of this section, appointed includes employed 25
or engaged, and appointment has a corresponding meaning. 26
10J Ongoing probity checks of executive officers and key employees 27
(1) The Minister may from time to time carry out a probity check 28
of a person who is an executive officer to determine whether 29
the person is a suitable person to be an executive officer. 30
(2) HRNSW may from time to time carry out a probity check of a 31
person who is a key employee to determine whether the person 32
is a suitable person to be a key employee. 33
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
(3) The Minister may from time to time request HRNSW to 1
conduct a probity check of a person who is a key employee to 2
determine whether the person is a suitable person to be a key 3
employee. HRNSW must comply with the Minister's request. 4
10K Determination of suitability 5
In determining for the purposes of this Part the suitability of a 6
person to be an executive officer or a key employee, the 7
Minister or HRNSW is to assess: 8
(a) the integrity, responsibility and personal background of 9
the person, and 10
(b) the general reputation of the person having regard to 11
character, honesty and integrity. 12
The Minister or HRNSW may also have regard to the financial 13
stability of the person, and the person's suitability to exercise 14
the functions of the executive officer or key employee position. 15
10L How probity checks are made 16
(1) For the purposes of carrying out a probity check, the Minister 17
or HRNSW may conduct such investigations and inquiries as 18
the Minister or HRNSW thinks fit and may, by notice in 19
writing served on the person concerned, require the person to 20
do any one or more of the following: 21
(a) to consent, in accordance with directions in the notice, 22
to having his or her photograph, fingerprints and palm 23
prints taken, 24
(b) to provide, in accordance with directions in the notice, 25
the information (verified by statutory declaration) 26
relevant to him or her that is specified in the notice, 27
(c) to produce, in accordance with directions in the notice, 28
the documents relevant to him or her that are specified 29
in the notice and to permit examination of the 30
documents and the taking of extracts from, and the 31
making of copies of, them, 32
(d) to attend before the Minister or HRNSW, or a specified 33
person, for an examination in relation to any matters 34
relevant to him or her and to answer any questions 35
relating to those matters, 36
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977
(e) to furnish the authorities and consent that the Minister 1
or HRNSW may require for the purpose of obtaining 2
further information (including financial and other 3
confidential information) from other persons and 4
institutions. 5
(2) An executive officer or key employee must not fail to comply 6
with a requirement of a notice under this section. 7
Note. Failure to comply with this subsection is not a criminal offence, but 8
constitutes misconduct under this Part under section 10H (2) (a). 9
(3) A person must not, in purported compliance with a requirement 10
of a notice under this section, provide information that the 11
person knows is false or misleading in a material particular. 12
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 13
(4) A person who complies with a requirement of a notice under 14
this section does not on that account incur a liability to another 15
person. 16
(5) HRNSW is to bear the costs of a probity check, whether the 17
check is carried out by HRNSW or by the Minister. The 18
Minister may certify as to the costs of a probity check carried 19
out by the Minister and the Minister's certificate is evidence of 20
the matters certified. 21
10M Privileges 22
(1) Except as provided by this section, a person is not excused 23
from complying with a notice under section 10L on the ground 24
that compliance may incriminate or tend to incriminate the 25
person, or on any other ground of privilege, or on the ground 26
of duty of secrecy or other restriction on disclosure, or on any 27
other ground. 28
(2) If the person claims, before complying with the notice, that 29
compliance may tend to incriminate the person, information 30
provided in compliance with the notice is not admissible in 31
evidence against the person in criminal proceedings except 32
proceedings under this Part for the offence of providing false 33
or misleading information in purported compliance with the 34
notice. 35
(3) A person is excused from complying with a notice under 36
section 10L if: 37
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Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
(a) the person would not in court proceedings be required 1
to comply with a similar requirement on the grounds of 2
legal professional privilege or other privilege, and 3
(b) the person does not have authority to waive the 4
privilege. 5
10N Obligation to report change in state of affairs 6
(1) Whenever a change of a kind prescribed by the regulations for 7
the purposes of this section takes place in relation to an 8
executive officer, the executive officer must notify the Minister 9
in writing of the prescribed particulars relating to the change 10
within 14 days after it takes place. 11
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 12
(2) Whenever a change of a kind prescribed by the regulations for 13
the purposes of this section takes place in relation to a key 14
employee, the key employee must notify HRNSW in writing of 15
