(1) A book or record that is required by this Act or the prescribed requirements to be kept or prepared may be kept or prepared:(a) by making entries in a bound or looseleaf book,(b) by recording or storing the matters concerned by means of a mechanical, electronic or other device, or(c) in any other manner approved by the Treasurer.(2) Subsection (1) does not authorise a book or record to be kept or prepared by a mechanical, electronic or other device unless:(a) the matters recorded or stored will be capable, at any time, of being reproduced in a written form or another form approved by the Treasurer, or(b) a reproduction of those matters is kept in a written form approved by the Treasurer.(3) An authority shall take all reasonable precautions, including such precautions (if any) as are specified in the prescribed requirements, for guarding against damage to, destruction of or falsification of or in, and for discovery of falsification of or in, any book or record or part of a book or record required by this Act or the prescribed requirements to be kept or prepared by the authority.(4) Where an authority records or stores any matters by means of a mechanical, electronic or other device, any duty imposed by this Act or the prescribed requirements to make a book or record containing those matters available for inspection or to provide copies of the whole or part of a book or record containing those matters shall be construed as a duty to make the matters available for inspection in written form or to provide a document containing a clear reproduction in writing of the whole or part of them, as the case may be.(5) A writing that purports to reproduce matters recorded or stored by means of a mechanical, electronic or other device shall, unless the contrary is established, be deemed to be a reproduction of those matters.
59A Treasury Fire Risks Account
(1) Funds in credit in the Treasury Fire Risks Account in the Special Deposits Account may be utilised from time to time by the Treasurer, at the discretion of the Treasurer, for the purpose of:(a) whole or partial payment for, replacement of, or repair to, Government property lost or damaged by fire or lightning, or by both,(b) defraying the expenses incidental to the assessment of loss or damage referred to in paragraph (a), or(c) providing security devices for the prevention or detection of fires in any building or part of a building owned or leased by the Crown.(2) Interest at a rate to be determined from time to time by the Treasurer shall be allowed on funds in credit in the Treasury Fire Risks Account.(3) Any portion of funds in credit in the Treasury Fire Risks Account may be invested in accordance with section 20.(4) Interest allowed on funds in credit in the Treasury Fire Risks Account, together with interest earned on any investments therefrom, shall from time to time be paid to the credit of that Account and to the credit of the Consolidated Fund in such proportions as the Treasurer may determine.(5) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to constitute insurance within the meaning of any clause, condition or stipulation of any policy of insurance.(6) All or any funds in credit in the Treasury Fire Risks Account (including investments) may be transferred by the Treasurer, at the discretion of the Treasurer, to the Managed Fund for Public Sector Insurances to add to that Fund’s solvency reserve.
59B Payment of certain amounts by statutory authority to Consolidated Fund
(1) In this section, dividend, in relation to a statutory authority, means an amount calculated by applying a rate, determined by the Treasurer, to the assets, or some portion of the assets, of the statutory authority.(2) Notwithstanding any other Act, the Treasurer may at any time require a prescribed statutory authority to pay to the credit of the Consolidated Fund, at such times and in such manner as the Treasurer directs, such amount by way of dividend as the Treasurer may determine and notify to the statutory authority.(3) The Treasurer may require a statutory authority to prepare and submit to the Treasurer such accounting statements (if any), required for the determination of dividends payable by the statutory authority, in such manner (if any) and such form (if any) as the Treasurer determines.(4) A statutory authority shall comply with a requirement made in respect of it by the Treasurer under this section.(5) Notwithstanding any other Act, the Treasurer may, in relation to a payment by a statutory authority under this section, make any one or more of the following determinations:(a) that the payment shall be deemed to be payment or part payment of another amount, specified by the Treasurer, which the statutory authority is required to pay to the Treasurer,(b) that the payment shall be paid in addition to any other amount which the statutory authority is required to pay to the Treasurer,(c) that the payment shall be deemed to be an obligation of the statutory authority under the Act by which the statutory authority is constituted.
