The Act identifies several discrete groups and legal actors whose rights, duties or interactions will be changed or implicated by the establishment of the Commissioner.
Cross border communities and businesses: The Act defines "cross border communities" as communities located on, or close to, the South Australian border (s 3). The functions directly target those communities and businesses located in those regions through facilitation, advocacy for regulatory simplification, identification of barriers to economic development, and work to improve access to services (s 7(a)-(f)). Those communities will be the primary recipients of outreach, reporting, and any service-planning dialogues the Commissioner initiates.
The Commissioner as a statutory officeholder and Crown agency: An appointed Commissioner is an agency of the Crown (s 5(2)) and is designated a senior official under the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 (s 10). The person in office will have statutory functions in s 7 and will be subject to the Act’s tenure and termination provisions (s 6). The Commissioner’s staff consist of Public Service employees assigned to assist and persons employed by the Commissioner with the Minister’s consent (s 11). These arrangements affect administrative staffing decisions and resource sourcing.
The Minister and Governor: The Minister recommends appointments to the Governor and must consult the Commissioner before giving directions; the Minister may give written directions and appoint acting Commissioners under s 9 (s 5(2), s 8(1)-(3), s 9(1)-(2)). The Governor formalises appointments, determines conditions and may terminate appointments on the statutory grounds listed (s 5(2), s 6(1)-(2)). The Governor also has power to make regulations (s 16). The Minister is the central supervisory actor, with the power to set terms for acting appointments (s 9(2)), to consent to persons the Commissioner employs (s 11(b)), and to receive and cause the annual report to be laid before Parliament (s 14).
Public Service employees and potential hires: Public Service employees can be appointed as Commissioner and may be assigned to assist the Commissioner (s 5(3)(c), s 11(a)). The Commissioner may employ persons to assist, but such hires require the Minister’s consent and terms determined by the Minister (s 11(b)). This affects recruitment channels, employment terms, and the degree to which the Commissioner can independently build a staff.
Service providers and other governments: The Act directs the Commissioner to facilitate collaboration between governments and service providers (s 7(a), s 7(e)). State, Territory and Commonwealth agencies and service providers involved in education, justice, health and community services are within the scope of the Commissioner’s functions (s 7(e)). These bodies may be requested to engage in planning or to supply information.
Persons providing information in the course of administration: The confidentiality provisions directly affect persons who acquire personal information, trade secrets, business process information or financial information by reason of involvement in the administration of this Act (s 13(1)). Those persons are under a statutory duty not to divulge such information except in the permitted circumstances, and there are monetary penalties for breaches (s 13(1)-(2)).
Parliament and the public: The reporting obligations require the Commissioner to prepare an annual report and the Minister to cause it to be laid before both Houses of Parliament within 12 sitting days after receipt (s 14). Ministerial directions must be included in the annual report (s 8(3)). Review reports must also be laid before Parliament (s 15). These provisions affect parliamentary oversight and public transparency.
Persons who might become Commissioners: Applicants for the office should note soft statutory expectations: the appointee should reside in a cross border community and should have a detailed understanding of cross border issues (s 5(3)(a)-(b)). The Act also indicates that Public Service employees are eligible (s 5(3)(c)). Prospective appointees should be mindful of termination grounds including criminal conviction, bankruptcy, disqualification under the Corporations Act, incapacity, incompetence, or neglect (s 6(2)-(3)), and should note resignation notice requirements (s 6(4)).
Courts and legal practitioners: The Act expressly permits disclosure of confidential information for the purposes of legal proceedings (s 13(1)(f)). Outside that exception, persons receiving disclosed information are constrained to the purpose for which it was disclosed (s 13(2)). The Act does not itself create an express private right of action or civil remedies beyond the statutory penalties; it does, however, lay the groundwork for potential administrative or disciplinary processes through termination provisions and the designation under the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 (s 6, s 10).
Other jurisdictions and policing bodies: The confidentiality exceptions permit disclosure to police officers or members of police forces of other States, Territories or the Commonwealth (s 13(1)(d)) and to persons administering other laws of State, other State, Territory or Commonwealth (s 13(1)(e)). Those bodies may therefore lawfully receive confidential information in specified circumstances.
In short, the Act affects a compact group: the Commissioner, Minister and Governor, Public Service staff and ministerially approved hires, cross border communities and their businesses, service providers and other governmental bodies, persons handling confidential information in the administration of the Act, and Parliament through reporting and review obligations. The Act channels staffing and disclosure pathways through ministerial and public service mechanisms and creates some statutory duties with monetary penalties that apply to persons involved in the Act’s administration.