5Interpretation

#### 5 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: > annual report, in relation to an Entity or a Commonwealth authority, means its annual report (if any) to the responsible Minister relating to its activities, operations, business or affairs. > annual report of Comcare means the annual report on Comcare prepared under section 9 of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. > annual report of the Commission means the annual report of the Commission under section 89S of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. > association means an association of employees, a principal purpose of which is the protection and promotion of the employees’ interests in matters concerning their employment. > chief executive officer means: (a) for a Commonwealth authority—the person (by whatever name called) who is responsible for the administration of the authority; or (b) for a non‑Commonwealth licensee—the person (by whatever name called) who is primarily and directly responsible to the directors of the licensee for the general and overall management of the licensee. > Comcare means the body corporate established by section 68 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. > Commission means the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission established by section 89A of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. > Commonwealth authority means: (a) a body corporate established for a public purpose by or under a law of the Commonwealth or a law of a Territory (other than the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory or Norfolk Island); or (b) a body corporate: (i) that is incorporated under a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; and (ii) in which the Commonwealth, or a body corporate referred to in paragraph (a), has a controlling interest; and (iii) that is not a body corporate that the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, has declared not to be a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of this Act; or (c) a body corporate: (i) that is incorporated under a law of the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; and (ii) in which the Commonwealth has a substantial interest; and (iii) that is a body corporate that the Minister, by notice published in the Gazette, has declared to be a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of this Act; or (d) a body corporate: (i) that is not covered by paragraph (a), (b) or (c); and (ii) for which a licence under Part VIII of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 is in force (whether or not the licence is suspended); and (iii) that was not an eligible corporation for the purposes of that Part when the licence was granted. > Commonwealth authority contractor has the meaning given by section 9A. > Commonwealth authority employee has the meaning given by section 9. > Commonwealth contractor has the meaning given by section 9A. > Commonwealth employee has the meaning given by section 9. > Commonwealth premises means premises owned or occupied by the Commonwealth or by a Commonwealth authority. > contract includes any arrangement or understanding. > contractor has the meaning given by section 9A. > Note: In section 14, the meaning of contractor is affected by subsection 14(3). > controlling interest, in relation to a body corporate, means: (a) an interest in the body corporate that enables the person holding the interest to: (i) control the composition of the board of directors of the body corporate; or (ii) cast, or control the casting of, more than one‑half of the maximum number of votes that might be cast at a general meeting of the body corporate; or (iii) control more than one‑half of the issued share capital of the body corporate (excluding any part of that issued share capital that carries no right to participate beyond a specified amount in a distribution of either profits or capital); or (b) an interest in another body corporate that constitutes, under paragraph (a), a controlling interest in that other body corporate, being: (i) a body corporate that, under paragraph (a), has a controlling interest in the first‑mentioned body corporate; or (ii) a body corporate that has such a controlling interest by another application or other applications of this paragraph. > dangerous occurrence means an occurrence, at a workplace, that is declared by the regulations to be a dangerous occurrence for the purpose of this definition. > designated work group means a group of employees established as a designated work group in accordance with section 24, or that designated work group as varied in accordance with that section, and, in relation to an employer, means such a group that consists entirely of employees of that employer. > employee has the meaning given in section 9. > employee representative means: (a) in relation to an employee of an employer—a registered organisation of employees, or an association, of which the employee is a member, being an employee who is qualified to be such a member by virtue of the work the employee performs as an employee of the employer; or (b) in relation to a designated work group—a registered organisation of employees, or an association, of which an employee included in the group is a member, being an employee who is qualified to be such a member by virtue of the work the employee performs as an employee included in the group. > employer means: (a) the Commonwealth; or (b) a Commonwealth authority; or (c) a non‑Commonwealth licensee. > employing authority means: (a) in relation to a person who is a Commonwealth employee or a Commonwealth contractor: (i) the person or body specified in the regulations to be the employing authority in relation to that first‑mentioned person or in relation to a class of persons that includes that first‑mentioned person; or (ii) if the regulations do not so specify a person or body—the principal officer of the Entity for which the first‑mentioned person is performing work; or (b) in relation to a workplace at which, or any plant, substance or thing with which, a person of the kind first‑mentioned in paragraph (a) is performing work for the Commonwealth—the person or body who is, under paragraph (a), the employing authority in relation to that first‑mentioned person. > Entity means: (a) an Agency, within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999, that is not a Commonwealth authority; or (b) a Parliamentary Department within the meaning of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999; or (c) a person, body, organisation or group of persons prescribed for this paragraph. > Government business enterprise means: (a) a Commonwealth authority to which paragraph (a) or (d) of the definition of Commonwealth authority applies: (i) that is specified in Schedule 1; or (ii) that the Minister, by instrument published in the Gazette, has declared to be a Government business enterprise for the purposes of this Act; or (b) a Commonwealth authority to which paragraph (b) or (c) of that definition applies. > health and safety management arrangements means the health and safety management arrangements referred to in paragraph 16(2)(d). > improvement notice means an improvement notice issued under subsection 47(1). > investigation means an investigation conducted under Part 4. > investigator means a person appointed under