1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Public Works Committee Act 1969.
Parliamentary material from APH and the Federal Register of Legislation. Links open the official source in a new tab.
This Act may be cited as the Public Works Committee Act 1969.
This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
assessor means a person appointed under section 26.
authority of the Commonwealth means:
a body corporate, or an unincorporated body, established for a public purpose by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an enactment;
a body established by the Governor‑General or a Minister otherwise than in accordance with an enactment; or
an incorporated company over which the Commonwealth is in a position to exercise control;
but does not include an inter‑governmental body or a body established by or under an enactment within the meaning of section 3 of the Australian Capital Territory (Self‑Government) Act 1988.
authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies means an authority of the Commonwealth that, under section 6A, is an authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies.
building includes part of a building.
Chair means the Chair of the Committee.
commence, in relation to a public work, includes enter into a contract for the carrying out of the whole or a part of the work, and commencement has a corresponding meaning.
court of summary jurisdiction includes a court of a Territory sitting as a court for the making of summary orders or the summary punishment of offences under the law of the Territory.
enactment means:
an Act;
an Ordinance of the Australian Capital Territory; or
an instrument (including rules, regulations or by‑laws) made under an Act or under such an Ordinance.
engineering work includes part of an engineering work.
inter‑governmental body means a body corporate or an unincorporated body established by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an agreement between the Commonwealth and a State or States or between the Commonwealth and the Government of another country or the Governments of other countries.
member means a member of the Committee.
movable property includes aircraft, satellites, ships and vehicles.
Parliamentary zone has the same meaning as in the Parliament Act 1974.
public work has the meaning given by section 5AA.
State includes the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
structure includes part of a structure.
the Committee means the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works for the time being constituted in accordance with this Act.
work means an architectural or engineering work, and includes:
the construction, alteration, repair, refurbishment or fitting out of buildings and other structures;
the installation, alteration or repair of plant and equipment designed to be used in, or in relation to, the provision of services for buildings and other structures;
the undertaking, construction, alteration or repair of landscaping and earthworks (whether or not in relation to buildings and other structures);
the demolition, destruction, dismantling or removal of:
buildings and other structures;
plant and equipment falling within paragraph (b); and
earthworks;
the clearing of land and the development of land for use as urban land or otherwise; and
any other matter declared by the regulations to be a work;
but does not include:
the production of, or anything done in relation to, intangible things;
the production of, or anything done in relation to, movable property unless the work is, under the regulations, a movable work to which this Act applies;
the installation, alteration or repair of plant or equipment where the plant or equipment:
is not designed to be used in, or in relation to, the provision of services for a building or other structure; and
is not necessary or desirable to make a building or structure a complete building or structure; and
any other matter declared by the regulations not to be a work.
A public work means:
a work to which subsection (2), (3) or (5) applies; or
a work declared by the regulations to be a public work.
However, a public work does not include:
a work that is proposed to be carried out within the Parliamentary zone; or
a work that is proposed to be carried out by or for the Commonwealth by way of assistance to an overseas country; or
a work declared by the regulations not to be a public work.
This subsection applies to a work:
that is proposed to be carried out by or for the Commonwealth, either within or outside Australia; and
either:
in respect of the carrying out of which moneys appropriated by the Parliament are proposed to be expended by the Commonwealth; or
in relation to which moneys appropriated by the Parliament are proposed to be expended by the Commonwealth.
This subsection applies to a work:
that is proposed to be carried out, either within or outside Australia, by or for an authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies; and
either:
in respect of the carrying out of which moneys appropriated by the Parliament, or moneys of the authority, are proposed to be expended by the authority; or
in relation to which moneys appropriated by the Parliament are proposed to be expended by the Commonwealth or the authority.
For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3), it does not matter whether or not the work concerned is a work of which the Commonwealth, or an authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies, is proposed to become the owner.
This subsection applies to a work:
that is proposed to be carried out, either within or outside Australia, otherwise than by or for the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies; and
of which the Commonwealth, or an authority of the Commonwealth to which this Act applies, is proposed to become the owner; and
in relation to which moneys appropriated by the Parliament are proposed to be expended by the Commonwealth or an authority of the Commonwealth.
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences against this Act.
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
This Act extends to every Territory not forming part of Australia.
This Act does not extend to a work if:
a work:
that is proposed to be carried out by or for the Australian Capital Territory; and
in respect of the carrying out of which moneys of that Territory are proposed to be expended by that Territory; or
the work is proposed to be carried out by or for the Northern Territory; and
money of the Northern Territory is proposed to be expended by that Territory in carrying out the work.
Subject to subsection (2), this Act applies to every authority of the Commonwealth.
This Act does not apply to:
an authority of the Commonwealth in respect of which a declaration referred to in subsection (3) is in force; or
the Parliament House Construction Authority; or
an authority of the Commonwealth established for the purpose of providing, or for purposes which include the purpose of providing, tertiary education in the Australian Capital Territory.
Where the Governor‑General is satisfied that an authority of the Commonwealth is engaging in trading or other activities, or is providing services, in competition with another body or other bodies, or with persons, the Governor‑General may make regulations declaring that this Act does not apply to that authority.
As soon as practicable after the commencement of the first session of each Parliament, a joint committee of members of the Parliament, to be known as the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works, shall be appointed.
The Committee shall consist of nine members, namely:
three members of the Senate appointed by the Senate; and
six members of the House of Representatives appointed by that House.
