128Paying officer

128  Paying officer

 (1) If a Secretary believes that it is necessary to make deductions from the salary of a debtor in the relevant Department, the Secretary must appoint one or more persons as paying officers for the purpose of making those deductions.

 (2) However, if the Secretary is the debtor:

 (a) the Secretary must not appoint a paying officer under subsection (1); and

 (b) the Secretary must act under this subsection without considering whether the making of deductions from the Secretary’s salary is required; and

 (c) the Secretary must, in writing, delegate the function under subsection (1) to appoint a paying officer to an SES employee in the Department; and

 (d) the SES employee must:

 (i) decide whether the making of deductions from the Secretary’s salary is required; and

 (ii) if the SES employee decides that the making of the deductions is required—appoint a person as a paying officer for the purpose of making those deductions; and

 (e) the Secretary must not take any action, or make any arrangement, in relation to the administration under this Part of the Secretary’s debt, other than:

 (i) making the delegation mentioned in paragraph (c); and

 (ii) if a paying officer is appointed—assisting the paying officer in the repayment of the debt.

 (3) If a person is appointed as a paying officer:

 (a) the appointment authorises the person to act as a paying officer only in relation to the debtor to whom the appointment relates; and

 (b) the person is responsible for making deductions from the debtor’s salary to satisfy the judgment debt against the debtor.

 (4) A debtor is not authorised to be the debtor’s paying officer.