Part 7 Parliamentary Joint Committee
63 Constitution of Joint Committee
As soon as practicable after the commencement of this Part and the commencement of the first session of each Parliament, a joint committee of members of Parliament, to be known as the Committee on the Independent Commission Against Corruption, shall be appointed.
(1) The functions of the Joint Committee are as follows:(a) to monitor and to review the exercise by the Commission and the Inspector of the Commission’s and Inspector’s functions,(b) to report to both Houses of Parliament, with such comments as it thinks fit, on any matter appertaining to the Commission or the Inspector or connected with the exercise of its functions to which, in the opinion of the Joint Committee, the attention of Parliament should be directed,(c) to examine each annual and other report of the Commission and of the Inspector and report to both Houses of Parliament on any matter appearing in, or arising out of, any such report,(d) to examine trends and changes in corrupt conduct, and practices and methods relating to corrupt conduct, and report to both Houses of Parliament any change which the Joint Committee thinks desirable to the functions, structures and procedures of the Commission and the Inspector,(e) to inquire into any question in connection with its functions which is referred to it by both Houses of Parliament, and report to both Houses on that question.(2) Nothing in this Part authorises the Joint Committee:(a) to investigate a matter relating to particular conduct, or(b) to reconsider a decision to investigate, not to investigate or to discontinue investigation of a particular complaint, or(c) to reconsider the findings, recommendations, determinations or other decisions of the Commission in relation to a particular investigation or complaint.
64A Power to veto proposed appointment of Commissioner or Inspector
(1) The Minister is to refer a proposal to appoint a person as Commissioner or Inspector to the Joint Committee and the Committee is empowered to veto the proposed appointment as provided by this section. The Minister may withdraw a referral at any time.(2) The Joint Committee has 14 days after the proposed appointment is referred to it to veto the proposal and has a further 30 days (after the initial 14 days) to veto the proposal if it notifies the Minister within that 14 days that it requires more time to consider the matter.(3) The Joint Committee is to notify the Minister, within the time that it has to veto a proposed appointment, whether or not it vetoes it.(4) A referral or notification under this section is to be in writing.
(1) The Joint Committee shall consist of 11 members, of whom:(a) 3 shall be members of, and appointed by, the Legislative Council, and(b) 8 shall be members of, and appointed by, the Legislative Assembly.(2) The appointment of members of the Joint Committee shall, as far as practicable, be in accordance with the practice of Parliament with reference to the appointment of members to serve on joint committees of both Houses of Parliament.(3) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Joint Committee if the person is a Minister of the Crown or a Parliamentary Secretary.
(1) A member of the Joint Committee ceases to hold office:(a) when the Legislative Assembly is dissolved or expires by the effluxion of time, or(b) if the member becomes a Minister of the Crown or a Parliamentary Secretary, or(c) if the member ceases to be a member of the Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly, or(d) if, being a member of the Legislative Council, the member resigns the office by instrument in writing addressed to the President of the Legislative Council, or(e) if, being a member of the Legislative Assembly, the member resigns the office by instrument in writing addressed to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, or(f) if the member is discharged from office by the House of Parliament to which the member belongs.(2) Either House of Parliament may appoint one of its members to fill a vacancy among the members of the Joint Committee appointed by that House.
(1) There shall be a Chair and a Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee, who shall be elected by and from the members of the Joint Committee.(2) A member of the Joint Committee ceases to hold office as Chair or Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee if:(a) the member ceases to be a member of the Committee, or(b) the member resigns the office by instrument in writing presented to a meeting of the Committee, or(c) the member is discharged from office by the Committee.(3) At any time when the Chair is absent from New South Wales or is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of Chair or there is a vacancy in that office, the Deputy Chair may exercise the functions of the Chair under this Act or under the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901.
(1) The procedure for the calling of meetings of the Joint Committee and for the conduct of business at those meetings shall, subject to this Act, be as determined by the Committee.(2) The Clerk of the Legislative Assembly shall call the first meeting of the Joint Committee in each Parliament in such manner as the Clerk thinks fit.(3) At a meeting of the Joint Committee, 6 members constitute a quorum, but the Committee shall meet as a joint committee at all times.(4) The Chair or, in the absence of the Chair, the Deputy Chair or, in the absence of both the Chair and the Deputy Chair, a member of the Joint Committee elected to chair the meeting by the members present shall preside at a meeting of the Joint Committee.(5) The Deputy Chair or other member presiding at a meeting of the Joint Committee shall, in relation to the meeting, have all the functions of the Chair.(6) The Chair, Deputy Chair or other member presiding at a meeting of the Joint Committee shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.(7) A question arising at a meeting of the Joint Committee shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting.(8) The Joint Committee may sit and transact business despite any prorogation of the Houses of Parliament or any adjournment of either House of Parliament.(9) The Joint Committee may sit and transact business on a sitting day of a House of Parliament during the time of sitting.