60 Recovery of money and value of property
(1) Where there occurs a loss of or deficiency in:(a) public money or other money that has been advanced to an officer of an authority, or(b) public money or other money while that money is under the control of an officer of an authority,that loss or deficiency shall be a debt due to the Crown or the authority, as the case may require, and may be recovered from the officer in a court of competent jurisdiction.(2) Where an officer of an authority defends an action brought under subsection (1), the plaintiff is entitled to judgment if, in the absence of proof to the contrary, the plaintiff proves:(a) that the defendant was an officer of the authority,(b) that the money the subject of the action was under the control of the defendant, and(c) that the defendant converted the money to the defendant’s own use or was guilty, by act or omission, of culpable negligence or misconduct in relation to the control the defendant exercised over the money.(3) Where loss or destruction of or damage to public property or other property occurs while the property is in the care of an authority, the value of the property lost or destroyed or, as the case may be, the cost of replacing or repairing the damage to that property shall be a debt due to the Crown or the authority, as the case may require, and may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction by action brought against:(a) the officer of the authority in whose care the property was at the material time, or(b) another officer of the authority who by culpable negligence or misconduct caused or contributed to the loss or destruction of or damage to the property.(4) Where an officer of an authority defends an action brought under subsection (3), the plaintiff is entitled to judgment if, in the absence of proof to the contrary, the plaintiff proves:(a) that the defendant was an officer of the authority, and(b) that the defendant converted the property the subject of the action to the defendant’s own use or by culpable negligence or misconduct caused or contributed to the loss or destruction of or damage to the property.(5) Where the negligence or misconduct of an officer of an authority was not the sole cause of the loss or destruction of or damage to the property the subject of an action under subsection (3), the Crown or the authority, as the case may require, may recover from the officer so much only of the cost of, or the cost of replacing or repairing, the loss, destruction or damage as is just and equitable having regard to the contribution made by the officer to that loss, destruction or damage as determined by the court.(6) In this section a reference to an officer of an authority includes a reference to a person who has been such an officer.(7) For the purposes of this section:(a) public money or other money shall be taken to be under the control of an officer of an authority if the money has been collected or received by or has come into the custody of the officer but has not been paid to another person or to the credit of an account with a bank, building society or credit union as required by the provisions of this Act or the prescribed requirements, and(b) public property or other property shall be taken to be in the care of an officer of an authority if the property:(i) has been delivered to the officer, and(ii) has not been returned to a person or delivered to another person entitled to receive it on behalf of the Crown or the authority, as the case may require.(8) The provisions of this section do not affect a right of the Crown or an authority to recover an amount from an officer of an authority otherwise than under this section but the Crown or the authority, as the case may require, shall not recover amounts from the one officer both under this section and otherwise than under this section, in respect of the same loss, deficiency, destruction or damage.
61 Misappropriation of money or property
(1) An officer of an authority shall not:(a) misapply, improperly dispose of or improperly use, any public money, other money, public property or other property, or(b) pay any public money or other money into an account other than the account into which the money is required to be paid.(2) An officer of an authority shall not wilfully and unlawfully damage or destroy any public property or other property.(3) In a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) (a), it is not necessary to prove the misapplication, improper disposal or improper use of any specific sum of money or property if there is proof of a general deficiency on the examination of the books, records or entries kept or made by the defendant or otherwise and the court or jury is satisfied that the defendant misapplied, improperly disposed of or improperly used all or any of the deficient money or all or any of the deficient property.
A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or the prescribed requirements is guilty of an offence and liable, where a penalty is not otherwise expressly provided, to a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units.
(1) Proceedings for an offence against a provision of this Act or the prescribed requirements shall be disposed of in the Local Court.(2) A penalty incurred under this Act or the prescribed requirements, when paid or recovered, shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
63A Reference of matters to Public Accounts Committee
(1) In this section:Public Accounts Committee means the Public Accounts Committee for the time being constituted under Part 4.
statutory body means a statutory body to which Division 3 of Part 3 applies.
