Criminology Research

No. 15 of 1971

An Act to make provision for and in relation to the Promotion of Research in connexion with Criminology.

[Assented to 6 April 1971]

BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Part I.—Preliminary.

Short title.

1. This Act may be cited as the Criminology Research Act 1971.

Commencement.

2. This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.

Parts.

3. This Act is divided into Parts, as follows:—

Part I.—Preliminary (Sections 1–4).

Part II.—The Australian Institute of Criminology.

Division 1.—Establishment, Functions and Powers of Institute (Sections 5–7).

Division 2.—Board of Management of Institute (Sections 8–14).

Division 3.—Director, Acting Director and Staff of Institute (Sections 15–27).

Division 4.—Finances of Institute (Sections 28–33).

Part III.—The Criminology Research Council.

Division 1.—Establishment and Constitution of Council (Sections 34–39).

Division 2.—Functions and Powers of Council (Sections 40–43).

Part IV.—The Criminology Research Fund (Sections 44–48).

Part V.—Miscellaneous (Sections 49–51).

Definitions.

4. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—

“Acting Director” means an Acting Director of the Institute appointed under section 22 of this Act;

“appointed” includes re-appointed, and “appointment” has a corresponding meaning;

“approved bank” means the Reserve Bank of Australia or another bank for the time being approved by the Treasurer;

“criminological research” means research in connexion with—

(a) the causes, correction and prevention of criminal behaviour; and

(b) any related matter;

“the appropriate Minister”, in relation to a State, means such Minister of the Crown of that State as is prescribed, and includes any Minister of the Crown for the time being acting for and on behalf of that Minister;

“the Board” means the Board of Management of the Institute established by section 8 of this Act;

“the Council” means the Criminology Research Council established by section 34 of this Act;

“the Director” means the Director of the Institute appointed under section 15 of this Act;

“the Fund” means the Criminology Research Fund established by section 44 of this Act;

“the Institute” means the Australian Institute of Criminology established by section 5 of this Act.

Part II.—The Australian Institute of Criminology.

Division 1.—Establishment, Functions and Powers of Institute.

Establishment of Institute.

5.—(1.) There is hereby established an institute to be known as the Australian Institute of Criminology.

(2.) The Institute—

(a) is a body corporate;

(b) shall have a seal;

(d) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(3.) The seal of the Institute shall be kept in such custody as the Board directs and shall not be used except as authorized by the Board.

(4.) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the seal of the Institute affixed to a document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.

Functions of Institute.

6. The functions of the Institute are—

(a) to conduct such criminological research as is approved by the Board;

(b) to communicate to the Commonwealth and the States the results of research conducted by the Institute;

(c) to conduct such seminars and courses of training or instruction for persons engaged, or to be engaged, in criminological research or in work related to the prevention or correction of criminal behaviour as are approved by the Board;

(d) to advise the Council in relation to needs for, and programmes of, criminological research;

(e) to provide secretarial and administrative services for the Council;

(f) to give advice and assistance in relation to any research performed wholly or partly with moneys provided out of the Fund;

(g) to give advice in relation to the compilation of statistics relating to crime;

(h) to publish such material resulting from or connected with the performance of its functions as is approved by the Board; and

(i) to do anything incidental or conducive to the performance of any of the foregoing functions.

Powers of Institute.

7. The Institute has power to do all things that are necessary or convenient to be done for or in connexion with the performance of its functions and, in particular, has power—

(a) to erect buildings;

(b) to occupy, use and control any land or building owned or held under lease by the Commonwealth and made available for the purposes of the Institute; and

(c) to accept gifts, devises and bequests made to the Institute, whether on trust or otherwise, and to act as trustee of moneys or other property vested in the Institute upon trust.

Division 2.—Board of Management of Institute.

Establishment and functions of Board.

8.—(1.) There is hereby established a board to be known as the Board of Management of the Australian Institute of Criminology.

(2.) The Board is charged with the general direction of the Institute.

Constitution of Board.

9.—(1.) The Board shall consist of—

(a) three members appointed by the Attorney-General; and

(b) three members appointed by the Council.

(2.) A member of the Board who is appointed by the Attorney-General holds office during the pleasure of the Attorney-General.

(3.) A member of the Board who is appointed by the Council shall cease to hold office one year after his appointment takes effect unless the appointment is sooner terminated, but he is eligible for re-appointment.

(4.) The Director or an Acting Director is not eligible for appointment to the Board.

(5.) An act or decision of the Board is not invalid by reason only of a vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the Board.

Deputies of members of Board.

