LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING INSTITUTE ACT 1974

No. 6 of 1974

An Act to Establish a Legislative Drafting Institute.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, the Senate and the House of Representatives of Australia, as follows:—

PART I—PRELIMINARY

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Legislative Drafting Institute Act 1974.

Commencement

2. This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.

Definitions.

3. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

“Director” means the Director of the Institute;

“Institute” means the Legislative Drafting Institute established by this Act;

“legislative drafting” means the drafting of laws and other legislative instruments, and includes matters incidental or supplementary to, or otherwise related to, the drafting of laws and other legislative instruments.

PART II—ESTABLISHMENT AND FUNCTIONS OF INSTITUTE

Establishment of Institute.

4. There is established by this Act an Institute by the name of the Legislative Drafting Institute.

Functions of Institute.

5. The functions of the Institute are—

(a) to conduct courses of instruction and training in legislative drafting;

(b) to assist other countries (especially developing countries) in the training of legislative draftsmen;

(c) to undertake research into methods and techniques of legislative drafting with a view to the simplification of laws and procedures and the reduction of costs;

(d) to foster interest in, and encourage suitably qualified persons to enter, the profession of legislative drafting; and

(e) to do anything incidental or conducive to the performance of any of the preceding functions.

Institute to be a body corporate.

6. (1) The Institute—

(a) is a body corporate;

(b) shall have an official seal;

(d) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(2) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the seal of the Institute affixed to a document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.

PART III—DIRECTOR AND STAFF OF THE INSTITUTE

Division 1—Director of the Institute

Director of Institute

7. There shall be a Director of the Institute.

Director to manage affairs of Institute.

8. The Director shall manage the affairs of the Institute.

Appointment of Director.

9. (1) The Director shall be appointed by the Governor-General.

(2) The Director holds office on such terms and conditions (if any) in respect of matters not provided for by this Act as are determined by the Governor-General.

Tenure of office of Director.

10. The Director shall be appointed for a period not exceeding 7 years, but is eligible for re-appointment.

Remuneration of Director.

11. (1) The Director shall be paid such remuneration as is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, but, until that remuneration is so determined, he shall be paid such remuneration as is prescribed.

(2) Subject to the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973, the Director shall be paid such allowances as are prescribed.

(3) Payments under this section shall be made out of the funds of the Institute.

Leave of absence.

12. The Attorney-General may grant leave of absence to the Director upon such terms and conditions as to remuneration or otherwise as the Attorney-General determines.

Resignation of Director.

13. The Director may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General.

Termination of appointment of Director.

14. (1) If the Director—

(a) is absent from duty, except on leave granted by the Attorney-General, for 14 consecutive days, or for 28 days in any period of 12 months; or

(b) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his creditors or makes an assignment of his remuneration for their benefit,

the Governor-General shall remove him from office.

(2) The Governor-General may remove the Director from office for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.

Director not to engage in other work.

15. Except with the approval of the Attorney-General, the Director shall not engage in practice as a barrister or solicitor, or engage in paid employment, outside the duties of his office.

Acting Director.

16. (1) The Attorney-General may appoint a person to act as the Director—

(a) during a vacancy in the office of Director, whether or not an appointment has previously been made to the office; or

(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the Director is, or is about to be, absent from duty or from Australia or is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of his office.

(2) An Acting Director holds office on such terms and conditions as the Attorney-General determines.

(3) The Attorney-General may at any time terminate the appointment of an Acting Director.

(4) Where a person is acting as the Director in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) and the office of Director becomes vacant while that person is so acting, that person may continue so to act until the Attorney-General otherwise directs or the vacancy is filled.

(5) The appointment of an Acting Director ceases to have effect if he resigns the appointment by writing under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General.

(6) While the appointment of an Acting Director is in force, he has, and may exercise and perform, all the powers and functions of the Director.

(7) Where a person is appointed as an Acting Director, the Superannuation Act 1922-1973 does not apply in relation to him by reason only of that appointment.

(8) The validity of anything done by an Acting Director shall not be called in question on the ground that the occasion for his appointment had not arisen or that the appointment had ceased to have effect.

Superannuation.

17. For the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1922-1973—

(a) the Director shall be taken to be a person who is required, by the terms of his appointment, to give the whole of his time to the duties of his office; and

(b) the termination under sub-section 14(2) of this Act of his appointment by reason of his physical or mental incapacity shall be deemed to be retirement on the ground of invalidity.

Division 2—Staff

Staff.

18. (1) The Director may on behalf of the Institute and with the approval of the Attorney-General employ as members of the staff of the Institute such persons as he thinks necessary.

(2) The terms and conditions of employment of members of the staff of the Institute are, subject to this Act, such as are from time to time determined by the Director with the approval of the Attorney-General.

(3) In making a determination with respect to the terms and conditions of employment of members of the staff of the Institute who are performing duties that are comparable with the duties performed by officers included in a class of officers of the Public Service, the Director shall have regard to the terms and conditions of employment of the officers included in that class.

Division 3—Miscellaneous

Preservation of rights.

