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Queensland
COAL LEGISLATION
AMENDMENT BILL 1997
Queensland
COAL LEGISLATION AMENDMENT
BILL 1997
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF THE COAL MINING ACT 1925
3 Act amended in pt 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Amendment of s 4 (Interpretation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 Amendment of s 74 (Inquiries into accidents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6 Omission of s 76 (Rescue brigade) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7 Insertion of new pts 4A and 4B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
PART 4A--MINES RESCUE
Division 1--Preliminary
103A Objects of pt 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
103B Definitions for pt 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
103C Meaning of "mines rescue capability" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
103D Meaning of "mines rescue agreement" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Division 2--Obligations of mine owners and users
Subdivision 1--All owners
103E Owner must be a party to a mines rescue agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
103F Owner must contribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Subdivision 2--Further obligation of underground mine owners
103G Provision of a mines rescue capability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2
Coal Legislation Amendment
Subdivision 3--Mine users
103H Mine not to be used if div 2 contravened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Division 3--Accredited corporations
Subdivision 1--Accreditation
103I Accreditation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
103J Accreditation conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
103K Refusal to accredit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
103L Amending, suspending or cancelling accreditations--grounds . . . . 13
103M Amending, suspending or cancelling accreditations--procedure . . 14
Subdivision 2--Functions and performance
103N Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
103O Performance criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
103P Reporting to Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Subdivision 3--Miscellaneous
103Q Accredited corporation must keep records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
PART 4B--APPEALS
103R Appeals against Minister's decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
103S How to start appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
103T Stay of operation of decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
103U Hearing procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
103V Powers of court on appeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
103W Appeal to District Court on questions of law only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
8 Insertion of new ss 109A and 110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
109A Delegation by Minister or chief executive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
110 Notices about coal industry statistics or information . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
9 Insertion of new s 116 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
116 Regulation-making power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
10 Insertion of new pt 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
PART 6--TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS FOR COAL
LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1997
Division 1--Transitional provisions for repeal of Coal Industry
(Control) Act 1948
117 Definitions for div 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3
Coal Legislation Amendment
118 Dissolution of former entity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
119 Transfer of assets and liabilities to the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
120 Transfer of Coal Industry Welfare Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
121 Transfer of Coal Industry Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
122 Coal Industry Employees' Severance Pay Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
123 Transfer of staff to the department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
124 Employees' rights and entitlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
125 Coal Industry Employees' Health Scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
126 Coal industry statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
127 Expiry of div 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Division 2--Transitional provisions for part 4A
128 Definitions for div 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
129 Former entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
130 Vesting of assets in first accredited corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
131 Duty to register vested assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
132 Liabilities of former entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
133 Proceedings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
134 Employees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
135 Expiry of div 2 and sch 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
11 Insertion of new sch 1, s 1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
1A Mines rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
12 Insertion of sch 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
SCHEDULE 2
LAND VESTED IN FIRST ACCREDITED CORPORATION
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF THE COAL AND OIL SHALE
MINE WORKERS' SUPERANNUATION ACT 1989
13 Act amended in pt 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
14 Omission of ss 5-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
15 Omission of s 15 (Powers of trustee) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
16 Omission of s 17 (Recovery of over payments of pensions and
lump sum benefit payments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
17 Omission of s 19 (Transitional) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4
Coal Legislation Amendment
PART 4--REPEALS AND SAVINGS
18 Repeals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
19 Application of Acts Interpretation Act 1954, s 20A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
