1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972.
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Explanatory material and speeches for the bills of later Acts that amended this Act, newest first. They explain the amendment, not necessarily the provision you are reading.
This Act may be cited as the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority Act 1972.
This Act, or any provision thereof, shall come into operation on such date as is or such dates as are, respectively, fixed by proclamation.
[2A. Deleted: No. 54 of 1984 s. 3.]
[3. Deleted: No. 54 of 1984 s. 4.]
In this Act, unless the context requires otherwise —
Aboriginal means pertaining to the original inhabitants of Australia and to their descendants;
Authority means the Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority referred to in section 8;
CEO means the chief executive officer of the Department;
Committee means the Aboriginal Affairs Co‑ordinating Committee established under section 19;
Council means the Aboriginal Advisory Council constituted in accordance with the provisions of section 18;
Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of this Act;
person of Aboriginal descent means any person living in Western Australia wholly or partly descended from the original inhabitants of Australia who claims to be an Aboriginal and who is accepted as such in the community in which he lives;
repealed Act means the Native Welfare Act 1963;
reserved lands means any area of land to which the provisions of Part III apply;
Trust means the Aboriginal Lands Trust referred to in section 20.
[Section 4 amended: No. 113 of 1987 s. 32; No. 28 of 2006 s. 343.]
This Act binds the Crown.
[6. Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(f) and (g).]
The responsibility for the administration of this Act is vested in the Minister who is required to have regard to the recommendations of —
the Authority; and
the Council; and
the Committee; and
the Trust,
but is not bound to give effect to any such recommendation.
The Minister may, after consultation with the body concerned, give to any of the bodies referred to in subsection (1) directions of a general or specific character as to the exercise of its functions, and any such body shall give effect to any directions given to it under this section.
On and from the date of the coming into operation of this Act the body corporate constituted under section 8 of the repealed Act is preserved and continued in existence as a body corporate under and subject to the provisions of, and for the purposes of, this Act under the corporate name of “The Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority” but so that the corporate identity of the body corporate and its rights, powers, liabilities and duties shall not be affected.
Without limiting the operation of subsection (1), the Minister as so constituted a body corporate under that subsection is capable in the name of the Authority of suing and being sued and of acquiring, holding, exchanging, mortgaging, charging, leasing and disposing of real and personal property, and of doing and suffering all that bodies corporate may do and suffer.
All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Authority affixed to a document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.
The Authority may —
delegate to any officer of the Department, to a public authority or officer or employee thereof, or to any other person or body specified in the instrument of delegation, all or any of its powers and functions under this Act, and any regulations, rules or by‑laws made under this Act, other than this power of delegation; and
vary or revoke a delegation.
A power or function delegated by the Authority may be exercised or performed by the delegate —
in accordance with the instrument of delegation; and
if the exercise of the power or the performance of the function in relation to a matter is dependent upon the opinion, belief, or state of mind of the Authority — upon the opinion, belief, or state of mind of the delegate in relation to that matter.
A delegation under this section does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Authority.
A person who purports to exercise a power or function pursuant to a delegation conferred under the provisions of this section is presumed to do so in accordance with the terms of the delegation in the absence of proof to the contrary.
[Section 9 amended: No. 113 of 1987 s. 32.]
[10. Deleted: No. 28 of 2006 s. 344.]
The CEO may, in relation to a matter or class of matters, and in the prescribed manner, delegate all or any of his powers and functions under this Act, with the exception of this power of delegation, so that the powers and functions delegated may be exercised by the delegate in the whole or a part of the State in accordance with the delegation.
In relation to any delegation by the CEO pursuant to this section, the provisions of section 9(2), (3) and (4) apply as if repeated in this section but as if any reference in those subsections to the Authority were a reference to the CEO.
[Section 11 amended: No. 28 of 2006 s. 349.]
The Authority is charged with the duty of promoting the well‑being of persons of Aboriginal descent in Western Australia and shall take into account the views of such persons as expressed by their representatives.
The functions of the Authority are to —
provide for consultation with persons of Aboriginal descent; and
recognise and support as may be necessary the traditional Aboriginal culture; and
promote opportunity for the involvement of persons of Aboriginal descent in the affairs of the community, and promote the involvement of all sectors of the community in the advancement of Aboriginal affairs; and
foster the involvement of persons of Aboriginal descent in their own enterprises in all aspects of commerce, industry and production, including agriculture; and
provide consultative, planning and advisory services in relation to the economic, social and cultural activities of persons of Aboriginal descent, and advise on the adequacy, implementation and co‑ordination of services provided or to be provided from other sources; and
make available such services as may be necessary to promote the effective control and management of land held in trust by or for persons of Aboriginal descent; and
generally to take, instigate or support such action as is necessary to promote the economic, social and cultural advancement of persons of Aboriginal descent in Western Australia, and to that end to apportion, apply or distribute the moneys available to it.
In exercising its functions under this section, the Authority shall at all times take into account the expressed views of the Aboriginal Advisory Council.
The Authority has all such powers, rights and privileges as may be reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out its duties and functions.
For the purposes of this Act, the Authority may, with the consent of the Minister of the Crown having responsibility for the administration of the Act relating to a department of the government of the State or an instrumentality or agency of the Crown, make use of the services of any officer of that department, instrumentality or agency.
The Authority may, on matters relevant to the purposes of this Act, confer and collaborate with departments of the Commonwealth and the States of the Commonwealth and other bodies, instrumentalities or agencies of the Commonwealth or the States of the Commonwealth having to do with Aboriginal affairs.
Without limiting the generality of the provisions of this section, the Authority may —
establish committees of such persons as the CEO may determine, but so that in every case the chairman of the committee shall be either a Council member or a Co‑ordinating Committee member;
empower a committee to investigate and report on any aspect of its functions, to implement any decision, or to carry out any administrative duty;
invite any person, subject to the approval of the Minister and on such terms and conditions as the Minister may determine, to act in an advisory capacity to the Authority in relation to all or any aspects of its functions.
[Section 14 amended: No. 28 of 2006 s. 349.]
There shall be appointed under and subject to Part 3 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994, such officers as may be necessary to provide administrative, scientific, technical and other services to assist the Authority in the exercise and performance of the powers, functions and duties conferred on the Authority by this Act, and to permit the Authority to undertake investigations, projects, studies and research and to make reports with regard to the carrying out of this Act.
The Minister may engage, under contract for services, such professional and technical or other assistance as may be necessary to enable the Authority to carry out effectively its functions under this Act and may enter into arrangements with —
a Minister of the Crown of any State of the Commonwealth, a Minister of State of the Commonwealth, a department or an instrumentality of the Commonwealth or any State of the Commonwealth; or
a university or other tertiary institution; or
any other body or person,
with respect to the conduct of any investigation, project, study or research that may be necessary or desirable for the purposes of this Act.
[Section 15 amended: No. 113 of 1987 s. 32; No. 32 of 1994 s. 3(2).]
[16. Deleted: No. 28 of 2006 s. 345.]
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