The appointment of members by a House of the Parliament shall be in accordance with the practice of that House with respect to the appointment of members of that House to serve on joint select committees of both Houses of the Parliament.
A member of the Parliament is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Committee if he or she is:
a Minister;
the President of the Senate;
the Speaker of the House of Representatives; or
the Chair of Committees of the Senate or the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
A member holds office during the pleasure of the House of the Parliament by which he or she was appointed.
A member ceases to hold office:
when the House of Representatives expires by effluxion of time or is dissolved;
if he or she becomes the holder of an office specified in any of the paragraphs of subsection (5);
if he or she ceases to be a member of the House of the Parliament by which he or she was appointed; or
if he or she resigns his or her office as provided by either of the next two succeeding subsections.
A member appointed by the Senate may resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the President of the Senate.
A member appointed by the House of Representatives may resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Speaker of that House.
Either House of the Parliament may appoint one of its members to fill a vacancy amongst the members of the Committee appointed by that House.
Notice of the appointment of a member, and of a member ceasing to hold office otherwise than upon the expiry or dissolution of the House of Representatives, shall be published in the Gazette.
The exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Committee, the Chair or a member is not invalidated by reason only of there being a vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the Committee.
A member shall, before proceeding to discharge the duties of his or her office, make and subscribe a declaration of office in accordance with the form in the Schedule:
in the case of a member appointed by the Senate—before the President of the Senate or a person appointed by the President of the Senate to be a person before whom such a declaration may be made and subscribed; and
in the case of a member appointed by the House of Representatives—before the Speaker of that House or a person appointed by the Speaker of that House to be a person before whom such a declaration may be made and subscribed.
There shall be a Chair and a Deputy Chair of the Committee, who shall be elected by the members.
The Chair and Deputy Chair hold office during the pleasure of the Committee.
The Chair or Deputy Chair ceases to hold office if:
he or she ceases to be a member; or
he or she resigns his or her office as provided by the next succeeding subsection.
The Chair or Deputy Chair may resign that office by writing under his or her hand presented to a meeting of the Committee.
Subject to this section, the Chair or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Committee.
Where:
the Chair is absent from Australia or is, for any reason, unable to exercise his or her powers under this Act; and
the Deputy Chair is absent from Australia or is, for any reason, unable to exercise the powers of the Chair under this Act;
the members present at a meeting of the Committee may appoint one of their number to be temporary chair of the Committee.
While the appointment of a temporary chair remains in force, he or she shall preside at all meetings of the Committee at which he or she is present.
The appointment of a temporary chair remains in force until:
he or she resigns the appointment by writing under his or her hand presented to a meeting of the Committee;
he or she ceases to be a member;
the absence or inability of the Chair or Deputy Chair ceases; or
the appointment is revoked by the Committee;
whichever first happens.
The Deputy Chair and a temporary chair may each exercise any of the powers of the Chair under this Act.
If the Chair, the Deputy Chair and (if the appointment of a temporary chair is in force), the temporary chair, are absent from a meeting of the Committee, the members present may appoint one of their number to preside at the meeting. The member so appointed may exercise, in relation to that meeting, and in relation to any matter arising out of that meeting, any of the powers of the Chair under this Act.
For the purpose of the exercise of the powers of the Chair under this Act, a reference in this Act to the Chair includes a reference to the Deputy Chair, to a temporary chair and to a member appointed under subsection (10).
The Committee may appoint three or more members to be a Sectional Committee and may appoint a member to fill a vacancy amongst the members of a Sectional Committee.
A member of a Sectional Committee:
holds office during the pleasure of the Committee;
ceases to hold office if he or she ceases to be a member of the Committee; and
may resign that office by writing under his or her hand addressed to the Chair of the Committee.
There shall be a Chair and a Deputy Chair of each Sectional Committee, who shall be elected by the members of the Sectional Committee.
The Chair or Deputy Chair of a Sectional Committee:
holds office during the pleasure of the Sectional Committee;
ceases to hold office if he or she ceases to be a member of the Sectional Committee; and
may resign his or her office by writing under his or her hand presented at a meeting of the Sectional Committee.
The Chair or, in his or her absence, the Deputy Chair, of a Sectional Committee shall preside at all meetings of the Sectional Committee.
There shall not be more than two Sectional Committees at the one time.
A Sectional Committee or Sectional Committees may sit when the Committee is sitting.
At a meeting of a Sectional Committee, a majority of the members of the Sectional Committee form a quorum.
The exercise of a power by a Sectional Committee, the Chair of a Sectional Committee or a member of a Sectional Committee is not invalidated by reason only of there being a vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the Sectional Committee.
The Committee may refer to a Sectional Committee appointed under the last preceding section, for inquiry and report to the Committee, a matter connected with a public work that has been referred to the Committee under this Act.
For the purposes of the last preceding subsection, this Act (other than sections 7, 8, 9 and 10, this section, subsections (2) and (3) of the next succeeding section and sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 35, 38 and 39) applies in relation to a Sectional Committee in like manner as it applies in relation to the Committee and, for the purposes of this Act as so applying, a reference to the Chair is to be read as a reference to the Chair, or to the Deputy Chair, of the Sectional Committee.
The report of a Sectional Committee upon a matter referred to it under this section, together with the record of all evidence given before, and all documents and parts of documents produced in evidence to, the Sectional Committee shall be presented to the Committee by the Chair, or by the Deputy Chair, of the Sectional Committee.
Showing the first 12 of 41 provisions. See all provisions