MINOR AMENDMENTS
COAL MINING ACT 1925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
COAL AND OIL SHALE MINE WORKERS'
SUPERANNUATION ACT 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
1997
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the Coal Mining Act 1925 and the Coal and Oil Shale
Mine Workers' Superannuation Act 1989 and repeal the Coal
Industry (Control) Act 1948 and the Coal and Oil Shale Mine
Workers (Pensions) Act 1941 and for related purposes
s1 6 s4
Coal Legislation Amendment
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
ART 1--PRELIMINARY 2
P
title 3
Short
Clause 1. This Act may be cited as the Coal Legislation Amendment Act 1997. 4
5
Commencement
Clause 2. This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 6
ART 2--AMENDMENT OF THE COAL MINING 7
P
ACT 1925 8
amended in pt 2 9
Act
Clause 3. This part and the schedule amends the Coal Mining Act 1925. 10
of s 4 (Interpretation) 11
Amendment
Clause 4.(1) Section 4-- 12
insert-- 13
` "accredited corporation", for part 4A, means a corporation accredited 14
under section 103I(2). 15
"mine", for part 4A, see section 103B. 16
"mines rescue agreement", for part 4A, see section 103D(1). 17
"mines rescue capability", for part 4A, see section 103C. 18
"mines rescue services", for part 4A, see section 103N(a). 19
"party", to a mines rescue agreement, see section 103D(2). 20
s5 7 s5
Coal Legislation Amendment
"performance criteria", for part 4A, means the performance criteria fixed 1
under section 103O(1).'. 2
(2) Section 4, definition "owner", `means'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`means-- 5
(a) generally--'. 6
(3) Section 4, definition "owner", `mine.'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`mine; and 9
(b) for part 4A--see also section 103B.'. 10
of s 74 (Inquiries into accidents) 11
Amendment
Clause 5.(1) Section 74(1), after `4 persons'-- 12
insert-- 13
`("panellists")'. 14
(2) Section 74-- 15
insert-- 16
`(1B) Before an inquiry starts, the warden must choose a reserve for each 17
panellist. 18
`(1C) A panellist's position becomes vacant if, for good reason, the 19
panellist can not continue with the inquiry. 20
`(1D) If a vacancy happens and the panellist's reserve is able to fill the 21
vacancy, the warden must appoint the reserve to fill the vacancy. 22
`(1E) If the reserve can not fill the vacancy for good reason, the inquiry 23
may continue if there are 2 or more remaining panellists. 24
`(1F) The opinion of the remaining panellists and any appointee under 25
subsection (1D) has the same effect as if all the original panellists had 26
continued with the inquiry.'. 27
s6 8 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
of s 76 (Rescue brigade) 1
Omission
Clause 6. Section 76-- 2
omit. 3
of new pts 4A and 4B 4
Insertion
Clause 7. After part 4-- 5
insert-- 6
ART 4A--MINES RESCUE 7
`P
`Division 1--Preliminary 8
of pt 4A 9
`Objects
`103A. The main objects of this part are to-- 10
(a) ensure each underground mine owner provides a mines rescue 11
capability for the mine; and 12
(b) provide for accreditation of corporations to help underground 13
mine owners provide a mines rescue capability; and 14
(c) provide for the Minister to fix performance criteria for accredited 15
corporations; and 16
(d) ensure accredited corporations-- 17
(i) provide mines rescue services; and 18
(ii) meet the performance criteria. 19
for pt 4A 20
`Definitions
`103B. In this part-- 21
"accredited corporation" means a corporation accredited under 22
section 103I(2). 23
"mine" does not include a mine-- 24
(a) that has been abandoned; or 25
s7 9 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
(b) in which no person is employed. 1
"mines rescue services" see section 103N(a). 2
"owner" does not include the owner of a mine-- 3
(a) that has been abandoned; or 4
(b) in which no person is employed. 5
"party", to a mines rescue agreement, see section 103D(2). 6
"performance criteria" means the performance criteria fixed under 7
section 103O(1). 8
of "mines rescue capability" 9
`Meaning
`103C. "Mines rescue capability" means the ability to provide a 10
suitable number of trained persons and maintained equipment to allow 11
continuous rescue operations to take place and help the escape or safe 12
recovery of anyone from a mine if it has an irrespirable atmosphere. 13
of "mines rescue agreement" 14
`Meaning
`103D.(1) In this part, a "mines rescue agreement", for an owner, 15
means-- 16
(a) a written agreement that-- 17
(i) has been entered into between the owner and an accredited 18
corporation; and 19
(ii) if the owner is an underground mine owner--provides for 20
the corporation to help the owner provide a mines rescue 21
capability for the mine; and 22
(iii) remains in force; or 23
(b) if the owner is a member of an accredited corporation that is a 24
company limited by guarantee, not having a capital divided into 25
shares--the corporation's articles of association. 26
`(2) A person is a "party" to a mines rescue agreement if the person 27
is-- 28
(a) a party to an agreement mentioned in subsection (1)(a); or 29
s7 10 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
(b) a member of an accredited corporation mentioned in 1
subsection (1)(b). 2
2--Obligations of mine owners and users 3
`Division
`Subdivision 1--All owners 4
must be a party to a mines rescue agreement 5
`Owner
`103E. An owner must be a party to a mines rescue agreement for the 6
owner's mine. 7
Maximum penalty--1000 penalty units.1 8
must contribute 9
`Owner
`103F.(1) An accredited corporation may-- 10
(a) require contributions from each owner who is a party to a mines 11
rescue agreement with the corporation to allow the corporation to 12
provide mines rescue services; and 13
(b) fix different contributions from different owners-- 14
(i) who own the same class of mine; or 15
(ii) who own different classes of mine. 16
17
Examples of different classes of mine--
18
1. Underground mines.
19
2. Open cut mines.
20
3. Bord and pillar underground mines.
21
4. Longwall underground mines.
22
5. High-wall mines.
1 Under the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, section 181B (Corporation fines
under penalty provision), if a body corporate is found guilty of the offence, the
court may impose a maximum fine of an amount equal to 5 times the maximum
fine for an individual.
