652Referral of matters etc. by responsible Minister

652 Referral of matters etc. by responsible Minister

652 Referral of matters etc. by responsible Minister

(1) The responsible Minister for a participating jurisdiction may—

(a) refer a matter relevant to that jurisdiction to the Regulator for action under this Law; or

(b) ask the Regulator for information about the exercise of the Regulator’s functions under this Law as applied in that jurisdiction.

(2) However, the Minister can not—

(a) refer a matter to the Regulator under subsection (1)(a) that may require the Regulator to take action that is inconsistent with—

(i) a direction given by the responsible Ministers under section 651; or

(ii) the approved guidelines; or

(b) direct the Regulator to take or not to take particular action in relation to a matter referred to the Regulator under subsection (1)(a); or

(c) otherwise influence the exercise of the Regulator’s functions under this Law.

(3) The Regulator may charge a fee for dealing with a referral or request made under subsection (1).

(4) A fee charged by the Regulator under subsection (3) must be an amount—

(a) the Regulator considers reasonable; and

(b) that is no more than the reasonable cost of dealing with the referral or request.

(5) Section 740(2) to (4) do not apply to a fee charged by the Regulator under subsection (3).