the prescribed particulars relating to the change within 14 days 16
after it takes place. 17
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 18
(3) A person must not furnish information in purported compliance 19
with this section that the person knows is false or misleading in 20
a material particular. 21
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 22
10O Report by the Minister regarding probity and misconduct 23
(1) The Minister may make a report in writing to HRNSW on any 24
matter that, in the opinion of the Minister, suggests or indicates 25
that: 26
(a) a staff executive officer is not or may not be a suitable 27
person to be an executive officer, or 28
(b) a staff executive officer has or may have engaged in 29
misconduct under this Part. 30
(2) The Minister's report may include details of any probity check 31
on which the report is based. 32
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Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977
(3) HRNSW is to decide what action to take in respect of the 1
Minister's report and is to inform the Minister of HRNSW's 2
decision within one month after HRNSW receives the report 3
from the Minister (or within such other time as may be 4
specified by the Minister). 5
(4) The Minister may make a report under this section even if the 6
Minister had previously determined that the staff executive 7
officer was a suitable person to be an executive officer 8
(whether before or after the staff executive officer became an 9
executive officer). 10
10P Powers of Minister and HRNSW to deal with unsuitable persons 11
and misconduct 12
(1) The Minister may take special disciplinary action against a 13
director executive officer if the Minister determines (whether 14
or not based on the findings of a probity check under this Part) 15
that: 16
(a) the director executive officer is not a suitable person to 17
be an executive officer, or 18
(b) the director executive officer has engaged in misconduct 19
under this Part. 20
(2) HRNSW may take special disciplinary action against a staff 21
executive officer or key employee if HRNSW determines 22
(whether or not based on the findings of a probity check under 23
this Part) that: 24
(a) the staff executive officer or key employee is not a 25
suitable person to be an executive officer or key 26
employee, or 27
(b) the staff executive officer or key employee has engaged 28
in misconduct under this Part. 29
(3) The special disciplinary action that the Minister may take 30
against a director executive officer is as follows: 31
(a) the Minister may admonish the officer, 32
(b) the Minister may suspend the officer from the Board for 33
a specified period of up to 3 months, 34
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
(c) the Minister may recommend to the Governor the 1
removal from office of the officer. 2
Note. Clause 8 (3) of Schedule 1 provides for the removal from office of 3
a director by the Governor on such recommendation. 4
(4) The special disciplinary action that HRNSW may take against 5
a staff executive officer or a key employee is as follows: 6
(a) HRNSW may admonish the officer or employee, 7
(b) HRNSW may temporarily suspend the officer or 8
employee (or direct that the officer or employee be 9
temporarily suspended), with or without payment of 10
salary, 11
(c) HRNSW may terminate the employment of the officer 12
or employee (or direct that the officer or employee's 13
employment be terminated). 14
Note. Section 10R provides for HRNSW to direct a harness racing club 15
or harness racing association to suspend or dismiss a key employee. 16
(5) The Minister may temporarily suspend a director executive 17
officer pending the taking of special disciplinary action against 18
the officer under this section. 19
(6) HRNSW may temporarily suspend a staff executive officer or 20
key employee (or direct that the officer or employee be 21
temporarily suspended) pending the taking of special 22
disciplinary action against the officer or employee under this 23
section. The suspension may be with or without salary. 24
(7) Special disciplinary action may be taken against an executive 25
officer or key employee whether or not the officer or employee 26
has been prosecuted, convicted or penalised for any 27
contravention that constitutes misconduct under this Part. 28
(8) This section does not: 29
(a) limit the power of the Governor to remove a director 30
from office, or 31
(b) limit the action that HRNSW can take against an 32
executive officer or key employee. 33
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Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977
10Q Procedure for exercise of powers 1
(1) Before taking special disciplinary action against a person under 2
section 1OP, the Minister or HRNSW is to give the person a 3
reasonable opportunity to make oral or written submissions to 4
the Minister or HRNSW about the matter. 5
(2) The Minister or HRNSW is required to give a reasonable 6
opportunity for a person making oral submissions to be legally 7
represented. 8
10R Power to terminate employment of key employee at direction of 9
HRNSW 10
(1) This section applies in respect of a direction given by HRNSW 11
under section 1OP to a harness racing club to suspend or 12
terminate the employment of a key employee or any other 13
arrangement by reason of which a key employee is a key 14
employee. 15
(2) It is taken to be a condition of any agreement or other 16
arrangement entered into between a harness racing club and a 17
key employee that the club has the rights required to enable the 18