s7 11 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
`(2) Subsection (1) does not limit any other obligation an owner has to 1
pay an amount to the corporation. 2
`(3) An owner must pay all contributions the owner is required to pay 3
under subsection (1) at the times fixed by the corporation. 4
Maximum penalty--200 penalty units. 5
2--Further obligation of underground mine owners 6
`Subdivision
of a mines rescue capability 7
`Provision
`103G.(1) An underground mine owner must provide a mines rescue 8
capability for the mine. 9
Maximum penalty--1000 penalty units. 10
`(2) The obligation is in addition to any other obligation the owner has 11
under any law. 12
`(3) The owner discharges the obligation under subsection (1) by-- 13
(a) complying with any requirement about mines rescue capability 14
imposed on the owner under a regulation or rule; and 15
(b) ensuring the manager of the mine complies with any requirement 16
about mines rescue capability imposed on the manager under a 17
regulation or rule. 18
`(4) The owner commits an offence against subsection (1) on each 19
occasion that the owner fails to comply with the requirements of 20
subsection (3). 21
3--Mine users 22
`Subdivision
not to be used if div 2 contravened 23
`Mine
`103H. A person must not use a mine for mining while the owner of the 24
mine fails to comply with sections 103E to 103G in relation to the mine. 25
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 26
s7 12 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
3--Accredited corporations 1
`Division
`Subdivision 1--Accreditation 2
3
`Accreditation
`103I.(1) A corporation may apply to the Minister for a grant of 4
accreditation to provide mines rescue services. 5
`(2) The Minister may grant or refuse the accreditation. 6
`(3) However, before granting an accreditation, the Minister must be 7
satisfied-- 8
(a) the corporation is able to-- 9
(i) provide mines rescue services for every underground mine; 10
and 11
(ii) comply with the performance criteria; and 12
(b) the Minister is able to audit or monitor the mines rescue services 13
provided by the corporation and its compliance with the 14
performance criteria; and 15
(c) if the corporation fails to provide mines rescue services or comply 16
with the performance criteria--it has made suitable provision for 17
the Minister to remedy the failure by-- 18
(i) managing the corporation's mines rescue services; and 19
(ii) requiring contributions for the corporation under 20
section 103F(1)2 to allow the Minister to manage its mines 21
rescue services. 22
conditions 23
`Accreditation
`103J.(1) The Minister may accredit a corporation on conditions. 24
`(2) A condition may provide for the following-- 25
(a) security for the provision of mines rescue services for every 26
2 Section 103F (Owner must contribute)
s7 13 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
underground mine and compliance with the performance criteria; 1
(b) enforcement of the security, even if there is a penalty or liability 2
under this part; 3
(c) payment of any reasonable costs of remedying a failure by the 4
corporation to provide mines rescue services or comply with the 5
performance criteria. 6
`(3) (2) does not limit the conditions the Minister may 7
´Subsection
impose. 8
`(4) In subsection (2)-- 9
"security" includes mortgage, bond, insurance and surety. 10
to accredit 11
`Refusal
`103K. If the Minister refuses to accredit a corporation, the Minister 12
must give the applicant a written notice within 14 days stating the 13
following-- 14
(a) the decision; 15
(b) the reasons for the decision; 16
(c) that the applicant may appeal against the decision to a wardens 17
court within 28 days; 18
(d) how the applicant may start an appeal.3 19
suspending or cancelling accreditations--grounds 20
`Amending,
`103L. Each of the following is a ground for amending, suspending or 21
cancelling a corporation's accreditation-- 22
(a) the accreditation was obtained because of incorrect or misleading 23
information; 24
(b) the corporation has not provided a mines rescue service; 25
(c) the corporation can not provide mines rescue services for every 26
underground mine; 27
3 For how to start an appeal, see section 103S (How to start appeal).
s7 14 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
(d) the corporation has contravened the performance criteria or a 1
condition of the accreditation; 2
(e) the corporation has not reported to the Minister on its compliance 3
with the performance criteria; 4
(f) the corporation has committed an offence against this Act. 5
suspending or cancelling accreditations--procedure 6
`Amending,
`103M.(1) If the Minister considers a ground exists to amend, suspend 7
or cancel an accreditation (the "proposed action"), the Minister must give 8
the accredited corporation written notice stating the following-- 9
(a) the proposed action; 10
(b) the ground for the proposed action; 11
(c) an outline of the facts and circumstances forming the basis for the 12
ground; 13
(d) if the proposed action is to amend the accreditation (including a 14
condition of the accreditation)--the proposed amendment; 15
(e) if the proposed action is to suspend the accreditation--the 16
proposed suspension period; 17
