General administration, and the powers and duties of the Commissioner
7 General administration, and the powers and duties of the Commissioner
The functions of the Commissioner are —
to advise the Minister as to the administration of this Act generally and in relation to particular matters; and
to administer this Act and to investigate and prosecute contraventions.
Other than in relation to the power of the Commissioner to fix maximum prices or maximum rates pursuant to section 12, the Minister may, from time to time and either generally or with respect to a particular matter, give directions to the Commissioner with respect to his functions, or as to the exercise of his powers or the carrying out of his duties, and the Commissioner shall give effect to those directions.
The Commissioner shall —
monitor and keep under continuous review the prices and rates applicable in the State to petroleum products and petroleum services generally; and
keep the Minister fully informed, and when required report to him, concerning movements in those prices and rates.
For the purposes of this Act, the Commissioner —
shall make such inquiries or investigations, or seek such advice, as he considers necessary;
may cause notice of his intention to inquire into or investigate any matter to be published in a newspaper circulating throughout the State for the purpose of enabling persons and bodies to submit to him representations concerning that matter;
may take into account any representations, whether oral or documentary, made to him by persons who, in his opinion, have a substantial interest in a matter relating to the price of any petroleum products or the rate of any petroleum service or by any body which, in his opinion, represents a substantial number of persons who have such an interest;
may, in respect of any investigation, determine the extent, if any, to which —
he will hold proceedings in public; and
persons interested or claiming to be interested in a matter are to be allowed to be present or to be heard, either by themselves or by their representatives, or to cross‑examine witnesses or otherwise participate in the consideration of that matter;
and
may, unless otherwise directed by the Minister, determine the procedure to be used in relation to any investigation.
[Section 7 amended: No. 72 of 1983 s. 8 and 15; No. 98 of 1985 s. 3; No. 73 of 2000 s. 5; No. 28 of 2006 s. 116; No. 16 of 2025 s. 6.]
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