STATUTORY RULES.

1920. No. 249.

REGULATIONS UNDER THE NAVAL DEFENCE ACT 1910-1918.

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Naval Defence Act 1910-1918, to come into operation forthwith.

Dated this first day of December, 1920.

FORSTER,

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

W. H. LAIRD SMITH,

Minister of State for the Navy.

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Amendment of Naval Forces Regulations.

(Statutory Rules 1906, No. 20, as amended to present date.)

1. Regulation 1 of the Naval Forces Regulations is amended by omitting from the definition of “Naval Secretary” the words “to the Naval Board” and inserting in their stead the words “of the Navy Office”.

2. Regulations 5, 5a and 6 are repealed and the following regulations are inserted in their stead:—

Constitution of Naval Board.

“5. The Naval Board shall be composed of the Minister (President), and the following members:—

The First Naval Member and Chief of Naval Staff;

The Second Naval Member and Chief of Personnel;

The Third Naval Member and Chief of Construction, Supplies and Transport;

The Finance and Civil Member.

The First Naval Member shall be a flag officer; the Second and Third Naval Members, in future appointments, shall be executive naval officers of a rank not lower than captain.

Duties or Naval Board

6. The Naval Board shall be charged with the control and administration of all matters relating to the Naval Forces, upon the policy directed by the Minister, and shall have executive command of the Naval Forces. The Governor-General may delegate to the Naval Board the functions, and commission it to execute the office, of Commander-in-Chief of the Naval Forces.

Naval Board to act as whole.

7. Except as prescribed, the members of the Naval Board shall act as a whole.

Secretary to Navy Office.

8. There shall be a Secretary of the Navy Office who shall not be a member of the Naval Board and who shall have charge of the Clerical staff and be responsible to the Board for Clerical duties and safe custody of confidential books and documents.

The orders of the Board shall be issued over the signature of the Secretary or such other official as the Board may authorize to act for him.

Meeting of Naval Board.

9. The Naval Board shall meet, weekly or as may be directed by the Minister, or in his absence, by the Senior Naval Member of the Board present.

Two members of the Board, of whom one must be a Naval Member of the Military Branch, shall constitute a quorum.

The Minister when present shall preside at meetings of the Board.

In the absence of the Minister, the First Naval Member shall preside; and in the absence of both, the Senior Naval Member present shall preside.

Conduct of business of control and administration.

10. The following rules govern the conduct of the business of control and administration:—

(a) Matters of routine as defined by the Naval Board will be decided by the Member of the Board to whose special sphere of supervision they belong.

(b) Any Member of the Board may refer to the Board such matters as he considers should be dealt with by the Board as a whole; and the Minister or the First Naval Member may refer to the Board any matters dealt with by individual Members of the Board if he considers that they ought to be dealt with by the Board as a whole.

(c) All decisions of the Board which involve a matter of policy or important principle, an increased vote or transfer of votes of expenditure, or any new expenditure, shall be submitted for Ministerial approval.

(d) On other decisions of the Board no action shall be taken until the Minister has been advised and Ministerial sanction has been obtained, unless the Minister has directed that the matter need not be submitted for his approval.

(e) In the event of a recommendation of the Naval Board being disapproved by the Minister in a matter considered by the Board to be of vital importance, any Member of the Board or the Board as a whole, may place on record in writing a statement of his or their reasons for the recommendation.

Agenda of meetings to be forwarded to the Minister.

11. The Members of the Naval Board shall forward to the Minister, two clear days before any meeting of the Board, the agenda of the subjects they desire to discuss, with a recommendation thereon.

Every decision of the Board, when the Minister has not been present at the meeting of the Board, shall be communicated to the Minister, initialed by each Member signifying his concurrence or dissent.

Powers of Minister.

11a. The Minister shall have the general direction and supervision of all business.

Sphere of supervision of members.

The special sphere of supervision of each Member of the Naval Board, other than the Minister, shall be such as the Board may decide from time to time on the following principles:—

First Naval Member. —Operations of war and all Staff business; all large questions of naval policy and maritime warfare.

Second Naval Member. —Personnel.

Third Naval Member. —Material (including Construction and Works).

Finance and Civil Member. —Finance and Contracts.

Operations of war in absence of First Naval Member.

11b. In the absence of the First Naval Member, operations of war shall belong to the sphere of supervision of the Second Naval Member, and it shall be the duty of the First and Second Naval Members to keep in close communication with respect to all matters relating to those operations.

Flag of Naval Board.

11c. The Flag of the Naval Board is the Admiralty gold anchor on a rod and blue field bisected horizontally, the top half red and the bottom half blue. The Flag of the Naval Board is to be saluted by firing fifteen guns, within the waters, of the Commonwealth of Australia, on the same occasions as those on which the Admiralty Flag is saluted.”

3. Regulation 17 of the Naval Forces Regulations is repealed and the following regulation is inserted in its stead:—

Appointment of Officers.

“17. The Minister may, on the recommendation of the Naval Board, and subject to the qualifications and conditions prescribed by these Regulations, recommend to the Governor-General suitable candidates for appointment as Officers to the Permanent Naval Forces.

All Commissions and Warrants for Naval Officers shall be signed by two Members of the Board before being submitted to the Governor-General for signature.

No candidate will be accepted unless he is certified as fit for service by a Naval or other qualified surgeon.”

Printed and Published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia Albert J. Mullett, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.