(f) that the corporation may show (within a stated time of at least 18
28 days) why the proposed action should not be taken. 19
`(2) If, after considering all written representations made within the stated 20
time, the Minister still considers a ground exists to take the proposed action, 21
the Minister may-- 22
(a) if the proposed action was to amend the accreditation--amend the 23
accreditation; or 24
(b) if the proposed action was to suspend the accreditation--suspend 25
the accreditation for no longer than the period stated in the notice; 26
or 27
(c) if the proposed action was to cancel the accreditation--amend the 28
accreditation, suspend the accreditation for a period or cancel it. 29
`(3) The Minister must inform the corporation of the decision by written 30
notice. 31
s7 15 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
`(4) If the Minister decides to amend, suspend or cancel the accreditation, 1
the notice must state the following-- 2
(a) the decision; 3
(b) the reasons for the decision; 4
(c) that the corporation may apply within 28 days for the decision to 5
be reviewed; 6
(d) how the corporation may apply for the review; 7
(e) that the corporation may apply for a stay of the decision if the 8
corporation applies for a review. 9
`(5) The decision takes effect on the later of the following-- 10
(a) the day the notice is given to the corporation; 11
(b) the day stated in the notice. 12
`(6) Subsections (1) to (5) do not apply-- 13
(a) if the Minister proposes to amend the accreditation only-- 14
(i) for a formal or clerical reason; or 15
(ii) in another way that does not adversely affect the 16
corporation's interests; or 17
(b) if the corporation asks the Minister to amend the accreditation and 18
the Minister proposes to give effect to the request. 19
`(7) The Minister may amend an accreditation under subsection (6) by 20
written notice given to the corporation. 21
2--Functions and performance 22
`Subdivision
unctions 23
`F
`103N. An accredited corporation has the following functions-- 24
(a) providing the following services ("mines rescue services")-- 25
(i) helping each underground mine owner who is a party to a 26
mines rescue agreement with the corporation to provide a 27
mines rescue capability; 28
s7 16 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
(ii) providing mines rescue training programs; 1
(iii) providing staff and equipment to comply with 2
subparagraphs (i) and (ii) and the performance criteria; 3
(b) complying with the performance criteria; 4
(c) reporting to the Minister under section 103P4 on its compliance 5
with the performance criteria. 6
criteria 7
`Performance
`103O.(1) The Minister must fix mines rescue performance criteria for 8
the provision of mines rescue services for underground mines by an 9
accredited corporation. 10
`(2) The criteria must include that an accredited corporation-- 11
(a) provides appropriate mines rescue training programs; and 12
(b) provides equipment to perform its obligations under mines rescue 13
agreements; and 14
(c) ensures mines rescue equipment is maintained, tested and 15
certified to any specification by its manufacturer; and 16
(d) performs audits or other exercises to show the corporation's 17
ability to respond to an emergency; and 18
(e) provides an effective procedure for owners to help each other in 19
an emergency. 20
`(3) Subsection (2) does not limit the criteria. 21
`(4) The Minister must notify the criteria by gazette notice. 22
`(5) In subsection (2)-- 23
"mines rescue equipment" means equipment for use in an emergency by 24
the corporation or an underground mine owner who is party to a mines 25
rescue agreement with the corporation. 26
4 Section 103P (Reporting to Minister)
s7 17 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
to Minister 1
`Reporting
`103P.(1) Within 1 month after the end of each financial year, each 2
accredited corporation must give the Minister a written report about whether 3
it complied with the performance criteria in the year. 4
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 5
`(2) Also, the Minister may, by written notice, ask an accredited 6
corporation to give the Minister, within a stated time of at least 7 days, 7
stated documents or information about-- 8
(a) the corporation; or 9
(b) the mines rescue services provided by the corporation. 10
`(3) The corporation must comply with the request, unless it has a 11
reasonable excuse for not complying. 12
Maximum penalty--100 penalty units. 13
`(4) An accredited corporation must not give the Minister a report, 14
required documents or information it knows is false or misleading in a 15
material particular. 16
Maximum penalty--500 penalty units. 17
`(5) A complaint against a corporation for an offence against 18
subsection (4) is sufficient if it states the report, required documents or 19
information was `false or misleading' in a material particular. 20
`Subdivision 3--Miscellaneous 21
corporation must keep records 22
`Accredited
`103Q.(1) An accredited corporation must keep a record of the owners 23
who are party to a mines rescue agreement with the corporation. 24
`(2) If an owner who is a party to a mines rescue agreement with the 25
