Part 1Preliminary
1Name of
Act
This Act is the Animal Diseases
and Animal Pests (Emergency Outbreaks) Act
1991.
s 1: Subst 2008 No
33, Sch 1 [2]. Am 2012 No 31, Sch 1 [2].
2Commencement
This Act commences on a day or days to be
appointed by proclamation.
3Definitions
Words and expressions that are defined in the
Dictionary at the end of this Act have the meanings set out in that
Dictionary.
s 3: Am 1998 No 116,
Sch 2 [1]. Subst 2001 No 112, Sch 2.18.
4Crown bound by this
Act
(1)
This Act binds the Crown not only in right of New
South Wales but also, in so far as the legislative power of Parliament
permits, in all its other capacities.
(2)
Nothing in this Act renders the Crown, whether in
right of New South Wales or otherwise, liable to be prosecuted for an offence
against this Act or the regulations.
5Application of this Act to
land
(1)
This Act, in so far as it confers any function
that may be exercised in relation to land, applies to all land, whatever its
status.
(2)
In particular, this Act applies to premises,
areas and places:
(a)
that are the property of the Crown, or that are
dedicated or reserved for any purpose, or protected or otherwise dealt with,
under any other Act, or
(b)
the care, control, management or supervision of
which is vested in any statutory authority or other
person.
(3)
It is not necessary, in order for any premises,
area or place to be made a declared area or to be quarantined under this Act,
or for the validity of any order or the exercise of any power to enter
premises or of any other function conferred by this Act, to obtain the consent
of any person or body or to meet any requirements other than the requirements
of this Act.
s 5: Am 2008 No 33,
Sch 1 [3] [4].
6Application of this Act to
animals
(1)
This Act, in so far as it confers any function
that may be exercised in relation to animals, applies to all animals, whatever
their status and whether or not the property of the Crown or any
person.
(2)
In particular, this Act applies to
animals:
(a)
that are protected or otherwise dealt with under
any Act, or
(b)
the care, control, management or supervision of
which is vested by any Act in the Crown or any statutory authority or other
person.
(3)
It is not necessary for the validity of any order
under this Act for the destruction, confinement or other control or treatment
of, or otherwise affecting, any animal, or for the exercise of any other
function conferred by this Act in relation to animals, to obtain the consent
of any person or body or to meet any requirements other than the requirements
of this Act.
(4)
Nothing in this Act authorises wanton cruelty to
any animal.
s 6: Am 2008 No 33,
Sch 1 [3].
6AMeaning of “emergency
animal disease”
(1)
For the purposes of this Act, emergency
animal disease means any of the following:
(a)
bovine spongiform
encephalopathy,
(b)
foot and mouth disease,
(c)
rabies,
(d)
any other animal disease declared by the
Minister, by order in writing, to be an emergency animal disease for the
purposes of this Act.
(2)
An order by the Minister under this
section:
(a)
comes into force on the date that it is signed,
and
(b)
must be published in the Gazette within 14 days
after that date.
(3)
An order which has not been so published within
14 days after it was made is taken (unless it has already been revoked) to
have been revoked at the end of that 14-day period.
Editorial
note—
For orders published in the Gazette under this
section, or taken to have been published under this section (see clause 3 of
Schedule 1), see Gazettes No 89 of 13.7.2005, p 3699; No 148 of 2.12.2005, p
9896; No 180 of 7.12.2007, p 9455; No 2 of 2.1.2009, p 16; No 43 of 3.5.2011,
p 2739; No 90 of 16.9.2011, p 5523; No 49 of 19.4.2013, p 1002; No 25 of
7.3.2014, p 894, No 18 of 6.3.2015, p 700 (see also erratum in Gazette No 22
of 13.3.2015, p 710); No 8 of 5.2.2016, p 153; No 108 of 5.12.2016, p 3455 and
No 46 of 7.4.2017, p 1172.
s 6A: Ins 1998 No
116, Sch 2 [2]. Subst 2008 No 33, Sch 1 [5].
6BMeaning of “emergency
animal pest”
(1)
For the purposes of this Act, emergency
animal pest means any animal that is not indigenous to a
particular area and is an animal of a kind declared by the Minister, by order
in writing, to be an emergency animal pest for the purposes of this
Act.
(2)
An order by the Minister under this
section:
(a)
comes into force on the date that it is signed,
and
(b)
must be published in the Gazette within 14 days
after that date.