68A Procedure if Parliament not in session
(1) If a House of Parliament is not sitting when the Joint Committee seeks to furnish a report to it, the Committee may present copies of the report to the Clerk of the House.(2) The report:(a) on presentation and for all purposes is taken to have been laid before the House, and(b) may be printed by authority of the Clerk, and(c) if printed by authority of the Clerk, is for all purposes taken to be a document published by or under the authority of the House, and(d) is to be recorded in the Minutes, or Votes and Proceedings, of the House on the first sitting day of the House after receipt of the report by the Clerk.
(1) The Joint Committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records.(2) Subject to section 70, the Joint Committee shall take all evidence in public.(3) Where the Joint Committee as constituted at any time has taken evidence in relation to a matter but the Committee as so constituted has ceased to exist before reporting on the matter, the Committee as constituted at any subsequent time, whether during the same or another Parliament, may consider that evidence as if it had taken the evidence.(4) The production of documents to the Joint Committee shall be in accordance with the practice of the Legislative Assembly with respect to the production of documents to select committees of the Legislative Assembly.
(1) Where any evidence proposed to be given before, or the whole or a part of a document produced or proposed to be produced in evidence to, the Joint Committee relates to a secret or confidential matter, the Committee may, and at the request of the witness giving the evidence or producing the document shall:(a) take the evidence in private, or(b) direct that the document, or the part of the document, be treated as confidential.(1A) If any evidence proposed to be given before, or the whole or a part of a document produced or proposed to be produced in evidence to, the Joint Committee relates to the proposed appointment of a person as Commissioner or Inspector, the Committee must (despite any other provision of this section):(a) take the evidence in private, or(b) direct that the document, or the part of the document, be treated as confidential.(1B) Despite any other provision of this section except subsection (6), the Joint Committee must not, and a person (including a member of the Committee) must not, disclose any evidence or the contents of a document or that part of a document to which subsection (1A) applies.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.
(1C) Despite any other provision of this section except subsection (6), the Joint Committee (including a member of the Committee) must not, and any person assisting the Committee or present during the deliberations of the Committee must not, except in accordance with section 64A (3), disclose whether or not the Joint Committee or any member of the Joint Committee has vetoed, or proposes to veto, the proposed appointment of a person as Commissioner or Inspector.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.
(2) Where a direction under subsection (1) applies to a document or part of a document produced in evidence to the Joint Committee, the contents of the document or part shall, for the purposes of this section, be taken to be evidence given by the person producing the document and taken by the Committee in private.(3) Where, at the request of a witness, evidence is taken by the Joint Committee in private:(a) the Committee shall not, without the consent in writing of the witness, and(b) a person (including a member of the Committee) shall not, without the consent in writing of the witness and the authority of the Committee under subsection (5),disclose or publish the whole or a part of that evidence.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.
(4) Where evidence is taken by the Joint Committee in private otherwise than at the request of a witness, a person (including a member of the Committee) shall not, without the authority of the Committee under subsection (5), disclose or publish the whole or a part of that evidence.Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units or imprisonment for 3 months, or both.
(5) The Joint Committee may, in its discretion, disclose or publish or, by writing under the hand of the Chair, authorise the disclosure or publication of evidence taken in private by the Committee, but this subsection does not operate so as to affect the necessity for the consent of a witness under subsection (3).(6) Nothing in this section prohibits:(a) the disclosure or publication of evidence that has already been lawfully published, or(b) the disclosure or publication by a person of a matter of which the person has become aware other than by reason, directly or indirectly, of the giving of evidence before the Joint Committee.(7) This section has effect despite section 4 of the Parliamentary Papers (Supplementary Provisions) Act 1975.(8) If evidence taken by the Joint Committee in private is disclosed or published in accordance with this section, sections 5 and 6 of the Parliamentary Papers (Supplementary Provisions) Act 1975 apply to and in relation to the disclosure or publication as if it were a publication of that evidence under the authority of section 4 of that Act.Note. The Defamation Act 2005 makes provision for 2 defences in respect of the publication of defamatory matter that is contained in evidence taken by, or documents produced to, the Joint Committee in private, but only if the evidence or documents have been disclosed or published in accordance with this section.Section 28 of the Defamation Act 2005 (when read with clause 8 of Schedule 2 to that Act) ensures that such documents attract the defence relating to public documents in defamation proceedings.
Section 29 of the Defamation Act 2005 (when read with clause 17 of Schedule 3 to that Act) ensures that proceedings in which such evidence is taken or documents produced attract the defences relating to fair reports of proceedings of public concern in defamation proceedings.
71 Application of certain Acts etc
For the purposes of the Parliamentary Evidence Act 1901 and the Parliamentary Papers (Supplementary Provisions) Act 1975 and for any other purposes:(a) the Joint Committee shall be taken to be a joint committee of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, and(b) the proposal for the appointment of the Joint Committee shall be taken to have originated in the Legislative Assembly.
72 Validity of certain acts or proceedings
Any act or proceeding of the Joint Committee is, even though at the time when the act or proceeding was done, taken or commenced there was:(a) a vacancy in the office of a member of the Committee, or(b) any defect in the appointment, or any disqualification, of a member of the Committee,as valid as if the vacancy, defect or disqualification did not exist and the Committee were fully and properly constituted.