10.—(1.) A member of the Board may—

(a) in the case of a member appointed by the Attorney-General—with the approval of the Attorney-General; or

(b) in the case of a member appointed by the Council—with the approval of the Council,

appoint a person, other than a member, to be his deputy.

(2.) A member may revoke the appointment of a person as his deputy, but the revocation is not effective until the member has given notice of it by writing under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General or to the Council, as the case requires.

(3.) The deputy of a member is entitled, in the event of the absence of the member from a meeting of the Board, to attend that meeting and, when so attending, shall be deemed to be the member of whom he is the deputy.

Travelling allowances.

11. There shall be paid to a member of the Board and to a deputy of a member, on account of his expenses in travelling to discharge the duties of his office, such allowances as are prescribed.

Chairman of Board.

12.—(1.) The Attorney-General shall appoint one of the members of the Board referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-section (1.) of section 9 of this Act to be the Chairman of the Board.

(2.) The Chairman may resign his office as Chairman by writing under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General.

Resignation of members of Board and deputies of members.

13.—(1.) A member of the Board who is appointed by the Attorney-General, or the deputy of such a member, may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General.

(2.) A member of the Board who is appointed by the Council, or the deputy of such a member, may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Chairman of the Council.

Meetings of Board.

14.—(1.) The Chairman of the Board or his deputy may convene meetings of the Board.

(2.) If neither the Chairman nor his deputy is available, the Attorney-General may convene a meeting of the Board.

(3.) The Chairman or his deputy shall preside at all meetings of the Board at which he is present.

(4.) At a meeting of the Board at which neither the Chairman nor his deputy is present, the members present shall elect one of the members appointed by the Attorney-General to preside.

(5.) For the purposes of a meeting of the Board, two of the members appointed by the Attorney-General and two of the members appointed by the Council constitute a quorum.

(6.) A member of the Board may, by writing under his hand, appoint another member or the deputy of another member as his proxy to attend and vote on his behalf at a meeting of the Board at which neither the first-mentioned member nor his deputy is present.

(7.) At a meeting of the Board—

(a) all decisions shall be made by a majority of votes of the members voting, whether personally or by proxy; and

(b) the member presiding has a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, also has a casting vote.

Division 3.—Director, Acting Director and Staff of Institute.

Director of Institute.

15.—(1.) There shall be a Director of the Institute, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General.

(2.) The appointment of the Director is subject to such terms and conditions (if any) in respect of matters not provided for by this Act as are determined by the Governor-General.

Functions of Director.

16. Subject to the general direction exercised by the Board, the Director shall manage the affairs of the Institute.

Tenure of office of Director.

17.—(1.) Subject to this Act, the person appointed as the Director holds office for such period, not exceeding seven years, as is specified in the instrument of his appointment, but he is eligible for re-appointment.

(2.) A person who has attained the age of sixty-five years shall not be appointed as the Director.

(3.) A person shall not be appointed as the Director for a period that extends beyond the date on which he will attain the age of sixty-five years.

(4.) The Director may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor-General, but the resignation does not have effect until it is accepted by the Governor-General.

Salary and allowances of Director.

18.—(1.) The Director shall be paid such salary and such annual allowance (if any) as the Parliament fixes, but, until the thirty-first day of December, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-one, the salary and annual allowance (if any) shall be as prescribed.

(2.) The Director shall be paid such other allowances as are prescribed.

Leave of absence of Director.

19. The Attorney-General may grant leave of absence to the Director upon such terms and conditions as to payment of salary or otherwise as the Attorney-General determines.

Termination of appointment of Director.

20. The Governor-General may terminate the appointment of the Director for misbehaviour or physical or mental incapacity.

Vacation of office of Director.

21. If the Director—

(a) becomes bankrupt, applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors, compounds with his creditors or makes an assignment of his remuneration for their benefit; or

(b) is absent from duty, except on leave granted by the Attorney-General, for fourteen consecutive days or for twenty-eight days in any twelve months,

the Governor-General shall remove him from office.

Acting Director of Institute.

22.—(1.) Where—

(a) there is a vacancy in the office of Director, whether or not an appointment has previously been made to the office; or

(b) the Director is, or is about to be, absent or, for any reason, unable to perform the functions of his office,

the Attorney-General may appoint a person who has not attained the age of sixty-five years to act as the Director until the filling of the vacancy or during the absence or inability.

(2.) The Attorney-General may—

(a) subject to this Act, determine the terms and conditions of appointment of an Acting Director; and

(b) at any time, terminate such an appointment.

(3.) The appointment of an Acting Director made in anticipation of the absence or inability of the Director has effect from and including the day on which the absence or inability commences.

