An Act relating to the National Library of Australia
Part I—Preliminary
1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the National Library Act 1960.
2 Commencement
This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.
4 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
Finance Minister means the Minister administering the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
library material includes books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, sound recordings, musical scores, maps, plans, pictures, photographs, prints and other recorded material, whether in writing or in some other form.
member means a member of the Council.
the Council means the Council of the National Library of Australia established by this Act.
the Director‑General means the Director‑General of the Library.
the Library means the National Library of Australia established by this Act.
Part II—Establishment of the National Library of Australia
5 Establishment of National Library
(1) A body corporate is hereby established under the name “National Library of Australia”.
Note: The Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 applies to the Library. That Act deals with matters relating to corporate Commonwealth entities, including reporting and the use and management of public resources.
(2) The Library:
(a) shall have a seal;
(b) has power to acquire, hold and dispose of real and personal property; and
(c) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.
(3) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the seal of the Library affixed to a document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.
6 Functions of Library
The functions of the Library are, on behalf of the Commonwealth:
(a) to maintain and develop a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the Australian people;
(b) to make library material in the national collection available to such persons and institutions, and in such manner and subject to such conditions, as the Council determines with a view to the most advantageous use of that collection in the national interest;
(c) to make available such other services in relation to library matters and library material (including bibliographical services) as the Council thinks fit, and, in particular, services for the purposes of:
(i) the library of the Parliament;
(ii) the authorities of the Commonwealth; and
(iii) the Territories; and
(iv) the Agencies (within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999); and
(d) to co‑operate in library matters (including the advancement of library science) with authorities or persons, whether in Australia or elsewhere, concerned with library matters.
7 Powers of the Library
(1) The Library has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done for or in connexion with the performance of its functions.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the powers of the Library referred to in that subsection include power:
(a) to purchase or take on hire, or to accept on deposit or loan, library material, and also furnishings, equipment and goods needed for the purposes of the Library;
(b) to dispose of, lend or hire out library material or other goods the property of the Library;
(c) to purchase or take on lease land or buildings, and to erect buildings, necessary for the purposes of the Library;
(d) to dispose of, or grant leases of, land or buildings vested in the Library;
(e) to occupy, use and control any land or building owned or held under lease by the Commonwealth and made available for the purposes of the Library;
(f) to accept gifts, devises, bequests and assignments made to the Library (whether on trust or otherwise); and
(g) to act as trustee of moneys, library material or other property vested in the Library upon trust, or to act on behalf of the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth in the administration of a trust relating to library material or library matters.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, any money or property held by the Library upon trust shall be dealt with in accordance with the powers and duties of the Library as trustee.
8 Transfer of library material etc. to Library
The Minister may, at the request of the Council, make arrangements with the appropriate authority for the transfer to the Library of the ownership, use or custody of any library material, or of any equipment or goods, belonging to the Commonwealth.
9 Land and buildings
The Governor‑General may make available, for the purposes of the Library, any land or buildings owned or held under lease by the Commonwealth.
Part III—Management of the Library
10 Constitution of Council
(1) The affairs of the Library shall be conducted by a Council to be known as the Council of the National Library of Australia.
(2) The Council shall consist of:
(aa) the Director‑General;
(a) one Senator elected by the Senate;
(b) one member of the House of Representatives elected by that House; and
(c) 9 members appointed by the Governor‑General, being persons who, in the opinion of the Governor‑General, by their knowledge and experience can advance the full development of the Library.
(3) A member of the Council elected by either House of the Parliament holds office, subject to this Act, for such period, not exceeding 3 years, as is fixed by that House at the time of his or her election.
(4) A member of the Council appointed by the Governor‑General holds office, subject to this Act, for such period, not exceeding 3 years, as is fixed by the Governor‑General at the time of his or her appointment.
(5) A member of the Council elected by either House of the Parliament or appointed by the Governor‑General is eligible for re‑election or re‑appointment.
(5A) A person must not be appointed as a member referred to in paragraph (2)(c) for a period if the sum of the following exceeds 9 years:
(a) that period;
(b) any periods of previous appointment of the person as a member.
(6) The exercise or performance of the powers or functions of the Council is not affected by reason only of there being a vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the Council.
11 Acting members
The Minister may appoint a person to act as a member appointed by the Governor‑General:
(a) during a vacancy in the office of such a member; or
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when such a member is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of his or her office.
Note: For rules that apply to acting appointments, see section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
12 Chair and Deputy Chair
(1) The Governor‑General shall appoint one of the members appointed by the Governor‑General to be the Chair of the Council during the pleasure of the Governor‑General.
(2) There shall be a Deputy Chair of the Council, who shall be a member elected by the members from time to time.
13 Remuneration and allowances
(1) The members of the Council shall be paid such remuneration as is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.
(2) The members of the Council shall be paid such allowances as are prescribed.
(3) This section has effect subject to the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973.
14 Termination of office
(1) The Governor‑General may terminate the appointment of a member, being a member appointed by the Governor‑General, for inability, inefficiency or misbehaviour.
