{"id":"electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999","name":"Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999","slug":"electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":31947,"registerId":"sa-electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999","content":"South Australia\nElectricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999\nAn Act to make provision for the restructuring and disposal of all or part of the assets of electricity corporations; to amend the Electricity Corporations Act 1994; and for other purposes.\n\nContents\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tApplication of Act\nPart 2—Preparatory action\n5\tPreparation for restructuring and disposal\n6\tAuthority to disclose and use information\n7\tEvidentiary provision\nPart 3—Restructuring and disposal\n8\tOrders to effect transfers, leases and other restructuring\n9\tSubcontracting performance of obligations to State-owned companies\n10\tConditions of transfer order\n11\tConversion of electricity corporation to State-owned company\n12\tVesting orders\n13\tDisposal of electricity assets and limitations on disposal\n14\tProvisions relating to sale/lease agreements\n15\tSubcontracting performance of obligations to purchasers\n16\tSpecial orders\n17\tTerms of leases and related instruments\n18\tGovernment guarantee\n19\tSupplementary provisions\n20\tEvidentiary provision\n21\tApplication of proceeds of sale/lease agreement\n22\tAuditor-General's report on relevant long term leases\nPart 4—Staff\n23\tTransfer of staff\n24\tSeparation packages and offers of alternative public sector employment\nPart 5—Licences under Electricity Act\n25\tLicences under Electricity Act\nPart 6—Miscellaneous\n26\tProvision of capital to State-owned company\n27\tContract or arrangement between electricity corporation and State-owned company\n28\tAmount payable by State-owned company in lieu of tax\n29\tRelationship of electricity corporation or State-owned company and Crown\n30\tElectricity infrastructure severed from land\n31\tRegistering authorities to note transfer\n32\tStamp duty\n33\tInteraction between this Act and other Acts\n35\tExclusion of Crown liability as owner etc of leased assets\n36\tEffect of things done or allowed under Act\n37\tRegulations\nSchedule 1—Special provisions\n1\tElectricity infrastructure taken not to have merged with land\n2\tStatutory easement relating to infrastructure\n2A\tBuilding and development work for substations and transformers regarded as complying\n3\tLiability of certain bodies to council rates or amounts in lieu of rates\n4\tETSA's inscribed debenture stock\n5\tAgreement between Minister and licensee about environmental compliance\n6\tProclamations\nSchedule 2—Conversion of electricity corporation to State-owned company\n1\tSteps before conversion of electricity corporation to company\n2\tMembership of the electricity corporation following conversion\n3\tContinuity of electricity corporation and construction of references to electricity corporation\n4\tProclamations\nSchedule 3—Amendments relating to superannuation\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1\tCommencement\nPart 4—Amendment of Schedule 1 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994\n4\tAmendment of Schedule\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999.\n2—Commencement\n\t(1)\tThis Act (other than section 13 and Parts 2, 3 and 4 of Schedule 3) will come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.\n\t(2)\tSection 13 comes into operation on the day on which this Act is assented to by the Governor.\n\t(3)\tParts 2, 3 and 4 of Schedule 3 will come into operation in accordance with provisions contained in that Schedule.\n3—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\nasset means—\n\t(a)\ta present, contingent or future legal or equitable estate or interest in real or personal property; or\n\t(b)\ta present, contingent or future right, power, privilege or immunity,\nand includes, in relation to a transfer made or lease granted by a transfer order, sale/lease agreement or special order, a present or future cause of action in favour of the transferor or lessor;\nauthorised project—see section 5;\nbody includes a Minister;\ncause of action includes any right to bring, defend or participate in legal proceedings;\ndispose of an asset includes grant a lease in respect of the asset;\ndocument includes a disc, tape or other medium in which information is stored;\nelectricity corporation means—\n\t(c)\tan electricity transmission corporation established under the Electricity Corporations Act 1994; or\n\t(d)\ta subsidiary of a body referred to in a preceding paragraph of this definition;\nelectricity infrastructure has the same meaning as in the Electricity Act 1996;\nemployee includes an officer;\nemployee transfer order—see section 23;\nETSA means ETSA Corporation established under the Electricity Corporations Act 1994;\ninstrument includes a written agreement, undertaking or understanding, a legislative instrument and a judgment, order or process of a court;\nlease includes—\n\t(a)\ta sub-lease or other derivative of a lease; and\n\t(b)\ta licence or an agreement to grant a lease or licence,\n(and lessor and lessee have corresponding meanings and include successors and assigns);\nleased asset means an asset in respect of which a lease is granted by a transfer order or sale/lease agreement;\nlegal proceedings includes an arbitration and an administrative proceeding;\nliability means a present, future or contingent liability (arising either at law or in equity) and includes—\n\t(a)\ta duty or non-pecuniary obligation; and\n\t(b)\tin relation to a transfer made or lease granted by a transfer order, sale/lease agreement or special order, a present or future cause of action against the transferor or lessor;\npublic lighting infrastructure means poles, equipment, fittings or wiring associated with the provision of lighting in a street or other public place;\npurchaser includes a person who acquires a leasehold interest or rights in respect of an asset;\nSAGC means SA Generation Corporation established under the Electricity Corporations Act 1994;\nsale/lease agreement—see section 13;\nsecurity means—\n\t(a)\ta mortgage or charge; or\n\t(b)\ta guarantee or indemnity; or\n\t(c)\tany other security for, or instrument relating to, the payment of money or the discharge of a liability;\nspecially issued licence means a licence under the Electricity Act 1996 issued in accordance with an order of the Minister under Part 5;\nspecial order—see section 16;\nState-owned company means—\n\t(a)\ta company incorporated under the Corporations Law all the shares of which are held by Ministers of the Crown, nominated by the Minister by notice in the Gazette as a State-owned company for the purposes of this Act; or\n\t(b)\ta subsidiary of such a company;\nstatutory corporation has the same meaning as in the Public Corporations Act 1993;\nsubsidiary, in relation to a body corporate, means—\n\t(a)\ta company that is a subsidiary of the body corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Law; or\n\t(b)\ta body corporate established as a subsidiary of the body corporate under the Public Corporations Act 1993; or\n\t(c)\ta company that is classified by the Minister by notice in the Gazette as a subsidiary of the body corporate;\ntransfer order—see section 8;\ntransferred asset means an asset transferred by a transfer order, sale/lease agreement or special order;\ntransferred instrument—see sections 8, 14 and 16;\ntransferred liability means a liability transferred by a transfer order, sale/lease agreement or special order;\nvesting order—see section 12.\n\t(2)\tThe Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, vary or revoke a notice issued for the purposes of a definition contained in subsection (1).\n4—Application of Act\nIt is the intention of the Parliament that—\n\t(a)\tthis Act apply within the State and outside the State to the full extent of the extra-territorial legislative capacity of the Parliament; and\n\t(b)\tthe provisions of this Act, and orders and agreements made and other things done under this Act, have effect in relation to assets, liabilities, transactions, acts and matters situated, arising, entered into, done or occurring within or outside the State whether the applicable law would, apart from this Act, be South Australian law or the law of another place; and\n\t(c)\ta court, tribunal or other body exercising judicial powers in a place outside the State apply South Australian law to the determination of any question about the effect of this Act, or the effect of an order or agreement made or other thing done under this Act, despite any inconsistent law of that other place.\nPart 2—Preparatory action\n5—Preparation for restructuring and disposal\n\t(1)\tThe following actions (collectively referred to as the authorised project) are authorised:\n\t(a)\tdetermination of the most appropriate means of disposing of the assets and liabilities of an electricity corporation;\n\t(b)\texamination of the assets and liabilities of an electricity corporation or assets and liabilities of a body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order;\n\t(c)\taction that the Minister authorises in preparation for disposal of assets and liabilities of an electricity corporation or assets and liabilities of a body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order.\n\t(2)\tThe authorised project is to be carried out by—\n\t(a)\tpersons employed by the Crown and assigned to work on the project; and\n\t(b)\temployees of an electricity corporation or State-owned company assigned to work on the project; and\n\t(c)\tother persons whose services are engaged by the Crown or an electricity corporation or State-owned company for the purpose of carrying out the project; and\n\t(d)\tother persons approved by the Minister whose participation or assistance is, in the opinion of the Minister, reasonably required for the purposes of the project.\n\t(3)\tThe Minister (or the Minister's delegate) may, despite any other law or instrument, authorise prospective purchasers and their agents to have access to information in the possession or control of—\n\t(a)\tan electricity corporation; or\n\t(b)\ta body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order,\nthat should, in the Minister's opinion (or the delegate's opinion), be made available to the prospective purchasers for the purposes of the authorised project.\n\t(4)\tMembers of the governing body and employees of an electricity corporation or a body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order must, despite any other law or instrument—\n\t(a)\tallow persons engaged on the authorised project access to information in the possession or control of the electricity corporation or body that is reasonably required for, or in connection with, the carrying out of the authorised project; and\n\t(b)\tdo whatever is necessary to facilitate the provision of the information to persons entitled to access to the information under subsection (3); and\n\t(c)\tprovide other co-operation, assistance and facilities that may be reasonably required for, or in connection with, the carrying out of the authorised project.\n\t(5)\tA person who is in a position to grant or refuse access to information to which this section relates may deny access to a person who seeks access to the information unless the person produces a certificate issued by the Minister (or the Minister's delegate) certifying that the person is entitled to access to information under this section and the basis of the entitlement.\n6—Authority to disclose and use information\nThe disclosure or use of information in the possession or control of—\n\t(a)\tan electricity corporation or a body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order; or\n\t(b)\ta current or former member of the governing body or employee of an electricity corporation or body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order; or\n\t(c)\tpersons involved in the authorised project,\nas reasonably required for, or in connection with, the carrying out of the authorised project is authorised despite any other law or instrument to the contrary.\n7—Evidentiary provision\n\t(1)\tIn legal proceedings, a certificate of the Minister (or the Minister's delegate) certifying that action described in the certificate forms part of the authorised project, or that a person named in the certificate was at a particular time engaged on the authorised project, must be accepted as proof of the matter so certified in the absence of proof to the contrary.\n\t(2)\tAn apparently genuine document purporting to be a certificate under subsection (1) must be accepted as such in the absence of proof to the contrary.\nPart 3—Restructuring and disposal\n8—Orders to effect transfers, leases and other restructuring\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing (a transfer order), do one or more of the following:\n\t(a)\ttransfer to a State-owned company, Minister, electricity corporation or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation, or the Crown, assets or liabilities (or both) of an electricity corporation;\n\t(b)\ttransfer to a State-owned company, Minister, electricity corporation or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation, or the Crown, assets or liabilities (or both) of a body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order;\n\t(c)\tgrant to a State-owned company, Minister, electricity corporation or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation, or the Crown, a lease, easement or other rights in respect of assets of or available to an electricity corporation;\n\t(d)\tgrant to a State-owned company, Minister, electricity corporation or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation, or the Crown, a lease, easement or other rights in respect of assets of or available to a body by which assets have been acquired under a transfer order;\n\t(e)\textinguish a lease, easement or other rights held by a State-owned company, Minister, electricity corporation or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation, or the Crown, in consequence of a transfer order.