1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Employment Agents Act 1976.
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Bill homepageThis Act may be cited as the Employment Agents Act 1976.
This Act or any provisions of this Act shall come into operation on a date or dates to be fixed by proclamation.
[3. Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(f).]
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —
Commissioner means the person for the time being designated as the Commissioner under section 9A;
Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of this Act;
employee includes a person seeking employment and a person sought for employment;
employment includes —
employment by way of professional engagement or under a contract of service or a contract for service; and
an arrangement whereby a person is to assist in the domestic work of a household in consideration of receiving hospitality with or without further or other remuneration;
engagement means an employment which has been entered into by the employee;
firm means an unincorporated body of persons (whether consisting of individuals or of bodies corporate or partly of individuals and partly of bodies corporate) registered under the Business Names Registration Act 2011 (Commonwealth), and includes the several persons constituting that body;
licence means a licence granted pursuant to this Act; and
transaction includes the relationship between the employment agent and the person for whom he is acting and any negotiations entered into by the employment agent in endeavouring to procure an engagement.
Where a meaning is assigned to any term by this section cognate expressions used in this Act, unless a contrary intention appears, have a corresponding meaning.
[Definition of the repealed Acts omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]
[Section 4 amended: No. 70 of 1990 s. 4; No. 57 of 1997 s. 39(10); No. 55 of 2004 s. 276; No. 28 of 2006 s. 92; No. 6 of 2012 s. 39.]
Any person who —
for reward follows, either wholly or from time to time or part time, the calling of an agent for procuring engagements for persons seeking to be employed, or for procuring employees for persons seeking to employ such persons; or
whether or not for reward, places persons in employment and levies from either the employee or the employer an entrance fee, a periodical contribution or any other charge for his services in effecting the placement,
is deemed for the purposes of this Act to be carrying on the business of an employment agent.
A newspaper or other publication not published wholly or mainly for the purpose of acting as intermediary between persons seeking employment and prospective employers shall not be deemed to be carrying on the business of an employment agent.
A person who, as principal, is the employer responsible for the payment of wages or other lawful obligations to an employee and who, as such employer, provides to other persons the services of his employees to perform tasks of a temporary nature on the basis of predetermined rates agreed between those other persons and himself as such employer, no fee or expense being incurred by the employee in or in relation to the performance of such tasks, shall not be deemed by reason only of that fact to be an employment agent.
[6. Omitted under the Reprints Act 1984 s. 7(4)(e).]
Subject to the provisions of section 9, this Act does not apply to or in relation to the placing of persons in employment as members of the crew of a vessel engaged in maritime navigation.
The provisions of this Act do not apply to or in relation to the placement of any person in employment by any department or instrumentality of the Commonwealth or of the State.
The Governor may by Order in Council declare that this Act, or any provision of this Act specified in the Order, shall not apply to any class of business or service either generally or when conducted in any specified circumstances or part of the State, and may by subsequent Order in Council from time to time revoke or vary any such Order.
The Governor may by Order in Council grant to any person or class of persons an exemption from the provisions of this Act, or any such provision, on such terms and conditions as the Governor thinks fit, and may by subsequent Order in Council revoke or vary any such exemption.
Where a person is granted an exemption under this section subject to a condition and that condition is not observed in relation to any circumstances, that exemption shall be deemed not to have taken effect in relation to those circumstances and any transaction connected therewith.
Any person, not being a person authorised by any other law to act in the engagement of seamen, who acts as an employment agent in placing any other person in employment as a member of the crew of a vessel engaged in maritime navigation, commits an offence.
The Minister is required, by notice published in the Gazette, to designate a person who is an executive officer of the Department as the Commissioner for the purposes of this Act.
The Commissioner may be referred to by a title specified by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette.
In this section —
executive officer has the meaning given by section 3(1) of the Public Sector Management Act 1994.
[Section 9A inserted: No. 28 of 2006 s. 93.]
Subject to any specific or general direction given by the Minister, this Act shall be administered by the Commissioner.
The costs and expenses incurred in the administration of this Act shall be defrayed out of the moneys provided by Parliament for that purpose.
[Section 10 amended: No. 98 of 1985 s. 3; No. 70 of 1990 s. 6.]
The provisions of the Financial Management Act 2006 and the Auditor General Act 2006 regulating the financial administration, audit and reporting of departments apply to and in respect of the Department for the time being responsible for the administration of this Act and its operations under this Act.
The annual report of the Department in which the Commissioner is employed is to include details of —
the number, nature, and outcome, of —
investigations and inquiries undertaken by, or at the direction of, the Commissioner for the purposes of this Act; and
matters that have been brought before the State Administrative Tribunal under this Act;
and
the number and nature of matters referred to in paragraph (a) that are outstanding; and
any trends or special problems that may have emerged; and
forecasts of the workload of the Commissioner in performing functions under this Act in the year after the year to which the report relates; and
any proposals for improving the performance of the Commissioner’s functions under this Act.
[Section 10A inserted: No. 98 of 1985 s. 3; amended: No. 55 of 2004 s. 277; No. 77 of 2006 Sch. 1 cl. 56(1).]
[11. Deleted: No. 55 of 2004 s. 278.]
There shall be appointed under and subject to Part 3 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994 such officers and other persons as are necessary for the administration of this Act.
[Section 11A inserted: No. 70 of 1990 s. 5; amended: No. 32 of 1994 s. 3(2).]
[11B-11D. Deleted: No. 55 of 2004 s. 279.]
Any proceedings for an offence against this Act may be instituted and conducted by the Commissioner or any person appointed by the Commissioner to institute and conduct proceedings on his behalf.
[Section 11E inserted: No. 70 of 1990 s. 5; No. 55 of 2004 s. 280.]
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