(2) A member elected by either House of the Parliament may be removed from office by that House.
(3) Section 30 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with terminating the appointment of an accountable authority, or a member of an accountable authority, for contravening general duties of officials) does not apply in relation to a member elected by either House of the Parliament despite subsection 30(6) of that Act.
15 Vacation of office
(1) If a member other than the Director‑General:
(a) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit; or
(d) is absent, except on leave granted by the Council, from 3 consecutive meetings of the Council;
the Governor‑General shall terminate the appointment of the member.
Note: The appointment of a member (other than a member elected by either House of the Parliament) may also be terminated under section 30 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with terminating the appointment of an accountable authority, or a member of an accountable authority, for contravening general duties of officials).
(1A) If a member elected by either House of the Parliament ceases to be a member of that House, he or she ceases to be a member of the Council.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1A), a member of either House of the Parliament shall be deemed not to have ceased to be a member of that House while he or she continues to be entitled to the Parliamentary allowance that became payable to him or her as such a member.
15A Resignation
A member other than the Director‑General may resign his or her office by signed notice delivered to:
(a) in the case of a member appointed by the Governor‑General—the Governor‑General; or
(b) in the case of a member elected by the Senate or the House of Representatives—the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be.
16 Meetings of Council
(1) The Chair, or if, for any reason, the Chair is unable to act, the Deputy Chair:
(a) shall convene such meetings of the Council as he or she considers necessary for the efficient conduct of its business; and
(b) shall, on receipt of a written request signed by not less than 4 members, convene a meeting of the Council.
(2) The Minister may at any time convene a meeting of the Council.
(3) The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Council at which he or she is present.
(4) In the event of the absence of the Chair from a meeting of the Council, the Deputy Chair shall preside at that meeting.
(5) In the event of the absence of both the Chair and the Deputy Chair from a meeting of the Council, the members present shall appoint one of their number to preside at that meeting.
(6) At a meeting of the Council, a quorum is constituted by a majority of members.
(7) Subject to subsection (8), all questions arising at a meeting of the Council shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting, and for this purpose the member presiding at the meeting has a deliberative vote.
(8) In the event of an equality of votes on a resolution proposed at a meeting of the Council, the resolution shall be taken not to be passed, but if the same resolution is proposed at the next meeting of the Council held at a later date and there is again an equality of votes, the member presiding at that meeting has a casting vote on the proposed resolution.
17 Director‑General
(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be a Director‑General of the National Library.
(2) The Director‑General shall be appointed by the Governor‑General.
(3) The Director‑General is the executive officer of the Council and has, under the Council, the conduct of the affairs of the Library.
(4) For the purposes of the Public Service Act 1999:
(a) the Director‑General and the APS employees assisting the Director‑General together constitute a Statutory Agency; and
(b) the Director‑General is the Head of that Statutory Agency.
17A Terms and conditions of appointment
(1) The Director‑General holds office for such period, not exceeding 7 years, as is specified in the instrument of his or her appointment, but is eligible for re‑appointment.
17B Leave of absence
(1) A full‑time member has such recreation leave entitlements as are determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.
(2) The Minister, or the Council acting with the Minister’s authority, may grant a full‑time member leave of absence, other than recreation leave, on such terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise as the Minister or the Council, acting with the Minister’s authority, determines.
17C Dismissal
The Governor‑General may terminate the appointment of the Director‑General for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.
17D Resignation
The Director‑General may resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Governor‑General.
17E Vacation of office
(1) If the Director‑General:
(a) engages in paid employment outside the duties of his or her office without the approval of the Minister; or
(aa) fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with subsection (3); or
(b) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit;
the Governor‑General shall terminate the appointment of the Director‑General.
Note: The appointment of the Director‑General may also be terminated under section 30 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with terminating the appointment of an accountable authority, or a member of an accountable authority, for contravening general duties of officials).
(2) The Minister shall not give an approval for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) unless he or she is satisfied that the paid employment is of a minor nature and will not interfere with the performance of the duties of the Director‑General under this Act.
(3) The Director‑General must give written notice to the Minister of all direct or indirect pecuniary interests that the Director‑General has or acquires in any business or in any body corporate carrying on any business.
(4) Subsection (3) applies in addition to section 29 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with the duty to disclose interests).
17H Application of Superannuation Act
For the purposes of subsections 4(3A) and (4) of the Superannuation Act 1922, the Director‑General shall be deemed to be required, by the terms of his or her appointment, to give the whole of his or her time to the duties of his or her office.
17J Acting Director‑General
(1) The Minister may appoint a person to act as Director‑General:
(a) during a vacancy in the office;
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the Director‑General is absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of the office of Director‑General.
Note: For rules that apply to acting appointments, see section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
(8) Section 17B applies in relation to a person appointed under this section in like manner as it applies in relation to the Director‑General.
18 Officers
The staff of the Library shall be engaged under the Public Service Act 1999.
