(1) Nothing in this Act requires the disclosure of a document if the Tribunal or the Chairperson is satisfied that evidence of the document could not be given in proceedings before a NSW court within the meaning of the Evidence Act 1995 by reason of the operation of any of the following provisions of that Act:(a) section 9 (Application of common law and equity), but only to the extent that it preserves any privilege against the adducing of evidence,(b) section 10 (Parliamentary privilege preserved),(c) Part 3.10 (Privileges) of Chapter 3.(2) In this section:disclosure of a document includes the following:
(a) the provision of copies of the document,(b) the granting of access to the document,(c) the disclosure of the contents of the document.document includes a part of a document.
71 False or misleading statements
A person must not:(a) in any proceedings, or(b) in any application under this Act,provide any information, or make any statement, to the Tribunal, Chairperson or Registrar knowing that the information or statement is false or misleading in a material respect.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.
72 Provision of information by Tribunal
(1) For the purposes of any investigation or disciplinary action that is being carried out under any legislation administered by the Minister, the Commissioner for Fair Trading may request the Tribunal to provide any information that:(a) relates to any such investigation or disciplinary action, and(b) is within the knowledge or possession of the Tribunal.(2) The Tribunal must comply with any such request unless the Chairperson is of the opinion that to do so would compromise proceedings of the Tribunal.(3) The Chairperson may, if requested by the Commissioner for Fair Trading, make available to the Department of Fair Trading any other information that is within the knowledge or possession of the Tribunal.(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), disciplinary action includes any prosecution or enforcement activity.
73 Improper disclosure of information
A person must not disclose information obtained in exercising a function under this Act unless the disclosure is made:(a) with the consent of the person to whom the information relates, or(b) in connection with the execution or administration of this Act, or(c) for the purpose of any legal proceedings arising out of this Act or any report of such proceedings, or(d) with other legal excuse.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units or imprisonment for 12 months, or both.
This Act binds the Crown.
The Tribunal is to a have a seal and that seal is to be judicially noticed.
76 Authentication of documents
(1) Every document requiring authentication by the Tribunal is sufficiently authenticated without the seal of the Tribunal if it is:(a) signed by any member or the Registrar, or(b) authenticated in a manner prescribed by the regulations.(2) Judicial notice is to be taken of the signature of the member concerned or the Registrar when appearing on a document issued by the Tribunal.
77 Proof of certain matters not required
In any legal proceedings, no proof is required (unless evidence to the contrary is given) of:(a) the constitution of the Tribunal, or(b) any decision of the Tribunal, or(c) the appointment of, or the holding of office by, a member.
78 Notices, service and lodgment of documents
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a notice or document may be given to a person (and a document may be served on a person):(a) in the case of a natural person—by:(i) delivering it to the person personally, or(ii) leaving it at, or by sending it by post to, the residential or business address, or other address for service, of the person that was last known to the person giving or serving the document, or(b) in the case of a body corporate—by leaving it at, or by sending it by post to, the head office, a registered office or a principal office of the body corporate, or(c) in the case of a Government Department—by leaving it at, or by sending it by post to, any office of that Department addressed to the head of the Government Department.(2) A notice or other document may be served on the Tribunal by leaving it at, or by sending it by post to (or a document that is required or permitted to be lodged with the Tribunal may be lodged at):(a) the office of the Registrar, or(b) if the Registrar has more than one office, any one of those offices.(3) Nothing in this section affects the operation of any provision of any law or the rules of a court authorising a document to be served in a manner not provided for by this section.(4) The regulations may:(a) provide for additional means of serving, giving or lodging any notice or document, and(b) provide that a notice or document of a class specified by the regulations be served, given or lodged only in the prescribed manner.
79 Return of documents after proceedings concluded
The Chairperson may cause a document or any other object provided to the Tribunal for the purposes of any proceedings to be returned to the person by whom it was provided if:(a) the proceedings have concluded, and(b) the time within which an appeal from the decision of the Tribunal in the proceedings may be lodged (or the period of an extension of time for lodging the appeal) has expired with no appeal being lodged.
80 Allowances and expenses of witnesses
(1) A person who is required to appear or give evidence before the Tribunal is entitled to be paid such allowances and expenses as are ascertained in accordance with a scale of allowances and expenses prescribed by the regulations.(2) Subject to subsection (3), the allowances and expenses are to be paid by the party at whose request a witness is summoned.(3) The Tribunal may order that the allowances and expenses of a witness referred to in subsection (2) be paid wholly or partly by the State out of money otherwise lawfully available.
80A Sound recording of hearings
The Tribunal must ensure that, as far as is reasonably practicable, sound recordings of all proceedings of the Tribunal are made and kept for such period as may be prescribed by the regulations, or if no such period is prescribed, for a reasonable time after the end of the relevant proceedings.
(1) Despite any other provision of this or any other Act, the Tribunal may, of its own motion or on application by any person, extend the period of time for the doing of anything under any Act in respect of which the Tribunal has jurisdiction.(2) Such an application may be made even though the relevant period of time has expired.
(1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations are to be disposed of summarily before the Local Court.(2) Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the regulations may be brought within the period of 12 months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed.
83 Protection from personal liability
Any thing done or omitted to be done by a member, the Registrar or a Deputy Registrar in exercising the functions conferred or imposed on the member, Registrar or Deputy Registrar by or under this or any other Act does not, if the thing was done or omitted to be done in good faith, subject the member, Registrar or Deputy Registrar personally to any action, liability, claim or demand.
(1) As soon as practicable after 30 June (but on or before 31 December) in each year, the Chairperson must provide the Minister with a report on the operations of the Tribunal for the period ending on 30 June in that year.(2) The Minister is to lay the report, or cause it to be laid, before both Houses of Parliament as soon as practicable after receiving the report.
85 Chairperson may furnish reports
The Chairperson may, on behalf of the Tribunal, provide reports to the Minister or to the Commissioner for Fair Trading concerning any matter the Chairperson considers:(a) to be of importance in relation to the administration of this Act or in relation to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal or any matter falling within its jurisdiction, or(b) to be in the public interest.
(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.(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the regulations may make provision for or with respect to the following:(a) the initiation, lapsing and withdrawal of proceedings,(b) the means for, and the practice and procedure to be followed in, the enforcement and execution of decisions of the Tribunal,(c) the joinder, by the Tribunal or by a party in any proceedings, of other parties,(d) the circumstances in which proceedings may be heard ex parte or in which default judgments may be obtained,(e) the representation of parties in proceedings,(f) the awarding of costs by the Tribunal in relation to proceedings,(g) any other matter relating to proceedings,(h) the payment of interest on money adjudged by the Tribunal to be payable and which remains unpaid,(i) the functions of the Registrar or other officers under this Act, including functions in relation to proceedings,(j) records of the Tribunal and proceedings,(k) mediation and neutral evaluation,(l) the provision by the Tribunal of statistical information and of services,(m) the form of any summons or warrant under this Act,(n) the fees payable in respect of an application to the Tribunal (including the waiver or refund of any such fees).(3) The regulations may create offences punishable by a penalty not exceeding 10 penalty units.
The Minister may approve the form of any document to be used for the purposes of this Act or the regulations and that is not otherwise required or permitted to be prescribed under this Act.
The following Acts and Regulations are repealed:(a) the Fair Trading Tribunal Act 1998,(b) the Residential Tribunal Act 1998,(c) the Fair Trading Tribunal Regulation 1999,(d) the Residential Tribunal Regulation 1999.
89 Savings, transitional and other provisions
Schedule 6 has effect.
(1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.(2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 3 years from the commencement of section 5.(3) A report on the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 3 years.