section 40 to be an investigator. > involved: a person is involved in a breach of a provision if, and only if, the person has: (a) aided, abetted, counselled or procured the breach; or (b) has induced, whether by threats or promises or otherwise, the breach; or (c) has been in any way, by act or omission, directly or indirectly, knowingly concerned in or party to the breach; or (d) has conspired with others to effect the breach. > member, in relation to the Commission, has the additional meaning given in subsection (3A). > non‑Commonwealth licensee means a body corporate: (a) for which a licence under Part VIII of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 is in force (whether or not the licence is suspended); and (b) that was an eligible corporation for the purposes of that Part when the licence was granted; and (c) that is not a Commonwealth authority for the purposes of this Act. > non‑Commonwealth licensee contractor has the meaning given by section 9A. > non‑Commonwealth licensee employee has the meaning given by section 9. > non‑Commonwealth licensee premises, in relation to a particular non‑Commonwealth licensee, means premises owned or occupied by the non‑Commonwealth licensee. > own, in relation to a workplace, plant, a substance or a thing, includes own jointly, or own in part, the workplace, plant, substance or thing. > plant includes any machinery, equipment or tool, and any component thereof. > premises includes any place (whether enclosed or built on or not), including a place situated under ground or under water, and, in particular, includes: (a) a building, aircraft, vehicle or vessel; and (b) any structure, whether a fixed structure, or a moveable structure such as a tent, and whether on land, on the bed of any waters or floating on any waters; and (c) a part of premises (including a part of premises of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) or (b). > principal officer, in relation to a Commonwealth authority, means: (a) the person who constitutes, or is acting as the person who constitutes, the authority or, if the authority is constituted by 2 or more persons, the person who is entitled to preside at any meeting of the authority at which he or she is present; or (b) if the affairs of the authority are administered or managed by a board or other group of persons—the person who is entitled to preside at any meeting of that board or other group at which he or she is present. > principal officer, in relation to an Entity, means: (a) if the Entity is an Agency that is not a Commonwealth authority—the Agency Head within the meaning of the Public Service Act 1999; or (b) if the Entity is a Parliamentary Department—the Secretary of the Parliamentary Department within the meaning of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999; or (c) if the Entity is a person, body, organisation or group of persons prescribed for paragraph (c) of the definition of Entity—the person prescribed as the principal officer. > prohibition notice means a prohibition notice issued under subsection 46(1). > registered organisation means: (a) an association that is registered or recognised under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009; or (b) a body that is declared by the regulations to be a registered organisation for the purposes of this Act. > reviewing authority means Fair Work Australia, established under section 575 of the Fair Work Act 2009. > substantial interest, in relation to a body corporate, means an interest (other than a controlling interest) in the body corporate that enables the person holding the interest to cast, or control the casting of, a number of votes at a general meeting of the body corporate that is equal to or greater than the number of votes which may be cast, or whose casting may be controlled, by any other single person. > workplace means: (a) any Commonwealth premises in which Commonwealth employees or Commonwealth contractors work; or (b) any Commonwealth premises in which Commonwealth authority employees or Commonwealth authority contractors work; or (c) any non‑Commonwealth licensee premises of a non‑Commonwealth licensee in which non‑Commonwealth licensee employees, or non‑Commonwealth licensee contractors, of the licensee work. However, workplace does not include any part of premises that is primarily used as a private dwelling. (2) A reference in a particular provision of this Act to the responsible Minister in relation to an employer, other than a Commonwealth authority covered by paragraph (c) or (d) of the definition of Commonwealth authority in subsection 5(1) or a non‑Commonwealth licensee, is a reference: (a) where the employer is the Commonwealth and, in the circumstances set out in that provision, is acting through a particular Entity—to the Minister responsible for that Entity; and (b) where the employer is a Commonwealth authority referred to in paragraph (a) of the definition of Commonwealth authority—to the Minister who is responsible for the administration of the Act or other law under which the Commonwealth authority is established; and (c) where the employer is a Commonwealth authority referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of Commonwealth authority—to the Minister who is responsible for the administration of the Entity dealing with matters that include the matters for the performance of which the Commonwealth authority was principally incorporated. (3) For the purposes of this Act, an employee is to be taken to be at work at all times when the employee is performing work in connection with an undertaking carried on by an employer, whether or not the work is carried out at a workplace. (3A) A reference in this Act to a member of the Commission includes a reference to the Chief Executive Officer appointed under section 74 of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. (4) A reference in this Act to an employee of an employer at a particular workplace is a reference to an employee who works at that workplace in the capacity of an employee of that employer. (5) A reference in this Act to an accident includes a reference to the contracting of a disease. (6) A reference in this Act to a breach of this Act or to a breach of the regulations includes, where the breach constitutes an offence, a reference to: (a) an offence against section 11.1, 11.4 or 11.5 of the Criminal Code that relates to the breach; or (b) an offence against section 6 of the Crimes Act 1914 that relates to the breach. (7) Where this Act refers to a Minister, specifying the Minister merely by reference to the Minister administering an Act, the reference to the Minister is to be taken to be a reference to: (a) if, for the time being, different Ministers administer the Act in respect of different matters: (i) if 2 or more Ministers administer the Act in respect of the relevant matter—any one of those Ministers; or (ii) if only one Minister administers the Act in respect of the relevant matter—that Minister; or (b) if paragraph (a) does not apply and, for the time being, 2 or more Ministers administer the Act—any one of those Ministers; or (c) if paragraphs (a) and (b) do not apply—the Minister for the time being administering the Act. (8) An instrument referred to in the definition of Government business enterprise in subsection (1) is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.