\n\t(2)\tIf—\n\t(a)\tan electricity corporation has an easement in relation to electricity infrastructure on, above or under land; and\n\t(b)\tthe Minister, by a transfer order, transfers part of the infrastructure, or grants a lease or other rights in respect of part of the infrastructure, to a body of a kind referred to in subsection (1),\nthe Minister may, by the transfer order, transfer to the body rights conferred by the easement but limited so they operate in relation to that part of the infrastructure (which rights will be taken to constitute a separate registrable easement) and may, by a subsequent transfer order, transfer to the same or a different body rights conferred by the easement but limited so they operate in relation to another part of the infrastructure, whether on, above or under the same or a different part of the land (which rights will also be taken to constitute a separate registrable easement).\n\t(3)\tIn exercising powers under this section in relation to assets or liabilities of, or available to, a body other than the Minister, the Minister is to be taken to be acting as the agent of the other body.\n\t(4)\tA transfer order takes effect on the date of the order or on a later date specified in the order.\n\t(5)\tA transfer order effects the transfer and vesting of an asset or liability, or the grant or extinguishment of a lease, easement or other rights, in accordance with its terms by force of this Act and despite the provisions of any other law or instrument.\n\t(6)\tThe transfer of a liability from a body discharges the body from the liability.\n\t(7)\tIf a transfer order so provides—\n\t(a)\ta security to which a transferred asset is subject ceases to apply to the asset on its transfer by the transfer order;\n\t(b)\ta security to which a leased asset is subject ceases to apply to the asset on the grant of the lease by the transfer order.\n\t(8)\tA transfer order may provide that references to a body of a kind referred to in subsection (1) (the first body) in a specified instrument or an instrument of a specified class (a transferred instrument) are replaced by references to another body of a kind referred to in subsection (1) (the second body), and in that case—\n\t(a)\tthe instrument is modified as provided in the order; and\n\t(b)\tthe second body accordingly succeeds to the rights and liabilities of the first body under the instrument as from the date on which the transfer order takes effect or the date on which the instrument takes effect (whichever is the later).\n\t(9)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing, declare that the effect of the whole or part of a transfer order is reversed and in that case (despite the provisions of any other law or instrument)—\n\t(a)\tthe order will be taken to have come into effect contemporaneously with the transfer order; and\n\t(b)\ttransfers or grants identified in the order are cancelled and will be taken never to have been made; and\n\t(c)\ttransferred instruments identified in the order are to be construed as if they had never been affected by the transfer order.\n\t(10)\tA power may not be exercised under this section in relation to a company that has ceased to be a State-owned company.\n9—Subcontracting performance of obligations to State-owned companies\nDespite any other law or instrument, an electricity corporation may, if authorised to do so by the Minister, subcontract to a State-owned company the performance of all or part of the electricity corporation's obligations under a contract.\n10—Conditions of transfer order\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing, fix the conditions on which a transfer order operates.\n\t(2)\tAn order under this section may be varied or revoked by the Minister by further order (but not in relation to a company that has ceased to be a State-owned company).\n\t(3)\tThe conditions attaching to a transfer order may, for example, do one or more of the following:\n\t(a)\tassign a value to particular transferred assets, or transferred assets of a particular class;\n\t(b)\tassign a value to particular transferred liabilities, or transferred liabilities of a particular class;\n\t(c)\tassign a net value to particular transferred assets and liabilities, or transferred assets and liabilities of particular classes;\n\t(d)\timpose liabilities (in terms set out in the order) on the transferee reflecting the value or net value assigned by the Minister to transferred assets, or transferred assets and liabilities.\n11—Conversion of electricity corporation to State-owned company\nIf the Governor so declares by proclamation, Schedule 2 applies to an electricity corporation specified in the proclamation.\n12—Vesting orders\n\t(1)\tIn any case where there appears to the Minister to be a dispute or doubt as to the ownership of public lighting infrastructure, the Minister may, by order in writing (a vesting order), declare that the ownership of public lighting infrastructure specified in the order is vested in an electricity corporation, State-owned company or council specified in the order.\n\t(2)\tBefore making a vesting order that relates to public lighting infrastructure, the Minister must consult with the council of the area affected.\n\t(3)\tA vesting order effects the vesting of the specified public lighting infrastructure in accordance with its terms by force of this Act and despite the provisions of any other law or instrument.\n13—Disposal of electricity assets and limitations on disposal\n\t(1)\tThe Crown, an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation must not sell or transfer prescribed electricity assets.\n\t(2)\tIf a prescribed company or a subsidiary of a prescribed company owns prescribed electricity assets, shares in the prescribed company—\n\t(a)\tmust not be issued; or\n\t(b)\tif owned by an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation—must not be sold or transferred.\n\t(3)\tSubject to the limitations under subsections (1) and (2), the Minister may by agreement (a sale/lease agreement) with another (the purchaser) do one or more of the following:\n\t(a)\ttransfer to the purchaser assets or liabilities (or both) of an electricity corporation;\n\t(b)\tgrant to the purchaser a lease, easement or other rights in respect of assets of or available to an electricity corporation;\n\t(c)\ttransfer to the purchaser assets or liabilities (or both) of a State-owned company;\n\t(d)\ttransfer to the purchaser shares in a State-owned company;\n\t(e)\tgrant to the purchaser a lease, easement or other rights in respect of assets of or available to a State-owned company;\n\t(f)\ttransfer to the purchaser assets or liabilities (or both) that have been acquired by a Minister, any instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation under this Act;\n\t(g)\tgrant to the purchaser a lease, easement or other rights in respect of assets that have been acquired by a Minister, any instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation under this Act.\n\t(4)\tSubsections (1) and (2) do not apply to—\n\t(a)\tthe sale or transfer of prescribed electricity assets to the Crown, an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation;\n\t(b)\tthe issuing, sale or transfer of shares to an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation;\n\t(c)\tthe sale or disposal of prescribed electricity assets in the ordinary course of the maintenance, repair, replacement or upgrading of equipment;\n\t(d)\tthe exercise by a person other than the Crown, an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation of a right under an instrument executed before 17 November 1998;\n\t(e)\tthe performance by the Crown, an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation of an obligation under an instrument executed before 17 November 1998.\n\t(5)\tThe Minister must cause a copy of each relevant long term lease, and a prescribed report relating to the lease, to be laid before each House of Parliament—\n\t(a)\tnot later than 14 sitting days after the end of two years from the date on which the first relevant long term lease was made; or\n\t(b)\tif, before the end of the period referred to in paragraph (a), sale/lease agreements have been made providing for the disposal of all prescribed electricity assets of or available to an electricity corporation, State-owned company, Minister or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation (whether by the granting of a lease or the disposal of shares)—not later than 14 sitting days after the date on which the last such sale/lease agreement was made.\n\t(6)\tIn this section—\nprescribed company means a company any of the shares in which are owned by an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation other than as a passive investment only;\nprescribed electricity assets means any of the following situated in South Australia:\n\t(a)\telectricity generating plant (other than plant with a generating capacity of less than 10 MW);\n\t(b)\tpowerlines (within the meaning of the Electricity Act 1996);\n\t(c)\tsubstations for converting, transforming or controlling electricity;\n\t(d)\tland on which infrastructure of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (c) is situated,\nbut does not include anything excluded from the ambit of the definition by resolution passed by each House of Parliament;\nprescribed report, in relation to a relevant long term lease, means a report prepared at the request of the Minister—\n\t(a)\tsummarising the principal features of the lease and any related sale/lease agreement or other transaction; and\n\t(b)\tstating, in present value terms, the total amount paid or to be paid to the State under or in connection with the lease and any related sale/lease agreement or other transaction;\nrelevant lease means—\n\t(a)\ta lease granted by a sale/lease agreement; or\n\t(b)\ta lease granted by a transfer order the lessee under which is a company that has been acquired by a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement;\nrelevant long term lease means a relevant lease that confers a right to the use or possession of the assets for a term extending to a time, or commencing, more than 25 years after the making of the lease;\nright includes a contingent or future right.\n14—Provisions relating to sale/lease agreements\n\t(1)\tIf—\n\t(a)\tan electricity corporation or State-owned company has an easement in relation to electricity infrastructure on, above or under land; and\n\t(b)\tthe Minister, by a sale/lease agreement, transfers part of the infrastructure, or grants a lease or other rights in respect of part of the infrastructure, to a purchaser,\nthe Minister may, by the sale/lease agreement, transfer to the purchaser rights conferred by the easement but limited so they operate in relation to that part of the infrastructure (which rights will be taken to constitute a separate registrable easement) and may, by a subsequent sale/lease agreement, transfer to the same or a different purchaser rights conferred by the easement but limited so they operate in relation to another part of the infrastructure, whether on, above or under the same part or a different part of the land (which rights will also be taken to constitute a separate registrable easement).\n\t(2)\tA sale/lease agreement may transfer assets or liabilities (or both) to a State-owned company, Minister, electricity corporation or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation, or the Crown, with effect at the end of the term of a lease (whether granted by the agreement, a transfer order or otherwise) or in specified circumstances.\n\t(3)\tIn exercising powers in relation to assets or liabilities of, or available to, a body other than the Minister, the Minister is to be taken to be acting as the agent of the other body.\n\t(4)\tA sale/lease agreement effects the transfer and vesting of an asset or liability or shares, or the grant of a lease, easement or other rights, in accordance with its terms by force of this Act and despite the provisions of any other law or instrument.\n\t(5)\tThe transfer of a liability by a sale/lease agreement operates to discharge the transferor and the Crown from the liability.\n\t(6)\tUnless the sale/lease agreement otherwise provides—\n\t(a)\tthe transfer of an asset by a sale/lease agreement operates to discharge the asset from any trust in favour of the Crown;\n\t(b)\tthe transfer of the shares in an electricity corporation or State-owned company by a sale/lease agreement operates to discharge the assets of the company from any trust in favour of the Crown.\n\t(7)\tIf a sale/lease agreement so provides—\n\t(a)\ta security to which a transferred asset is subject ceases to apply to the asset on its transfer by the sale/lease agreement;\n\t(b)\ta security to which a leased asset is subject ceases to apply to the asset on the grant of the lease by the sale/lease agreement.\n\t(8)\tA sale/lease agreement may provide that instruments identified in the agreement, or to be identified as provided in the agreement, are to be transferred instruments.\n\t(9)\tIf an instrument is identified in, or under, a sale/lease agreement as a transferred instrument, the instrument operates, as from a date specified in the agreement, subject to any modifications specified in the agreement.\n15—Subcontracting performance of obligations to purchasers\nDespite any other law or instrument, an electricity corporation or State-owned company may, if authorised to do so by the Minister, subcontract to a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement the performance of all or part of the electricity corporation's or State-owned company's obligations under a contract.\n16—Special orders\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing (a special order), transfer assets or liabilities (or both) of the purchaser under a sale/lease agreement to another body or bodies.\n\t(2)\tA special order may only be made at the request of the purchaser made within 12 months of the date of the sale/lease agreement and with the consent of the other body or bodies.\n\t(3)\tOnly one special order may be made at the request of the same purchaser.