(4.) The appointment of an Acting Director ceases to have effect if—

(a) he attains the age of sixty-five years; or

(b) he resigns the appointment by writing under his hand addressed to the Attorney-General and the resignation is accepted by the Attorney-General.

(5.) While the appointment of an Acting Director remains in force, he has, and may exercise, all the powers and shall perform all the functions of the Director.

Appointment of staff of Institute.

23.—(1.) The Director may, on behalf of the Institute and with the approval of the Attorney-General, appoint as employees of the Institute such persons as he thinks are necessary for the purposes of this Part.

(2.) The terms and conditions of employment of employees of the Institute are, subject to this Act, such as are from time to time determined by the Director with the approval of the Attorney-General.

Preservation of rights.

24. Where, immediately before his appointment under this Act, the Director or an employee of the Institute was an officer of the Public Service of the Commonwealth—

(a) he retains his existing and accruing rights;

(b) for the purpose of determining those rights, his service under this Act shall be taken into account as if it were service in the Public Service of the Commonwealth; and

(c) the Officers’ Rights Declaration Act 1928–1969 applies as if this Act and this section had been specified in the Schedule to that Act.

Application of Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Act.

25. The Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Act 1930–1970 applies to the Director, to any Acting Director and to the employees of the Institute as if they were employees within the meaning of that Act and as if references in that Act to the Commonwealth were references to the Institute.

Application of Superannuation Act.

26. For the purposes of sub-sections (3a.) and (4.) of section 4 of the Superannuation Act 1922–1969, a person holding office as the Director shall be deemed to be required, by the terms of his appointment, to give the whole of his time to the duties of his office.

Application of certain Acts.

27. The Institute is—

(a) an approved authority for the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1922–1969;

(b) a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of the Air Accidents (Commonwealth Liability) Act 1963–1970; and

Division 4.—Finances of Institute.

Moneys payable to Institute, and estimates of expenditure.

28.—(1.) There are payable to the Institute such moneys as are appropriated by the Parliament for the purposes of the Institute.

(2.) The Treasurer may give directions as to the amounts in which, and the times at which, moneys referred to in the last preceding sub-section are to be paid to the Institute.

(3.) The Director shall, not later than the first day of April in each year, submit to the Attorney-General estimates of the expenditure of the Institute to be incurred during the financial year commencing on the next following first day of July.

(4.) Moneys of the Institute shall not be expended by the Institute otherwise than in accordance with estimates of expenditure approved by the Treasurer.

Limit on contracts.

29. The Institute shall not, except with the approval of the Attorney-General, enter into a contract involving the payment by the Institute of an amount exceeding Fifty thousand dollars.

Bank accounts of Institute.

30.—(1.) The Institute may open and maintain an account or accounts with an approved bank or approved banks and shall maintain at all times, at least one such account.

(2.) The Institute shall pay all moneys received by it into an account referred to in this section.

Application of moneys of Institute.

31. The moneys of the Institute shall be applied only—

(a) in the discharge of obligations and liabilities of the Institute arising under this Act; and

(b) in the payment of any salary and allowances payable under this Part.

Proper accounts to be kept by Institute.

32. The Director shall cause to be kept proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the Institute and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorized and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Institute and over the incurring of liabilities by the Institute.

Annual reports of Institute.

33.—(1.) The Board shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, submit to the Attorney-General a report of the operations of the Institute during that year, together with financial statements in respect of that year in such form as the Treasurer approves.

(2.) Before submitting financial statements to the Attorney-General, the Board shall submit them to the Auditor-General, who shall report to the Attorney-General—

(a) whether the statements are based on proper accounts and records;

(b) whether the statements are in agreement with the accounts and records;

(c) whether the receipt and expenditure of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets, by the Institute during the year have been in accordance with this Act; and

(d) as to such other matters arising out of the statements as the Auditor-General considers should be reported to the Attorney-General.

(3.) The Attorney-General shall cause the report and financial statements of the Board, together with the report of the Auditor-General, to be laid before each House of the Parliament within fifteen sitting days of that House after their receipt by the Attorney-General.

(4.) The first report and financial statements of the Board under this section shall be submitted as soon as practicable after the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-two, and shall relate to the operations of the Institute during the period that commenced at the commencement of this Act and ended on that date.

Part III.—The Criminology Research Council.

Division 1.—Establishment and Constitution of Council.

Establishment of Council.

34.—(1.) There is hereby established a council to be known as the Criminology Research Council.

(2.) The Council—

(a) is a body corporate with perpetual succession;

(b) shall have a common seal;

(d) may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

(3.) The common seal of the Council shall be kept in such custody as the Council directs and shall not be used except as authorized by the Council.

(4.) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Council affixed to a document and shall presume that it was duly affixed.

