1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Fire and Emergency Act 1996.
Bills and explanatory statements from legislation.nt.gov.au; second reading speeches from the NT Parliamentary Record (Territory Stories). Links open the official source in a new tab.
Bill homepage (legislation.nt.gov.au)This Act may be cited as the Fire and Emergency Act 1996.
This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by the
Administrator by notice in the Gazette.
In this Act:
approved form means a form approved under section 8A.
authorised means authorised, in writing, by the Commissioner.
auxiliary member means a person appointed under section 13 to be an auxiliary member of the Fire and Rescue Service.
Chief Officer means the person holding or occupying the office of the Chief Officer of the Fire and Rescue Service mentioned in section 8.
Commissioner means the person holding or occupying the office of the Commissioner of Fire and Emergency Services mentioned in section 7(1).
emergency means an occurrence, where effective response is within the capacity and resources of the Fire and Rescue Service as determined by the Commissioner, that:
causes or threatens to cause:
loss of life or property; or
injury to persons or property or distress to persons; or
(b) in any way endangers the safety of the public of the Territory; or
(c) in any way causes or threatens to cause damage to the environment of the Territory.
emergency response area means an area declared under section 4 to be an emergency response area.
fire and emergency response group means a fire and emergency response group established under section 11.
Fire and Rescue Service means the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service established by section 5.
fire ban day means a day declared a fire ban day under section 31.
fire investigator means a person appointed as a fire investigator under section 22.
flammable or combustible material includes:
a substance capable of ignition or combustion:
by the application of heat; or
by means of a spark or flame; or
by spontaneous causes; and
a substance prescribed to be flammable or combustible material.
hazard reduction means taking precautionary action and conducting inspections, other than as part of the response to an existing incident, to eliminate or reduce danger by fire or other emergency to life or property.
hazardous material means any of the following:
dangerous goods as defined in the Dangerous Goods Act 1998;
(b) a hazardous chemical as defined in the Work Health and Safety (National Uniform Legislation) Regulations 2011;
(c) a product or substance that has the potential to harm life, health, property or the environment.
incident means a fire or other emergency.
incident commander means the member or person who, in accordance with section 19, is in command of a fire or other emergency, or the member to whom the powers and functions of the incident commander are transferred under that section.
in the open air means any place other than in a permanent structure.
member means:
(a) an employee, within the meaning of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993, employed in the Fire and Rescue Service; or
an auxiliary member; or
a volunteer member.
occupier, in relation to land, includes:
(a) a person having, or being entitled to, the use or management of land; and
(b) where land is let in separate parts, a person receiving or entitled to receive the rent payable in respect of those separate parts, either on his or her own account or as agent for another person,
and includes a person in occupation of land belonging to the Territory, the Commonwealth or a State or another Territory of the Commonwealth, notwithstanding any want or defect of title to occupy the land.
owner, in relation to land, means the person in actual receipt of, or entitled to receive, the rents and profits of the land or who, if the land was let, would be entitled to receive the rents and profits whether as beneficiary, owner, trustee, executor or mortgagee in possession or as agent or attorney for another person.
permanent structure means a structure of a permanent kind consisting of a roof and fully or partly enclosed sides and includes a caravan but does not include a tent.
permit means a permit granted under section 30.
vehicle includes:
any means of conveyance that runs on wheels; and
a train or part of a train; and
an aircraft.
vessel means a ship, barge, boat or other vessel designed to float on water and includes:
(a) an air-cushioned craft capable of being used as a means of transportation on water; and
(b) a structure that floats or is designed to be floatable so as to allow the structure to be towed to a location offshore for oil or gas exploration or production or another industrial application.
volunteer member means a person appointed under section 14 to be a volunteer member of the Fire and Rescue Service.
Note for subsection (1)
The Interpretation Act 1978 contains definitions and other provisions that may be relevant to this Act.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person is taken to light a fire if the person:
lights, maintains or uses the fire; or
(b) aids, procures or counsels another to light, maintain or use the fire; or
(c) being the owner or occupier of the land on which the fire is lit, permits another to light, maintain or use the fire.
The Minister may, for the purposes of this Act, by Gazette notice, declare an area to be an emergency response area.
The declaration of an area as an emergency response area does not affect any contractual arrangements under which fire and rescue services are provided for the area, whether the contractual arrangements are entered into before or after the declaration.
The Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service is established.
