Compliance with the Sporting Venues Authorities Act 2008 primarily falls on the sporting venues authorities themselves, their boards and staff, and the Minister. Third parties dealing with the authorities should take steps to protect their interests.
For the State Sporting Venues Authority and Venues NSW, compliance means exercising functions strictly within the scope set out in ss 9 and 19 respectively. The authorities must maintain proper asset management plans (s 9(1)(h)) and make reasonable attempts to ensure new development accords with best practice environmental and planning standards (s 9(1)(g), s 19(1)(j)). Venues NSW must meet the community service obligations determined by the Minister (s 19(1)(l)). Both authorities must ensure that any land dealings receive the required consents. Venues NSW must obtain the Minister’s consent before selling, leasing, exchanging or otherwise disposing of land (s 26(2)). The Minister’s consent is also required before Venues NSW can sell, exchange, give or dispose of property held subject to a condition under s 28 (s 28(3)). Any consent can be subject to conditions and may be withdrawn (s 35). The authorities should therefore document all consents in writing and comply with any conditions.
In relation to scheduled lands, Venues NSW must comply with its obligations as Crown land manager under the Crown Land Management Act 2016, subject to the modifications in s 30AC. It must ensure the lands continue to be used for the purposes of public recreation and otherwise in accordance with any State environmental planning policy that permits additional uses (s 30AF). Any proposal to vary or end an agreement relating to scheduled lands must be preceded by a report from Venues NSW recommending the alteration (s 30AG(2)). The authority should ensure that any agreements it enters into over scheduled lands are reviewed with awareness that the Minister has power to alter or end them.
For development on designated land, compliance with s 30AD is required. The Minister must approve proposals for carrying out development, and the approval must certify that the Minister has consulted the Ministers administering the Public Works and Procurement Act 1912 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. This approval exempts the development from the operation of those Acts and the Local Government Act 1993 (s 30AE). However, this exemption is temporary and ceases to apply if a State environmental planning policy provision applies to the land (s 30AF(4)). The authority should keep track of when the exemption ends and transition to normal planning processes.
Venues NSW must comply with the mandatory advisory committee requirements. It must establish advisory committees for the Hunter and Wollongong regions within six months of the commencement of Part 3A (s 21D). It must establish the SCG Heritage Trust within the same period (s 21F). The membership advisory committees established under s 21E must be maintained until all former members of the dissolved bodies have completed their terms. Venues NSW must ensure invitations are sent to all relevant former members (s 21E(2)).
The Board of Venues NSW must comply with the pecuniary interest disclosure requirements in Schedule 1 cl 10. A book of disclosures must be kept and open for inspection on payment of a fee determined by the Board. Any Board member who has an interest in a matter must not be present or vote on that matter unless the Minister or Board otherwise determines (cl 10(5)). The Board should also ensure that meetings are properly conducted with quorum being a majority of members (Schedule 1 cl 14), and that decisions are minuted. The Chairperson has a casting vote if there is an equality of votes (Schedule 1 cl 16(2)).
The Chief Executive Officer of Venues NSW must ensure that rangers appointed under s 37 are provided with proper identification cards that meet the requirements of s 37(4). The CEO may delegate the appointment function to a person employed in Venues NSW (s 37(6)). Rangers must produce their ID on request when exercising functions (s 37(5)). Penalty notices must be issued in accordance with the Fines Act 1996, with the amount set by regulations.
For third parties entering into contracts, leases, licences or joint ventures with the authorities, due diligence is important. They should verify that the authority has the power to enter into the arrangement (ss 9, 19, 26, 27, 28). They should check whether the land is scheduled land, designated land, controlled land, or other land, because this affects the risk of Ministerial variation of agreements (s 30AG) and the use restrictions (s 30AI). They should also confirm whether the arrangement requires Ministerial consent. If the arrangement involves a private subsidiary corporation (s 11, s 21), they should be aware that the subsidiary does not represent the Crown and may not have the same immunities.
For members of the public using venues, compliance is simple: follow the regulations made under s 40. The regulations may cover admission fees, conduct, parking, liquor, and removal. Rangers may issue penalty notices for breaches. Members of the public should also be aware of the restrictions on residential and tourist accommodation.
For former members of dissolved trusts who are invited to join membership advisory committees, they should respond promptly to accept the invitation. Under Schedule 5 cl 25(5), those who accept are taken to be appointed for the balance of their former term and may be entitled to remuneration determined by the Minister. They should note the personal liability protection in s 21E(5) which only applies to acts in good faith.
For the Minister, compliance involves exercising powers in accordance with the Act, including giving consent in writing, determining community service obligations, and completing the statutory review under s 43 within the required timeframe (5 years from assent, though the review was overtaken by the 2020 amendments). The Minister should also ensure that advisory committees are properly established within the statutory timeframes.
Overall, compliance with this Act is largely about ensuring that the authorities stay within their statutory functions and that all necessary consents and approvals are obtained before significant transactions. The Act gives the authorities broad commercial freedom but subjects them to Ministerial oversight and specific land use controls.