Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Outworkers (Improved Protection) Act 2003 - SCHEDULE

Section 18 CONSTITUTION AND PROCEDURE OF COUNCIL



1. Period of office of members

Subject to this Schedule, a member holds office for the period (not exceeding
3 years) specified in his or her instrument of appointment, and is eligible
for re-appointment.

2. Payment of members



(1) A member, other than a member who is an employee in the public service
within the meaning of the Public Administration Act 2004, is entitled to
receive the fees, if any, that are fixed from time to time by the Minister in
respect of the member.

(2) A member is entitled to receive the allowances that are fixed from time to
time by the Minister.

3. Acting members



(1) The Minister may appoint a person who is eligible to be appointed as a
member to act as member-

   (a)  during a vacancy in the office of the member; or

   (b)  if the member is absent or, for any other reason, is unable to perform
        the duties of office.

(2) In the case of an acting member appointed for a member who was appointed
under section 16(1)(b), (c), (d), (e) or (f), the acting member must be
appointed from the same, or another, list submitted by the organisation that
nominated the member.

(3) The Minister-

   (a)  may determine the terms and conditions of appointment of an acting
        member; and

   (b)  may terminate the appointment at any time.

(4) While acting in a member's place, the acting member-

   (a)  has all the powers and must perform all the duties of the member; and

   (b)  is entitled to be paid the fees and allowances (if any) to which the
        member would have been entitled.

(5) An acting member is eligible for re-appointment.

4. Resignation and removal



(1) A member may resign from the office of member by writing signed by the
member and delivered to the Minister.

(2) The Minister may remove a member from office at any time.

(3) The office of a member also becomes vacant if the member-

   (a)  becomes an insolvent under administration; or



   (b)  is convicted in Victoria of an offence punishable by imprisonment for
        12 months or more or elsewhere of an offence that, if committed in
        Victoria, would be so punishable; or

   (c)  becomes incapable of performing the duties of a member; or

   (d)  is absent, without leave first being granted by the Council, for 4
        consecutive meetings of the Council of which reasonable notice has
        been given to the member personally or by post.

5. Effect of other Acts



(1) The Public Administration Act 2004 (other than Part 3 of that Act) applies
to a member in respect of the office of member.





(2) If by or under any Act provision is made-

   (a)  requiring a person who is the holder of a specified office to devote
        the whole of his or her time to the duties of that office; or

   (b)  prohibiting the person from engaging in employment outside the duties
        of that office-

the provision does not operate to disqualify the person from holding that
office and also the office of a member or from accepting and retaining any
remuneration payable to the person under this Act as a member.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, the office of member is not to be taken to be
an office or place of profit under the Crown for the purposes of section
55(d), 80A(5A)(a) or 83(4) of the Constitution Act 1975 or section 13A(5A)(a)
or (5C) of the County Court Act 1958.









6. General procedure



(1) The chairperson, or in his or her absence, the acting chairperson, or in
the absence of both of them, a member elected by the members present, must
preside at a meeting of the Council.

(2) The quorum of the Council is 4 members.

(3) A question arising at a meeting is determined by a majority of votes and
the person presiding has a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality
of votes, a second or casting vote.

(4) The Council must ensure that accurate minutes are kept of each meeting.

(5) The Council may transact any of its business at a meeting at which the
members or any of them participate by telephone, closed-circuit television or
in any other similar way.

(6) Subject to this Act, the Council may regulate its own procedure.

7. Conflicts of interest



(1) Whenever the Council is to make a decision on a matter at a meeting, each
member present at the meeting must, before the matter is considered, declare
any direct or indirect pecuniary interest that he or she has in the matter.

Penalty: 5 penalty units.

(2) The Council or the chairperson must cause the declaration to be tabled at
that meeting or at the next meeting of the Council and the person presiding at
that meeting must cause the declaration to be recorded in the minutes of the
meeting.

(3) A member who has a conflict of interest in a matter-

   (a)  must not be present during any deliberations on the matter, unless a
        full declaration of the interest has been made and the Council directs
        otherwise; and

   (b)  is not entitled to vote on the matter.

(4) A member who has a conflict of interest in a matter must not be present
during any deliberations leading to a direction, or take part in making a
direction under subclause (3)(a).

(5) If a member votes on a matter in contravention of subclause (3)(b), his or
her vote must be disallowed.

8. Resolutions without meetings



(1) If-

   (a)  the Council has taken reasonable steps to give notice to each member
        setting out the terms of a proposed resolution; and

   (b)  at least 4 of the members sign a document containing a statement that
        they are in favour of the resolution in the terms set out in the
        document-

a resolution in those terms is deemed to have been passed at a meeting of the
Council held on the day on which the document is signed or, if the members
referred to in paragraph (b) do not sign it on the same day, on the day on
which the last of those members signs the document.

(2) For the purposes of subclause (1), 2 or more separate documents containing
a statement in identical terms, each of which is signed by one or more
members, are deemed to constitute one document.

(3) If a resolution is deemed by this section to have been passed at a meeting
of the Council, each member must as soon as practicable be advised of the
matter and given a copy of the resolution.

(4) The members referred to in subclause (1)(b) must not include a member who,
because of clause 7, is not entitled to vote on the resolution.

9. Effect of a vacancy or defect

An act or decision of the Council is not invalid only because-

   (a)  of a vacancy in its membership; or

   (b)  of a defect or irregularity in the appointment of any of its members;
        or

   (c)  in the case of an acting member, the occasion for that member so
        acting had not arisen or had ceased.

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