corporation asks, the corporation must give the owner a certificate stating-- 26
(a) that the owner is a party to a mines rescue agreement with the 27
corporation; and 28
(b) whether the owner has paid all contributions required by the 29
s7 18 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
corporation under section 103F(1).5 1
`(3) A certificate under subsection (2) signed by an officer of the 2
corporation is evidence of the matters stated in it. 3
ART 4B--APPEALS 4
`P
against Minister's decisions 5
`Appeals
`103R. The following persons (an "appellant") may appeal against a 6
decision of the Minister under the following provisions to a wardens court 7
under this part-- 8
(a) the applicant for accreditation--sections 103I and 103J;6 9
(b) the accredited corporation--section 103M.7 10
to start appeal 11
`How
`103S.(1) An appeal is started by the appellant-- 12
(a) filing a written notice of appeal with the wardens court at 13
Brisbane; and 14
(b) serving a copy of the notice on the Minister. 15
`(2) The notice of appeal must be filed within 28 days after the appellant 16
receives notice of the decision appealed against. 17
`(3) The court may at any time extend the period for filing the notice of 18
appeal. 19
`(4) The notice of appeal must state the grounds of the appeal. 20
5 Section 103F (Owner must contribute)
6 Section 103I (Accreditation)
Section 103J (Accreditation conditions)
7 Section 103M (Amending, suspending or cancelling accreditations--procedure)
s7 19 s7
Coal Legislation Amendment
of operation of decisions 1
`Stay
`103T.(1) A wardens court may stay a decision appealed against to 2
secure the effectiveness of the appeal. 3
`(2) A stay-- 4
(a) may be given on conditions the court considers appropriate; and 5
(b) has effect for the period stated by the court; and 6
(c) may be revoked or amended by the court. 7
`(3) The period of a stay given by the court must not extend past the time 8
when the court decides the appeal. 9
`(4) An appeal against a decision does not affect the operation or carrying 10
out of the decision unless the decision is stayed. 11
procedures 12
`Hearing
`103U.(1) Unless this part otherwise provides, the practice and procedure 13
for an appeal to a wardens court under this part must follow the procedure 14
under section 3678 of the Mining Act. 15
`(2) An appeal must be by way of rehearing, unaffected by the Minister's 16
decision. 17
`(3) In deciding an appeal, a wardens court-- 18
(a) is not bound by the rules of evidence; and 19
(b) must observe natural justice; and 20
(c) may hear the appeal in court or chambers. 21
of court on appeal 22
`Powers
`103V.(1) In deciding an appeal, a wardens court may-- 23
(a) confirm the decision appealed against; or 24
(b) set aside the decision and substitute another decision; or 25
8 Mining Act, section 367 (Practice and procedure of Wardens Court). Under
section 4 (Definitions) "Mining Act" means the Mineral Resources Act 1989.
s8 20 s8
Coal Legislation Amendment
(c) set aside the decision and return the matter to the Minister with 1
directions that the court considers appropriate. 2
`(2) In substituting another decision, the court has the same powers as the 3
Minister. 4
5
Example--
6
In an appeal against the Minister's decision to cancel an accreditation, the court
7
may decide to cancel the accreditation or to amend the accreditation by imposing
8
conditions.
`(3) If the court substitutes another decision, the substituted decision is 9
taken to be the decision of the Minister. 10
`(4) The court may make an order for costs it considers appropriate. 11
to District Court on questions of law only 12
`Appeal
`103W.(1) An appellant may appeal against the decision of a wardens 13
court to a District Court, but only on a question of law. 14
`(2) On hearing the appeal, the court may make any order for costs it 15
considers appropriate.'. 16
of new ss 109A and 110 17
Insertion
Clause 8. After section 109-- 18
insert-- 19
by Minister or chief executive 20
`Delegation
`109A.(1) The Minister or the chief executive may delegate their powers 21
under this Act to an appropriately qualified public service employee. 22
`(2) The Minister may delegate a power under a provision required under 23
section 103I(3)(c)9 to any appropriately qualified person for mines rescue 24
services. 25
`(3) In this section-- 26
"appropriately qualified" includes having the qualifications, experience or 27
standing appropriate to exercise the power. 28
9 Section 103I (Accreditation)
s9 21 s9
Coal Legislation Amendment
1
Example of `standing'--
2
A person's classification level in the public service.
about coal industry statistics or information 3
`Notices
`110.(1) The chief executive may, by written notice, require a person to 4
keep and give the chief executive statistics or other information in the 5
person's custody, possession or power about the coal industry. 6
7
Examples of matters the notice may require--
8
(a) the keeping and giving of records of production, disposal, sales and
9
employment numbers; and
10
(b) the compilation and giving of statistics, returns and other information,
11
including about attendance and absenteeism for work at coal mines; and
12
(c) that the records, statistics, returns or other information must be in an
13
approved form.