club to give effect to a direction to which this section applies. 19
(3) The suspension or termination of employment or an 20
arrangement in accordance with this section has effect despite 21
any other Act or law, or any contract, award or enterprise or 22
other agreement, and the State does not incur any liability 23
because of such a termination. 24
(4) In this section, harness racing club includes a harness racing 25
association. 26
10S Police assistance 27
(1) The Minister or HRNSW may refer to the Commissioner of 28
Police copies of photographs, fingerprints and palm prints 29
obtained in respect of a person under this Part and any 30
supporting information that the Minister or HRNSW considers 31
should be referred to the Commissioner. 32
(2) The Commissioner of Police is to inquire into, and report to the 33
Minister or HRNSW on, any matters concerning a person who 34
is the subject of a probity check under this Part that the 35
Minister or HRNSW may request. 36
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
(3) The Minister may enter into arrangements for the supply to the 1
Minister or HRNSW of information contained in the records of 2
the Police Service, to assist in the effectual administration of 3
this Act. 4
(4) Those arrangements are sufficient authority for the supply of 5
that information. 6
10T Destruction of fingerprints and palm prints 7
(1) Any fingerprints or palm prints obtained by the Minister or 8
HRNSW under this Act, and any copies of them, must be 9
destroyed as soon as the Minister or HRNSW (as the case may 10
be) has no further use for them. 11
(2) The Minister or HRNSW is to be considered to have no further 12
use for them if the person concerned does not become, or 13
ceases to be, an executive officer or key employee. 14
(3) A person: 15
(a) who has possession of fingerprints or palm prints 16
obtained by the Minister or HRNSW under this Part, or 17
copies of them, and 18
(b) who fails to deliver them to the Minister or HRNSW, in 19
accordance with the written directions of the Minister or 20
HRNSW to enable subsection (1) to be complied with, 21
is guilty of an offence. 22
Maximum penalty (subsection (3)): 100 penalty units. 23
10U Secrecy 24
(1) A person who acquires information in the exercise of a 25
function under this Part must not directly or indirectly make a 26
record of the information or divulge it to another person, except 27
in the exercise of a function under this Part. 28
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 29
(2) Despite subsection (1), information may be divulged: 30
(a) to a particular person or persons, if the Minister certifies 31
that it is necessary in the public interest that the 32
information be divulged to the person or persons, or 33
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Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977
(b) to a person who is expressly or impliedly authorised to 1
obtain it by the person to whom the information relates, 2
or 3
(c) to HRNSW, the Greyhound Racing Authority or the 4
Thoroughbred Racing Board, or 5
(d) to a person or authority prescribed by the regulations. 6
(3) A person cannot be required: 7
(a) to produce in any court any document or other thing that 8
has come into the person's possession, custody or 9
control by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of 10
the person's functions under this Part, or 11
(b) to divulge to any court any information that has come to 12
the person's notice in the exercise of the person's 13
functions under this Part. 14
(4) Despite subsection (3), a person may be required to produce a 15
document or other thing in court or to divulge information to a 16
court if: 17
(a) HRNSW certifies that it is necessary in the public 18
interest to do so, or 19
(b) a person to whom the information relates (or to whom 20
the information contained in the document or thing 21
relates) has expressly authorised it to be divulged to or 22
produced in the court. 23
(5) An authority or person to whom information is divulged under 24
this section, and a person or employee under the control of that 25
authority or person, are, in respect of that information, subject 26
to the same rights, privileges and duties under this section as 27
they would be if that authority, person or employee were a 28
person exercising functions under this Part and had acquired 29
the information in the exercise of those functions. 30
(6) This section does not apply to the divulging of information to 31
any of the following: 32
(a) the Independent Commission Against Corruption, 33
(b) the National Crime Authority, 34
(c) the New South Wales Crime Commission, 35
(d) the Ombudsman, 36
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
(e) the Police Integrity Commission, 1
(f) the Inspector of the Police Integrity Commission, 2
(g) the Commissioner of Police of New South Wales, the 3
Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police or a 4
Commissioner (however designated) of the police force 5
of another State or Territory, 6
(h) any other person or body prescribed for the purposes of 7
this subsection. 8
(7) This section does not prevent a person being given access to a 9
document in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 10
1989 unless the document: 11
(a) contains matter the disclosure of which could 12
reasonably be expected to do any of the following: 13
(i) prejudice the investigation of any contravention 14
or possible contravention of the law (including 15
any revenue law) whether generally or in a 16
particular case, 17
