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ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1961 - SECT 176

ROAD TRAFFIC ACT 1961 - SECT 176

176—Regulations, rules and fee notices

        (1)         The Governor may make such regulations and rules as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.

        (1a)         The regulations or rules may—

            (a)         provide defences for persons charged with offences; and

            (b)         confer on police officers or persons of a specified class power to give directions (including directions requiring action inconsistent with other requirements under this Act) or any other power for the safe and efficient regulation of traffic; and

            (c)         empower councils to fix (or vary) fees for the parking of vehicles within their areas, being fees payable by the operation of parking ticket-vending machines, parking meters, electronic devices (including mobile phones, tablets or any other device of a prescribed kind) or by any electronic method determined by the council; and

            (d)         provide for the granting of parking permits by councils, subject to such conditions or restrictions and on the payment of such fees as they think fit; and

            (e)         prescribe exemptions (which may be conditional or unconditional) from any provision of this Act; and

            (f)         provide for the granting (and variation and revocation) of exemptions by the Minister, subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit, from any provision of this Act; and

            (g)         prescribe and provide for the payment of fees in respect of specified matters (including fees for vehicle inspections for the purposes of this or any other Act); and

            (ga)         provide for the waiver, reduction or remission of any prescribed fees; and

            (gb)         approve an apparatus of a specified kind as a photographic detection device, and prescribe requirements as to the operation and testing of such a device, for the purposes of this or any other Act; and

            (h)         prescribe transitional provisions; and

                  (i)         impose penalties, not exceeding $5 000, for offences against the regulations or rules; and

            (j)         fix expiation fees, not exceeding $2 500, for alleged offences against this Act.

        (3)         For the purpose of enabling traffic experiments to be conducted, the Governor may make regulations or rules—

            (a)         suspending or amending any of the provisions of this Act;

            (b)         prescribing duties of road users different from, or in substitution for, any provisions so suspended and any other duties of road users, or other matters which it is necessary or convenient to prescribe, for the purpose of testing experimental traffic rules or schemes of traffic control.

Any regulations or rules suspending or amending any provisions of this Act must provide that the suspension or amendment will cease to operate on a day specified in the regulations or rules and being not later than six months from the day when the suspension or amendment takes effect, but the Governor may, by additional regulations or rules, extend the period of operation of any suspension or amendment for any period not exceeding three months for any one extension.

        (4)         A discretionary power may be conferred on the Minister or any other person or body of persons by regulation or rule made under this Act.

        (4aa)         Regulations or rules may be of general or limited application or vary in their application according to times, circumstances or matters in relation to which they are expressed to apply.

        (4a)         The regulations or rules may impose a requirement, or make other provision, by reference to traffic control devices from time to time on, above or near roads.

        (5)         The regulations or rules may impose a requirement, or make other provision, by reference to a specified standard, code or specification, as in force at a specified time, or as in force from time to time.

        (5a)         If the regulations or rules make some provision by reference to a standard, code or specification—

            (a)         a copy of the standard, code or specification must be kept available for inspection by members of the public, without charge and during normal office hours, at an office or offices determined by the Minister; and

            (b)         in any legal proceedings, evidence of the contents of the standard, code or specification may be given by production of a document purporting to be certified by or on behalf of the Minister as a true copy of the standard, code or specification.

        (5b)         The regulations or rules may include evidentiary provisions to facilitate proof of breaches of the regulations or rules for the purposes of proceedings for offences against the Act or the regulations or rules.

        (7)         Subsections (1a) and (4) to (5b) apply to any regulations or rules under this Act (whether made under this section or another section of this Act).

        (8)         The matters about which regulations or rules may be made under this section are not limited by, and may include, specified matters about which regulations or rules may be made under another section of this Act.

        (9)         The Minister may prescribe fees for the purposes of this Act by fee notice under the Legislation (Fees) Act 2019 .