15Officials who are members of the accountable authority—consequences of disclosing interests

#### 15 Officials who are members of the accountable authority—consequences of disclosing interests Guide to this section The purpose of this section is to restrict members of an accountable authority of a Commonwealth entity who have disclosed a material personal interest that relates to the affairs of the entity from being present, or voting, at a meeting on a matter in which the member has the interest. The official may also need to disclose interests in accordance with section 16A. This section is made for paragraph 29(2)(c) of the Act. (1) This section applies to an official of a Commonwealth entity who: (a) is a member of the accountable authority of the entity; and (b) has disclosed a material personal interest that relates to the affairs of the entity. Consequences of disclosure (2) If a matter in which the official has the disclosed interest is being considered at a meeting of the members of the accountable authority, the official must not: (a) be present while the matter is being considered at the meeting; or (b) vote on the matter. (3) However, if: (a) the responsible Minister for the entity has declared, in writing, that the official may be present or vote (or both); or (b) the members of the accountable authority who have not disclosed a material personal interest in the matter have decided that the official is not disqualified from being present or voting (or both), and the decision is recorded in the minutes of a meeting of the members; then the official may be present or vote (or both) in accordance with the declaration or decision. Minister’s declaration (4) The responsible Minister for the entity may declare in writing that the official may: (a) be present while the matter is being considered at the meeting; or (b) vote on the matter; or (c) be present while the matter is being considered at the meeting and vote on the matter. (5) The responsible Minister may only make the declaration if: (a) the number of members of the accountable authority entitled to be present and vote on the matter would be less than the quorum for a meeting of the accountable authority if the official were not allowed to be present or vote on the matter at the meeting; or (b) the matter needs to be dealt with urgently; or (c) there is a compelling reason for the matter being dealt with at the meeting.