(ii) enable the existence or identity of any 18
confidential source of information, in relation to 19
the enforcement or administration of the law, to 20
be ascertained, 21
(iii) prejudice the effectiveness of any lawful method 22
or procedure for preventing, detecting, 23
investigating or dealing with any contravention 24
or possible contravention of the law (including 25
any revenue law), or 26
(b) is a document the disclosure of which would disclose 27
any of the following information: 28
(i) information concerning the business, 29
commercial, professional or financial affairs of 30
an executive officer or a key employee, 31
(ii) information obtained in the course of an 32
investigation of an executive officer or a key 33
employee. 34
(8) In this section, a reference to the divulging of information 35
includes a reference to the production of a document or other 36
thing and the provision of access to the document or other 37
thing. 38
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 2 Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977
(9) In this section: 1
court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power 2
to require the production of documents or the answering of 3
questions. 4
[3] Section 19 Appeals to Tribunal 5
Insert after section 19 (1): 6
(1A) Subsection (1) does not apply to a decision of HRNSW under 7
Part 3A. 8
[4] Section 19B Proceedings of disciplinary inquiries 9
Insert "(but does not include a probity check or special disciplinary action 10
under Part 3A)" after "disciplinary action" in section 19B (3). 11
[5] Section 27 Regulations 12
Insert after section 27 (1): 13
(1A) In particular, regulations may be made for or with respect to the 14
method or manner in which a person or class of persons is to 15
comply with a requirement or direction by the Minister or 16
HRNSW relating to probity checks or reports of changes in a 17
person's state of affairs under Part 3A. 18
[6] Schedule 1 Provisions relating to directors 19
Insert "or Deputy Chairperson" after "Chairperson" wherever occurring in 20
clause 3 (including the heading to the clause). 21
[7] Schedule 1, clause 8 22
Omit clause 8 (3). Insert instead: 23
(3) Without limiting the generality of subclause (2), the Governor 24
may: 25
(a) remove from office a director who contravenes the 26
provisions of clause 9, or 27
(b) remove from office a director on the recommendation of 28
HRNSW under section 10P (Powers of Minister and 29
HRNSW to deal with unsuitable persons and 30
misconduct). 31
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Harness Racing New South Wales Act 1977 Schedule 2
[8] Schedule 5 Savings and transitional provisions 1
Insert at the end of the Schedule: 2
Part 4 Provisions consequent on enactment of 3
Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) 4
Act 2000 5
15 Definitions 6
In this Part: 7
current executive officer means a person who, on the 8
commencement of section 10I, is an executive officer within 9
the meaning of section 10H. 10
current key employee means a person who, on the 11
commencement of section 10I, is a key employee within the 12
meaning of section 10H. 13
16 Suitability of current executive officers and current key 14
employees 15
(1) Section 10I (1) and (2) does not apply to any current executive 16
officers or current key employees. 17
(2) Part 3A extends to current executive officers and current key 18
employees, except as provided by subclause (1). 19
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing 1
Board Act 1996 2
(Section 5) 3
[1] Section 6 Membership 4
Insert at the end of section 6 (1): 5
Note. Part 2A provides that a person is not eligible to be appointed as a 6
member of the Board unless the Minister has determined for the purposes 7
of the appointment that the person is a suitable person. 8
[2] Section 13 Functions of Board 9
Insert after section 13 (1) (c): 10
(c1) probity checking under Part 2A, 11
[3] Section 15 Vacation of office 12
Insert "under section 7" after "member" in section 15 (1) (e). 13
[4] Section 15 14
Insert after section 15 (2): 15
(2A) The Governor may, on the recommendation of the Board under 16
section 29I (Board's powers to deal with unsuitable persons 17
and misconduct), remove a nominated member or the 18
Chairperson from office. 19
[5] Section 18 The Chief Executive and other staff 20
Insert after section 18 (1): 21
Note. Part 2A provides that a person is not eligible to be employed in 22
certain positions on the staff of the Board unless the Board has 23
determined that the person is a suitable person. 24
[6] Section 23 Integrity Assurance Committee 25
Insert "probity checks," after "control," in section 23 (1). 26
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
[7] Part 2A 1
Insert after Part 2: 2
Part 2A Probity checking of executive officers and 3
key employees 4
29A Definitions 5
(1) In this Part: 6
executive officer means each of the following: 7
(a) a member of the Board, 8
(b) a deputy of a member of the Board, 9
(c) a person who holds or is acting in the position of Chief 10
Executive, 11
(d) a person who holds or is acting in the position on the 12
Board's staff of Chief Steward (or such other position 13
on the Board's staff as may be prescribed by the 14
regulations for the purposes of this paragraph as 15
exercising the functions of Chief Steward). 16
key employee means a person who holds or is acting in a 17
position that is prescribed by the regulations for the purposes 18
of this definition as a key employee position, being a position 19
on the staff of: 20
(a) the Board, or 21