`(2) The chief executive may, by written notice, amend a notice. 14
`(3) The person must comply with the notice unless the person has a 15
reasonable excuse for not complying. 16
Maximum penalty--10 penalty units.'. 17
of new s 116 18
Insertion
Clause 9. Part 5, after section 115-- 19
insert-- 20
power 21
`Regulation-making
`116.(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations under this Act. 22
`(2) A regulation may-- 23
(a) be made about the health of persons employed or to be employed 24
at a coal mine, including about-- 25
(i) the appointment, qualifications and removal of doctors for 26
coal mines; or 27
(ii) pre-employment and periodic health assessments to decide a 28
person's fitness for work at a coal mine; or 29
s 10 22 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
(iii) the ownership, storage, confidentiality and release of health 1
assessments; or 2
(iv) reciprocity between coal mining operations; or 3
(b) create offences and fix penalties of not more than 20 penalty units 4
for each offence.'. 5
of new pt 6 6
Insertion
Clause 10. After part 5-- 7
insert-- 8
ART 6--TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS FOR COAL 9
`P
LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1997 10
`Division 1--Transitional provisions for repeal of Coal Industry 11
(Control) Act 1948 12
for div 1 13
`Definitions
`117. In this division-- 14
"commencement" means the commencement of the section in which it 15
appears. 16
"former Act" means the Coal Industry (Control) Act 1948. 17
"former entity" means The Queensland Coal Board established under the 18
former Act. 19
"trust fund" means a trust fund established by the Treasurer under the 20
Financial Administration and Audit Act 1977, section 11.10 21
of former entity 22
`Dissolution
`118. On the commencement, the former entity is abolished and its 23
members go out of office. 24
10 The Financial Administration and Audit Act 1977, section 11 (Powers of Treasurer
re trust and special funds)
s 10 23 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
of assets and liabilities to the State 1
`Transfer
`119. Subject to sections 120 to 122, on the commencement, the former 2
entity's assets and liabilities vest in the State. 3
of Coal Industry Welfare Fund 4
`Transfer
`120.(1) The Coal Industry Welfare Fund is closed. 5
`(2) The amount standing at credit in the fund immediately before the 6
commencement must be transferred by the Treasurer to a trust fund for the 7
welfare of mine workers, their dependants and mining communities. 8
of Coal Industry Fund 9
`Transfer
`121.(1) The Coal Industry Fund is closed. 10
`(2) The amount standing at credit in the fund immediately before the 11
commencement must be transferred by the Treasurer to a trust fund for the 12
benefit of the mining industry. 13
Industry Employees' Severance Pay Fund 14
`Coal
`122.(1) Amounts standing to the credit of the Coal Industry Employees' 15
Severance Pay Fund on 1 January 1998 must be paid under this section as 16
soon as practicable after 1 January 1998. 17
`(2) Each eligible corporation must be paid the amount worked out under 18
subsections (3) to (5). 19
`(3) The amount is the amount that would be payable to each eligible 20
corporation if-- 21
(a) every employee provided for in the corporation's severance 22
agreement was retrenched on 31 December 1997; and 23
(b) the retrenchment was because of technological change, market 24
forces or diminution of reserves. 25
`(4) Also, despite an agreement limiting payments to full years of eligible 26
service, an additional payment must be made for completed months of any 27
incomplete year of eligible service. 28
`(5) However, subsection (4) does not apply if the incomplete year of 29
s 10 24 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
eligible service is the employee's first year of service. 1
`(6) On the making of all payments under subsection (2)-- 2
(a) the Coal Industry Employees' Severance Pay Fund is closed; and 3
(b) any surplus remaining in the fund must be paid to the trust fund 4
mentioned in section 121(2); and 5
(c) each severance agreement is ended; and 6
(d) all rights and obligations under a severance agreement end. 7
`(7) In this section-- 8
"eligible corporation" means a corporation that on 31 December 1997-- 9
(a) has a current severance agreement; and 10
(b) employed a person provided for in the agreement. 11
"severance agreement" means an agreement with the former entity under 12
section 18(2B)11 of the former Act. 13
of staff to the department 14
`Transfer
`123.(1) This section applies to a person who, immediately before the 15
commencement, was an employee of the former entity. 16
`(2) If, immediately before the commencement, the person was 17
employed on conditions that most closely relate to a tenured employee, on 18
the commencement, the person becomes a tenured employee in the 19
department. 20
`(3) If, immediately before the commencement, the person was 21
employed on conditions that most closely relate to a temporary employee, 22
on the commencement, the person becomes a temporary employee in the 23
department. 24
rights and entitlements 25
`Employees'
`124.(1) This section applies to a person who-- 26
11 The Coal Industry (Control) Act 1948, section 18 (General powers and functions
of board)
s 10 25 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
(a) immediately before the commencement, was an employee of the 1
former entity; and 2
(b) on the commencement becomes an employee of the department. 3
`(2) On the commencement, the person's employment is on the same 4