\n\t(4)\tIn exercising powers under this section in relation to assets or liabilities of the purchaser, the Minister is to be taken to be acting as the agent of the purchaser.\n\t(5)\tA special order takes effect on the date of the order or on a later date specified in the order.\n\t(6)\tA special order effects the transfer and vesting of an asset or liability in accordance with its terms by force of this Act and despite the provisions of any other law or instrument.\n\t(7)\tA special order may provide that instruments identified in the order, or to be identified as provided in the order, are to be transferred instruments.\n\t(8)\tIf an instrument is identified in, or under, a special order as a transferred instrument, the instrument operates, as from a date specified in the order, subject to any modifications specified in the order.\n17—Terms of leases and related instruments\n\t(1)\tThe Minister is to endeavour to ensure that a prescribed long term lease in respect of prescribed electricity assets or a related instrument contains terms under which—\n\t(a)\tthe lessee's right or option to renew or extend the lease must be exercised not less than five years before the commencement of the term of that renewal or extension; and\n\t(b)\tthe risk of non-payment of rent (including amounts to be paid on the exercise of a right or option to renew or extend the lease) is addressed at the commencement of the lease by the provision of adequate security or other means; and\n\t(c)\tthe lessee must provide adequate security in respect of compliance with requirements as to the condition of the leased assets at the expiration or earlier termination of the lease; and\n\t(d)\tthe lessor accepts no liability for, and provides no warranty or indemnity as to, a consequence arising from—\n\t(i)\tthe lessee's use of the leased assets in trade or business; or\n\t(ii)\tpool prices in the National Electricity Market or a similar or derivative market relating to the supply of electricity; or\n\t(iii)\tcompetition between participants in the National Electricity Market or a similar or derivative market relating to the supply of electricity; or\n\t(iv)\tregulatory change in the electricity supply industry; and\n\t(e)\tthe lessee must indemnify the lessor for any liability of the lessor to a third party arising from the lessee's use or possession of the leased assets; and\n\t(f)\tthe lessee must have adequate insurance against risks arising from the use or possession of the leased assets; and\n\t(g)\tthe lessee must ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements applicable to the use or possession of the leased assets; and\n\t(h)\tthe lessor is entitled to terminate the lease if a breach of the lessee's obligations of any of the following kinds, or any other serious breach, remains unremedied after reasonable notice:\n\t(i)\tfailure to obtain or retain—\n\t(A)\ta licence or registration required for the use of the leased assets for their intended purpose in the electricity supply industry under the Electricity Act 1996 or the National Electricity (South Australia) Law; or\n\t(B)\ta similar licence, registration or other authority required under subsequent legislation;\n\t(ii)\tnon-payment of rent;\n\t(iii)\tsubstantial cessation of use of the leased assets for their intended purpose in the electricity supply industry; and\n\t(i)\tthe lessor has a right or option, at the expiration or earlier termination of the lease, to acquire assets that form part of the business involved in the use of the leased assets for their intended purpose in the electricity supply industry.\n\t(2)\tIf a prescribed long term lease is granted in respect of prescribed electricity assets and the lease and prescribed report relating to the lease are laid before a House of Parliament in accordance with section 13, a report stating the extent to which the lease complies with the requirements set out in subsection (1) and giving reasons for any non-compliance must be laid before that House of Parliament at the same time.\n\t(3)\tNon-compliance with this section does not affect the validity of a prescribed long term lease.\n\t(4)\tA provision included in a prescribed lease or related instrument that deals with—\n\t(a)\tthe circumstances or conditions under which the lease may be terminated by the lessor or lessee; or\n\t(b)\tthe application of a security provided in relation to the lease; or\n\t(c)\tthe pre-payment of amounts payable by way of rent under the lease and the retention of such amounts by the lessor; or\n\t(d)\tthe continuance of the lease despite the occurrence of unintended or unforeseen circumstances; or\n\t(e)\tthe continuance of the obligation to pay rent despite the occurrence of unintended or unforeseen circumstances; or\n\t(f)\tthe amount payable in consequence of a breach of the lease; or\n\t(g)\tthe liability of the lessor in relation to the leased assets,\nwill have effect according to its terms and despite any law or rule to the contrary.\n\t(5)\tIn this section—\nelectricity supply industry means the industry involved in the generation, transmission, distribution, supply or sale of electricity;\nNational Electricity Market means the market regulated by the National Electricity Law;\nprescribed company has the same meaning as in section 13;\nprescribed electricity assets has the same meaning as in section 13;\nprescribed lease means—\n\t(a)\ta lease granted by a sale/lease agreement; or\n\t(b)\ta lease granted by a transfer order the lessee under which is, or was when the lease was granted, a prescribed company or subsidiary of a prescribed company or any instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation;\nprescribed long term lease means a prescribed lease that confers a right to the use or possession of the assets for a term extending to a time, or commencing, more than 25 years after the making of the lease;\nright has the same meaning as in section 13.\n18—Government guarantee\n\t(1)\tSubject to subsection (2), a Government guarantee has no application in relation to—\n\t(a)\ttransferred liabilities (unless the liabilities are transferred to a public corporation and the guarantee under section 28 of the Public Corporations Act 1993 applies or the liabilities are transferred back to the electricity corporation to whose liabilities the guarantee originally applied); or\n\t(b)\tliabilities of a company that was an electricity corporation or State-owned company before the shares in the company were transferred to a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement.\n\t(2)\tIf the Treasurer declares by order in writing that a Government guarantee continues to apply in relation to specified liabilities and a specified transferee or company, the Government guarantee will be taken to continue to apply (indefinitely or for a period specified in or determined in accordance with the order) to the liabilities as if the specified transferee or company were the electricity corporation to whose liabilities the guarantee originally applied.\n\t(3)\tThe Treasurer may, from time to time, fix charges to be paid by the transferee in respect of a guarantee continued under this section and determine the times and manner of their payment.\n\t(4)\tIf a Government guarantee is continued by an order under this section, the Treasurer must cause a report to be laid before each House of Parliament not later than 14 sitting days after the making of the order, giving details of the guarantee and the liabilities to which the guarantee relates including the maximum amount that might become payable under the guarantee.\n\t(5)\tIn this section—\nGovernment guarantee means—\n\t(a)\ta guarantee under section 28 of the Public Corporations Act 1993;\n\t(b)\ta guarantee or indemnity given by an electricity corporation;\n\t(c)\ta guarantee or indemnity under section 19 of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987.\n19—Supplementary provisions\n\t(1)\tIf—\n\t(a)\tthe transfer of a liability under this Act, and the consequent discharge from the liability, is not recognised under the law of a place outside South Australia; and\n\t(b)\tthe transferor is required under the law of that place to make a payment in satisfaction of the liability,\nthe transferor is entitled to be indemnified by the transferee for the payment.\n\t(2)\tSubject to any contrary provision in a transfer order, sale/lease agreement or special order, the following provisions apply in relation to transferred assets and liabilities:\n\t(a)\tif a security held by the transferor is referable to a transferred asset or liability, then, so far as it is referable to the transferred asset or liability—\n\t(i)\tthe security is available to the transferee as security for the discharge of the liabilities to which it relates including, where the security relates to future liabilities, liabilities incurred after the transfer; and\n\t(ii)\tthe transferee is entitled to the same rights and priorities and is subject to the same liabilities under the security as those to which the transferor would have been entitled or subject if there had been no transfer;\n\t(b)\tif a transferred asset consists of a right to the possession or use of property under a lease or other instrument, the transferor incurs no liability (nor does the right to possession become liable to forfeiture) because the transferor has parted with possession of the property, or permitted the possession or use of the property by another person, contrary to the terms of the lease or instrument;\n\t(c)\tan instruction, order, authority or notice given to the transferor before the transfer takes effect is, so far as it is referable to a transferred asset or liability, taken to have been given to the transferee;\n\t(d)\tthe transferee is entitled to possession of all documents to which the transferor was entitled immediately before the transfer took effect that are entirely referable to a transferred asset or liability and is entitled to access to, and copies of, all documents that are referable to both a transferred asset or liability and any other asset or liability;\n\t(e)\ta negotiable instrument or order for payment drawn by or on, or accepted or endorsed by the transferor, is (if the transferor's liability under the instrument or order is a transferred liability) payable by the transferee in the same way as if it had been drawn by or on, or accepted or endorsed (as the case may be) by the transferee;\n\t(f)\tthe transferee has the same right to ratify a contract or agreement relating to an asset or liability transferred to it from the transferor as the transferor would have had if there had been no transfer;\n\t(g)\tin legal proceedings about a transferred asset or liability, evidence that would have been admissible by or against the transferor if there had been no transfer may be given in evidence by or against the transferee;\n\t(h)\tlegal proceedings in respect of a transferred asset or liability that had commenced before the transfer may be continued and completed by or against the transferee.\n\t(3)\tSubject to any contrary provision in a transfer order or sale/lease agreement, the following provisions apply in relation to leased assets:\n\t(a)\tif a security held by the lessor is referable to a leased asset, then, so far as it is referable to the leased asset—\n\t(i)\tthe security is available to the lessee as security for the discharge of the liabilities to which it relates including, where the security relates to future liabilities, liabilities incurred after the grant of the lease; and\n\t(ii)\tthe lessee is entitled to the same rights and priorities and is subject to the same liabilities under the security as those to which the lessor would have been entitled or subject if there had been no lease;\n\t(b)\tif the lease is derivative of another lease (the head lease), the lessor incurs no liability (nor does the head lease become liable to forfeiture) because the lessor has granted the derivative lease, or has parted with possession of property, or permitted the possession or use of property by another person, contrary to the terms of the head lease;\n\t(c)\tan instruction, order, authority or notice given to the lessor before the granting of the lease is, so far as it is referable to a leased asset, taken to have been given to the lessee;\n\t(d)\tthe lessee is entitled to possession of all documents to which the lessor was entitled immediately before the granting of the lease that are entirely referable to a leased asset and is entitled to access to, and copies of, all documents that are referable to both a leased asset and any other asset or liability;\n\t(e)\tthe lessee has the same right to ratify a contract or agreement relating to a leased asset as the lessor would have had if there had been no lease;\n\t(f)\tin legal proceedings about a leased asset, evidence that would have been admissible by or against the lessor if there had been no lease may be given in evidence by or against the lessee;\n\t(g)\tlegal proceedings in respect of a leased asset that had commenced before the granting of the lease may be continued and completed by or against the lessee.\n20—Evidentiary provision\n\t(1)\tThe Minister (or the Minister's delegate) may certify—\n\t(a)\twhether specified assets or liabilities are or are not transferred assets or liabilities and the identity of the transferee;\n\t(b)\twhether specified assets are or are not leased assets and the identity of the lessee;\n\t(c)\twhether specified instruments are or are not transferred instruments;\n\t(d)\tany other matter with respect to a transfer or grant under this Act.\n\t(2)\tAn apparently genuine document purporting to be a certificate under subsection (1) must be accepted in legal proceedings or by an administrative official as proof of the matter certified in the absence of proof to the contrary.