(b) a race club that is registered with the Board, or 22
(c) a racing association that is affiliated with the Board. 23
member executive officer means a member of the Board or a 24
deputy of a member of the Board, but does not include the 25
Chief Executive or a person acting as Chief Executive. 26
misconduct under this Part--see subsection (2). 27
staff executive officer means a person referred to in paragraph 28
(c) or (d) of the definition of executive officer. 29
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Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
(2) A contravention of any of the following provisions of this Part 1
constitutes misconduct under this Part: 2
(a) section 29E (2) or (3) (How probity checks are made), 3
(b) section 29G (Obligation to report change in state of 4
affairs). 5
29B Suitability for appointment as executive officer or key employee 6
(1) A person is not eligible to be appointed as an executive officer 7
unless the Minister has determined for the purposes of the 8
appointment that the person is a suitable person to be an 9
executive officer. 10
(2) A person is not eligible to be appointed as a key employee 11
unless the Board has determined for the purposes of the 12
appointment that the person is a suitable person to be a key 13
employee. 14
(3) The Minister may carry out a probity check of a person to 15
determine the person's suitability to be an executive officer. 16
(4) The Board may carry out a probity check of a person to 17
determine the person's suitability to be a key employee. 18
(5) For the purposes of this section, appointed includes nominated, 19
selected, employed or engaged, and appointment has a 20
corresponding meaning. 21
29C Ongoing probity checks of executive officers and key employees 22
(1) The Minister may from time to time carry out a probity check 23
of a person who is an executive officer to determine whether 24
the person is a suitable person to be an executive officer. 25
(2) The Board may from time to time carry out a probity check of 26
a person who is a key employee to determine whether the 27
person is a suitable person to be a key employee. 28
(3) The Minister may from time to time request the Board to 29
conduct a probity check of a person who is a key employee to 30
determine whether the person is a suitable person to be a key 31
employee. The Board must comply with the Minister's request. 32
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Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
29D Determination of suitability 1
In determining for the purposes of this Part the suitability of a 2
person to be an executive officer or a key employee, the 3
Minister or the Board is to assess: 4
(a) the integrity, responsibility and personal background of 5
the person, and 6
(b) the general reputation of the person having regard to 7
character, honesty and integrity. 8
The Minister or the Board may also have regard to the financial 9
stability of the person, and the person's suitability to exercise 10
the functions of the executive officer or key employee position. 11
29E How probity checks are made 12
(1) For the purposes of carrying out a probity check, the Minister 13
or the Board may conduct such investigations and inquiries as 14
the Minister or the Board thinks fit and may, by notice in 15
writing served on the person concerned, require the person to 16
do any one or more of the following: 17
(a) to consent, in accordance with directions in the notice, 18
to having his or her photograph, fingerprints and palm 19
prints taken, 20
(b) to provide, in accordance with directions in the notice, 21
the information (verified by statutory declaration) 22
relevant to him or her that is specified in the notice, 23
(c) to produce, in accordance with directions in the notice, 24
the documents relevant to him or her that are specified 25
in the notice and to permit examination of the 26
documents and the taking of extracts from, and the 27
making of copies of, them, 28
(d) to attend before the Minister or the Board, or a specified 29
person, for an examination in relation to any matters 30
relevant to him or her and to answer any questions 31
relating to those matters, 32
(e) to furnish the authorities and consent that the Minister 33
or the Board may require for the purpose of obtaining 34
further information (including financial and other 35
confidential information) from other persons and 36
institutions. 37
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Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
(2) An executive officer or key employee must not fail to comply 1
with a requirement of a notice under this section. 2
Note. Failure to comply with this subsection is not a criminal offence, but 3
constitutes misconduct under this Part under section 29A (2) (a). 4
(3) A person must not, in purported compliance with a requirement 5
of a notice under this section, provide information that the 6
person knows is false or misleading in a material particular. 7
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 8
(4) A person who complies with a requirement of a notice under 9
this section does not on that account incur a liability to another 10
person. 11
(5) The Board is to bear the costs of a probity check, whether the 12
check is carried out by the Board or by the Minister. The 13
Minister may certify as to the costs of a probity check carried 14
out by the Minister and the Minister's certificate is evidence of 15
the matters certified. 16
29F Privileges 17
(1) Except as provided by this section, a person is not excused 18