conditions on which the person was employed by the former entity. 5
`(3) In addition, the person-- 6
(a) keeps all rights accrued or accruing to the person as an employee 7
of the former entity; and 8
(b) has the right to receive long service, recreation and sick leave and 9
similar entitlements accrued or accruing to the person as an 10
employee of the former entity. 11
`(4) The person's period of employment with the former entity is taken 12
to be an equivalent period of employment with the department for any law 13
about the rights or entitlements. 14
`(5) In addition, the person-- 15
(a) keeps all entitlements accrued or accruing to the person as a 16
contributor to a fund or as a member of a superannuation scheme 17
under a superannuation Act; and 18
(b) is taken to continue to be a contributor or member under the 19
superannuation Act. 20
`(6) In this section-- 21
"rights" includes rights accrued or accruing immediately before the 22
commencement against the former entity under section 15 of the 23
former Act.12 24
"superannuation Act" means the Public Service Superannuation Act 25
1958, State Service Superannuation Act 1972, Superannuation 26
(Government and Other Employees) Act 1988 or the Superannuation 27
(State Public Sector) Act 1990. 28
12 The Coal Industry (Control) Act 1948, section 15 (Secretary and officers)
s 10 26 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
Industry Employees' Health Scheme 1
`Coal
`125.(1) The Coal Industry Employees' Health Scheme Order 1993 2
made by the former entity under the former Act, as in force immediately 3
before the commencement, continues in force. 4
`(2) The order is taken to be a regulation made under this Act. 5
`(3) A reference in the order to the former entity is taken to be a reference 6
to the chief executive. 7
industry statistics 8
`Coal
`126.(1) The order (commonly called `Statspack') of the former entity 9
under the former Act published in the gazette on 25 May 1991 continues in 10
force. 11
`(2) A reference in the order to the former entity is taken to be a reference 12
to the chief executive. 13
`(3) The order-- 14
(a) is taken to be a written notice by the chief executive under 15
section 110;13 and 16
(b) may be amended by the chief executive. 17
of div 1 18
`Expiry
`127. This division expires on 31 December 1999. 19
`Division 2--Transitional provisions for part 4A 20
for div 2 21
`Definitions
`128. In this division-- 22
"changeover day" means the day this division commences. 23
"former entities" means the committees of management and rescue 24
brigades under section 76. 25
13 Section 110 (Notices about coal industry statistics or information)
s 10 27 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
"section 76" means section 76 14 of this Act as in force immediately before 1
the Coal Legislation Amendment Act 1997, section 615 commenced. 2
entities 3
`Former
`129. On the changeover day, each of the former entities is abolished and 4
its members go out of office. 5
of assets in first accredited corporation 6
`Vesting
`130. On the changeover day, the following vests in the first accredited 7
corporation-- 8
(a) the property immediately before the changeover day that was-- 9
(i) owned by or taken to be vested in the former entities; or 10
(ii) taken to vest in the members of each committee of 11
management under section 76; and 12
(b) the land in schedule 2. 13
to register vested assets 14
`Duty
`131.(1) This section applies to the registrar of titles or other person with 15
registration functions for property vested under section 130 in the first 16
accredited corporation. 17
`(2) If the corporation asks, the registrar or other person must register or 18
give effect to the vesting. 19
`(3) Fees and charges are not payable for a request under subsection (2). 20
of former entities 21
`Liabilities
`132.(1) On the changeover day, the liabilities of the former entities vest 22
in the State. 23
14 Section 76 (Rescue brigade)
15 The Coal Legislation Amendment Act 1997, section 6 (Omission of s 76 (Rescue
brigade))
s 10 28 s 10
Coal Legislation Amendment
`(2) The State must discharge a liability vested in it for an entitlement of 1
an employee of the former entities by paying the amount of the entitlement 2
to the first accredited corporation. 3
`(3) In subsection (2)-- 4
"entitlement" does not include an entitlement to long service leave and 5
superannuation. 6
7
`Proceedings
`133.(1) A proceeding by or against a former entity that has not ended 8
before the changeover day may be continued by or against the State. 9
`(2) If a proceeding could have been taken by or against a former entity, 10
if the entity had continued to exist, the proceeding may be taken by or 11
against the State. 12
13
`Employees
`134.(1) A person employed by a former entity immediately before the 14
changeover day becomes an employee of the first accredited corporation. 15
`(2) The person has the right against the corporation to all existing and 16
accruing rights of employment that the person had immediately before the 17
changeover day against the former entity. 18
`(3) However, after the changeover day the rights are subject to any 19
employment law. 20
`(4) For any employment law, the person's period of employment with 21
the former entity is taken to be an equivalent period of employment with the 22
corporation. 23
`(5) In this section-- 24
"employment law" means the Workplace Relations Act 1997 or any other 25
law that applies to the rights or entitlements of a person as an employee 26
of the corporation. 27
s 11 29 s 12
Coal Legislation Amendment
of div 2 and sch 2 1
`Expiry