\n21—Application of proceeds of sale/lease agreement\n\t(1)\tThe Treasurer may only apply proceeds of a sale/lease agreement under this Act as follows:\n\t(a)\tin payment of an amount equal to any payment made by an electricity corporation, or a body by which assets or liabilities have been acquired under a transfer order, on the termination or surrender of a lease entered into before 17 November 1998;\n\t(b)\tin payment of the costs of restructuring and disposal of assets of electricity corporations and preparatory action taken for that purpose;\n\t(c)\tin payment to an account at the Treasury to be used for the purposes of a scheme to limit differences between electricity prices charged to classes of consumers in non-metropolitan areas and those charged to corresponding consumers in metropolitan areas;\n\t(d)\tin payment to an account at the Treasury to be used for the purposes of retiring State debt.\n\t(2)\tAny income from investment of money paid into an account at the Treasury under subsection (1) must be applied for the purposes of retiring State debt.\n\t(3)\tAn amount paid by way of security will not be regarded as proceeds of a sale/lease agreement for the purposes of this section.\n\t(4)\tAn electricity corporation must, if the Treasurer so directs, make a specified payment to the Treasurer.\n\t(5)\tA State-owned company must, if the Treasurer so directs, make a specified payment to the Treasurer.\n\t(6)\tThe Minister must establish, maintain and operate a scheme (funded initially by the account referred to in subsection (1)(c) and subsequently by money appropriated for the purpose) for the purposes of ensuring that the electricity price charged to any small customer who is supplied electricity through the transmission network in South Australia, but not generally through a metropolitan transmission network connection point, will not exceed 101.7% of the electricity price charged to a corresponding small customer, with the same levels and patterns of consumption, who is generally supplied through a metropolitan transmission network connection point.\n\t(7)\tIn this section—\nmetropolitan transmission network connection point means a transmission network connection point situated at—\n\t(a)\tthe East Terrace substation, Adelaide; or\n\t(b)\tthe Happy Valley substation, Happy Valley; or\n\t(c)\tthe Kilburn substation, Dry Creek; or\n\t(d)\tthe Lefevre substation, Outer Harbor; or\n\t(e)\tthe Magill substation, Magill; or\n\t(f)\tthe Morphett Vale East substation, Woodcroft; or\n\t(g)\tthe Northfield substation, Northfield; or\n\t(h)\tthe Osborne substation, Osborne; or\n\t(i)\tthe Parafield Gardens West substation, Parafield Gardens; or\n\t(j)\tthe Para substation, Gould Creek; or\n\t(k)\tthe Torrens Island substation, Torrens Island;\nsmall customer means a customer with electricity consumption levels (in respect of a single site) of less than 160 MW.h per year.\n22—Auditor-General's report on relevant long term leases\n\t(1)\tThe Auditor-General must be provided with a copy of each relevant long term lease within the period of seven days after the prescribed date.\n\t(2)\tThe Auditor-General must, within the period of six months after the prescribed date, examine each relevant long term lease that has been provided under subsection (1) and any related transactions and prepare a report on—\n\t(a)\tthe proportion of the proceeds of the leases used to retire State debt; and\n\t(b)\tthe amount of interest on State debt saved as a result of the application of those proceeds.\n\t(3)\tThe Auditor-General—\n\t(a)\tmust incorporate in the report under subsection (2) a report on the probity of the processes leading up to the making of each relevant long term lease; and\n\t(b)\tfor that purpose may, before, during and after the completion of those processes, require reports from the person appointed by the Treasurer (or otherwise on behalf of the Crown) to be the probity auditor in relation to the making of that lease.\n\t(4)\tSection 34 of the Public Finance and Audit Act 1987 applies to the examination of a lease and any related transactions by the Auditor-General under this section.\n\t(5)\tThe Auditor-General must deliver copies of a report prepared under this section to the President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly.\n\t(6)\tThe President of the Legislative Council and the Speaker of the House of Assembly must not later than the first sitting day after receiving a report under this section, lay copies of the report before their respective Houses of Parliament.\n\t(7)\tIf a report has been prepared under this section but copies have not been laid before both Houses of Parliament when a writ for a general election of the members of the House of Assembly is issued, the Auditor-General must cause the report to be published.\n\t(8)\tIn this section—\nprescribed date means the earlier of the following:\n\t(a)\tif sale/lease agreements have been made providing for the disposal of all prescribed electricity assets of or available to an electricity corporation, State-owned company, Minister or any instrumentality of the Crown or statutory corporation (whether by the granting of a lease or the disposal of shares)—the date on which the last such sale/lease agreement was made; or\n\t(b)\tthe second anniversary of the date on which the first relevant long term lease was granted;\nprescribed electricity assets has the same meaning as in section 13;\nrelevant lease means—\n\t(a)\ta lease granted by a sale/lease agreement; or\n\t(b)\ta lease granted by a transfer order the lessee under which is a company that has been acquired by a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement;\nrelevant long term lease means a relevant lease in respect of prescribed electricity assets that confers a right to the use or possession of the assets for a term extending to a time, or commencing, more than 25 years after the making of the lease;\nright has the same meaning as in section 13.\nPart 4—Staff\n23—Transfer of staff\n\t(1)\tAction must be taken to ensure that all employees engaged in a business to which a sale/lease agreement relates are taken over as employees of the purchaser, a company related to the purchaser or the company acquired by the purchaser under the sale/lease agreement.\n\t(2)\tFor the purposes of this section, the Minister may, by order in writing (an employee transfer order)—\n\t(a)\ttransfer employees of an electricity corporation to positions in the employment of a State-owned company;\n\t(b)\ttransfer back to an electricity corporation an employee transferred to the employment of a State-owned company;\n\t(c)\ttransfer employees of an electricity corporation to positions in the employment of a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement or a company related to the purchaser;\n\t(d)\ttransfer employees of a State-owned company to positions in the employment of a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement or a company related to the purchaser.\n\t(3)\tAn employee transfer order takes effect on the date of the order or on a later date specified in the order.\n\t(4)\tAn employee transfer order may be varied or revoked by the Minister by further order in writing made before the order takes effect.\n\t(5)\tAn employee transfer order has effect by force of this Act and despite the provisions of any other law or instrument.\n\t(6)\tA transfer under this section does not—\n\t(a)\taffect the employee's remuneration; or\n\t(b)\tinterrupt continuity of service; or\n\t(c)\tconstitute a retrenchment or redundancy.\n\t(7)\tExcept with the employee's consent, a transfer under this section must not involve—\n\t(a)\tany reduction in the employee's status; or\n\t(b)\tany change in the employee's duties that would be unreasonable having regard to the employee's skills, ability and experience.\n\t(8)\tHowever, an employee's status is not reduced by—\n\t(a)\ta reduction of the scope of the business operations for which the employee is responsible; or\n\t(b)\ta reduction in the number of employees under the employee's supervision or management,\nif the employee's functions in their general nature remain the same as, or similar to, the employee's functions before the transfer.\n\t(9)\tAn employee's terms and conditions of employment are subject to variation after the transfer in the same way as before the transfer.\n\t(10)\tA person whose employment is transferred from one body (the former employer) to another (the new employer) under this section is taken to have accrued as an employee of the new employer an entitlement to annual leave, sick leave and long service leave that is equivalent to the entitlements that the person had accrued, immediately before the transfer took effect, as an employee of the former employer.\n\t(11)\tA transfer under this section does not give rise to any remedy or entitlement arising from the cessation or change of employment.\n\t(12)\tFor the purposes of construing a contract applicable to a person whose employment is transferred under this section, a reference to the former employer is to be construed as a reference to the new employer.\n\t(13)\tA company and a purchaser are related for the purposes of this section if they are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Law.\n24—Separation packages and offers of alternative public sector employment\n\t(1)\tSubject to this section, any action that a private sector employer takes from time to time as a consequence of a transferred employee's position being identified as surplus to the employer's requirements must consist of or include an offer of a separation package that complies with this section.\n\t(2)\tIf a private sector employer makes an offer to a transferred employee under subsection (1) after the end of the employee's first two years after becoming a transferred employee, an offer must also be made to the employee of public sector employment with a rate of pay that is at least equivalent to the rate of pay of the employee's position immediately before the employee's relocation to public sector employment.\n\t(3)\tA transferred employee who is made an offer of a separation package under subsection (1) must be allowed—\n\t(a)\tif an offer of public sector employment is also made under subsection (2)—at least one month from the date of the offer of public sector employment to accept either of the offers;\n\t(b)\tin any other case—at least one month to accept the offer.\n\t(4)\tIf a transferred employee has been offered both a separation package and public sector employment under this section and has failed to accept either offer within the period allowed, the employee is taken to have accepted the offer of a separation package.\n\t(5)\tThe employment of a transferred employee may not be terminated as a consequence of the employee's position being identified, within the employee's first two years after becoming a transferred employee, as surplus to a private sector employer's requirements unless the employee has accepted (or is taken to have accepted) an offer under this section or otherwise agreed to the termination.\n\t(6)\tA separation package offered to a transferred employee under this section must include an offer of a payment of an amount not less than the lesser of the following:\n\n(a)\n;\n(b)\n104WP,\nwhere—\nCYS is the number of the employee's continuous years of service in relevant employment determined in the manner fixed by the Minister by order in writing; and\nWP is the employee's weekly rate of pay determined in the manner fixed by the Minister by order in writing.\n\t(7)\tAn order of the Minister—\n\t(a)\tmay make different provision in relation to the determination of an employee's continuous years of service or weekly rate of pay according to whether the relevant employment was full-time or part-time, included periods of leave without pay or was affected by other factors; and\n\t(b)\tmay be varied by the Minister by further order in writing made before any employee becomes a transferred employee; and\n\t(c)\tmust be published in the Gazette.\n\t(8)\tA person who relocates to public sector employment as a result of acceptance of an offer under this section is taken to have accrued as an employee in public sector employment an entitlement to annual leave, sick leave and long service leave that is equivalent to the entitlements that the person had accrued, immediately before the relocation, as an employee of the private sector employer.\n\t(9)\tIt is a condition of an offer of a separation package or public sector employment under this section that the employee waives any right to compensation or any payment arising from the cessation or change of employment, other than, if the employee accepts (or is taken to have accepted) a separation package, the right to superannuation payments or other payments to which the employee would be entitled on resignation assuming that the employee were not surplus to the employer's requirements.\n\t(10)\tIf an employee is relocated to public sector employment as a result of acceptance of an offer under this section—\n\t(a)\tthe employee may not be retrenched from public sector employment; and\n\t(b)\tthe employee's rate of pay in public sector employment may not be reduced except for proper cause associated with the employee's conduct or physical or mental capacity.\n\t(11)\tSubsection (1) does not apply if the action that a private sector employer takes as a consequence of an employee's position being identified as surplus to the employer's requirements consists only of steps to relocate the employee to another position in the employment of that employer or a related employer in the electricity supply industry with—\n\t(a)\tfunctions that are in their general nature the same as, or similar to, the functions of the surplus position; and\n\t(b)\ta principal workplace or principal work depot not more than 45 kilometres distant by the shortest practicable route by road from the principal workplace or principal work depot of the surplus position; and\n\t(c)\ta rate of pay that is at least equivalent to the rate of pay of the surplus position.\n\t(12)\tFor the purposes of subsection (5), the employment of a transferred employee is taken not to have been terminated by reason only of the fact that the employee has been relocated to another position in the employment of the same employer or a related employer in the electricity supply industry if the rate of pay of that position is at least equivalent to the rate of pay of the employee's previous position.