3Interpretation

#### 3 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: > agreement means any agreement, arrangement or understanding: (a) whether formal or informal or partly formal and partly informal; (b) whether written or oral or partly written and partly oral; and (c) whether or not having legal or equitable force and whether or not based on legal or equitable rights. > authorized officer means: (a) the Secretary of the Department administered by the Minister; or (b) an officer of that Department appointed by the Secretary of that Department by writing under his hand to be an authorized officer for the purposes of this Act. > child, in relation to a person, includes an adopted child, a step‑child or an ex‑nuptial child of that person. > commencing day means the day on which this Act comes into operation. > contravention, in relation to a provision of this Act, includes a failure to comply with that provision. > corporation means a body corporate that: (a) is a foreign corporation; (b) is a trading corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth; or (c) is incorporated in an internal Territory. > Court means the Federal Court of Australia. > director, in relation to a body corporate, includes any person occupying or acting in the position of director of the body corporate, by whatever name called and whether or not validly appointed to occupy or duly authorized to act in the position. > foreign corporation means a foreign corporation within the meaning of paragraph 51 (xx) of the Constitution, and includes a body corporate that is incorporated in an external Territory. > franchise agreement means a franchise agreement, within the meaning of the Petroleum Retail Marketing Franchise Act 1980, to which that Act applies, and franchisee and franchisor shall be construed accordingly. > lease includes a sub‑lease. > month means one of the 12 months of the year. > motor fuel means any fuel to be used in propelling road vehicles, other than diesel fuel or liquefied gas. > parent, in relation to a person, means a person of whom that person is a child. > prescribed corporation means: (a) a prescribed oil company; (b) any other corporation that refines petroleum; or (c) a corporation that is related to a corporation referred to in paragraph (a) or (b). > prescribed oil company means a corporation that: (a) deals in petroleum products in liquid form; and (b) is specified in the regulations for the purposes of this definition. > provision, in relation to an agreement, means any matter forming part of the agreement, and includes a covenant. > retail site means premises at which motor fuel is sold by retail. > road vehicle means a vehicle designed solely or principally for transporting persons, goods or animals by road. > share, in relation to a body corporate, means a share in the capital of the body corporate and includes stock. > supply tank, in relation to a road vehicle, means that part of the vehicle in which motor fuel for the propulsion of the vehicle is stored. > trading corporation means a trading corporation within the meaning of paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution. (2) For the purposes of this Act, motor fuel shall not be taken to be sold by retail at a retail site unless it is delivered at that site into the supply tanks of road vehicles by a metered pump. (3) For the purposes of this Act, motor fuel shall be taken to be sold at the time when it is delivered in pursuance of the contract of sale. (4) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation that is not a corporation of the kind referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of the definition of prescribed corporation in subsection (1) shall be taken to be a prescribed corporation in relation to a month if: (a) the corporation acquired refined petroleum at a time or times during the period of 12 months immediately preceding that month; and (b) more than 50% of the total quantity of refined petroleum so acquired was imported into Australia by the corporation or by a related corporation. (5) For the purposes of this Act, a retail site operated by a prescribed corporation during a month shall be taken to be a diesel fuel site during that month (in this subsection referred to as the relevant month) if: (a) in the case of a site operated by that corporation during one or more of the months (in this subsection and in subsection (6) referred to as the relevant period) in the period of 12 months immediately preceding the relevant month: (i) not less than the prescribed total of litres of diesel fuel was sold at the site during the relevant period; and (ii) less than the prescribed total of litres of motor fuel was sold by retail at the site during the relevant period; or (b) at the site: (i) not less than the prescribed number of litres of diesel fuel is sold during the relevant month; and (ii) less than the prescribed number of litres of motor fuel is sold by retail during the relevant month. (6) In subsection (5): > prescribed number means 100,000 or such other number as is prescribed. > prescribed total means the number ascertained by multiplying the number of months in the relevant period by the prescribed number.