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Human Rights Commission Act 1999
Part V - Miscellaneous
42. Annual Report
43. Delegation of functions by Commission or Commissioner
44. Nature of delegation
45. Commissioners and employees to maintain secrecy
46. Protection from suit
47. Offences
48. Expenses and allowances
49. Regulations
Annual Report
(1) Without limiting the right of the Commission to report at any other time, the Commission must, within 3 months after the end of each financial year, furnish to the President a report on the exercise of its functions under the Constitution and this Act during the year, and must submit a copy to each House of the Parliament for laying before that House and for consideration by the relevant committee (if any) of that House.
(2) Following the tabling of the Annual Report in both Houses of the Parliament, the Commission must hold a public meeting at a time and place it fixes to discuss the contents of the Annual Report and the carrying out of its functions during the year.
Delegation of functions by Commission or Commissioner
(1) The Commission may from time to time by writing under the hand of the Chairperson, delegate to a Commissioner any of the functions or powers of the Commission under the Constitution or this Act, except the functions set out in section 42(2) of the Constitution and section 6 of this Act, this power of delegation, and the power to make any report under this Act.
(2) With the prior written approval of the Minister, any Commissioner may from time to time, by writing under his or her hand, delegate to any employee of the Commission any of the Commissioner's powers under this Act, except this power of delegation and the power to make any report under this Act.
Nature of delegation
(1) The following provisions apply to a delegation under section 43 -
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it may made to a specified person or to the holder for the time being of a specified office or to the holders of offices of a specified class.
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It may be made subject to such restrictions and conditions as the Commissioner or Commissioner thinks fit, and may be made either generally or in relation to any particular case or class of cases;
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It is revocable at will and no such delegation prevents the exercise of any function by the Commission or Commissioner, as the case may be;
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Until revoked, it continues in force according to its terms and if, in the case of a delegation by a Commissioner, the Commissioner by whom it was made ceases to hold office, it continues to have effect as if made by his or her successor.
(2) A person purporting to exercise any power of the Commission or of a Commissioner by virtue of a delegation under section 43 must, when required to do so, produce evidence of his or her authority to exercise the power.
Commissioners and employees to maintain secrecy
(1) Subject to this section, a Commissioner or any employee of the Commission who, either directly or indirectly and either while remaining or after ceasing to be a Commissioner or employee, makes a record of, or divulges or communicates to any person, any information acquired in the performance of his or her duties under this Act, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $1000.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent a Commissioner or an employee of the Commission from making a record of, or divulging or communicating to any person, information acquired by the Commissioner or the employee in the performance of his or her duties for purposes connected with the performance of the functions of the Commission under the Constitution or this Act.
(3) Subsection (1) does not prevent the Commission from disclosing in a report made under this Act any matter which in the Commission's opinion ought to be disclosed in the course of setting out the grounds for the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report.
(4) Subsection (1) does not prevent the Commission from disclosing information or making a statement to the public or a section of the public with respect to the performance of the functions of the Commission.
(5) The Commission must not, in disclosing information or making a statement under subsection (4), disclose the name of a complainant or aggrieved person or any other information that would enable the complainant or aggrieved person to be identified unless it is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.
Protection from suit
Neither the Commission, a Commissioner nor an employee of the Commission is liable to an action, suit or proceeding for or in relation to an act done or omitted to be done in good faith in exercise or purported exercise of a power or authority conferred by the Constitution or this Act.
Offences
(1) A person who refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse -
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to attend before the Commission or a Commissioner;
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to be sworn or make an affirmation;
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to furnish information;
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to produce a document, record or thing; or
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to answer a question,
when required to do so pursuant to this Act, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $1,000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
(2) A person who -
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without reasonable excuse, willfully obstructs, hinders or resists the Commission, a Commissioner or an employee of the Commission in the performance of their functions; or
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furnishes information or makes a statement to the Commission, a Commissioner or an employee of the Commission knowing that it is false or misleading in a material manner,
commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $1,000 and to imprisonment for 12 months.
Expenses and allowances
The Commission may, in its discretion, pay to -
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any person by whom a complaint has been made; or
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any person who attends or who furnishes information for the purposes of an investigation,
such amounts in respect of expenses properly incurred or by way of allowances or compensation for loss of time, as are payable under the Criminal Procedure Code to a witness attending at a trial or an inquiry at the High Court.
Regulations
The Minister may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed or that are convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.
Passed by the House of Representatives this 3 rd day of February 1999.
Passed by the Senate this 9 th day of March 1999.
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