\n\t(13)\tIn this section—\naward or agreement means award or agreement under the Industrial and Employee Relations Act 1994 or the Workplace Relations Act 1996 of the Commonwealth as amended from time to time;\nelectricity supply industry has the same meaning as in the Electricity Act 1996;\nprivate sector employer means—\n\t(a)\ta purchaser under a sale/lease agreement or a company that was an electricity corporation or State-owned company before the shares in the company were transferred to a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement; or\n\t(b)\tan employer who is related to a purchaser or company referred to in paragraph (a);\npublic sector employment means employment in the Public Service of the State, or by an instrumentality of the Crown or a statutory corporation;\nrate of pay includes an amount paid to an employee to maintain the employee's rate of pay in a position at the same level as the rate of pay of a position previously occupied by the employee;\nrelevant employment means—\n\t(a)\temployment by The Electricity Trust of South Australia, an electricity corporation or a State-owned company; or\n\t(b)\temployment by a private sector employer;\ntransferred employee means an employee—\n\t(a)\twho—\n\t(i)\twas transferred by an employee transfer order to the employment of a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement; or\n\t(ii)\twas in the employment of a company that was an electricity corporation or a State-owned company when the shares in the company were transferred to a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement; and\n\t(b)\twho has remained continuously in the employment of that purchaser or company or in the employment of an employer related to that purchaser or company since the making of the relevant sale/lease agreement; and\n\t(c)\twhose employment is subject to an award or agreement.\n\t(14)\tEmployers are related for the purposes of this section if—\n\t(a)\tone takes over or otherwise acquires the business or part of the business of the other; or\n\t(b)\tthey are related bodies corporate within the meaning of the Corporations Law; or\n\t(c)\ta series of relationships can be traced between them under paragraph (a) or (b).\nPart 5—Licences under Electricity Act\n25—Licences under Electricity Act\n\t(1)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing, require that a licence under the Electricity Act 1996 authorising specified operations be issued to a State-owned company, or to the purchaser under a sale/lease agreement, in accordance with specified requirements as to the term and conditions of the licence and rights conferred by the licence.\n\t(2)\tThe requirements of the Minister as to the conditions of a licence must be consistent with the provisions of the Electricity Act 1996 as to such conditions.\n\t(3)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing, require that a licence issued to a State-owned company in accordance with an order under subsection (1) be transferred to a purchaser under a sale/lease agreement.\n\t(4)\tThe Minister may, by order in writing, require that a licence issued to a purchaser in accordance with an order under subsection (1), or transferred to a purchaser in accordance with an order under subsection (3), be transferred to the transferee under a special order.\n\t(5)\tAn order under this section must be given effect to without the need for the State-owned company, or the purchaser, to apply for the licence or agreement to the transfer of the licence and despite the provisions of the Electricity Act 1996 and section 7 of the Independent Industry Regulator Act 1999.\n\t(6)\tAn order may not be made more than once under this section for the issue of a licence in respect of the same electricity generating plant.\n\t(7)\tAn order may not be made more than once under this section for the issue of a licence in respect of the same electricity retailing business.\n\t(8)\tA licence issued to a State-owned company in accordance with an order under this section may not be suspended or cancelled under the Electricity Act 1996 on the ground of any change that has occurred in the officers or shareholders of the company associated with the company's ceasing to be a State-owned company.\nPart 6—Miscellaneous\n26—Provision of capital to State-owned company\n\t(1)\tAny one or more Ministers of the Crown may subscribe capital to a State-owned company.\n\t(2)\tThe Treasurer may, on conditions the Treasurer considers appropriate—\n\t(a)\tadvance loan capital to a State-owned company; and\n\t(b)\ttransfer non-pecuniary assets of the Crown to a State-owned company.\n\t(3)\tCapital subscriptions and advances are, subject to any contrary direction by the Treasurer, to be paid out of the Consolidated Account (which is appropriated to the necessary extent).\n\t(4)\tAn instrument to give effect to a transaction under this section is exempt from stamp duty.\n27—Contract or arrangement between electricity corporation and State-owned company\nAn electricity corporation may enter into a contract or arrangement with a State-owned company under which the State-owned company may make use of the services of employees or the facilities of the electricity corporation.\n28—Amount payable by State-owned company in lieu of tax\n\t(1)\tIf the results achieved by a State-owned company from its operations over a designated period give rise to a presumptive liability for income tax, the company must, at such time as the Treasurer stipulates, pay to the Treasurer, for the credit of the Consolidated Account, a sum equal to the amount of the presumptive liability.\n\t(2)\tThe Treasurer may require a State-owned company to make other payments in respect of a designated period in lieu of taxes under the law of the State or the Commonwealth from which the company was exempt during the designated period because of the company's relationship to the Crown.\n\t(3)\tIn this section—\ndate of divestiture means—\n\t(a)\tin the case of a State-owned company that is not a subsidiary of another State-owned company—\n\t(i)\tif the shares of the State-owned company are sold by or at the direction of the Minister—the date the sale is completed; or\n\t(ii)\tif the shares of the State-owned company are offered for public subscription—the date shares are first allotted to subscribers who respond to the public offer; or\n\t(b)\tin the case of a State-owned company that is a subsidiary of another State-owned company—\n\t(i)\tif the subsidiary's shares are sold by or at the direction of the Minister before the date of divestiture for that other State-owned company—the date the sale is completed; or\n\t(ii)\tif not—the date of divestiture for that other State-owned company;\ndesignated period is a period of 12 months or less falling before the date of divestiture of the company—\n\t(a)\textending from the date of the company's incorporation to the following 30 June or the date of divestiture of the company (whichever is first);\n\t(b)\textending from 1 July in one year to 30 June in the next;\n\t(c)\textending from 30 June to the date of divestiture of the company;\npresumptive liability to income tax, in relation to a State-owned company, means a liability for income tax that would have existed under the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, or the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, of the Commonwealth (as amended from time to time) if—\n\t(a)\tthe company were liable to income tax under that Act; and\n\t(b)\tthe designated period were a year of income within the meaning of that Act.\n29—Relationship of electricity corporation or State-owned company and Crown\n\t(1)\tAn electricity corporation is an instrumentality of the Crown but ceases to be such an instrumentality when it ceases to be an electricity corporation.\n\t(2)\tA company that is a State-owned company is an instrumentality of the Crown but ceases to be such an instrumentality when it ceases to be a State-owned company.\n30—Electricity infrastructure severed from land\nElectricity infrastructure or public lighting infrastructure the subject of a transfer order, vesting order, sale/lease agreement or special order is to be taken to be transferred, vested or leased (as the case may be) by the order or agreement as if the infrastructure were personal property severed from any land to which it is affixed or annexed and owned separately from the land.\n31—Registering authorities to note transfer\nThe Registrar-General or any other authority required or authorised under a law of the State to register or record transactions affecting assets or liabilities, or documents relating to such transactions, must, on application by the Minister or a person nominated by the Minister for the purpose, register or record a transfer, grant or extinguishment under this Act.\n32—Stamp duty\n\t(1)\tNo stamp duty is payable under a law of the State in respect of—\n\t(a)\ta transfer, grant or extinguishment effected by a transfer order;\n\t(b)\tany transfer or assignment of assets or liabilities by an electricity corporation to a State-owned company.\n\t(2)\tNo person has an obligation under the Stamp Duties Act 1923—\n\t(a)\tto lodge a statement or return relating to a transaction referred to in subsection (1); or\n\t(b)\tto include information about such a transaction in a statement or return.\n33—Interaction between this Act and other Acts\n\t(1)\tThis Act has effect despite the provisions of the Real Property Act 1886 or any other law.\n\t(2)\tA transaction under this Act is not subject to—\n\t(a)\tthe Land and Business (Sale and Conveyancing) Act 1994; or\n\t(b)\tthe Retail and Commercial Leases Act 1995; or\n\t(c)\tPart 4 of the Development Act 1993.\n\t(3)\tAn application under section 223LD of the Real Property Act 1886 for the division of land, or an application under section 14 of the Community Titles Act 1996 for the division of land by a plan of community division, that is certified in writing by the Minister as being for the purposes of a transaction under this Act need not be accompanied by a certificate under Part 4 of the Development Act 1993.\n35—Exclusion of Crown liability as owner etc of leased assets\n\t(1)\tThe Governor may, by proclamation, declare that the lessor of assets the subject of a lease granted by a transfer order or sale/lease agreement, and the Crown, will, despite any other Act or law, be immune from civil or criminal liability in connection with the lease or those assets (other than a liability under the lease to the lessee) to the extent specified in the proclamation.\n\t(2)\tThe Governor may, by subsequent proclamation, vary or revoke a proclamation under subsection (1) with the consent of the lessee for the time being of the assets.\n\t(3)\tA proclamation under this section has effect according to its terms.\n36—Effect of things done or allowed under Act\nNothing done, authorised or allowed by or under this Act or a transfer order, vesting order, sale/lease agreement, special order or employee transfer order—\n\t(a)\tconstitutes a breach of, or default under, an Act or other law; or\n\t(b)\tconstitutes a breach of, or default under, a contract, agreement, understanding or undertaking; or\n\t(c)\tconstitutes a breach of a duty of confidence (whether arising by contract, in equity or by custom) or in any other way; or\n\t(d)\tconstitutes a civil or criminal wrong; or\n\t(e)\tterminates an agreement or obligation or fulfils any condition that allows a person to terminate an agreement or obligation, or gives rise to any other right or remedy; or\n\t(f)\treleases a surety or any other obligee wholly or in part from an obligation.\n37—Regulations\nThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act or an Act amended by this Act.\nSchedule 1—Special provisions\n1—Electricity infrastructure taken not to have merged with land\n\t(1)\tThis clause applies to electricity infrastructure that is or was owned or operated by an electricity corporation or State-owned company and is situated on, above or under land that does not or did not belong to the electricity corporation or State-owned company.\n\t(2)\tSubject to any agreement in writing to the contrary, the ownership of electricity infrastructure to which this clause applies will be taken never to have been affected by its affixation or annexation to the land.\n2—Statutory easement relating to infrastructure\n\t(1)\tA body specified by proclamation for the purposes of this clause will have an easement over land where—\n\t(a)\telectricity infrastructure owned or operated by the body is on, above or under the land and the land does not belong to the body; and\n\t(b)\tthat infrastructure was, before a date specified in the proclamation, owned or operated by an electricity corporation or State-owned company and the land did not belong to the electricity corporation or State-owned company.\n\t(2)\tThe easement entitles the specified body—\n\t(a)\tto maintain the relevant electricity infrastructure on, above or under the land affected by the easement;\n\t(b)\tto enter the land, by its agents or employees, at any reasonable time, for the purpose of operating, examining, maintaining, repairing, modifying or replacing the relevant electricity infrastructure;\n\t(c)\tto bring on to the land any vehicles or equipment that may be reasonably necessary for any of the above purposes.\n\t(3)\tThe powers conferred by the easement must be exercised so as to minimise, as far as reasonably practicable, interference with the enjoyment of the land by persons lawfully occupying the land.\n\t(4)\tSection 47(3) to (10) of the Electricity Act 1996 (and any regulations made for the purposes of any of those provisions) apply to the carrying out of work under this clause on public land (within the meaning of that section) in the same way as to the carrying out of work on public land under that section.\n\t(5)\tThe specified body must make good any damage caused by the exercise of powers under this clause as soon as practicable or pay reasonable compensation for the damage.