Solicitor-General Act 1983

Solicitor-General Act 1983

This Act may be cited as the Solicitor-General Act 1983.

This Act shall commence on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires – accumulation scheme, in relation to a Solicitor-General, means the default fund, within the meaning of the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 2016,in relation to which the Solicitor-General is a relevant employee within the meaning of section 21 of that Act; age of retirement means the age of 72 years; barrister means a barrister within the meaning of the Legal Profession Act 2007; commencement day means the day on which this Act receives the royal assent; complying superannuation scheme means a complying superannuation fund as provided by the law of the Commonwealth; functions includes duties;Judges Pension Fund means the Fund established under section 9 of the Judges' Contributory Pensions Act 1968; practitioner means an Australian legal practitioner; power includes an authority; regulations means regulations made and in force under this Act;RSA means a Retirement Savings Account within the meaning of the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 of the Commonwealth;Secretary means the Secretary of the Department; spouse includes the person with whom a person is, or was at the time of his or her death, in a significant relationship, within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003; surcharge liability means liability for tax or interest imposed under the law of the Commonwealth arising from an entitlement to a pension under Schedule 1; transfer day means the day specified in a notice under section 7(5) of the Public Sector Superannuation Reform Act 1999;

In this Act, a reference to the Solicitor-General is a reference to the holder (if any) of the office established by section 4(1) and includes a reference to any barrister or practitioner appointed to act for the Solicitor-General during his illness or absence.

There is established by this Act the office of Solicitor-General of Tasmania.

Subject to this section, the Governor may appoint a person qualified by virtue of subsection (3) to hold the office of Solicitor-General.

A person is qualified for appointment under this section if, but only if, he or she is an Australian lawyer of not less than 7 years' standing as a practitioner and either – he or she has not previously been appointed under subsection (2) to hold the office of Solicitor-General; or he or she has previously been appointed under subsection (2) to hold the office of Solicitor-General and subsection (3B) applies in relation to his or her appointment.

Subject to this Act, a person appointed to hold the office of Solicitor-General holds office for a period of 10 years.

Despite subsection (3A), a person who has previously been appointed to hold the office of Solicitor-General may be appointed to hold that office for a further period, of not more than 10 years, that is specified in the instrument of appointment and is to begin immediately after the term of his or her previous appointment ends.

Except as provided by subsection (5), the State Service Act 2000 does not apply to or in relation to the office of Solicitor-General or to a person holding that office.

If for any reason the person holding office as Solicitor-General is unable to perform the functions of that office or that office is for the time being vacant, the Governor may appoint a person (including a State Service officer or State Service employee) to act in that office until the Solicitor-General is able to resume his duties as such or, as the case may be, until the vacancy is filled.

The person holding the office of Solicitor-General under the Public Service Act 1973 immediately before the commencement day shall be deemed to have been appointed by the Governor under subsection (2) and on that day his service as an employee within the meaning of the Superannuation Act 1938 shall be deemed to be terminated for the purposes of that Act.

The Solicitor-General is entitled to be paid – for the period 26 June 1995 to 30 September 1996, both days inclusive, a salary at the rate of 90% of the salary payable to a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania for the same period; and after 30 September 1996, a salary equivalent to the salary payable to a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania; and such travelling and other allowances as the Governor from time to time determines in respect of him and, if there is for the time being no such determination, such travelling and other allowances as are applicable to a person who is a Head of a State Service Agency.

Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Solicitor-General may elect, in writing to the Secretary, at any time but not more than once in a period of one year, that the salary determined in accordance with subsection (1)(ab) may be provided – in part by the payment of salary to the Solicitor-General; and in part by the payment of employer superannuation contributions to an RSA or a complying superannuation scheme, which may include the accumulation scheme.

If the Solicitor-General elects to sacrifice some or all of his or her salary under subsection (1A) – the election has effect from the date of the election or from a later date specified in the election for that purpose; and the Solicitor-General is taken, for any purpose related to superannuation, to have received the salary determined in accordance with subsection (1)(ab), notwithstanding the salary sacrifice.

A Solicitor-General is an employee for the purposes of the Long Service Leave (State Employees) Act 1994.

