Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This Act may be cited as the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005. 3—Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears— appointed member of the Board means a member of the Board appointed by the Governor under section 11(1); award includes— (a) an award or order of SAET; and (b) an award or order of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission; Board means the board established as the governing body of the Commission under Part 2 Division 3; CE of the Commission means the person holding the office of Chief Executive of the Commission under Part 2 Division 4 and includes a person for the time being acting in that office; Chief Officer of SACFS means the person holding the office of Chief Officer of SACFS under Part 4 Division 3 and includes a person for the time being acting in that office; Chief Officer of SAMFS means the person holding the office of Chief Officer of SAMFS under Part 3 Division 3 and includes a person for the time being acting in that office; Chief Officer of SASES means the person holding the office of Chief Officer of SASES under Part 5 Division 3 and includes a person for the time being acting in that office; Commission means the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission established under Part 2 Division 1; council means a council constituted under the Local Government Act 1999; country means any part of the State outside an SAMFS fire district; department means the administrative unit of the Public Service designated from time to time by the Minister by notice in the Gazette as the department for the purposes of this Act; designated urban bushfire risk area means an area of urban bushfire risk designated under section 4A; domestic partner means a person who is a domestic partner within the meaning of the Family Relationships Act 1975, whether declared as such under that Act or not; emergency means an event (whether occurring in the State, outside the State or in and outside the State) that causes, or threatens to cause— (a) the death of, or injury or other damage to the health of, any person; or (b) the destruction of, or damage to, any property; or (c) a disruption to essential services or to services usually enjoyed by the community; or (d) harm to the environment, or to flora or fauna; emergency services organisation means— (a) SAMFS; or (b) SACFS; or (c) SASES; emergency services sector comprises— (a) the Commission; and (b) SAMFS; and (c) SACFS; and (d) SASES; ex officio member of the Board means a member of the Board who holds office ex officio under section 12(1); fire control officer means a fire control officer appointed by the Chief Officer of SACFS under section 103; fire danger season, in relation to a part of the State, means a fire danger season fixed for that part of the State under Part 4 Division 8; fire district means a fire district established under section 4 for the purposes of the operations of SAMFS; firefighter includes a control room operator; fire-fighting means any activity directed towards— (a) preventing, controlling or extinguishing fires; (b) dealing with other emergencies that require SAMFS or SACFS to act to protect life, property or the environment; fire prevention officer means a fire prevention officer appointed by a council under Part 4A Division 2; forest reserve means a forest reserve under the Forestry Act 1950; industrial agreement means— (a) an enterprise agreement in force under the Fair Work Act 1994; or (b) a certified agreement or an Australian workplace agreement in force under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 of the Commonwealth as amended from time to time; industry brigade means a brigade registered under Part 4 Division 5A; land means, according to the context— (a) land as a physical entity, including any building or structure on, or improvement to, land; (b) a legal estate or interest in, or right in respect of, land; LGA means the Local Government Association of South Australia; misconduct, in relation to an officer or firefighter of SAMFS, means a contravention of or a failure to comply with the Code of Conduct set out in Schedule 2; officer of an emergency services organisation means a person who is designated as an officer of that organisation by the Chief Officer of the organisation; owner— (a) in relation to land alienated from the Crown in fee simple—means the owner of an estate in fee simple in the land; (b) in relation to land held from the Crown by lease, licence or agreement to purchase—means the lessee, licensee or purchaser, and includes the occupier; private land means— (a) land alienated from the Crown in fee simple; or (b) land held from the Crown by lease, licence or agreement to purchase, other than land under the care, control or management of a council or a Minister, agency or instrumentality of the Crown; public sector agency means a public sector agency under the Public Sector Act 2009; relative, in relation to a person, means the spouse, domestic partner, parent or remoter linear ancestor, son, daughter or remoter issue or brother or sister of the person; rescue means the safe removal of persons or animals from actual or threatened danger of physical harm; rural council means a council whose area lies