`135. This division and schedule 2 expire 1 year after the changeover 2
day.'. 3
of new sch 1, s 1A 4
Insertion
Clause 11. Schedule 1, after section 1-- 5
insert-- 6
rescue 7
`Mines
`1A. Mines rescue capability or the provision of mines rescue services 8
under part 4A.'. 9
of sch 2 10
Insertion
Clause 12. After schedule 1-- 11
insert-- 12
CHEDULE 2 13
`S
AND VESTED IN FIRST ACCREDITED 14
`L
CORPORATION 15
section 130 16
1. Lot 2 on SP102351 being part of Reserve R2677 (Departmental and 17
Official Purpose), Parish of Goodna, County of Stanley containing an 18
area of approximately 3 046 m2 19
Title reference: 49011894 20
Trustee: Director-General, Department of Mines and Energy 21
2. Lot 33 on Crown Plan B337151, Parish of Blackwater, County of 22
Humboldt containing an area of approximately 700 m2 23
Title reference: 50103894 (Estate in Fee Simple) 24
Holder: The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of 25
Mines and Energy) 26
s 12 30 s 12
Coal Legislation Amendment
3. Lot 1 on Crown Plan D111222, Parish of Dunsmore, County of Cairns 1
containing an area of approximately 1 286 m2 2
Title reference: 50174109 (Estate in Fee Simple) 3
Holder: The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of 4
Mines and Energy) 5
4. Lot 12 on Crown Plan B337153 being Reserve R120 (Building 6
Purpose), Parish of Blackwater, County of Humboldt containing an area 7
of approximately 4 047 m2 8
Title reference: 49010607 9
Trustee: Central Queensland Mines Rescue Brigade 10
5. Lot 402 on Crown Plan SL4877 being Reserve R1198 (Mines Rescue 11
Station Purpose), Parish of Ipswich, County of Stanley containing an 12
area of approximately 4 975 m2 13
Title reference: 49001309 14
Trustee: Director-General, Department of Mines and Energy as listed in 15
the Government Land Register 16
6. Lot 675 on RC748450, Parish of Springlands, County of Drake 17
containing an area of approximately 4 303 m2 18
Title reference: 50184939 (Estate in Fee Simple) 19
Holder: The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of 20
Mines and Energy) 21
7. Lot 5 on Crown Plan D1112111 being Reserve R99 (Mines Rescue 22
Purpose), Parish of Dunsmore, County of Cairns containing an area of 23
approximately 7 131 m2 24
Title reference: 49015234 25
Trustee: Director-General, Department of Mines and Energy 26
8. Lot 42 on Crown Plan M86338 being Reserve R128 (Departmental and 27
Official Purpose), Parish of Moura, County of Ferguson containing an 28
area of approximately 9 701 m2 29
Title reference: 49011258 30
Trustee: Director-General, Department of Mines and Energy as listed in 31
the Government Land Register 32
9. Lot 43 on Crown Plan M86338 being Reserve R134 (Building 33
Purpose), Parish of Moura, County of Ferguson containing an area of 34
approximately 1 619 m2 35
s 13 31 s 16
Coal Legislation Amendment
Title reference: 49011912 1
Trustee: Central Queensland Mines Rescue Brigade 2
10. Lot 78 on Crown Plan 901715, Parish of Moranbah, County of 3
Grosvenor, containing an area of approximately 7 578 m2 4
Title reference: 50167118 (Estate in Fee Simple) 5
Holder: The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of 6
Mines and Energy)'. 7
PART 3--AMENDMENT OF THE COAL AND OIL 8
SHALE MINE WORKERS' SUPERANNUATION ACT 9
1989 10
amended in pt 3 11
Act
Clause 13. This part and the schedule amends the Coal and Oil Shale Mine 12
Workers' Superannuation Act 1989. 13
of ss 5-12 14
Omission
Clause 14. Sections 5 to 12-- 15
omit. 16
of s 15 (Powers of trustee) 17
Omission
Clause 15. Section 15-- 18
omit. 19
of s 17 (Recovery of over payments of pensions and lump 20
Omission
sum benefit payments) 21
Clause 16. Section 17-- 22
omit. 23
s 17 32 s 19
Coal Legislation Amendment
of s 19 (Transitional) 1
Omission
Clause 17. Section 19-- 2
omit. 3
ART 4--REPEALS AND SAVINGS 4
P
5
Repeals
Clause 18. The following Acts are repealed-- 6
(a) the Coal Industry (Control) Act 1948; 7
(b) the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Pensions) Act 1941. 8
of Acts Interpretation Act 1954, s 20A 9
Application
Clause 19. The Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Pensions) Act 1941 is 10
declared to be a law to which the Acts Interpretation Act 1954, 11
section 20A16 applies. 12
16 Acts Interpretation Act 1954, section 20A (Repeal does not end saving,
transitional or validating effect etc.)
33
Coal Legislation Amendment
SCHEDULE 1
ˇ
MINOR AMENDMENTS 2
sections 3 and 13 3
COAL MINING ACT 1925 4
´
1. Section 4, heading-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`Definitions'. 7
2. Heading `Officers' before section 6-- 8
omit. 9
3. Section 63(e), `he'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`the inspector'. 12
4. Part 5, heading, `provisions'-- 13
omit. 14
5. Heading `Penalties and procedure' before section 104-- 15
omit. 16
6. Section 115-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
34
Coal Legislation Amendment
SCHEDULE (continued)
`Rule is subordinate legislation 1
`115. A rule is subordinate legislation.'. 2
7. Schedule 1, part 1, heading-- 3
omit. 4
COAL AND OIL SHALE MINE WORKERS' 5
´
SUPERANNUATION ACT 1989 6
1. Section 4, heading-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`Definitions'. 9
2. Section 4-- 10
renumber as section 2. 11
3. Section 13-- 12
renumber as section 3. 13
4. Section 16-- 14
renumber as section 4. 15
5. Section 16, `section 13'-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`section 3'. 18
35
Coal Legislation Amendment
SCHEDULE (continued)
6. Section 18-- 1
renumber as section 5. 2
© State of Queensland 1997
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