Protection for exercise of functions in connection with this Part
93ZA Protection for exercise of functions in connection with this Part
This section applies to a function exercised by the Secretary, or a person authorised by the Secretary, in connection with the termination of employment of a person, or the reinstatement or re-employment of a person, under this Part (a protected function).
Without limiting the functions that are protected functions under this Part, a decision by the Secretary not to accept the resignation of a person or not to permit the retirement of a person is a protected function.
Except as provided by this section, the exercise by a person of a protected function may not be—
challenged, reviewed, quashed or called into question before any court of law or administrative review body in any proceedings, or
restrained, removed or otherwise affected by any proceedings.
Without limiting subsection (3)—
that subsection applies whether or not the proceedings relate to any question involving compliance or non-compliance, by any such person, with the provisions of this Part or the rules of procedural fairness, and
the exercise of a protected function is not an industrial matter for the purposes of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.
Accordingly (and except as provided by this section), no court of law or administrative review body has jurisdiction or power to consider any question involving compliance or non-compliance, by any such person, with those provisions or those rules so far as they apply to the exercise of any protected function.
However, nothing in this section prevents any person who is expressly authorised or permitted by a provision of the Child Protection (Working with Children) Act 2012 to bring proceedings from bringing such proceedings or being granted such relief in those proceedings as may be authorised or permitted by this Part.
In this section—
exercise of functions includes—
the purported exercise of functions, and
the non-exercise or improper exercise of functions, and
the proposed, apprehended or threatened exercise of functions.
proceedings includes—
proceedings for an order in the nature of prohibition, certiorari or mandamus or for a declaration or injunction or for any other relief, and
without limiting paragraph (a), proceedings in the exercise of the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court or the jurisdiction conferred by section 23 of the Supreme Court Act 1970.
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