Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 - SECT 15

Powers of committees of management

15. Powers of committees of management



(1) A committee of management of any land appointed under section 14-

   (a)  shall manage improve maintain and control the land for the purposes
        for which it is reserved and for that purpose may employ officers
        servants and workmen;

   (b)  may exercise all such powers functions and authorities and shall carry
        out all such duties as are conferred or imposed on it by any
        regulations made pursuant to section 13 and shall have authority to do
        all such acts matters and things as are necessary for or incidental to
        carrying into effect and enforcing such regulations in respect of the
        land;

   (c)  may carry out works and improvements on the land:

Provided that in the case of works or improvements on coastal Crown land-

   (i)  the consent of the Minister administering the
        Coastal Management Act 1995 has been first obtained; and

   (ii) the works are carried out in accordance with any management plan
        prepared under the Coastal Management Act 1995 which relates to the
        land;

   (iii) the works or improvements are being carried out solely to maintain
        the land;

   (d)  may-

   (i)  if it is a body corporate, in its own name or in the name of some
        person appointed by it in that behalf; or

   (ii) if it is not a body corporate, in the name of any one or more of its
        members or in the name of some person appointed by it in that behalf-

take any legal proceedings for the purposes aforesaid;

   (e)  may expend any revenue from the land or any other moneys for any of
        the purposes mentioned in this section;

   (f)  shall expend or apply any revenue for any other purpose whether or not
        related to the land as directed by the Minister;

   (g)  notwithstanding anything in this Act where the committee considers it
        will not be inconsistent with the purposes of the reservation the
        committee may subject to the consent of the Minister upon such terms
        and conditions as it determines-

   (i)  grant a permit to any person to enter upon the land with cattle sheep
        or other animals and to pasture them thereon; or

   (ii) cultivate the land or grant a permit to any person to enter upon the
        land with plant and machinery and cultivate it;

   (h)  may, in accordance with the Impounding of Livestock Act 1994, impound
        livestock trespassing on the land and, for the purposes of this
        paragraph, livestock has the same meaning as in section 3 of the
        Impounding of Livestock Act 1994; and

        (i)    may insure against any legal liability to members of the public
               which may arise out of the performance of its functions as
               committee of management.

(2) At any meeting of a committee of management the chairman (or, in the
absence of the chairman, such member as the members present appoint) shall
preside and in the event of an equality of votes the person presiding shall
have a second or casting vote.

(3) A quorum of a committee of management (not being a body corporate) shall
consist of a majority of the members for the time being in office.

(4) The powers and functions of a committee of management (not being a body
corporate) may be exercised in accordance with a majority of votes at any
meeting.

(5) Where reserved land has been granted to trustees all acts matters and
things done by the committee of management of the land in exercise of the
powers conferred by this section shall have the same force and effect as if
done by the trustees of the land.

(6) In no case shall Her Majesty or the Minister be liable for any costs or
expenses incurred or awarded in connexion with any prosecution under this
section.

(7) A committee of management appointed under subsection (1) of section 14
shall furnish annually to the trustees of the land and to the Minister a
report of its operations and a statement of its receipts and expenditure in
such form as the trustees or the Minister may require.

(8) A committee of management appointed under subsection (2) of section 14-

   (a)  shall keep a full and particular account of all sums of moneys
        received and expended by it;

   (b)  shall furnish annually to the Secretary, unless otherwise directed by
        the Secretary, a statement of its receipts and expenditure and of the
        balance in hand;



   (c)  shall if requested by the Secretary furnish particulars of any or all
        of its receipts and expenditure;





   (d)  shall keep such accounting and other records as may be required by the
        Secretary to sufficiently explain the transactions and financial
        position of the committee; and



   (e)  shall cause to be made up in each year proper accounts of the
        committee for the year ending on the day immediately preceding the
        anniversary of the appointment of the committee or any other day as
        may be required by the Secretary.

(8A) Subject to subsection (8B), the provisions of subsection (8) shall not
apply to a committee of management consisting of-

   (a)  the corporation of any shire borough town or city constituted under
        the Local Government Act 1958 or any other Act relating to local
        government;

   (b)  a person holding a licence issued under Division 1 of Part 2 of the
        Water Industry Act 1994;

   (ba) Melbourne Water Corporation;





   (bb) Parks Victoria;





   (c)  the National Parks Advisory Council established under the
        National Parks Act 1975; or

   (d)  any board, committee, commission, trust or other body corporate or
        unincorporate established by or under any Act for any public purpose.

(8B) The Minister may direct in relation to any committee of management
referred to in subsection (8A) that the provisions of subsection (8) or such
one or more than one of those provisions as the Minister specifies shall apply
to that committee of management.

(9) The Governor in Council may-

   (a)  annually appoint a person holding a certificate of qualification as a
        municipal auditor issued by the Local Government Qualifications Board
        to audit the accounts of any committee of management and every such
        person shall be entitled to such remuneration from the committee of
        management as the Governor in Council determines; or



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(9A) This section applies to a committee of management of any land appointed
under section 14 where the land in respect of which the committee is appointed
is leased by the Minister under section 17CA and the management of the lease
is conferred on the committee by the lease, to the extent that it is not
inconsistent with the lease.

(10) In this section Local Government Qualifications Board means the Local
Government Qualifications Board established under section 102 of the
Local Government Act 1989.