Cross Border Commissioner Act 2022

This Act may be cited as the Cross Border Commissioner

Act 2022.

This Act comes into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

In this Act—

Commissioner means the person for the time being holding or acting in the office of Cross Border Commissioner under

Part 2;

cross border communities means communities located on, or close to, the South Australian border.

Except where the contrary intention is expressed in this or any other Act, this Act is in addition to and does not limit or derogate from the provisions of any other Act.

There will be a Cross Border

Commissioner.

The Commissioner will be appointed by the Governor, on the recommendation of the Minister, and is an agency of the

Crown.

The person appointed as Commissioner—

should reside in a cross border community; and

should have a detailed understanding of the issues affecting cross border communities; and

may be a Public Service employee.

The Commissioner will be appointed for a term not exceeding

3 years and on conditions determined by the Governor and, at the end of a term of appointment, will be eligible for reappointment.

The appointment of the Commissioner may be terminated by the

Governor on the ground that the Commissioner—

has been guilty of misconduct; or

has been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment;

or

has become bankrupt or has applied to take the benefit of a law for the relief of insolvent debtors; or

has been disqualified from managing corporations under

Chapter 2D Part 2D.6 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the

Commonwealth; or

has, because of mental or physical incapacity, failed to carry out duties of the position satisfactorily; or

is incompetent or has neglected the duties of the position.

The appointment of the Commissioner is terminated if the

Commissioner—

becomes a member, or a candidate for election as a member, of the

Parliament of a State or the Commonwealth or a Legislative Assembly of a

Territory of the Commonwealth; or

is sentenced to imprisonment for an offence.

The Commissioner may resign by notice in writing to the Minister of not less than 3 months (or such shorter period as is accepted by the

Minister).

The functions of the Commissioner are as follows:

to facilitate collaboration between governments and service providers to address issues involving cross border communities;

to work and engage with all tiers of government, businesses and the community to ensure the needs of cross border communities are considered in the development and implementation of policy, procedures and legislation;

to identify key barriers for economic development in the cross border regions;

to advocate for a simplified regulatory environment for business growth and labour mobility in the cross border regions;

to facilitate better access to services for cross border communities by working with other jurisdictions and service providers to improve planning for and access to a range of education, justice, health and community services for those communities;

to update and inform cross border communities and businesses on issues and progress;

to prepare an annual plan in consultation with the

Minister;

to provide reports on any aspect of the Commissioner’s functions at the request of the Minister or on the Commissioner’s own initiative;

any other functions conferred on the Commissioner by or under this or any other Act or by the Minister.

Subject to this section, the Minister may give directions to the

Commissioner.

The Minister must consult with the Commissioner before giving a direction.

A Ministerial direction to the Commissioner—

must be communicated to the Commissioner in writing;

and

must be included in the annual report of the Commissioner under

Part 3.

The Minister may appoint a person (who may be a Public Service employee) to act as the Commissioner during any period for which—

no person is for the time being appointed as the Commissioner;

or

the Commissioner is absent from, or unable to discharge, official duties.

The terms and conditions of appointment of the person appointed to act as the Commissioner will be determined by the

Minister.

The Commissioner and any other person appointed to act as the

Commissioner are senior officials for the purposes of the

Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability)

Act 1995.

The Commissioner's staff consist of—

Public Service employees assigned to assist the Commissioner;

and

persons employed by the Commissioner, with the consent of the

Minister and on terms and conditions determined by the Minister, to assist the

Commissioner.

Subject to this section, the Minister and the Commissioner may delegate any functions under this Act.

A delegation under this section—

must be in writing; and

may be conditional or unconditional; and

is revocable at will; and

does not prevent the delegator from acting in any matter.

A function delegated under this section may, if the instrument of delegation so provides, be further delegated.