from complying with a notice under section 29E on the ground 19
that compliance may incriminate or tend to incriminate the 20
person, or on any other ground of privilege, or on the ground 21
of duty of secrecy or other restriction on disclosure, or on any 22
other ground. 23
(2) If the person claims, before complying with the notice, that 24
compliance may tend to incriminate the person, information 25
provided in compliance with the notice is not admissible in 26
evidence against the person in criminal proceedings except 27
proceedings under this Part for the offence of providing false 28
or misleading information in purported compliance with the 29
notice. 30
(3) A person is excused from complying with a notice under 31
section 29E if: 32
(a) the person would not in court proceedings be required 33
to comply with a similar requirement on the grounds of 34
legal professional privilege or other privilege, and 35
(b) the person does not have authority to waive the 36
privilege. 37
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
29G Obligation to report change in state of affairs 1
(1) Whenever a change of a kind prescribed by the regulations for 2
the purposes of this section takes place in relation to an 3
executive officer, the executive officer must notify the Minister 4
in writing of the prescribed particulars relating to the change 5
within 14 days after it takes place. 6
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 7
(2) Whenever a change of a kind prescribed by the regulations for 8
the purposes of this section takes place in relation to a key 9
employee, the key employee must notify the Board in writing 10
of the prescribed particulars relating to the change within 14 11
days after it takes place. 12
Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units. 13
(3) A person must not furnish information in purported compliance 14
with this section that the person knows is false or misleading in 15
a material particular. 16
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 17
29H Report by the Minister regarding probity and misconduct 18
(1) The Minister may make a report in writing to the Board on any 19
matter that, in the opinion of the Minister, suggests or indicates 20
that: 21
(a) an executive officer is not or may not be a suitable 22
person to be an executive officer, or 23
(b) an executive officer has or may have engaged in 24
misconduct under this Part. 25
(2) The Minister's report may include details of any probity check 26
on which the report is based. 27
(3) The Board is to decide what action to take in respect of the 28
Minister's report and is to inform the Minister of the Board's 29
decision within one month after the Board receives the report 30
from the Minister (or within such other time as may be 31
specified by the Minister). 32
(4) The Minister may make a report under this section even if the 33
Minister had previously determined that the executive officer 34
was a suitable person to be an executive officer (whether before 35
or after the executive officer became an executive officer). 36
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
29I Board's powers to deal with unsuitable persons and misconduct 1
(1) The Board may take special disciplinary action against an 2
executive officer or key employee if the Board determines 3
(whether or not based on the findings of a probity check under 4
this Part) that: 5
(a) the executive officer or key employee is not a suitable 6
person to be an executive officer or key employee, or 7
(b) the executive officer or key employee has engaged in 8
misconduct under this Part. 9
(2) The special disciplinary action that the Board may take against 10
a member executive officer is as follows: 11
(a) the Board may admonish the member, 12
(b) the Board may suspend the member from membership 13
of the Board for a specified period of up to 3 months 14
(but only by special decision of the Board under section 15
29J), 16
(c) in the case of a nominated member or the Chairperson, 17
the Board may recommend to the Governor the removal 18
from office of the member (but only by special decision 19
of the Board under section 29J). 20
Note. Section 15 (2A) provides for the removal from office of a nominated 21
member or the Chairperson pursuant to such a recommendation. Section 22
15 (4) authorises the Board to remove an additional member of the Board 23
from office at any time. 24
(3) The special disciplinary action that the Board may take against 25
a staff executive officer or a key employee is as follows: 26
(a) the Board may admonish the officer or employee, 27
(b) the Board may temporarily suspend the officer or 28
employee (or direct that the officer or employee be 29
temporarily suspended), with or without payment of 30
salary, 31
(c) the Board may terminate the employment of the officer 32
or employee (or direct that the officer or employee's 33
employment be terminated). 34
Note. Section 29L provides for the Board to direct a race club to suspend 35
or dismiss a key employee. 36
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Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
(4) The Board may temporarily suspend a member executive 1
officer pending the taking of special disciplinary action against 2
the member under this section, but only by special decision of 3
the Board under section 29J. 4
(5) The Board may temporarily suspend a staff executive officer or 5
a key employee (or direct that the officer or employee is to be 6
temporarily suspended) pending the taking of special 7
