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MAGISTRATES COURT (WORK SAFETY INFRINGEMENT NOTICES) REGULATION 2009 (NO 47 OF 2009)
2009
THE
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY FOR THE
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
MAGISTRATES COURT (WORK SAFETY INFRINGEMENT
NOTICES) REGULATION 2009
SUBORDINATE LAW
SL2009-47
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Presented by
Mr Simon Corbell MLA
Attorney General
Part 3.8 of the Magistrates Court Act 1930 provides that offences
prescribed under a regulation made under that Act can be dealt with by way of an
infringement notice. The Magistrates Court (Work Safety Infringement
Notices) Regulation 2009 will be made under that Act and will enable
infringement notices to be issued for prescribed offences under the Work
Safety Act 2008, and, for prescribed offences under the Work Safety
Regulation 2009.
The Work Safety Act 2008 repeals the
Occupational Health and Safety Act 1989 and the associated regulations
made under it including the Occupational Health and Safety
(General) Regulation 2007, and the Occupational Health and Safety (Certification
of Plant Users and Operators) Regulation 2000. This regulation remakes many of
the infringement notices that were in existence under the previous Act and
regulations.
Section 1
—Name of regulation—provides that the regulation is called the Magistrates Court (Work Safety Infringement Notices) Regulation 2009.
Section 2
—Commencement—provides that the regulation commences upon
the commencement of the Work Safety Act 2008.
Section 3
—Dictionary—provides that the dictionary at the end of the
regulation is part of the regulation. The dictionary defines certain terms used
in the regulation. A definition in the dictionary applies to the entire
regulation unless the definition, or another provision of the regulation,
provides otherwise or the contrary intention otherwise appears (see Legislation
Act, s 155 and s 156 (1)).
Section 4
—Notes—provides that a note included in the regulation is,
in law, not part of the regulation: it is purely explanatory. See the
Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of
notes.
Section 5
—Purpose of Regulation—provides that the purpose of the
regulation is to allow for infringement notices under the Magistrates Court
Act 1930, part 3.8 for certain offences against the work safety
legislation. Work safety legislation is defined in the
dictionary to mean the Work Safety Act 2008 and the Work Safety
Regulation 2009.
Section 6
—Administering authority—provides that the chief
executive as per the ACT’s Administrative Arrangements under the
Work Safety Act 2008 is the administering authority in relation to the
issuing of an infringement notice under the regulation.
Section
7
—Infringement notice offences—provides that The
Magistrates Court
Act 1930, part 3.8 applies to an offence
against a provision of the work safety legislation mentioned in
the regulation at schedule 1, column 2.
Section 8
—Infringement notice penalties—provides that the penalties
for an offence under a relevant infringement notice for an individual is
prescribed in schedule 1, column 4, of the regulation and that the respective
penalty for a corporation in that circumstance is 5 times the amount prescribed
in column 4. For example if schedule 1, column 4, prescribes an amount of $1000
the amount payable by an individual under the notice is $1000 and the amount
payable by a corporation is (5 x $1000) $5000.
The section also
prescribes that the cost of service of a relevant reminder notice under the
Magistrates Court Act 1930, for a relevant infringement notice offence is
$34. That is the amount payable by the person to whom the reminder notice is
issued.
Section 9
—Contents of infringement notices—other
information—provides that an infringement notice served on a company
must include the company’s ACN. In this section company
means a company registered under the Corporations Act 2001.
The
requirement is additional to the requirement under the Magistrates Court
Act 1930, s 121 (1) (c).
Section 10
—Contents of infringement notices—identifying
authorised person—provides that the infringement notice must fully
identify the authorised person. Such identification could be by stating the
authorised person’s full name, the person’s surname and initials,
or, by stating a unique number given, for the regulation, to the authorised
person by the administering authority.
Section 11
—Contents of reminder notices—identifying authorised
person—provides that a reminder notice must fully identify the
authorised person. Such identification could be by stating the authorised
person’s full name, the person’s surname and initials, or, by
stating a unique number given, for the regulation, to the authorised person by
the administering authority.
Section 12
—Authorised people for infringement notice
offences—prescribes that an inspector may serve a relevant
infringement notice and a relevant reminder notice under the regulation. An
inspector is defined in the Work Safety Act 2008 dictionary
under section 180 of that Act and is a public servant appointed by the chief
executive as an inspector for the Act.
The infringement notice penalty amounts prescribed in the regulation
schedule1, column 4, are intended to represent 20% of the respective maximum
penalty provided for the offence for an individual.
Part 1.1 of
schedule 1 lists the infringement notice offences under the Work Safety Act
2008. Part 1.2 lists the infringement notice offences under the Work Safety
Regulation 2009. For further details on each listed provision refer to the
respective explanatory statements as notified.