(2) The Treasurer may refer any matter relating to the financial report of a statutory body to the Public Accounts Committee for examination and report to the Treasurer.(3) The Treasurer shall refer to the Public Accounts Committee for examination and report to the Treasurer any proposal to amend Division 3 of Part 3 or make a regulation relating to the financial report of a statutory body, other than a proposal made by the Public Accounts Committee.(4) Nothing in subsection (3) requires the Treasurer to refer a proposal to the Public Accounts Committee if, at the time the Treasurer formulates or receives the proposal:(a) no members have been appointed to the Committee, or(b) the members of the Committee have ceased to hold office.(5) Nothing in subsection (2) or (3) prevents the Public Accounts Committee, after the Committee has reported to the Treasurer, from reporting to the Legislative Assembly on any matter referred to it by the Treasurer under subsection (2) or (3).(6) The provisions of section 57 (4) apply to and in respect of a report under subsection (5) in the same way as those provisions apply to and in respect of a report in accordance with section 57 (1).
63B Notification of controlled entities
(1) Within 1 month after an entity becomes an entity referred to in section 45A (1A), the appropriate Department Head must notify the Auditor-General and the Treasurer in writing of that fact.(2) Within 1 month after an entity becomes an entity referred to in section 39 (1A), the appropriate statutory body must notify the Auditor-General and the Treasurer in writing of that fact.(3) A Department or statutory body must take such steps as are appropriate to ensure that an entity referred to in section 45A (1A) or 39 (1A) which is controlled by the Department or statutory body is audited by the Auditor-General.
63C Documents presented to Clerk of House of Parliament
A document which is presented to the Clerk of a House of Parliament in accordance with a provision of this Act:(a) is, on presentation and for all purposes, taken to have been laid before the House, and(b) is to be printed by authority of the Clerk of the House, and(c) is, for all purposes, taken to be a document published by order or under the authority of the House, and(d) is to be recorded:(i) in the case of the Legislative Council, in the Minutes of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council, and(ii) in the case of the Legislative Assembly, in the Votes and Proceedings of the Legislative Assembly,on the first sitting day of the House after receipt of the report by the Clerk.
(1) A matter or thing done or omitted to be done by the Auditor-General or a member of staff of the Audit Office does not, if the matter or thing was done or omitted to be done in good faith for the purpose of executing this or any other Act, subject the Auditor-General or member personally to any action, liability, claim or demand.(2) For the purpose of determining whether the Crown is vicariously liable for any matter or thing done or omitted to be done by the Auditor-General or a member of staff of the Audit Office, it is declared for the avoidance of doubt that the Auditor-General and any such member is in the service of the Crown.
63E Delegation of Treasurer’s functions
(1) The Treasurer may delegate to an authorised person any of the functions of the Treasurer under this Act, other than this power of delegation.(2) A delegate may sub-delegate to an authorised person any function delegated by the Treasurer under this section if the delegate is authorised in writing to do so by the Treasurer.(3) In this section, authorised person means a member of the staff of the Treasury or a person of a class prescribed by the regulations or approved by the Treasurer.
63F Status of Workers Compensation Insurance Fund
The Workers Compensation Insurance Fund established under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (including the assets and liabilities of that Fund):(a) is not an entity under the control of the New South Wales Government for the purposes of the preparation of the consolidated financial statements under this Act, and(b) is not part of the general government sector for the purposes of this Act or the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012.
63G Oversight of electricity industry restructuring
(1) Schedule 1A has effect.(2) Expressions used in Schedule 1A have the same meanings as in the Bill for the Electricity Industry Restructuring Act 2008 as introduced in the Legislative Assembly on 4 June 2008.
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.(1A) Without limiting subsection (1), a regulation may shorten the time for compliance with a provision of section 6 (4), 41A (1) or (2), 41C (1) or (1A), 45D (1), 45F (1), 49 (2), 51 (1) or 52A (1), despite the provision.(2) A provision of a regulation may:(a) apply generally or be limited in its application by reference to specified exceptions or factors,(b) apply differently according to different factors of a specified kind, or(c) authorise any matter or thing to be from time to time determined, applied or regulated by any specified person, group of persons or body,or may do any combination of those things.
65 Savings, transitional and other provisions
Schedule 4 has effect.