wholly or partially outside a fire district; SACFS means the South Australian Country Fire Service under Part 4; SACFS brigade means a brigade established under section 68; SACFS organisation means— (a) an SACFS brigade; or (b) an SACFS group; SACFS region means a region established under Part 4 Division 4; SAET means the South Australian Employment Tribunal established under the South Australian Employment Tribunal Act 2014; SAMFS means the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service under Part 3; SASES means the South Australian State Emergency Service under Part 5; SASES unit means an SASES unit established under Part 5 Division 4; spouse—a person is the spouse of another if they are legally married; UFU means— (a) the United Firefighters' Union of South Australia Incorporated; and (b) the United Firefighters' Union of Australia (South Australian Branch); vehicle includes an aircraft or vessel. (1a) A reference in this or any other Act to— (a) an officer of SACFS includes a reference to a member of an industry brigade designated as an officer of that brigade by the Chief Officer of SACFS; and (b) a member of SACFS includes a reference to a member of an industry brigade. (1b) To avoid doubt, Part 4 Divisions 1 to 3 (inclusive) of this Act do not apply in relation to an officer or member of an industry brigade. (2) For the purposes of this Act, bushfire prevention relates to any reasonable action that may be taken in the country areas of the State— (a) to reduce or eliminate the risk of outbreak of bushfires; or (b) to prevent or inhibit— (i) the spread of any bushfire; or (ii) any increase in the intensity or seriousness of any bushfire; or (c) to mitigate the effect of any bushfire. (3) SACFS, the State Bushfire Coordination Committee and each bushfire management committee must, in the exercise and performance of powers and functions under this Act— (a) have due regard to the impact of their actions on the environment; and (b) seek to achieve a proper balance between bushfire prevention and proper land management in the country. (4) For the purposes of this Act, a person is an associate of another person if— (a) the other person is a relative of the person or of the person's spouse or domestic partner; or (b) the other person— (i) is a body corporate; and (ii) the person or a relative of the person or of the person's spouse or domestic partner has, or 2 or more such persons together have, a relevant interest or relevant interests in shares in the body corporate the nominal value of which is not less than 10 per cent of the nominal value of the issued share capital of the body corporate; or (c) the other person is a trustee of a trust of which the person, a relative of the person or of the person's spouse or domestic partner, or a body corporate referred to in paragraph (b), is a beneficiary; or (d) the person is declared by the regulations to be an associate of the other person. (5) To avoid doubt, a person cannot, at any particular time, be the Chief Officer of more than 1 emergency services organisation. 4—Establishment of areas for fire and emergency services (1) The Commission may, by notice in the Gazette, establish a fire district or fire districts for the purposes of the operations of SAMFS. (2) The Commission may, by notice in the Gazette— (a) vary the boundaries of a fire district; (b) abolish a fire district. (3) Those parts of the State that lie outside a fire district will be taken to be the areas of the State that apply for the purposes of the operations of SACFS. (4) In addition— (a) SAMFS may act outside a fire district that applies under subsection (1), and SACFS may act outside an area that applies under subsection (3) (subject to any other provision made by this Act); and (b) SAMFS and SACFS operations include acting in relation to any vessel. (5) SASES may act in any part of the State (subject to any other provision made by this Act). (6) Before a notice is published under subsection (1) or (2), the Commission must consult with— (b) the Chief Officer of SACFS. 4A—Areas of urban bushfire risk (1) The Commission may, by notice in the Gazette, designate an area within a fire district as an area of urban bushfire risk (a designated urban bushfire risk area). (2) The Commission may, by notice in the Gazette— (a) vary an area designated under subsection (1); or (b) revoke the designation of an area under subsection (1). (3) Before a notice is published under subsection (1) or (2), the Commission must consult with— (b) the Chief Officer of SACFS; and (c) any Minister designated by the Minister under this Act as being a Minister who has a significant interest in the matter; and (d) any council whose area would be, or is, within the designated urban bushfire risk area. (4) The period for consultation with a council will be 6 weeks, or such longer period as the Commission considers reasonable in the circumstances. 5—Application of Act (1) This Act is in addition to and does not limit, or derogate from, the provisions of any other Act. (2) This Act does not apply in relation to the taking of measures to bring an industrial dispute to an end or to control civil disorders (but may apply in relation to any fire or other emergency arising during the course of an industrial dispute or any civil disorder).