New South Wales Consolidated Acts

PORTS AND MARITIME ADMINISTRATION ACT 1995 - SECT 18

18 Special provision for election of staff director

(1) The staff director of the board of directors of a Port Corporation (referred to in section 20J (3) (a) of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 ) is to be a person elected in the manner prescribed by this section instead of a person selected in the manner prescribed by that Act.

(2) Regulations may be made for or with respect to the election of a staff director.

(3) Employees of a Port Corporation are entitled to vote at an election of the staff director of the board of the Port Corporation in accordance with the regulations under this section.

(4) A person is entitled to be elected as the staff director of the board of a Port Corporation whether or not the person is an employee of the Port Corporation.

(5) The Electoral Commissioner of New South Wales, or a person nominated by the Electoral Commissioner, is to be the returning officer and has all the functions conferred or imposed on the returning officer by the regulations under this section. A Port Corporation is required to re-imburse the Electoral Commissioner for the costs incurred by the Electoral Commissioner in conducting an election for the staff director of that Port Corporation.

(6) A person may be, at the same time, both a staff director and an employee of the Port Corporation concerned. Nothing in any law, rule, direction or other requirement that:

(a) is applicable to a staff director in the person’s capacity as an employee of the Port Corporation, and

(b) would not be so applicable if the person were not such an employee,

operates so as to prevent or restrict the exercise by the person of his or her functions as a staff director.

(7) If an election fails for any reason or a staff director vacates office before the end of the person’s term of office, any person nominated by the Minister after consultation with representatives of the employees of the Port Corporation may be appointed as the staff director under section 20J (3) (a) of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 to hold office until an election of a staff director is held in the manner prescribed by this section. Such an appointment may also be made in the case of the first staff director after the establishment of the Port Corporation pending the first election.

(8) The term for which a staff director is appointed (as specified in the director’s instrument of appointment) is to be not less than 3 years. This subsection does not apply to an appointment referred to in subsection (7).

(9) In this section, "employee" of a Port Corporation means any member of the staff of the Port Corporation, but (unless the regulations under this section otherwise provide) does not include a person who is employed on a temporary or casual basis.

Note: Section 20J (3) of the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 provides that one of the directors of a statutory SOC is to be a staff director. The above section provides for the manner of selecting that staff director (as contemplated by that Act-see clause 4 of Schedule 8 to that Act).