9Reliance on information or advice

9 Reliance on information or advice

If –

(a) an officer of the Authority relies on information, or professional or expert advice, given or prepared by –

(i) another officer of the Authority whom the first-mentioned officer believes on reasonable grounds to be reliable and competent in relation to the matters concerned; or

(ii) a professional adviser or expert in relation to matters that the officer believes on reasonable grounds to be within that person’s professional or expert competence; or

(iii) another officer in relation to matters within that officer’s authority; or

(iv) a committee of officers on which the officer did not serve in relation to matters within the committee’s authority; and

(b) the reliance was made –

(i) in good faith; and

(ii) after making an independent assessment of the information or advice, having regard to the officer’s knowledge of the Authority and the complexity of the structure and operations of the Authority; and

(c) the reasonableness of the officer’s reliance on the information or advice arises in proceedings brought to determine whether an officer has performed a function under the Act or an equivalent general law duty –

the officer’s reliance on the information or advice is taken to be reasonable unless the contrary is proved.