\n\t(6)\tIf the specified body has an easement relating to electricity infrastructure over another person's land otherwise than by virtue of this clause or clause 5 of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994, the application of the easement under this clause to the land is excluded to the extent necessary to avoid the same part of the land being subject to both easements.\n\t(6a)\tIf the specified body is an electricity corporation, the application of any easement that the body has under clause 5 of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994 is excluded.\n\t(7)\tThe specified body may, by instrument in writing—\n\t(a)\tsuspend or limit rights or impose conditions on the exercise of rights arising under the easement under this clause; or\n\t(b)\tsurrender (in whole or in part) the easement under this clause,\nand such an instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\t(7a)\tNothing prevents more than one body from having an easement under this clause over the same land or in relation to the same electricity infrastructure.\n\t(8)\tAn easement under this clause need not be registered.\n\t(9)\tHowever, the Registrar-General must, on application by the specified body, note an easement under this clause on each certificate of title, or Crown lease, affected by the easement.\n\t(10)\tAn application under this clause—\n\t(a)\tneed not include a plan of the easement;\n\t(b)\tmust include a schedule of all certificates of title and Crown leases affected by the easement.\n\t(11)\tThe Registrar-General is entitled to act on the basis of information included in the application and is not obliged to do anything to verify the accuracy of that information.\n2A—Building and development work for substations and transformers regarded as complying\nAll building and development work carried out before 30 September 1999 in relation to substations or transformers owned or operated by an electricity corporation or State-owned company at that date will be regarded as complying with the statutory and regulatory requirements applicable at the time the work was carried out.\n3—Liability of certain bodies to council rates or amounts in lieu of rates\n\t(1)\tThe following provisions apply in relation to the liability of a State-owned company to pay rates under the Local Government Act 1934, despite the provisions of that Act:\n\t(a)\ta State-owned company is liable to pay rates;\n\t(b)\tland and buildings of a State-owned company are rateable property within the meaning of that Act;\n\t(c)\tthe following are not rateable property within the meaning of that Act:\n\t(i)\tplant or equipment used by a State-owned company in connection with the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity (whether or not the plant or equipment is situated on land owned by the corporation);\n\t(ii)\teasements, rights of way or other similar rights (including such rights arising by virtue of a licence) that have been granted or operate in connection with the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity.\n\t(2)\tDespite the Local Government Act 1934, the following are not rateable property within the meaning of that Act:\n\t(a)\tplant or equipment (other than electricity generating plant and substations for converting, transforming or controlling electricity) used by a body specified by proclamation for the purposes of this clause in connection with the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity (whether or not the plant or equipment is situated on land owned by the body);\n\t(b)\teasements, rights of way or other similar rights (including such rights arising by virtue of a licence) that have been granted or operate in connection with the generation, transmission or distribution of electricity.\n\t(3)\tDespite the Local Government Act 1934, the Governor may, by proclamation, declare that the rates payable under that Act in respect of specified land on which is situated any electricity generating plant, or substation for converting, transforming or controlling electricity, used by a body specified in the proclamation are reduced to a specified amount or an amount determined in a specified manner.\n\t(4)\tThe holder of a licence authorising the generation of electricity at Torrens Island must, as required by proclamation, make payments to the Treasurer for the credit of the Consolidated Account of amounts determined in accordance with the provisions of the proclamation (being provisions framed having regard to rates imposed under the Local Government Act 1934 in the adjoining council areas).\n\t(5)\tA proclamation made for the purposes of this clause may not be revoked and may be varied only by regulation and if the variation reduces the future liabilities of the body to which the proclamation relates.\n4—ETSA's inscribed debenture stock\n\t(1)\tDebentures or inscribed debenture stock referred to in clause 6 of Schedule 2 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994 will be taken to have been issued by a person or body specified by proclamation for the purposes of this clause.\n\t(2)\tThe specified person or body must be the Treasurer or a person or body whose liabilities are guaranteed by the Treasurer.\n\t(3)\tThe specified person or body—\n\t(a)\tmay, on the application of the owner of any such debentures, convert them into inscribed debenture stock; and\n\t(b)\tmust keep a register of inscribed debenture stock (the Register).\n\t(4)\tInscribed debenture stock will be taken to have been issued, and debentures will be taken to have been converted into inscribed debenture stock, when the name of the owner, and the amount and description of the stock, and any other particulars determined by the specified person or body, are entered in the Register.\n\t(5)\tA person whose name is inscribed in the Register as the owner of inscribed debenture stock will be taken to be the owner of that stock and may dispose of and transfer it in the manner prescribed by this clause and may give effectual receipts for any money paid by way of consideration for the stock.\n\t(6)\tThe specified person or body may, if it thinks reasonable cause exists for doing so, issue to any person a certificate stating that any person was (on a day and at an hour mentioned in the certificate) inscribed in the Register as the owner of a specified amount of inscribed debenture stock.\n\t(7)\tA certificate issued under subclause (6) will, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be taken to be evidence of the fact stated in it.\n\t(8)\tThe legal ownership of inscribed debenture stock is not transferred from the owner whose name is inscribed in the Register to any other person until—\n\t(a)\tthat owner and the transferee have executed a transfer in a form fixed by the specified person or body, and the name of the transferee and the amount of the stock have been entered in the Register; or\n\t(b)\ta person to whom the title to the stock has passed on death or bankruptcy or otherwise by operation of law has produced to the specified person or body such reasonable evidence of title as the specified person or body requires, and that person's name has been entered in the Register as the owner of the stock.\n\t(9)\tNo notice of any trust, express, implied or constructive, affecting inscribed debenture stock, may be received by the specified person or body or entered in the Register or any other book kept by the specified person or body.\n\t(10)\tSubject to the provisions of this clause relating to the transfer and transmission of inscribed debenture stock and notice of trusts, equitable interests may be enforced against the owners of inscribed debenture stock.\n5—Agreement between Minister and licensee about environmental compliance\n\t(1)\tSubject to this clause, an agreement may be made between the Minister and the holder of a specially issued licence requiring the licensee to undertake programs directed towards reducing the adverse effects on the environment of the operations authorised by the licence and containing provisions dealing with and limiting the licensee's environmental protection obligations in relation to those operations.\n\t(2)\tThe Minister may not make an agreement with a licensee under this clause—\n\t(a)\tif the licence was issued or transferred to the purchaser under a sale/lease agreement—more than one month after the issue or transfer of the licence to the purchaser; or\n\t(b)\tif paragraph (a) does not apply and the licence was issued to a State-owned company—more than one month after the company ceases to be a State-owned company.\n\t(3)\tIt is a precondition to the making of an agreement under this clause that the Environment Protection Authority approves the terms of the agreement.\n\t(4)\tAn agreement under this clause has effect as a contract for the period specified in the agreement and is binding on, and operates for the benefit of, the licensee who entered into the agreement, successive holders of the licence and a person who holds some subsequently granted licence under the Electricity Act 1996 authorising operations to which the agreement relates.\n\t(5)\tThe Environment Protection Act 1993 and any statutory instruments under that Act are to be construed subject to an agreement under this clause and, to the extent of any inconsistency between that Act or statutory instrument and the agreement, the agreement prevails.\n\t(6)\tAny adverse effects on the environment specifically permitted by an agreement under this clause are to be taken—\n\t(a)\tnot to constitute a contravention of the Environment Protection Act 1993 or any statutory instrument under that Act; and\n\t(b)\tnot to give rise to any liability under any Act or at law.\n\t(7)\tAn agreement under this clause may be varied by further agreement between the Environment Protection Authority and the licensee for the time being bound by the agreement.\n\t(8)\tAn agreement or variation of an agreement under this clause must be published in the Gazette.\n\t(9)\tIn this clause—\nMinister means the Minister to whom the administration of the Environment Protection Act 1993 is committed.\n6—Proclamations\n\t(1)\tThe Governor may make proclamations for the purposes of this Schedule.\n\t(2)\tExcept as otherwise provided in this Schedule, the Governor may, by subsequent proclamation, vary or revoke a proclamation made for the purposes of this Schedule.\nSchedule 2—Conversion of electricity corporation to State-owned company\n1—Steps before conversion of electricity corporation to company\n\t(1)\tAs from a date specified by proclamation, the electricity corporation is to have a share capital.\n\t(2)\tThe proclamation may contain requirements for the issuing of shares by the electricity corporation to specified Ministers of the Crown, including (without limitation) requirements as to the number of shares to be issued, the rights to be attached to the shares, the issue price of the shares and the consideration to be given for the shares.\n\t(3)\tThe Ministers to whom shares in the electricity corporation are issued are not members of the electricity corporation at any time before its conversion to a company limited by shares merely because the Ministers hold those shares.\n\t(4)\tThe electricity corporation is authorised (with the approval of the Minister) to take such action as is necessary or desirable to be taken for the purpose of its being registered as a proprietary or public company limited by shares under Part 5B.1 of the Corporations Law (Registering a body corporate as a company), including (without limitation) action to adopt a constitution approved by the Minister.\n\t(5)\tThe electricity corporation must take such action of a kind referred to in subclause (4) as is required by the proclamation.\n2—Membership of the electricity corporation following conversion\n\t(1)\tThe Ministers, as holders of shares in the electricity corporation at the time of its conversion to a company limited by shares, become (by force of this subclause) members of the electricity corporation at the time of that conversion.\n\t(2)\tThe Ministers are, in relation to membership of the electricity corporation following its conversion, entitled to the same rights, privileges and benefits, and are subject to the same duties, liabilities and obligations, as if they had become members of the electricity corporation immediately prior to its conversion.\n3—Continuity of electricity corporation and construction of references to electricity corporation\n\t(1)\tWithout limiting any provision of the Corporations Law, the electricity corporation as converted into a company limited by shares is a continuation of, and the same legal entity as, the electricity corporation as it existed before the conversion.\n\t(2)\tAfter the conversion, a reference in any instrument to the electricity corporation is to be read as a reference to the electricity corporation as converted into a company limited by shares.\n4—Proclamations\nThe Governor may make proclamations for the purposes of this Schedule.\nSchedule 3—Amendments relating to superannuation\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1—Commencement\n\t(1)\tParts 2, 3 and 4 of this Schedule come into operation in accordance with a notice or notices by the Treasurer published in the Gazette.\n\t(2)\tA notice may—\n\t(a)\tfix the same day or different days for different provisions of Parts 2, 3 and 4 to come into operation;\n\t(b)\tsuspend the operation of specified provisions of Part 2, 3 or 4 until a day or days to be fixed by subsequent notice or notices.\n\t(3)\tIn this clause—\nprovision means—\n\t(a)\ta clause, or a paragraph of a clause, of this Schedule; or\n\t(b)\ta clause of a schedule (including a clause of the Trust Deed) inserted or substituted by this Schedule; or\n\t(c)\ta clause of Schedule 1 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994 (including a clause of the Trust Deed) inserted by clause 4 of this Schedule; or\n\t(d)\ta subclause or a paragraph or subparagraph of a clause referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) or a paragraph or subparagraph of such a subclause.\nPart 4—Amendment of Schedule 1 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994\nNote—\nClause 4(h), (j)-(l), (p), (r), (u), (y) and (zc) had not come into operation at the date of the publication of this version.