New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MINE HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT 2004 - SECT 22

22 Duty to nominate the operator of a mine

(1) A mine holder must not undertake any work directly related to mining, or allow any other person to undertake any work directly related to mining, at a mine unless the mine holder has nominated one person who is the employer with the day to day control of the mine as the operator of the mine.

(2) A nomination must be made in writing to the Chief Inspector.

(3) A mine holder may nominate himself, herself or itself as the operator of a mine.

(4) If there is more than one separate and distinct mine at a place, the mine holder may nominate the person who is the employer with the day to day control of each such mine, individually or collectively.

(5) A nomination under this section must be in the form prescribed by the regulations.

(6) The Chief Inspector may require a mine holder to provide further information concerning a nomination.

(7) The Chief Inspector must tell the mine holder who made the nomination if the nomination has been rejected. This must be done within 28 days of receiving the nomination or within any further time specified by the Chief Inspector when the Chief Inspector requests further information under subsection (6).

(8) The Chief Inspector may reject a nomination under this section:

(a) if the Chief Inspector believes that the nominated operator is not the employer with the day to day control of the mine, or

(b) in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(9) If a nomination is rejected it is taken, on and from the time the rejection is notified to the operator, not to have been made.

(10) If an operator whose nomination has not been rejected under this section ceases to be the employer with the day to day control of the mine, the mine holder must not undertake any mining, or allow any other person to undertake any mining, at the mine unless the mine holder has nominated another operator of the mine. This section applies to a further nomination in the same way as it applies to an initial nomination.

(11) This section does not require a mine holder to nominate an operator if a previous mine holder nominated an operator other than himself, herself or itself and that nomination was not rejected.

(12) The regulations may specify that work is or is not "directly related to mining" for the purposes of this section.

(13) The regulations may provide for the circumstances in which a person is taken to cease to be the employer with the day to day control of a mine for the purposes of this section.

(14) Subject to the regulations, the fact that an operator was not, when nominated as the operator under this section, the employer with the day to day control of the mine concerned does not affect the operator’s obligations under this Act.

(15) Subject to the regulations, the fact that an operator has ceased to be the employer with the day to day control of the mine does not affect the operator’s obligations under this Act.