New South Wales Consolidated Acts

FAIR TRADING ACT 1987 - SECT 28

28 Reference of certain questions to Products Safety Committee

(1) The Minister, or the Director-General with the approval of the Minister, may refer to the Products Safety Committee for consideration the question whether the supply of goods of a kind specified in the reference or any particular goods so specified should:

(a) because they are dangerous, or are a possible source of danger, be prohibited, or

(b) be allowed only subject to conditions or restrictions to be specified by the Committee.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to goods the supply of which is prohibited or regulated by or under an Act specified in Schedule 2 or an Act prescribed for the purposes of this subsection.

(4) The Minister may, upon a question being referred under subsection (1), cause particulars of the question to be notified to the public in such manner as the Minister thinks fit.

(5) The Committee shall consider any such question referred to it and make a report and recommendations to the Minister in relation to the question.

(6) Even if the Committee has not completed consideration of a question, it may, in the interests of public safety, recommend to the Minister the making under section 30 of an interim order prohibiting or restricting supply of the goods to which the question relates.

(7) The Director-General shall, if requested to do so by the Committee, give to the Committee to enable it to consider a question referred to it:

(a) any information in the possession of the Director-General which relates to the question, and

(b) any other assistance which the Committee may require, and which the Director-General has power to give, in relation to the question.

(8) If a member of the Committee dissents from a decision of the Committee in respect of a question referred to it, the Chairperson shall record in the report a note of that dissent and of any reasons for it.

(9) The Committee, in considering a question referred to it:

(a) may make such investigations as it considers necessary to enable it to make a recommendation with respect to the question,

(b) shall take into account any representations made to it by any person who, in its opinion, has a substantial interest in the subject-matter of the question or by any body which, in its opinion, represents a substantial number of persons who have such an interest, and

(c) unless the Committee does not consider that it is reasonably practicable to do so, shall permit any such person or body to be heard by the Committee, or by a member of the Committee nominated by it for the purpose.

(10) The Committee may determine its own procedure for considering a question referred to it, and in particular may determine:

(a) the extent, if any, to which persons interested or claiming to be interested in the question are allowed to be present or to be heard, either by themselves or by their representatives, or to cross-examine witnesses or otherwise participate in the consideration of the question, and

(b) the extent, if any, to which the Committee shall hold its proceedings in public.

(11) In determining its procedure under subsection (10), the Committee shall act in accordance with Schedule 4 and any general directions which may be given it by the Minister.