\n4—Amendment of Schedule\nSchedule 1 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994 as substituted by Part 2 of this Schedule is amended—\n\t(h)\tby striking out Part D;\n\t(j)\tby renumbering the clauses of the Trust Deed in numerical order following the amendments to be made by the following paragraphs of this clause and by making consequential changes to cross references;\nNote—\nNew clauses inserted by subsequent paragraphs of this clause are given the number they will have after the renumbering.;\n\t(k)\tby striking out clause 1 of the Trust Deed and substituting the following clause:\n1—Operation of Deed\nThis Deed came into operation at the same time as Schedule 1 of the Electricity Corporations Act 1994 as substituted by the Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999.;\n\t(l)\tby inserting the following definition after the definition of commencement of this Deed in subclause (1) of clause 2 of the Trust Deed:\nelectricity corporation has the same meaning as in the Electricity Corporations Act 1994;;\n\t(p)\tby inserting after subclause (1) of clause 2 of the Trust Deed the following subclause:\n\t(1a)\tA term defined in the relevant law has the same meaning in this Deed.;\n\t(r)\tby inserting the following clause after clause 3 of the Trust Deed:\n4—Amendment of Deed\n\t(1)\tSubject to the relevant law, the Trustee may, by instrument in writing, amend or replace this Deed.\n\t(2)\tWhere the amendment or replacement of this Deed would result in an increase in the contribution to be made by an employer or increase the liability of the employer under the Scheme in any other way, the Deed cannot be amended or replaced without the approval of the employer.\n\t(3)\tAn amendment or replacement of this Deed will be taken to come into operation on the date specified in the instrument amending or replacing the Deed whether being a date before or after the date on which the instrument was made.;\n\t(u)\tby striking out \"Subject to subclause (3)\" from subclause (1) of clause 5 of the Trust Deed and substituting \"Subject to the relevant law and to subclause (3)\";\n\t(y)\tby inserting the following clauses after clause 10 of the Trust Deed:\n11—Application of Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993\n\t(1)\tThe Trustee must give notice to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority electing that the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth is to apply to the Scheme.\n\t(2)\tThe Trustee must, after the election referred to in subclause (1), comply with all relevant provisions of the relevant law unless exempted from compliance with a specified provision or provisions by the authority administering the law concerned.\n12—Application of relevant law in certain circumstances\n\t(1)\tA person who has a discretion under this Deed or the Rules must not exercise that discretion without the consent of the Trustee if the relevant law so requires.\n\t(2)\tA person must not give a direction to the Trustee pursuant to this Deed or the Rules in contravention of the relevant law.\n\t(3)\tA covenant that is required by the relevant law to be included in this Deed will be taken to be included and will be binding on the Trustee and each member, or each member of the governing body, of the Trustee.\n13—Resolution of inconsistency\nA provision of clause 11 or 12 that is inconsistent with any other provision of this Deed or the Rules will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.\n14—Term of office of Trustee\n\t(1)\tThe Trustee, holds office until—\n\t(a)\tit retires from office by written notice to the employers; or\n\t(b)\ta person is appointed as a receiver, receiver and manager or liquidator of the Trustee or a court approves a scheme of management providing for its dissolution; or\n\t(c)\tit is disqualified from holding office as Trustee of the Scheme.\n\t(2)\tSubclause (1) does not apply to the Board.\n15—Appointment of new Trustee\n\t(1)\tWhen the office of Trustee becomes vacant the employers must, by a majority decision, appoint another Trustee.\n\t(2)\tOnly a body that is a constitutional corporation for the purposes of section 19 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth may be appointed as Trustee of the Scheme.\n\t(3)\tAn act of the Trustee is not invalid by reason only of a defect in its appointment.\n16—Powers of Trustee\n\t(1)\tThe Trustee may delegate any of its functions, powers or duties under this Deed or the Rules to any person.\n\t(2)\tThe delegation—\n\t(a)\tmust be by instrument in writing;\n\t(b)\tmay be absolute or conditional;\n\t(c)\tdoes not derogate from the power of the Trustee to act in any matter;\n\t(d)\tis revocable at will by the Trustee.\n\t(3)\tThe Trustee has all other powers that are necessary or desirable for the proper administration of the Scheme in accordance with the relevant law.\n17—Conflict of interest\nA member, or a member of the governing body, of the Trustee will not be taken to have a conflict of interest in relation to any matter being considered by the Trustee by reason only of the fact that he or she is entitled, or potentially entitled, to benefits under the Scheme.;\n\t(zc)\tby inserting in clause 13 of the Trust Deed after paragraph (b) of subclause (1) of that clause \", or the exclusion of liability is prohibited by the relevant law.\".\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tIn this version provisions that are uncommenced appear in italics.\n\t•\tPlease note—References in the legislation to other legislation or instruments or to titles of bodies or offices are not automatically updated as part of the program for the revision and publication of legislation and therefore may be obsolete.\n\t•\tEarlier versions of this Act (historical versions) are listed at the end of the legislative history.\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nLegislation amended by principal Act\nThe Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999 amended the following:\nDevelopment Act 1993\nEnvironment Protection Act 1993\nMining Act 1971\nSuperannuation Act 1988\nPrincipal Act and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n1999\n36\n Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999\n1.7.1999\n29.7.1999 (Gazette 29.7.1999 p528) except s 13—1.7.1999: s 2(2) and except Sch 3 Pts 2 & 3—1.12.1999 (Gazette 23.9.1999 p1214) and except Sch 4 (cll 8—11)—24.2.2000 (Gazette 24.2.2000 p1070) and except Sch 4 (cll 12—15)—deleted by 74/1999 without coming into operation and except Sch 3 (cl 4(g), (n), (o), (q), (v)—(x), (z), (za), (zb), (zd))—29.5.2002 (Gazette 23.5.2002 p1951) and except Sch 3 (cl 4(i), (s), (t))—30.6.2002 (Gazette 23.5.2002 p1951) and except Sch 3 (cl 4(a)—(f), (m))—9.2.2006 (Gazette 9.2.2006 p474) and except Sch 3 (cl 4(h), (j)—(l), (p), (r), (u), (y), (zc))—uncommenced\n1999\n74\n Statutes Amendment (Electricity) Act 1999\n25.11.1999\nPt 4 ss 18 & 19—30.11.1999: s 2(5); ss 15—17—2.12.1999 (Gazette 2.12.1999 p2952); s 14(a) & (c)—20.1.2000 (Gazette 20.1.2000 p294); ss 14(b) & 20—31.3.2000 (Gazette 30.3.2000 p1899)\n2006\n35\n Statutes Amendment (Electricity Industry Superannuation Scheme) Act 2006\n14.12.2006\nPt 3 (s 5)—1.2.2007 (Gazette 1.2.2007 p323)\n2012\n54\n Statutes Amendment and Repeal (Budget 2012) Act 2012\n6.12.2012\nPt 4 (s 14)—15.2.2013 (Gazette 7.2.2013 p262)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\nLong title\namended under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n9.2.2006\nPt 1\n\n\ns 3\n\n\ns 3(1)\n\n\nelectricity corporation\namended by 74/1999 s 14(a)\n20.1.2000\n\n(b) deleted by 74/1999 s 14(b)\n31.3.2000\n\n(a) deleted by 54/2012 s 14(1)\n15.2.2013\nRESI\ninserted by 74/1999 s 14(c)\n20.1.2000\n\ndeleted by 54/2012 s 14(2)\n15.2.2013\nPt 3\n\n\ns 13\n\n\ns 13(6)\n\n\nprescribed electricity assets\namended by 74/1999 s 15\n2.12.1999\nPt 4\n\n\ns 24\n\n\ns 24(9)\namended by 35/2006 s 5\n1.2.2007\nPt 6\n\n\ns 34\nexpired: s 34(2)—omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n(29.7.2001)\ns 35\nsubstituted by 74/1999 s 16\n2.12.1999\nSch 1\n\n\ncl 2\n\n\ncl 2(6)\namended by 74/1999 s 17(a)\n2.12.1999\ncl 2(6a)\ninserted by 74/1999 s 17(b)\n2.12.1999\ncl 2(7)\nsubstituted by 74/1999 s 17(c)\n2.12.1999\ncl 2(7a)\ninserted by 74/1999 s 17(c)\n2.12.1999\ncl 2A\ninserted by 74/1999 s 17(d)\n2.12.1999\nSch 3\n\n\nPt 2\namended by 74/1999 s 18\n30.11.1999\n\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n9.2.2006\nPt 3\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n9.2.2006\nPt 4\n\n\ncl 4\namended by 74/1999 s 19\n30.11.1999\n\n(a)—(l), (m), (g), (i), (n), (o), (q), (s), (t), (v)—(x), (z), (za), (zb) and (zd) omitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n9.2.2006\nSch 4 before omission\n\n\ncls 12—15\ndeleted by 74/1999 s 20\n31.3.2000\nSch 4\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n9.2.2006\nHistorical versions\nReprint No 1—2.12.1999\n\nReprint No 2—20.1.2000\n\nReprint No 3—31.3.2000\n\nReprint No 4—29.5.2002\n\nReprint No 5—30.6.2002\n\n9.2.2006\n\n1.2.2007\n\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is not possible as the legislative text was not retrievable. The submission contained only a website 'Page Not Found' error from the South Australian legislation website, with no actual statutory provisions to analyse."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was returned — only a website error page","Complexity cannot be assessed without substantive content","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying Act"],"plain_english_summary":"**⚠️ Content Unavailable**\n\nThe actual text of the *Electricity Corporations (Restructuring and Disposal) Act 1999* (SA) could not be retrieved. The source URL returned a **Page Not Found** error, meaning the legislation content was not accessible at the time of this request.\n\n**What is known from the title alone:**\nThis is a South Australian law from 1999 that appears to deal with the **restructuring and sale (disposal) of government-owned electricity corporations** — likely part of the wave of electricity privatisation that swept Australian states in the late 1990s. It would typically affect:\n- **South Australian residents and businesses** as electricity consumers\n- **Employees** of government electricity bodies\n- **Investors** acquiring privatised electricity assets\n- **Government agencies** managing the transition\n\n**To access the actual legislation**, visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) directly and search for the Act by name, or update any bookmarks created before 24 March 2026."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":8,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act expands and centralises the legal toolkit available to the executive for restructuring and disposing of electricity corporations' assets and liabilities. Mechanically it authorises (a) extensive ministerial ordering powers to transfer or vest assets and liabilities and to alter instruments (s8, s10), (b) conversion of corporations into State-owned companies with share capital and related proclamation powers (s11; Schedule 2), (c) structured sale/lease agreements and special orders to reassign purchaser assets (s13, s16), (d) transfer and protection of employees with detailed separation and relocation rules (s23, s24), and (e) administrative overrides of other statutory and contract rules for transactions done under the Act (s33, s36). The Act also prescribes the permitted uses of proceeds and establishes reporting oversight (s21, s22). These mechanics extend the government's direct powers over asset ownership, licences and staffing compared with a framework limited to ordinary commercial dispositions, centralising decision authority in Ministers, the Treasurer and the Governor (s5, s8, s18, s11)."},"complexity_factors":["Wide-ranging ministerial and Treasurer discretion to make transfer, licence and guarantee decisions (s5, s8, s10, s18, s20, s25)","Multiple legal mechanisms to move assets and liabilities (transfer orders, sale/lease agreements, special orders, vesting orders, employee transfer orders) (s8, s13, s16, s12, s23)","Cross-references with schedules, other Acts and proclamations (Schedule 1, Schedule 2, s11, s35, s33)","Evidentiary and override provisions that alter ordinary legal remedies and recognition (s7, s20, s33, s36)","Detailed employee protections and separation rules with administrative ordering and ministerial orders to define calculations (s23, s24)","Fiscal routing and specified permitted uses of proceeds including a bespoke price-parity scheme and Auditor-General reporting (s21, s22)","Property law complications: treatment of infrastructure as severable and creation of statutory easements (s30; Schedule 1)","Stamp duty exemptions and exemptions from procedural requirements under other Acts which alter normal transaction processes (s32, s33)"],"plain_english_summary":"# What this law does (mechanics first)\n\n- Authorises the government to prepare for and carry out the restructuring and disposal of electricity corporations' assets and liabilities (the \"authorised project\") and to allow prospective purchasers access to corporation information for that purpose (s5(1)–(4)).\n- Gives the Minister power to make written orders that transfer or vest assets or liabilities, grant or extinguish leases and easements, and alter existing instruments so rights and obligations pass to new bodies (transfer orders) (s8(1)–(9)).\n- Permits the State to sell or lease electricity assets by agreement (sale/lease agreement) subject to some statutory limits on what may be sold (s13(3)–(4)).\n- Allows the Minister to make special orders (to reassign assets or liabilities of a purchaser) at the purchaser's request within a fixed time (s16(1)–(6)).\n- Provides for the conversion of an electricity corporation into a State-owned company and associated steps (s11; Schedule 2).\n- Enables transfer of employees to purchasers or State-owned companies by employee transfer orders and sets rules protecting continuity of service, pay and leave entitlements (s23(1)–(13)).