Emergency Services Funding Act 1998

If—

a person has possession, control or management of a business or property of another person as an agent or trustee or in any other capacity; and

obligations under this Division (whether as to the payment of a levy or otherwise) remain undischarged by the other person or will arise in relation to the business or property, the following provisions apply:

the person must, as soon as and so far as is practicable, ensure that the obligations of the other person under this Division that remain undischarged are discharged;

the person must, as soon as and so far as is practicable, ensure that all further obligations that arise under this Division in relation to the business or property are discharged while the person continues to have possession, control or management of the business or property;

for those purposes the person must set aside (and, so far as necessary, liquidate) assets of the other person (or the other person's estate) to the value of any levy that has become or becomes payable and employ those assets in payment of the levy;

if the person fails, without the Commissioner's written permission, to set aside, liquidate and employ sufficient assets for that purpose, the Commissioner may recover from the person as a debt the whole or a part of an amount that is assessed as being payable under this

the person is entitled to be indemnified by the other person (or out of the other person's estate) in respect of payments made or action taken under this section;

nothing prevents the making of a payment to the person out of the assets, in priority to a levy, of any reasonable remuneration, charges and expenses to which the person would, apart from this section, be entitled in respect of the performance of the person's functions.

A person who contravenes a provision of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.