19. Where the Director or a member of the staff of the Institute was, immediately before his appointment, an officer of the Public Service or person to whom the Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1928-1973 applied—

(a) he retains his existing and accruing rights;

(b) for the purpose of determining those rights, his service under this Act shall be taken into account as if it were service in the Public Service; and

(c) the Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1928-1973 applies as if this Act and this section had been specified in the Schedule to that Act.

Application of certain Acts

20. (1) The Institute is—

(a) an approved authority for the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1922-1973;

(b) a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of the Air Accidents (Australian Government Liability) Act 1963-1973; and

(2) For the purposes of the application of section 145 of the Superannuation Act 1922-1973, the Director shall be deemed to be employed by the Institute.

PART IV—FINANCES OF INSTITUTE

Moneys payable to Institute.

21. (1) There are payable to the Institute such moneys as are appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of the Institute.

(2) The Treasurer may give directions as to the amounts in which, and the times at which, moneys referred to in sub-section (1) are to be paid to the Institute.

Estimates of expenditure.

22. (1) The Director shall prepare estimates, in such form as the Attorney-General directs, of expenditure of the Institute for each financial year and, if the Attorney-General so directs, for any other period specified by the Attorney-General, and shall submit estimates so prepared to the Attorney-General not later than such date as the Attorney-General directs.

(2) Moneys of the Institute shall not be expended otherwise than in accordance with estimates of expenditure approved by the Attorney-General.

Bank accounts of Institute.

23. (1) The Institute may open and maintain an account or accounts with an approved bank or approved banks and shall maintain at all times at least one such account.

(2) The Institute shall pay all moneys received by it into an account referred to in this section.

(3) In this section, “approved bank” means the Reserve Bank of Australia or another bank for the time being approved by the Treasurer.

Application of moneys of Institute.

24. The moneys of the Institute shall be applied only—

(a) in the discharge of obligations and liabilities of the Institute arising under this Act; and

(b) in the payment of remuneration and allowances payable to the Director or an Acting Director, or to a member of the staff of the Institute, or the payment of fees and allowances payable to persons under section 27.

Proper accounts to be kept by institute

25. The Director shall cause to be kept proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the Institute and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorized and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Institute and over the incurring of liabilities by the Institute.

Audit

26. (1) The Auditor-General shall inspect and audit the accounts and records of financial transactions of the Institute and records relating to assets of, or in the custody of, the Institute, and shall forthwith draw the attention of the Attorney-General to any irregularity disclosed by the inspection and audit that, in the opinion of the Auditor-General, is of sufficient importance to justify his so doing.

(2) The Auditor-General may, at his discretion, dispense with all or any part of the detailed inspection and audit of any accounts or records referred to in sub-section (1).

(3) The Auditor-General shall, at least once in each year, report to the Attorney-General the results of the inspection and audit carried out under sub-section (1).

(4) The Auditor-General or an officer authorized by him is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounts, records, documents and papers of the Institute relating directly or indirectly to the receipt or payment of moneys by the Institute or to the acquisition, receipt, custody or disposal of assets by the Institute.

(5) The Auditor-General or an officer authorized by him may make copies of, or take extracts from, any such accounts, records, documents or papers.

(6) The Auditor-General or an officer authorized by him may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of the person or to which the person has access as the Auditor-General or authorized officer considers necessary for the purposes of the functions of the Auditor-General under this Act, and the person shall comply with the requirement.

(7) A person who contravenes sub-section (6) is guilty of an offence punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding $200.

PART V—MISCELLANEOUS

Assistance from experts, &c.

27. (1) The Director may, with the approval of the Attorney-General, arrange for persons with knowledge or experience in legislative drafting or in matters relevant to the functions of the Institute or to the instruction and training of persons in legislative drafting, to assist, otherwise than on the basis of full-time employment, in the performance of the functions of the Institute.

(2) Arrangements made with a person under sub-section (1) may provide for the payment of such fees and allowances to the person as are determined by the Director with the approval of the Attorney-General.

(3) Section 9 of the Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970-1973 does not apply in relation to any services rendered by the First Parliamentary Counsel or a Second Parliamentary Counsel to the Institute with the approval of the Attorney-General.

Annual report.

28. (1) The Director shall, as soon as practicable after 30 June in each year, prepare and furnish to the Attorney-General a report of the operations of the Institute during that year, together with financial statements in respect of that year in such form as the Treasurer approves.

(2) Before furnishing financial statements to the Attorney-General, the Director shall submit them to the Auditor-General, who shall report to the Attorney-General—

(a) whether the statements are based on proper accounts and records;

(b) whether the statements are in agreement with the accounts and records;

(c) whether the receipt and expenditure of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets, by the Institute during the year have been in accordance with this Act; and

(d) as to such other matters arising out of the statements as the Auditor-General considers should be reported to the Attorney-General.

(3) The Attorney-General shall cause the report and financial statements of the Institute, together with the report of the Auditor-General, to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after their receipt by the Attorney-General.

Exemption from taxation.

29. The Institute is not subject to taxation under any law of Australia or of a State or Territory.

Regulations.

30. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.

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