(3)
An order that is not published within 14 days
after it is made is taken (unless it has already been revoked) to have been
revoked at the end of that 14-day period.
Editorial
note—
For orders published in the Gazette under this
section see Gazettes No 49 of 19.4.2013, p 1002; No 25 of 7.3.2014, p 894 and
No 116 of 5.12.2014, p 4397.
s 6B: Ins 2012 No 31,
Sch 1 [3].
Part 9Miscellaneous
70Reasonable suspicion of
infection
(1)
For the purposes of this Act, an animal, place or
thing may reasonably be suspected of being infected with an emergency animal
disease if there is reason to think that an animal disease agent is present in
or on the animal, place or thing.
(2)
It is not necessary, in order to form a
reasonable suspicion that an animal is infected with an emergency animal
disease, for the animal to be exhibiting signs of the
disease.
(3)
An animal or thing may, for the purposes of this
Act, be reasonably suspected of being infected with an emergency animal
disease if it is or has been in or with a flock, group or herd, or is
travelling or has travelled on any land or place, or in a vehicle, in which
there was or is an animal infected with an emergency animal
disease.
(4)
This section does not prejudice any other
evidence or consideration by which an inspector or other person might
reasonably suspect that an animal, place or thing is infected with an
emergency animal disease.
s 70: Am 2008 No 33,
Sch 1 [60].
70AAReasonable suspicion of
emergency animal pest infestation
(1)
For the purposes of this Act, an animal, place or
thing may reasonably be suspected of being infested with an emergency animal
pest if there is reason to think:
(a)
that an emergency animal pest is present in or on
the animal, place or thing, or
(b)
that there is present in or on the place or thing
a vehicle or thing that has been in or on another place when an emergency
animal pest was present in or on that other place.
(2)
This section does not prejudice any other
evidence or consideration by which an inspector or other person might
reasonably suspect that an animal, place or thing is infested with an
emergency animal pest.
s 70AA: Ins 2012 No
31, Sch 1 [67].
70AFalse or misleading
statements
A person must not:
(a)
in any application for a permit or other
authorisation under this Act or the regulations, or
(b)
in complying with any requirement to provide
information to a person engaged in the administration of this
Act,
make any statement that the person knows, or could
reasonably be expected to know, is false or misleading in a material
respect.
Maximum penalty: 200 penalty units or
imprisonment for 6 months, or both.
Note—
Making a false claim for compensation under Part
7 of this Act is also an offence—see section 65.
s 70A: Ins 2008 No
33, Sch 1 [61].
71Proceedings for
offences
(1)
Proceedings for an offence under this Act or the
regulations are to be dealt with summarily:
(a)
before the Local Court, or
(b)
before the Supreme Court in its summary
jurisdiction.
(2)
Any such proceedings must be commenced not later
than 2 years from when the offence was alleged to have been
committed.
(3)
If proceedings are brought in the Local Court,
the maximum monetary penalty that the Court may impose for the offence is 100
penalty units or the maximum monetary penalty provided for the offence by this
Act or the regulations, whichever is the lesser.
s 71: Am 2001 No 121,
Sch 2.107. Subst 2008 No 33, Sch 1 [62].
71APenalty
notices
(1)
An authorised officer may serve a penalty notice
on a person if it appears to the officer that the person has committed an
offence under this Act or the regulations, being an offence prescribed by the
regulations as a penalty notice offence.
(2)
A penalty notice is a notice to the effect that,
if the person served does not wish to have the matter determined by a court,
the person can pay, within the time and to the person specified in the notice,
the amount of the penalty prescribed by the regulations for the offence if
dealt with under this section.
(3)
A penalty notice may be served personally or by
post.
(4)
If the amount of penalty prescribed for an
alleged offence is paid under this section, no person is liable to any further
proceedings for the alleged offence.
(5)
Payment under this section is not to be regarded
as an admission of liability for the purpose of, and does not in any way
affect or prejudice, any civil claim, action or proceeding arising out of the
same occurrence.
(6)
The regulations may:
(a)
prescribe an offence for the purposes of this
section by specifying the offence or by referring to the provision creating
the offence, and
(b)
prescribe the amount of penalty payable for the
offence if dealt with under this section, and
(c)
prescribe different amounts of penalties for
different offences or classes of offences.
(7)
The amount of a penalty prescribed under this
section for an offence is not to exceed the maximum amount of penalty that
could be imposed for the offence by a court.