Constitution of Council.

35.—(1.) The Council shall consist of seven members, of whom—

(a) one is to represent the Commonwealth; and

(b) one is to represent each State.

(2.) The member who is to represent the Commonwealth shall be appointed by the Attorney-General and holds office during the pleasure of the Attorney-General.

(3.) A member who is to represent a State shall be appointed by the Attorney-General upon the nomination of the appropriate Minister of that State.

(4.) If, and only if, the appropriate Minister of the State so requests, the Attorney-General shall remove from office the member representing a State.

(5.) The appointment of a member is not invalid by reason only of a defect or irregularity in connexion with his nomination.

(6.) The exercise of a power, or the performance of a function, by the Council is not invalid by reason only of a vacancy or vacancies in the membership of the Council.

Deputies of members of Council.

36.—(1.) A member of the Council may—

(a) in the case of the member appointed to represent the Commonwealth—with the approval of the Attorney-General; or

(b) in the case of a member appointed to represent a State—with the approval of the appropriate Minister of the State,

appoint a person, other than a member, to be his deputy.

(3.) The deputy of a member is entitled, in the event of the absence of the member from a meeting of the Council, to attend that meeting and, when so attending, shall be deemed to be the member of whom he is the deputy.

Chairman of Council.

37.—(1.) The Council shall elect one of the members of the Council to be the Chairman of the Council.

(2.) The Chairman ceases to hold office upon—

(a) the expiration of one year after his election; or

(b) his ceasing to be a member.

(3.) The Chairman may resign his office as Chairman by writing; under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General.

(4.) The Chairman is eligible for re-election.

Resignation of members of Council and deputies of members.

38.—(1.) The member of the Council who is appointed to represent the Commonwealth, or the deputy of that member, may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the Attorney-General.

(2.) A member of the Council who is appointed to represent a State, or the deputy of that member, may resign his office by writing under his hand delivered to the appropriate Minister of the State.

Meetings of Council.

39.—(1.) The Chairman of the Council or his deputy may convene meetings of the Council.

(2.) If neither the Chairman nor his deputy is available, the Attorney-General may convene a meeting of the Council.

(3.) The Chairman or his deputy shall preside at all meetings of the Council at which he is present.

(4.) At a meeting of the Council at which neither the Chairman nor his deputy is present, the members present shall elect one of their number to preside.

(5.) For the purposes of a meeting of the Council, the member representing the Commonwealth and four other members constitute a quorum.

(6.) A member of the Council may, by writing under his hand, appoint another member or the deputy of another member as his proxy to attend and vote on his behalf at a meeting of the Council at which neither the first-mentioned member nor his deputy is present.

(7.) At a meeting of the Council—

(a) all decisions shall be made by a majority of votes of the members voting, whether personally or by proxy; and

(b) the member presiding has a deliberative vote only.

Division 2.—Functions and Powers of Council.

Functions of Council.

40. The functions of the Council are to control and administer the Fund in accordance with Part IV. and, for that purpose, to examine, and determine the relative importance and urgency of, projects for which the expenditure of moneys from the Fund may be authorized.

Powers of Council.

41. The Council has power to do all things that are necessary or convenient to be done for or in connexion with the performance of its functions.

Proper accounts to be kept by Council.

42. The Council shall cause to be kept proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the Council and of the Fund and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of the Fund are correctly made and properly authorized and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of the Fund and the assets of, or in the custody of, the Council and over the incurring of liabilities by the Council.

Annual reports by Council.

43.—(1.) The Council shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each financial year, submit to the Attorney-General and to the appropriate Minister of each State a report of its operations during that year, together with financial statements in respect of that year in such form as the Treasurer approves.

(2.) Before submitting financial statements under the last preceding sub-section, the Council shall submit them to the Auditor-General, who shall report to the Attorney-General—

(a) whether the statements are based on proper accounts and records;

(b) whether the statements are in agreement with the accounts and records;

(c) whether the receipt, expenditure and investment of moneys, and the acquisition and disposal of assets, by the Council during the year have been in accordance with this Act; and

(d) as to such other matters arising out of the statements as the Auditor-General considers should be reported to the Attorney-General.

(3.) The Auditor-General shall send a copy of his report to the Auditor-General of each State.

(4.) The Attorney-General shall, as soon as practicable after the receipt of the report of the Auditor-General, cause a copy of the report to be sent to the appropriate Minister of each State.

(5.) The Attorney-General shall cause the report and financial statements of the Council, together with the report of the Auditor-General, to be laid before each House of the Parliament within fifteen sitting days of that House after their receipt by the Attorney-General.

