An Act to provide for the appointment of Trade Representatives for the Commonwealth and for other purposes
1 Short title [see Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the Trade Representatives Act 1933.
2 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
appoint includes re‑appoint.
determination means a determination under section 11.
Trade Representative means a Trade Representative appointed pursuant to this Act.
3 Appointment of Trade Representatives
(1) The Governor‑General may appoint one or more Trade Representatives of the Commonwealth.
(2) Subject to this Act, a Trade Representative holds office for such period as is specified in the instrument of his or her appointment, but is eligible for re‑appointment.
4 Trade Representatives who were not previously officers of Public Service
(1) A Trade Representative who was not, immediately prior to his or her appointment as a Trade Representative, a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 shall not be subject to the provisions of that Act.
4A Resignation
A Trade Representative may resign from office by instrument in writing and delivered to the Governor‑General.
5 Removal of Trade Representatives
(1) A Trade Representative to whom section 4 applies shall not be removed from office except by the Governor‑General on the grounds of proved misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.
(2) A Trade Representative shall be deemed to have vacated his or her office if he or she becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his or her creditors or makes an assignment of his or her remuneration for their benefit.
6 Duties of Trade Representatives
A Trade Representative shall carry out such instructions relating to the commercial, trading and general interests of Australia as the Trade Representative receives from time to time from the Minister.
8 Designation of Trade Representatives
A Trade Representative, in respect of whom a direction in writing is given under this section, shall have, in relation to the performance of his or her functions under this Act, such designation as the Minister specifies in the direction.
9 Trade Representatives not to engage in business
Except with the express permission in writing of the Minister, a Trade Representative shall not, while holding office whether within or without the Commonwealth, and whether for reward or otherwise, be or act as a director or agent of or hold any office in any company or syndicate whether incorporated or unincorporated or hold any other employment, or engage in any business.
10 Trade Representative may appoint officers
(1) A Trade Representative may, subject to the regulations and subject to such directions as are given, in writing, by the Minister, appoint such officers as the Trade Representative thinks necessary for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Officers appointed by a Trade Representative in pursuance of this section shall not be subject to the provisions of the Public Service Act 1999.
11 Determination of conditions of service
(1) The Minister may make determinations in writing, not inconsistent with this Act, providing for and in relation to the terms and conditions of appointment of relevant persons.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), a determination may make provision for and in relation to:
(a) the remuneration of relevant persons;
(b) the payment of allowances and other pecuniary benefits, not being allowances or benefits by way of remuneration, to and in respect of relevant persons;
(c) the payment of allowances and other pecuniary benefits to and in respect of members of the families of relevant persons;
(d) leave of absence and long service leave of relevant persons; and
(e) the provision of other benefits to and in respect of relevant persons and to and in respect of members of the families of relevant persons.
(3) Determinations may be made either generally or with respect to a particular case or a particular class of cases.
(4) A determination may make provision for or in relation to a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification:
(a) a provision of any Act or any regulation made under an Act, or of any determination made under this section or section 24 of the Public Service Act 1999, as in force at a particular time or as in force from time to time; or
(b) any matter contained in any other instrument or writing as in force or existing at the time when the determination takes effect.
(5) A determination takes effect:
(a) on the day on which it is made; or
(b) in a case where another day (which may be a day earlier than the day on which it is made) is specified for the purpose in the determination—on the day so specified.
(6) A determination shall not be expressed to take effect on a day earlier than the day on which it is made in any case where, if the determination so took effect:
(a) the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth) existing immediately before the last‑mentioned day would be affected in a manner prejudicial to the person; or
(b) liabilities would be imposed on a person (other than the Commonwealth) in respect of anything done or omitted to be done before that last‑mentioned day, and where, in a determination, any provision is made in contravention of this subsection, the provision is void and of no effect.
(7) The determinations made in each calendar year (including determinations amending or revoking other determinations) shall be numbered in regular arithmetic series, beginning with the number 1, as nearly as possible in the order in which they are made.
(8) A determination may, without prejudice to any other manner of citation, be cited by reference to its number and the calendar year in which it was made.
(9) The Minister shall cause to be published in the Gazette, in respect of each determination, notice of:
(a) the fact that the determination has been made; and
(b) the place or places where copies of the determination can be obtained.
(10) A reference in this section to a member of the family of a relevant person includes a reference to a member of the household, and a dependant of, a relevant person.
(11) For the purposes of this section, the members of a person’s family are taken to include the following (without limitation):
(a) a de facto partner of the person (within the meaning of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901);
(b) someone who is the child of the person, or of whom the person is the child, because of the definition of child in this section;
(c) anyone else who would be a member of the person’s family if someone mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) is taken to be a member of the person’s family.
(12) In this section:
child: without limiting who is a child of a person for the purposes of this Act, someone is the child of a person if he or she is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975.
relevant person means:
(a) a Trade Representative; or
(b) an officer appointed under section 10.
11A Tabling, disallowance, etc. of determinations
(1) Subject to subsection (2), sections 48 (other than paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) and subsection (2)), 49 and 50 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 apply in relation to determinations as if, in those sections, references to regulations were references to determinations and references to a regulation were references to a provision of a determination.
(2) Determinations are not statutory rules within the meaning of the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903.
11B Evidence
For the purposes of section 5 of the Evidence Act 1905, a determination shall be deemed to be an order made by a Minister.
11C Delegation
(1) The Governor‑General may, by writing signed by the Governor‑General, delegate to the Minister or a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 performing duties in the Department all or any of the Governor‑General’s powers under this Act, other than this power of delegation.
(2) The Minister may, by writing signed by the Minister, delegate to a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 performing duties in the Department all or any of the Minister’s powers under this Act, other than this power of delegation.
(3) A delegation under this section may be made generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation.
(4) A power delegated under this section shall, when exercised by the delegate, be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to have been exercised by the person who made the delegation.
(5) A delegation under this section does not prevent the exercise of a power by the person who made the delegation.
(6) A delegation under this section continues in force notwithstanding a change in the occupancy of, or a vacancy in, the office of the person who made the delegation, but, for the purposes of the application of subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to a delegation under this section, nothing in this Act shall be taken to preclude the revocation or variation of the delegation by the same or a subsequent holder of the office.
12 Regulations
The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for giving effect to this Act.
(a) The Trade Representatives Act 1933 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1985, subsection 2(48) of which provides as follows:
(48) The amendments of the Trade Commissioners Act 1933 made by this Act shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
(b) The Trade Representatives Act 1933 was amended by Part VII (sections 45–59) only of the Australian Trade Commission (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 1985, subsection 2(1) of which provides as follows:
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), this Act shall come into operation on the commencing day.
Section 3 of the Australian Trade Commission Act 1985 defines commencing day as the day fixed by Proclamation for the purposes of subsection 2(2) of that Act. The date fixed was 6 January 1986 (see Gazette 1985, No. S551, p. 1).
(c) The Australian Trade Commission (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 1985 was amended by section 3 only of the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No. 1) 1986, subsection 2(3) of which provides as follows:
(3) The amendments of sections 56 and 57 of the Australian Trade Commission (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 1985 made by this Act shall come into operation, or shall be deemed to have come into operation, as the case may be, immediately after those sections come or came into operation.
The date fixed was 6 January 1986.
(d) The Trade Representatives Act 1933 was amended by Schedule 1 (items 956–960) only of the Public Employment (Consequential and Transitional) Amendment Act 1999, subsections 2(1) and (2) of which provide as follows:
(1) In this Act, commencing time means the time when the Public Service Act 1999 commences.
(2) Subject to this section, this Act commences at the commencing time.
