1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Law Officers Act 1978.
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This Act may be cited as the Law Officers Act 1978.
This Act shall come into operation on 1 July 1978.
A person who is appointed to a Ministerial office under section 36 of the Northern Territory (Self-Government) Act 1978 of the
Commonwealth, and who is given the designation of "Attorney-General" under section 34 of that Act or another designation as is specified by instrument in writing by the Administrator to be the appropriate designation for the purposes of this section, is the Attorney-General for the Northern Territory for the purposes of this Act.
The Attorney-General is to:
be the official legal adviser to the Territory and to the
Executive Council; and
see to the administration of law and justice for the Territory;
and
advise the Territory on matters concerning Territory legislation including the drafting of legislation; and
be responsible for the conduct of litigation on behalf of the
Territory and for this purpose may act through the Solicitor for the
Northern Territory or another person as the Attorney-General determines; and
if the Attorney-General's name is on the local roll kept under the Legal Profession Act 2006, be entitled to practise as a legal practitioner as though the Attorney-General was holding an unrestricted practising certificate issued under that Act; and
have the powers, duties and prerogatives equivalent to those of the Attorney-General of England, whether by law or usage, as are capable of application to the Territory; and
have any other powers, duties and functions as are assigned by the Administrator.
A reference in an Act of the Territory, or in a regulation, by-law, or other instrument under an Act to the Attorney-General shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as a reference to the
Attorney-General for the Northern Territory referred to in section 5.
(1) There is hereby established a Solicitor for the Northern Territory.
The Solicitor for the Northern Territory is a body corporate.
(3) The Solicitor for the Northern Territory may act as solicitor for the following, and is, for that purpose, entitled to practise as a legal practitioner in any court and entitled to all the rights and privileges of a legal practitioner:
the Crown in right of the Territory;
the Territory;
a person suing or being sued on behalf of the Territory;
a minister;
a body or authority established by a law of the Territory;
an officer of, or a person employed by:
the Territory; or
a body or authority established by a law of the Territory;
a person holding office under a law of the Territory;
(h) the Australian Government Solicitor, by arrangement, as agent on behalf of clients of the Australian Government Solicitor;
(j) any other person, body or authority for whom the Attorney-General requests it to act.
The CEO may do the following:
(a) act personally in the name of the Solicitor for the Northern Territory;
(b) by signed written instrument, authorise an officer of the Agency who is a legal practitioner to act in the name of the Solicitor for the Northern Territory generally or as otherwise provided for in the instrument.
(5) An act or thing done in the name of the Solicitor for the Northern Territory by, or under the direction or authority of the CEO or a person authorised under subsection (4)(b) is taken to have been done by the Solicitor for the Northern Territory.
A person who is authorised to act under subsection (4)(b):
(a) is responsible to the CEO and, through the CEO, to the Attorney-General in relation to anything the person does under the authorisation; and
must comply with any directions given by the CEO.
(7) An act or thing done or omitted to be done by a person in the name of the Solicitor for the Northern Territory under a direction given by the CEO is taken to have been done or omitted to be done, as the case may be, by the CEO personally.
(8) The CEO is, for the purpose of exercising powers and performing functions under this section, entitled to practise as a legal practitioner as if the CEO were the holder of an unrestricted practising certificate issued under the Legal Profession Act 2006.
(9) Despite subsection (5) but subject to subsection (8), the CEO, or a person authorised by the CEO under subsection (4)(b), is subject to the duties and obligations to which the CEO or person would be subject if the CEO or authorised person were a legal practitioner when:
(a) the CEO or person does, or omits to do, an act or thing in the name of the Solicitor for the Northern Territory; or
(b) another person does, or omits to do, an act or thing in the name of the Solicitor for the Northern Territory under the direction or authority of the CEO or person.
(10) A copy of every authorization under subsection (4) must be published in the Gazette.
(11) In any Act, instrument of a legislative or administrative character, award or other industrial determination or order, industrial agreement, other order (whether executive, judicial or otherwise), contract, pleading in, or process issued in connection with, a legal or other proceeding, or any other instrument, a reference to the Crown Solicitor is to be construed as including a reference to the Solicitor for the Northern Territory.
In this section:
CEO means the Chief Executive Officer.