The terms and conditions of employment of a Solicitor-General (other than those to which subsections (1) and (2) relate) shall be such as the Governor from time to time determines in respect of him and, if there is for the time being no such determination, shall be those applicable to a State Service employee.

The Solicitor-General is a worker for the purposes of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 and the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011.

The Solicitor-General is entitled to be paid out of the Public Account.

Any allowance payable to the Solicitor-General under this Act is to be paid out of the Public Account.

The Public Account is appropriated to the extent necessary for the purposes of subsections (5) and (6).

A person holding the office of Solicitor-General vacates the office – at the end of the term of his or her appointment; or on his or her resignation from that office under subsection (2); or on the revocation of his or her appointment to the office under section 6F(2)(b).

A person holding the office of Solicitor-General may at any time resign his or her office by notice in writing delivered to the Governor.

The Governor may suspend from office a person holding the office of Solicitor-General if the Governor is satisfied the person – except by reason of temporary illness, is, by reason of disability or infirmity, incapable of performing the functions of that office; or has become bankrupt, applied to take or has taken advantage of any law relating to bankruptcy or insolvent debtors, compounded with his or her creditors, or made an assignment of his or her remuneration or estate for their benefit; or has been convicted in Tasmania of – a crime; or an offence that is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more – or has been convicted of a crime, or of an offence, which would, if committed in Tasmania, be a crime, or be an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more.

The Governor may suspend from office a person holding the office of Solicitor-General if the Governor is satisfied the person has been charged with – a crime; or an offence that is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more; or a crime, or an offence, which would, if committed in Tasmania, be a crime, or be an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 months or more.

The Governor may suspend from office a person holding the office of Solicitor-General if the Governor is satisfied the person has engaged in – misconduct in office, including by virtue of contravening section 10; or misbehaviour that brings the office into disrepute.

If a person has been suspended from office under section 6A, the Minister must cause a statement setting out the grounds for the suspension to be laid before each House of Parliament during the first 7 sitting-days of that House following the suspension or a longer period allowed by resolution of the House of Parliament before which it is laid.

If a person has been suspended from office under section 6A(3), a House of Parliament, within 30 sitting-days after the day on which a statement has been laid before the House under section 6B or a longer period allowed by resolution of the House of Parliament, may pass a resolution – confirming the suspension; or revoking the suspension.

If both Houses of Parliament pass a resolution under subsection (1)(b) revoking the suspension of a person from the office of Solicitor-General, the suspension of the person from the office of Solicitor-General is revoked on and from the day on which the resolution is passed by both the Houses.

The Governor may revoke or vary a suspension imposed under section 6A.

If the Governor has, under subsection (1), revoked or varied a suspension, the Minister must cause a statement setting out the grounds for the revocation or variation to be laid before each House of Parliament during the first 7 sitting-days of that House following the revocation or variation or a longer period allowed by resolution of the House of Parliament before which it is laid.

If a suspension has been revoked or varied under subsection (1), a House of Parliament, within 30 sitting-days after the day on which a statement has been laid before the House under subsection (2) or a longer period allowed by resolution of the House of Parliament, may pass a resolution – confirming the revocation or variation of the suspension; or revoking the revocation or variation of the suspension.

If both Houses of Parliament pass a resolution under subsection (3) confirming the revocation or variation of a suspension, the suspension is revoked or varied, respectively, on and from the day on which the resolution is passed by both the Houses.

The Governor may cause to be laid before both Houses of Parliament a statement requesting the Houses of Parliament to revoke the appointment of a person to the office of Solicitor-General on the grounds for suspension, referred to in section 6A(1) or (3), that are specified in the statement, if –

the Governor is satisfied the person may be suspended from the office of Solicitor-General on the grounds, referred to in section 6A(1) or (3), specified in the statement; and the Governor has suspended the person from office under section 6A on any grounds referred to in that section, whether or not they are the same grounds as the grounds to which the statement relates; and the statement required by section 6B to be laid before both Houses of Parliament in relation to the suspension of the person from the office of Solicitor-General has been laid before each House; and where the person has been suspended from office under section 6A(3) – the suspension has been confirmed under section 6C(1)(a).