The role of the Fire and Rescue Service is, subject to any other Act:
to respond to all incidents in an emergency response area; and
(b) to respond to all hazardous material incidents and transport accident rescues, wherever occurring, in the Territory; and
(c) to respond to incidents, other than those mentioned in paragraph (b), outside an emergency response area when requested by a police officer or a member of an organisation having responsibilities to respond to such incidents and where:
(i) sufficient resources of the Fire and Rescue Service remain available to respond to incidents referred to in paragraph (a); and
(ii) a response is within the resources and capabilities of the Fire and Rescue Service; and
(iii) a response will materially contribute to extinguishing or controlling the fire or dealing with the emergency; and
(ca) to investigate the cause of a fire anywhere in the Territory; and
to undertake hazard reduction:
(i) to eliminate or reduce danger to life or property by fires (other than bushfires) and other emergencies anywhere in the Territory; and
(ii) to eliminate or reduce danger to life or property by bushfires in an emergency response area; and
(cc) to conduct training courses (with or without charge) in relation to any aspect of fire safety; and
(d) to conduct community education and awareness programs relating to fires and other emergencies and, in particular, relating to fire safety and prevention; and
(e) to develop and administer programs designed to promote safety in building structures; and
(f) to exercise those powers and perform those functions that are imposed on it or a member by any other law in force in the Territory.
The Administrator may, by commission, appoint a person to be the
Commissioner of Fire and Emergency Services.
The Commissioner holds office on the terms and conditions, including remuneration, expenses and allowances, determined by the
Administrator from time to time.
The Commissioner must exercise all the powers and perform all the functions of office in accordance with the written directions, if any, given by the Minister.
The Commissioner has general control and overall responsibility for the management of the Fire and Rescue Service.
Without limiting subsection (4), the functions of the
Commissioner are to do the following:
make provision in every emergency response area, so far as the capacity and resources of the Fire and Rescue Service permits, for the effective response to all incidents, including preventing, suppressing and extinguishing fires or dealing with emergencies and for the safety of people and property endangered by fire or other emergencies;
ensure that the Fire and Rescue Service is maintained in accordance with this Act and in a state of operational readiness;
review the efficiency and effectiveness of the Fire and Rescue
Service;
make provision for effective cooperation between the Fire and
Rescue Service, the Bushfires Council established by section 21 of the Bushfires Management Act 2016 and the Northern
Territory Emergency Service as defined in section 8 of the
Emergency Management Act 2013;
enter into agreements and protocol arrangements with organisations, either within or outside the Territory, that can assist the Fire and Rescue Service in the performance of its role under this Act;
enter into contractual arrangements for the provision of fire and rescue services, whether within an emergency response area or not;
enter into contractual arrangements for the provision of services ancillary to fire and rescue services, including (but not limited to) the supply, installation and monitoring of fire alarm systems;
enter into contractual arrangements for the provision (with or without charge) of training programs and public awareness programs.
The Commissioner has the powers necessary to perform the
Commissioner's functions.
The Commissioner may resign office by written notice given to the Administrator.
A notice of resignation under subsection (7) has effect when accepted by the Administrator.
(1) The Minister may, in writing, appoint a person to act as the Commissioner:
during a vacancy in the office; or
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the Commissioner is absent or unable to perform the duties of the office.
(2) A person appointed to act as the Commissioner during a vacancy in the office must not continue to act for more than 12 months after the vacancy occurred.
(3) If a person is appointed under subsection (1)(b) and that office becomes vacant while the person is acting, the person may continue to act in that office until:
the Minister otherwise directs; or
the office ceases to be vacant; or
the person resigns their appointment; or
the day 12 months after the day the vacancy occurred.
(4) A person may resign an appointment under subsection (1) by written notice given to the Minister.
(5) A notice of resignation under subsection (4) has effect when accepted by the Minister.
(6) The validity of anything done by a person acting as Commissioner under subsection (1) must not be called in question by reason of the following:
(a) any defect or irregularity in or in connection with the appointment;
that the occasion for the appointment had not arisen;
that the appointment had ceased to have effect.
There is a Chief Officer of the Fire and Rescue Service appointed by the Commissioner.
The Chief Officer must be a person with substantial experience in the emergency response activities of a fire and rescue service.
The Commissioner may approve forms for this Act.
Subject to the directions of the Commissioner, the Chief Officer has operational responsibility for the Fire and Rescue Service.
The Chief Officer has the powers necessary to perform the Chief
Officer's functions.
The Minister and Commissioner may, in writing, delegate to a person any of their powers and functions under this Act.
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