disciplinary action against the officer or employee under this 8
section. The suspension may be with or without salary. 9
(6) Special disciplinary action may be taken against an executive 10
officer or key employee whether or not the officer or employee 11
has been prosecuted, convicted or penalised for any 12
contravention that constitutes misconduct under this Part. 13
(7) This section does not limit the action that the Board can take 14
against an executive officer or key employee. 15
29J Special decision to suspend, remove or dismiss member 16
executive officer 17
(1) For the purposes of section 29I, a special decision of the Board 18
is a decision supported by a majority of the members present 19
and voting at a meeting of the Board where: 20
(a) that majority comprises at least three-quarters of the 21
members present and voting at the meeting, and 22
(b) the notice of that meeting included notice of the 23
intention to discuss the taking of special disciplinary 24
action against the member executive officer concerned. 25
(2) The additional members of the Board and the Chief Executive 26
may attend the meeting but may not vote on the motion for the 27
decision. 28
(3) A vote referred to in subsection (1) must be made at a meeting 29
(whether by telephone, closed-circuit television or other means 30
by which a member who speaks at the meeting can be heard by 31
the other members) and not by circulation of papers. 32
(4) This section applies despite sections 19 (Procedure) and 20 33
(Transaction of business outside meetings or by telephone). 34
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Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
29K Procedure for exercise of powers 1
(1) Before taking special disciplinary action against a person under 2
section 29I, the Board is to give the person a reasonable 3
opportunity to make oral or written submissions to the Board 4
about the matter. 5
(2) The Board is required to give a reasonable opportunity for a 6
person making oral submissions to be legally represented. 7
29L Power to terminate employment of key employee at direction of 8
Board 9
(1) This section applies in respect of a direction given by the Board 10
under section 29I to a race club to suspend or terminate the 11
employment of a key employee or any other arrangement by 12
reason of which a key employee is a key employee. 13
(2) It is taken to be a condition of any agreement or other 14
arrangement entered into between a race club and a key 15
employee that the club has the rights required to enable the 16
club to give effect to a direction to which this section applies. 17
(3) The suspension or termination of employment or an 18
arrangement in accordance with this section has effect despite 19
any other Act or law, or any contract, award or enterprise or 20
other agreement, and the State does not incur any liability 21
because of such a termination. 22
(4) In this section, race club includes a racing association. 23
29M Police assistance 24
(1) The Minister or the Board may refer to the Commissioner of 25
Police copies of photographs, fingerprints and palm prints 26
obtained in respect of a person under this Part and any 27
supporting information that the Minister or the Board considers 28
should be referred to the Commissioner. 29
(2) The Commissioner of Police is to inquire into, and report to the 30
Minister or the Board on, any matters concerning a person who 31
is the subject of a probity check under this Part that the 32
Minister or the Board may request. 33
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
(3) The Minister may enter into arrangements for the supply to the 1
Minister or the Board of information contained in the records 2
of the Police Service, to assist in the effectual administration of 3
this Act. 4
(4) Those arrangements are sufficient authority for the supply of 5
that information. 6
29N Destruction of fingerprints and palm prints 7
(1) Any fingerprints or palm prints obtained by the Minister or the 8
Board under this Act, and any copies of them, must be 9
destroyed as soon as the Minister or the Board (as the case may 10
be) has no further use for them. 11
(2) The Minister or the Board is to be considered to have no 12
further use for them if the person concerned does not become, 13
or ceases to be, an executive officer or key employee. 14
(3) A person: 15
(a) who has possession of fingerprints or palm prints 16
obtained by the Minister or the Board under this Part, or 17
copies of them, and 18
(b) who fails to deliver them to the Minister or the Board, 19
in accordance with the written directions of the Minister 20
or the Board to enable subsection (1) to be complied 21
with, 22
is guilty of an offence. 23
Maximum penalty (subsection (3)): 100 penalty units. 24
29O Secrecy 25
(1) A person who acquires information in the exercise of a 26
function under this Part must not directly or indirectly make a 27
record of the information or divulge it to another person, except 28
in the exercise of a function under this Part. 29
Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units. 30
(2) Despite subsection (1), information may be divulged: 31
(a) to a particular person or persons, if the Minister certifies 32
that it is necessary in the public interest that the 33
information be divulged to the person or persons, or 34
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
(b) to a person who is expressly or impliedly authorised to 1
obtain it by the person to whom the information relates, 2
or 3
(c) to the Board, Harness Racing New South Wales or the 4