\n- Requires private purchasers who take on transferred employees to offer separation packages or, in some cases, an offer of public sector employment with protections (s24).\n- Authorises the Minister to require the issue or transfer of licences under the Electricity Act to State-owned companies or purchasers, and to give those directions effect without the licensee having to apply under the Electricity Act (s25(1)–(6)).\n- Prescribes how sale/lease proceeds may be used (costs of restructuring, retiring State debt, or funding a scheme to limit regional/metro price differences) and establishes a price‑parity scheme for some small customers (s21(1)–(4), (6)).\n- Directs the Auditor‑General to examine long‑term leases and related transactions and report on use of proceeds, interest savings and probity (s22).\n- Confers administrative and evidentiary shortcuts and protections: Ministerial certificates as prima facie proof (s7, s20); overrides and exclusions of other laws where a transfer or order applies (s33, s36); stamp duty exemptions for transfers by order (s32).\n- Treats electricity infrastructure as severable from land for transfer purposes and creates statutory easement arrangements and related procedures (s30; Schedule 1).\n- Permits the Governor to make proclamations to give effect to various parts of the scheme (for example conversion to company, immunity from Crown liability in relation to leased assets) (s11, s35, Sch1 cl1).\n\n# Who it affects\n\n- Electricity corporations and their subsidiaries, State-owned companies, Ministers and the Treasurer (through powers to make orders, fix conditions, receive proceeds) (s3 definitions; s8; s10; s21).\n- Purchasers and lessees who acquire assets or leases under sale/lease agreements or transfer orders (s13, s14, s16).\n- Employees of the electricity corporations and transferred employees of purchasers (s23, s24).\n- Councils and landowners whose land contains electricity infrastructure, and registering authorities (s12; Schedule 1; s31).\n- Small electricity customers in non‑metropolitan areas who are the intended beneficiaries of the price parity scheme described in s21(6).\n\n# Who pays and who decides (clear lines of authority)\n\n- The Minister has broad, primary decision‑making powers over preparation, transfers, conditions and orders (s5, s8, s10, s16, s20, s25). The Treasurer can continue Government guarantees by written order and fix charges for those guarantees and directs some payments from State‑owned companies and electricity corporations (s18(2)–(4); s21(4)–(5); s28).\n- Proceeds from sale/lease agreements are to be applied by the Treasurer only for specified purposes (termination costs of earlier leases, restructuring costs, a price‑parity account, or retiring State debt) (s21(1)).\n- The Governor has specific powers by proclamation (for example to convert a corporation into a company, or to declare Crown immunity in relation to leased assets) (s11; s35).\n\n# Official purpose claim and a practical test of that claim\n\n- The Act is titled and framed to provide for the restructuring and disposal of electricity corporation assets (s1; s5(1) describes the authorised project). The statutory mechanics support that purpose by creating multiple legal routes to move assets, liabilities, instruments and staff into new ownership or control (transfer orders, sale/lease agreements, special orders, employee transfer orders) (s8, s13, s16, s23).\n- The Act also imposes reporting and oversight steps that, on paper, are designed to secure public accountability for long leases and the use of proceeds (Auditor‑General reporting in s22; laying prescribed reports before Parliament in s13(5)).\n\n# Testing the purpose claim against costs, incentives and trade‑offs (mechanisms, not verdicts)\n\n- Concentration of decision rights: The Minister and Treasurer hold broad discretion to effect transfers, set conditions and continue guarantees (s8, s10, s18). That concentrates allocation and timing choices in the executive (who decides). Concentrated discretion creates administrative implementation risk because many outcomes depend on the exercise of those powers (s8(1)–(2); s18(2)).\n\n- Compliance and information burdens: Corporations and their employees are required to provide access to information and co‑operate with the authorised project, and prospective purchasers may be granted access despite other laws (s5(3)–(4); s6). This lowers transaction friction for restructuring but imposes duties on existing bodies and staff to assist the process.\n\n- Legal certainty vs extraterritorial complications: The Act gives orders effect \"by force of this Act and despite the provisions of any other law or instrument\" (s8(5), s14(4)), and seeks extra‑territorial application (s4). That simplifies transfers within the South Australian scheme, but where foreign or interstate law does not recognise a transfer or discharge of liability, the transferor is entitled to an indemnity from the transferee (s19(1)). The mechanism shifts the risk (payment obligation under foreign law) to the transferee via indemnity rather than ensuring universal recognition.\n\n- Transaction costs and incentives: The statute removes some transaction costs (stamp duty exemptions for transfers by transfer order and transfers to State‑owned companies (s32)) and allows licence issuance/transfers without application under the Electricity Act (s25(1), (5)). These changes reduce administrative hurdles for purchasers and could make acquisitions more attractive financially.\n\n- Fiscal allocation and opportunity cost: Proceeds of sale/lease agreements are ringfenced to a small set of purposes (s21(1)). The Act explicitly permits use for either a regional/metro price parity scheme or retiring State debt (s21(1)(c)–(d)). That creates an explicit choice of uses — funding a price support scheme for some small customers (s21(6)) versus paying down debt — and therefore an opportunity cost depending on the Treasurer's allocation.\n\n- Employee protections vs employer flexibility: Employees transferred by order retain continuity of service and accrued leave (s23(6), (10)), and separation package rules require offers and minimum periods to consider them (s24(1)–(5)). Those protections raise the cost of workforce restructuring for purchasers but also reduce employment discontinuity risks for staff.\n\n- Limits on Crown exposure and liability shifting: The Act allows the Governor to declare immunity from Crown civil or criminal liability in relation to leased assets, to the extent specified (s35(1)), and provides that transfer/lease actions under the Act do not, by themselves, constitute breaches or defaults under other contracts or laws (s36). Those provisions reduce the legal exposure of the Crown and parties acting under orders but concentrate legal risk management considerations into instruments and proclamations.\n\n- Oversight and probity mechanisms: The Auditor‑General must be provided copies of long‑term leases and report on the use of proceeds and probity (s22(1)–(3)). The statutory requirement establishes a specific parliamentary reporting checkpoint after long leases are made, which is an explicit accountability mechanism.\n\n# Key practical effects on private choice and markets (mechanisms)\n\n- Enables private entities to acquire long‑term rights to prescribed electricity assets and to obtain licences issued or transferred under ministerial order without the usual application process (s13(3), s25(1), (3)–(5)). This changes how ownership and regulatory entry can be achieved.\n- Permits subcontracting of contractual obligations to State‑owned companies or purchasers when the Minister authorises it (s9, s15), altering the allocation of operational tasks and potentially the structure of service delivery.\n- Creates statutory easements and easement registration processes for electricity infrastructure and treats such infrastructure as severable from land (s30; Sch1 cl1–2), affecting property rights and access rules for landowners and utilities.\n\n# Implementation risks and administrative discretion highlighted in the text\n\n- Heavy reliance on Ministerial and Treasurer orders (s5, s8, s10, s18, s20, s25) and on Governor proclamations (s11, s35) concentrates power in the executive and gives rise to implementation outcomes that depend on how and when those powers are exercised.\n- The Act states that certificates and documents purporting to be ministerial certificates are to be accepted in proceedings in the absence of contrary proof (s7, s20), which reduces litigation friction but increases the practical evidentiary weight of administrative statements.\n\n# Short concluding practical note\n\nMechanically, the Act creates a comprehensive statutory pathway for the government to reorganise, lease or sell electricity assets and to move staff, instruments and licences accordingly while providing specific reporting and employee‑protection mechanics. The Act centralises decision rights in Ministers and the Treasurer, prescribes a limited set of uses for proceeds (including a specified price‑parity scheme), and contains a mixture of transaction‑reducing measures (stamp duty exemption, direct licence transfers) and protective measures (employee continuity, Auditor‑General oversight). The trade‑offs are visible in the Act's text: faster, order‑based transfers and reduced transaction friction in exchange for concentrated executive discretion and statutory overrides of otherwise applicable legal rules (see s8, s25, s32, s33, s36)."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears to maintain its original scope as a privatisation and restructuring framework. While it contains detailed provisions across multiple areas (employment, environmental, financial, property), these all serve the central purpose of enabling the disposal of electricity assets. The amendments shown in the legislative history are technical adjustments to definitions, superannuation arrangements, and commencement dates rather than expansions into new policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple overlapping mechanisms for asset transfer: transfer orders, sale/lease agreements, special orders, vesting orders, and employee transfer orders, each with slightly different rules","Extensive cross-referencing to other Acts: Electricity Corporations Act 1994, Electricity Act 1996, Corporations Law, Public Corporations Act 1993, Local Government Act 1934, etc.","Nested conditional logic: Section 13 contains complex limitations on disposal with multiple exceptions (subsection 4 has 5 separate exceptions to the prohibition)","27 defined terms in section 3 alone, many incorporating definitions from other legislation","Temporal complexity: Different commencement dates for different sections (s 2 has three separate commencement triggers), and protections that expire after specific periods (e.g., employee protections in s 24 expire after 'first two years')","Geographic and jurisdictional reach: Section 4 asserts extraterritorial application and attempts to bind foreign courts","Schedule 3 contains uncommenced provisions (noted in italics) with complex amendment instructions including renumbering and substitution of Trust Deed clauses","Mathematical formulas for employee entitlements in s 24(6) with variables defined by Ministerial order"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis is South Australia's framework for privatising its electricity industry. It gives the government sweeping powers to break up, restructure, and sell off the state's electricity assets—primarily those belonging to ETSA (the Electricity Trust of South Australia) and related corporations.\n\n**Key things it allows:**\n\n*   **Massive asset transfers:** The Minister can transfer assets, liabilities, and employees between government bodies, new State-owned companies, and eventually private buyers—often by simple written order, bypassing normal legal processes.\n*   **Conversion to companies:** Government electricity corporations can be converted into State-owned companies (corporations law companies with Ministers as shareholders), making them ready for sale.\n*   **Long-term leases:** Instead of outright sales, the government can grant 25+ year leases over critical infrastructure like power stations and transmission lines.\n*   **Employee protections (with limits):** Workers transferred to private employers get some safeguards—guaranteed pay rates for two years, separation packages if made redundant, and offers of public sector jobs. But these protections expire after two years.\n*   **Tax and regulatory shortcuts:** Transactions under this Act are exempt from stamp duty, planning laws, and certain commercial leasing protections. The government can also override environmental laws through special agreements with licensees.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n*   **Electricity workers:** Thousands of employees faced forced transfers to new employers with modified (but protected) conditions.\n*   **Consumers:** The Act establishes a price cap scheme to limit how much more regional customers pay compared to Adelaide customers (capped at 101.7%).\n*   **Private investors:** The Act creates mechanisms for due diligence access, government guarantees on some liabilities, and special statutory easements over land for infrastructure access.\n*   **Local councils:** Special rules limit council rates on electricity infrastructure.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis Act enabled one of South Australia's largest privatisations. It shows how governments use legislation to override normal property, commercial, and employment laws to facilitate major asset sales. The \"override\" provisions (saying this Act applies \"despite any other law\") appear repeatedly, allowing the government to cut through regulatory red tape but also limiting normal legal protections for affected parties."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999","history":"/api/acts/electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999/history","analysis":"/api/acts/electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/electricity-corporations-restructuring-and-disposal-act-1999/documents"}}