(8)
However, subsection (7) does not authorise the
amount of a penalty prescribed under this section for any offence to exceed 10
penalty units.
(9)
This section does not limit the operation of any
other provision of, or made under, this or any other Act relating to
proceedings that may be taken in respect of offences.
(10)
In this section, authorised officer means:
(a)
a police officer, or
(b)
a person of a class prescribed by the regulations
as a class of person who may issue penalty notices under this
section.
s 71A: Ins 2008 No
33, Sch 1 [62].
72Offences by
corporations
(1)
If a corporation is convicted of an offence
against this Act or the regulations, the court deciding on a penalty for the
offence may, at its discretion, impose a penalty that is not more than 5 times
the penalty provided by this Act (apart from this section) for the
offence.
(2)
This section does not authorise the imposition by
the Local Court of a penalty exceeding 100 penalty
units.
s 72: Am 2007 No 94,
Sch 2.
73Offences by officers of
corporations
(1)
If a corporation contravenes a provision of this
Act or the regulations, each officer of the corporation is taken to have
contravened the provision if the officer knowingly authorised or permitted the
contravention.
(1A)
Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a
contravention of section 24 (4).
(2)
An officer of a corporation may be proceeded
against and convicted under a provision pursuant to this section whether or
not the corporation has been proceeded against or convicted under the
provision.
(3)
Nothing in this section affects a liability
imposed on a corporation for an offence committed by the corporation against
this Act or the regulations.
(4)
In this section, officer means a director of the
corporation or a person who is otherwise concerned in its
management.
s 73: Am 2011 No 2,
Sch 1.2.
73AService of
documents
(1)
A document that is authorised or required by this
Act or the regulations to be given to or served on any person may be given or
served by:
(a)
in the case of a natural person:
(i)
delivering it to the person personally,
or
(ii)
sending it by post to the address specified by
the person for the giving or service of documents or, if no such address is
specified, the residential or business address of the person last known to the
person giving or serving the document, or
(iii)
sending it by facsimile transmission to the
facsimile number of the person, or
(b)
in the case of a body corporate:
(i)
leaving it with a person apparently of or above
the age of 16 years at, or by sending it by post to, the head office, a
registered office or a principal office of the body corporate or to an address
specified by the body corporate for the giving or service of documents,
or
(ii)
sending it by facsimile transmission to the
facsimile number of the body corporate.
(2)
A document that is required or permitted to be
given to or served on the occupier of any particular premises may, if
addressed to the occupier of the premises (either by name or as the occupier),
be given or served:
(a)
by delivering the document or a true copy of it
to some person on those premises who is apparently over the age of 16 years,
or
(b)
if there is no person on those premises who can
be given or served with the document, by fixing the document or copy to some
conspicuous part of the premises.
(3)
Nothing in this section affects the operation of
any provision of a law or of the rules of a court authorising a document to be
given or served on a person in any other manner.
(4)
In this section:
occupier of premises includes a
person in charge or in apparent control of the premises.
premises includes place, area or
vehicle.
s 73A: Ins 2005 No
98, Sch 1.8.
74Non-compliance with order or
undertaking
(1)
If a person fails for any reason to comply with
an order of the Minister or an inspector that is lawfully given to the person
under this Act, an inspector may cause the direction given by the order to be
carried out.
(1A)
If a person fails for any reason to comply with a
requirement specified in an undertaking given in accordance with section 38A,
an inspector may cause the requirement given in the undertaking to be carried
out.
(2)
All reasonable costs and expenses incurred by an
inspector as a result of the failure of any person to comply with any such
order or undertaking may be recovered by the Minister from:
(a)
the person to whom the order was given or who
gave the undertaking, or
(b)
any other person who was responsible for that
person’s failure to comply with the order or
undertaking,
as a debt due and owing to the Crown in any court of
competent jurisdiction.
s 74: Am 1998 No 116,
Sch 2 [17]–[20].
75Protection of Minister,
inspectors and others
(1)
Nothing done or omitted to be done by the
Minister, an inspector or any other person in good faith in the exercise or
purported exercise of any function conferred by or under this Act subjects the
Minister, inspector or other person to any personal
liability.
(2)
This section extends to apply to anything done or
omitted to be done by a person who is requested by an inspector to provide
assistance to that inspector in the exercise or purported exercise of any
function conferred on the inspector, as if the thing were done or omitted to
be done by the inspector.
s 75: Am 2008 No 33,
Sch 1 [3] [63].