(6.) The first report and financial statements of the Council under this section shall be submitted as soon as practicable after the thirtieth day of June, One thousand nine hundred and seventy-two, and shall relate to the operations of the Council during the period that commenced at the commencement of this Act and ended on that date.

Part IV.—The Criminology Research Fund.

Establishment of Fund.

44. There is hereby established a fund to be known as the Criminology Research Fund.

Bank account of Fund.

45.—(1.) The Council shall open and at all times maintain an account with an approved bank for the purposes of the Fund.

(2.) Payment into the account of moneys payable into the Fund shall be deemed to be payment of those moneys into the Fund.

Moneys payable to Fund.

46.—(1.) There shall be paid into the Fund, out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly, an amount of Fifty thousand dollars.

(2.) There shall also be paid into the Fund—

(a) any further moneys appropriated by law for the purposes of the Fund;

(b) any moneys paid by a State to the Commonwealth, or to the Council, for the purposes of the Fund;

(d) any other moneys derived by the Council as a result of its administration of the Fund; and

(e) any gifts or bequests made to the Fund or to the Council.

Application of moneys in Fund.

47.—(1.) Moneys in the Fund, other than moneys to which the next succeeding sub-section applies, shall be applied only—

(a) in the making of payments for use for such purposes of, or related to, criminological research (including the dissemination of information and advice, and the publication of reports, periodicals, books and papers, in connexion with criminological research and the results of criminological research) as are determined by the Council; or

(b) in the discharge of any obligations or liabilities of the Council arising under this Act.

(2.) Where a gift or bequest made to the Fund or to the Council is subject to conditions in relation to the purposes for which it is to be applied, the moneys paid into the Fund as a result of the gift or bequest, and any income derived from the investment of those moneys, shall be applied only for those purposes and subject to those conditions.

Investment of moneys in Fund.

48. Moneys in the Fund not immediately required for expenditure in accordance with the last preceding section may be invested in the name of the Council—

(a) in the case of moneys to which sub-section (1.) of that section applies—

(i) on fixed deposit with an approved bank;

(ii) in securities of, or guaranteed by, the Commonwealth or a State; or

(iii) in such other manner as the Treasurer, by instrument under his hand, approves; or

(b) in the case of moneys (including income) to which sub-section (2.) of that section applies—

(i) if the conditions referred to in that sub-section specify the manner in which the moneys are to be or may be invested—in accordance with those conditions; or

(ii) if those conditions do not specify the manner in which the moneys are to be or may be invested—in the manner specified in the last preceding paragraph.

Part V.—Miscellaneous.

Audit: Institute, Council and Fund.

49.—(1.) The Auditor-General shall inspect and audit—

(a) the accounts and records of financial transactions of the Institute;

(b) the accounts and records of financial transactions of the Council, including the accounts and records relating to the Fund;

(i) assets of, or in the custody of, the Institute; and

(ii) assets of, or in the custody of, the Council,

and shall forthwith draw the attention of the Attorney-General to any irregularity disclosed by the inspection and audit that is, in the opinion of the Auditor-General, of sufficient importance to justify his so doing.

(2.) The Auditor-General may, at his discretion, dispense with all or any part of the detailed inspection and audit of any accounts or records referred to in the last preceding sub-section.

(3.) The Auditor-General shall, at least once in each financial year, report to the Attorney-General the results of the inspection and audit carried out under sub-section (1.) of this section.

(4.) The Auditor-General shall send to the Auditor-General of each State a copy of so much of any such report as relates to matters referred to in paragraph (b), or in sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (c), of sub-section (1.) of this section.

(5.) The Auditor-General or an officer authorized by him is entitled at all reasonable times to full and free access to all accounts, records, documents and papers of the Institute or the Council relating directly or indirectly to the receipt or payment of moneys, or the acquisition, receipt, custody or disposal of assets, by the Institute or the Council respectively.

(6.) The Auditor-General or an officer authorized by him may make copies of, or take extracts from, any such accounts, records, documents or papers.

(7.) The Auditor-General or an officer authorized by him may require any person to furnish him with such information in the possession of the person or to which the person has access as the Auditor-General or authorized officer considers necessary for the purposes of the functions of the Auditor-General under this Act, and the person shall comply with the requirement.

(8.) A person who contravenes the last preceding sub-section is guilty of an offence punishable, upon conviction, by a fine not exceeding Two hundred dollars.

Exemption from taxations Institute, Council and Fund.

50. The transactions of the Institute and of the Council and the income and transactions of the Fund are not subject to taxation under any law of the Commonwealth, of a State or of a Territory of the Commonwealth.

Regulations.

51. The Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed or are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.