Part IV—Finance
20 Moneys payable to Library
(1) There are payable to the Library such moneys as are appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of the Library.
(2) The Finance Minister may give directions as to the amounts in which, and the times at which, moneys referred to in subsection (1) are to be paid to the Library.
22 Application of moneys of Library
(1) The moneys of the Library shall be applied only:
(a) in payment or discharge of the costs and expenses of the Library under this Act; and
(b) in payment of the remuneration, allowances and expenses of the members of the Council.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent investment, under subsection (3) of this section or section 59 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, of money that is not immediately required for the purposes of the Library.
(3) In addition to investments authorised by section 59 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the Library may invest the following in any other form of investment:
(a) money accepted as a gift or bequest to the Library;
(b) money that the Library receives from the disposal of property given, devised, bequeathed or assigned to the Library by a person other than the Commonwealth;
(c) income received from an investment made under this subsection or from the disposal of such an investment.
Note: See subsection 7(3) for obligations of the Library as trustee of a trust.
(4) An investment under subsection (3), or the disposal of such an investment, must be in accordance with a policy in force under section 23.
23 Investment policy
(1) The Council may formulate a written policy in relation to the following matters:
(a) the investment strategy of the Library;
(b) benchmarks and standards for assessing the performance of the Library’s investments;
(c) risk management for the Library’s investments.
Note: For variation and revocation, see subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
Publication of policy
(2) If the Council formulates a policy under subsection (1), the Council must cause a copy of the policy to be published on the Library’s website.
Review of policy
(3) If the Council formulates a policy under subsection (1), the Council must conduct periodic reviews of the policy.
Compliance with policy
(4) If the Council formulates a policy under subsection (1), the Library must comply with the policy.
(5) A failure to comply with the policy does not affect the validity of any transaction.
Policy not a legislative instrument
(6) A policy formulated under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.
24 Restrictions on financial transactions
(1) The Library must not, without the written approval of the Minister:
(a) acquire any library material for a consideration exceeding in amount or value the amount prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph; or
(b) dispose of any library material if the amount or value of the consideration for the disposal, or the value of the library material, exceeds the amount prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph; or
(c) acquire any property, right or privilege, other than library material, for a consideration exceeding in amount or value the amount prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph; or
(d) dispose of any property, right or privilege, other than library material, if the amount or value of the consideration for the disposal, or the value of the property, right or privilege, exceeds the amount prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph; or
(e) enter into a contract for the construction of a building for the Library, being a contract under which the Library is to pay an amount exceeding the amount prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph; or
(f) enter into a lease of land for a period exceeding 10 years.
(2) An approval under subsection (1) is not a legislative instrument.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a contract if the contract provides for the supply of a service to the Library for the day‑to‑day operations of the Library.
(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to the following:
(a) an investment acquired under subsection 22(3);
(b) the disposal of such an investment.
25 Annual report
Each annual report prepared by the Council and given to the Minister under section 46 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 for a period must include a statement relating to disposals of library material during the period.
26 Exemption from taxation
The Library is not subject to taxation under any law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory.
Part V—Miscellaneous
27A Supply of liquor on premises of Library
(1) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to the sale, supply, disposal, possession or control of liquor on premises in the Australian Capital Territory owned by or under the control of the Library.
(2) The law of the Australian Capital Territory relating to the sale, supply and disposal of liquor does not apply with respect to premises in respect of which regulations are in force under subsection (1).
(3) In this section:
liquor means wine, spirits, ale, beer, porter, cider, perry or any liquid containing alcohol ordinarily used or fit for use as a beverage.
27B Control of Library land and buildings
(1) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to:
(a) regulating, restricting or prohibiting the entry of persons on to any land or building owned by or under the control of the Library; or
(b) regulating the conduct of persons on any such land or building; or
(c) the removal of persons from any such land or building.
(2) A reference in this section to any land or building owned by or under the control of the Library includes a reference to a part of any such land or any such building, as the case may be.
27C Minister may give directions to Council
(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, give written directions to the Council about the performance of its functions or the exercise of its powers.
Note: Section 42 (disallowance) and Part 4 of Chapter 3 (sunsetting) of the Legislation Act 2003 do not apply to the directions (see regulations made for the purposes of paragraphs 44(2)(b) and 54(2)(b) of that Act).
(2) A direction under subsection (1) must be of a general nature only.
(3) The Council must comply with a direction under subsection (1).
27D Delegation by the Minister
(1) The Minister may, in writing, delegate all or any of the Minister’s functions or powers under this Act to:
(a) the Secretary of the Department; or
(b) an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Department.
Note: Sections 34AA to 34A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 contain provisions relating to delegations.
(2) However, subsection (1) does not apply to the Minister’s powers under section 11 or 27C.
(3) In performing a delegated function or exercising a delegated power, the delegate must comply with any written directions of the Minister.
28 Regulations
The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act, and, in particular, for prescribing penalties not exceeding a fine of 5 penalty units for offences against the regulations.