Greyhound Racing Authority, or 5
(d) to a person or authority prescribed by the regulations. 6
(3) A person cannot be required: 7
(a) to produce in any court any document or other thing that 8
has come into the person's possession, custody or 9
control by reason of, or in the course of, the exercise of 10
the person's functions under this Part, or 11
(b) to divulge to any court any information that has come to 12
the person's notice in the exercise of the person's 13
functions under this Part. 14
(4) Despite subsection (3), a person may be required to produce a 15
document or other thing in court or to divulge information to a 16
court if: 17
(a) the Board certifies that it is necessary in the public 18
interest to do so, or 19
(b) a person to whom the information relates (or to whom 20
the information contained in the document or thing 21
relates) has expressly authorised it to be divulged to or 22
produced in the court. 23
(5) An authority or person to whom information is divulged under 24
this section, and a person or employee under the control of that 25
authority or person, are, in respect of that information, subject 26
to the same rights, privileges and duties under this section as 27
they would be if that authority, person or employee were a 28
person exercising functions under this Part and had acquired 29
the information in the exercise of those functions. 30
(6) This section does not apply to the divulging of information to 31
any of the following: 32
(a) the Independent Commission Against Corruption, 33
(b) the National Crime Authority, 34
(c) the New South Wales Crime Commission, 35
(d) the Ombudsman, 36
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Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
(e) the Police Integrity Commission, 1
(f) the Inspector of the Police Integrity Commission, 2
(g) the Commissioner of Police of New South Wales, the 3
Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police or a 4
Commissioner (however designated) of the police force 5
of another State or Territory, 6
(h) any other person or body prescribed for the purposes of 7
this subsection. 8
(7) This section does not prevent a person being given access to a 9
document in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 10
1989 unless the document: 11
(a) contains matter the disclosure of which could 12
reasonably be expected to do any of the following: 13
(i) prejudice the investigation of any contravention 14
or possible contravention of the law (including 15
any revenue law) whether generally or in a 16
particular case, 17
(ii) enable the existence or identity of any 18
confidential source of information, in relation to 19
the enforcement or administration of the law, to 20
be ascertained, 21
(iii) prejudice the effectiveness of any lawful method 22
or procedure for preventing, detecting, 23
investigating or dealing with any contravention 24
or possible contravention of the law (including 25
any revenue law), or 26
(b) is a document the disclosure of which would disclose 27
any of the following information: 28
(i) information concerning the business, 29
commercial, professional or financial affairs of 30
an executive officer or a key employee, 31
(ii) information obtained in the course of an 32
investigation of an executive officer or a key 33
employee. 34
(8) In this section, a reference to the divulging of information 35
includes a reference to the production of a document or other 36
thing and the provision of access to the document or other 37
thing. 38
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Schedule 3 Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996
(9) In this section: 1
court includes any tribunal, authority or person having power 2
to require the production of documents or the answering of 3
questions. 4
[8] Section 51 5
Insert after section 50: 6
51 Proceedings for offences 7
Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations 8
may be dealt with: 9
(a) summarily before a Local Court constituted by a 10
Magistrate sitting alone, or 11
(b) summarily before the Supreme Court in its summary 12
jurisdiction. 13
[9] Section 52 Regulations 14
Insert at the end of the section: 15
(2) In particular, regulations may be made for or with respect to the 16
method or manner in which a person or class of persons is to 17
comply with a requirement or direction by the Minister or the 18
Board relating to probity checks or reports of changes in a 19
person's state of affairs under Part 2A. 20
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Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) Bill 2000
Amendment of Thoroughbred Racing Board Act 1996 Schedule 3
[10] Schedule 1 Savings and transitional provisions 1
Insert at the end of the Schedule: 2
Part 8 Provisions consequent on enactment of 3
Racing Legislation Amendment (Probity) 4
Act 2000 5
29 Definitions 6
In this Part: 7
current executive officer means a person who, on the 8
commencement of section 29B, is an executive officer within 9
the meaning of section 29A. 10
current key employee means a person who, on the 11
commencement of section 29B, is a key employee within the 12
meaning of section 29A. 13
30 Suitability of current executive officers and current key 14
employees 15
(1) Section 29B (1) and (2) does not apply to any current executive 16
officers or current key employees. 17
(2) Part 2A extends to current executive officers and current key 18
employees, except as provided by subclause (1). 19
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