(1) The Administrator may, by instrument in writing, appoint a person:
who has not attained the age of 72 years; and
(b) who has been enrolled as a legal practitioner of the High Court, or of the Supreme Court of a State or Territory of the Commonwealth, for not less than 5 years,
to hold the office of Solicitor-General of the Northern Territory, for is the period specified in the instrument of appointment, or without limitation on the period of office, and, subject to Division 2, on the terms and conditions as the Administrator determines.
(3) The Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993 does not apply to or in relation to the office of Solicitor-General or a person holding that office.
(4) The Minister may appoint a qualified person (including an employee as defined in the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 1993) to act from time to time as the Solicitor-General during the absence from duty of the Solicitor-General or a vacancy in that office.
(8) A Solicitor-General may resign office by writing signed by the Solicitor-General and delivered to the Administrator.
(9) Despite anything in the terms and conditions of appointment, a Solicitor-General retires from office on the day on which the Solicitor-General attains the age of 72 years, and the office of Solicitor-General then becomes vacant.
The Solicitor-General:
(a) may act as counsel for the Crown in right of the Northern Territory of Australia and for any other person for whom the Attorney-General requests the Solicitor-General to act; and
(b) may perform such other duties of counsel as the Attorney-General directs; and
(c) may exercise powers and perform functions conferred on the Solicitor-General by any law of the Territory or the Commonwealth; and
(d) is, for the purpose of exercising powers or performing functions under this Act, entitled to practice as a legal practitioner as if the Solicitor‑General were holding an unrestricted practising certificate issued under the Legal Profession Act 2006; and
except with the consent of the Attorney-General, must not engage:
in any other practice as a legal practitioner; or
in any other paid employment.
The Administrator shall remove the Solicitor-General from office if, and only if, the Solicitor-General:
(a) except by reason of temporary illness, becomes incapable of performing the duties of the office; or
is guilty of misbehaviour; or
(c) becomes bankrupt or insolvent, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with creditors or makes an assignment of remuneration for their benefit.
Subject to subsection (2), for this Division the
Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration is the remuneration the Solicitor‑General is entitled to receive for service as the Solicitor-General.
If the Solicitor‑General has worked in a part-time capacity at any time during a period of service to which an entitlement to long service leave relates, the Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration is to be determined on a pro rata basis, based on the hours for which the Solicitor‑General was remunerated during the period of service.
(1) The Solicitor-General is entitled to 3 calendar months of long service leave after completing 10 years of service.
(2) After completing 10 years of service, the Solicitor-General is entitled to 9 calendar days of long service leave for each subsequent year of completed service.
(3) The Solicitor-General may accrue service in a full-time or part-time capacity or in a combination of those capacities.
(4) The Solicitor-General does not accrue service when the Solicitor‑General is:
on leave without pay; or
(b) absent from work because of an injury for which the Solicitor‑General is receiving workers' compensation payments.
(1) The Solicitor-General may take long service leave with the approval of the Attorney-General.
(2) The Solicitor‑General may, in respect of an entitlement to long service leave, be granted a period of long service leave that is:
(a) equal to the period of the entitlement and paid the Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration during the period of leave; or
(b) twice as long as the period of the entitlement and paid the Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration at half pay during the period of leave; or
at least half as long as the period of the entitlement and paid:
(i) during the period of leave – the Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration; and
(ii) in respect of the remainder of the entitlement – a lump sum that is equal to the Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration that would have been paid to the Solicitor‑General if the entitlement had been taken as leave.
Example for subsection (2)(c)
A Solicitor‑General entitled to 3 months of long service leave may elect to take 2 calendar months of long service leave and be paid a lump sum in lieu of taking the third month of the entitlement as long service leave. The Solicitor‑General is paid the Solicitor‑General's ordinary remuneration during the 2 month period of leave and a lump sum that is equal to the remuneration the Solicitor‑General would have been paid during a third month of long service leave.
(3) During a period of leave mentioned in subsection (2)(b), the Solicitor‑General accrues service and service-based entitlements at half of the ordinary rate of accrual.
Note for subsection (3)
A service-based entitlement may include an entitlement to leave, including recreation or long service leave.
(4) Long service leave may be granted in months and tenths of a month but may not be granted for a period of leave that is less than 7 days.
(5) Weekends, public holidays and other days on which the Solicitor‑General would not have ordinarily been required to work are part of long service leave and do not extend the period of leave.
(6) The Solicitor-General may not be granted periods of long service leave that are separated by a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
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