75AExclusion of personal
liability for information required to be provided under this
Act
(1)
If a person is required under this Act to provide
any information, the provision of that information by the person does not
subject the person personally to any action, liability, claim or
demand.
(2)
Without limiting subsection (1), a person is
required to provide information under this Act if:
(a)
the person is required to answer a question put
to the person under this Act, or
(b)
the person is required to give a notice or other
document under this Act, or
(c)
the person is required to produce a record or
other document under this Act.
(3)
Nothing in this section affects the criminal
liability of any person under this Act or any other Act or
law.
(4)
This section extends to any information that a
person was required to provide under this Act that was provided before the
commencement of this section, but does not extend to proceedings in respect of
the provision of such information that were brought before that
commencement.
s 75A: Ins 2004 No 2,
Sch 1.
76Protection of control
programs
(1)
The Minister may by order in writing certify
that:
(a)
an outbreak of an emergency animal disease or an
incursion of an emergency animal pest exists in any part of New South Wales,
or
(b)
an outbreak of an emergency animal disease or an
incursion of an emergency animal pest exists in any other part of Australia
and it is necessary or expedient to take action or to make any declaration or
authorisation under this Act to prevent, or reduce the risk of, the spread of
the disease or pest to New South Wales.
(2)
When such an order has been made, no proceedings
for an injunction, or for any order in the nature of a prerogative writ or of
any other kind may be instituted or continued in any court against the
Minister, an inspector or any other person that would stop, prevent or
restrain the Minister, inspector or other person from taking or purporting to
take any action or making any declaration or authorisation under this Act in
relation to or in consequence of an outbreak or suspected outbreak of an
emergency animal disease or an incursion of an emergency animal pest whether
in New South Wales or any other part of Australia (as referred to in an order
under subsection (1) (b)).
(3)
An order under this section:
(a)
comes into force on the date it is signed,
and
(b)
must be notified in the Gazette within 5 days
after that date.
(4)
Nothing in this section prevents the institution
or continuation in any court of any action or proceedings to recover damages
in respect of any loss incurred or damage suffered as a result of any act or
omission in the negligent exercise or purported exercise by any person of a
function conferred by or under this Act.
s 76: Am 2008 No 33,
Sch 1 [63]–[65]; 2012 No 31, Sch 1 [68] [69].
77Posting of
signs
(1)
An inspector may place signs, in a form approved
by the Minister:
(a)
at any place at or near the boundary of any
declared area, to indicate the boundaries of the area or any restriction or
prohibition relating to the area, or
(b)
at any border of the State, to indicate that
border, or
(c)
at any place thought appropriate, to indicate the
effect of any order made or any quarantine undertaking given under this Act,
or
(d)
along roadways, to indicate that traffic should
stop.
(2)
The driver or person in charge of a vehicle
approaching a stop-sign placed pursuant to this section must stop the vehicle
and keep it stationary for the purpose of enabling an inspector to exercise
any of the functions conferred by or under this Act on an
inspector.
(3)
Any driver or person who wilfully contravenes
subsection (2), or who damages, defaces, removes or interferes with any sign
placed pursuant to this section, is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty
units.
s 77: Am 1998 No 116,
Sch 2 [21].
78Regulations
(1)
The Governor may make regulations, not
inconsistent with this Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by this
Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying
out or giving effect to this Act.
(2)
In particular, the regulations may make provision
for or with respect to:
(a)
the procedures for the valuation of domesticated
animals or property, and
(b)
the functions of particular inspectors or other
persons engaged in the administration of this Act, and
(c)
requiring persons to keep records relating to
matter relevant to the operation of this Act, and
(d)
the form of documents prepared for the purposes
of this Act, and
(e)
conditional or unconditional exemption of persons
from provisions of this Act or the regulations.
(3)
The regulations may create offences punishable by
penalties not exceeding 50 penalty units.
s 78: Am 2008 No 33,
Sch 1 [66].
79, 80
s 79: Am 1999 No 85,
Sch 4. Rep 2008 No 33, Sch 1 [67].
s 80: Rep 1999 No 85,
Sch 4.
81Savings and transitional
provisions
Schedule 1 has effect.
s 81: Ins 1998 No
116, Sch 2 [22]. Subst 2008 No 33, Sch 1 [68].
82Notes in
text
Notes included in this Act are explanatory notes
and do not form part of this Act.
s 82: Ins 1998 No
116, Sch 2 [22].