The 'matter' which a Minister may appoint an investigator to investigate under s 272(1) of the Local Government Act 1999 (SA) must correspond with the matter in respect of which the Minister had 'reason to believe'; Terms of Reference that on their face authorise a broader investigation may be read down under s 13 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1915 (SA) to align with the Minister's stated belief, but only where the reading down does not produce a substantially different result from that intended. Individual Terms of Reference that go beyond any demonstrated belief may be severed. The question whether 'reason to believe' in s 272(1) requires actual belief with reasonable grounds or merely reasonable cause to suspect was left open.
The full text is available to signed-in members.