Div 1Veterinary Services Regulatory Board of South Australia

Division 1—Veterinary Services Regulatory Board of South Australia 5—Continuation of Board (1) The Veterinary Surgeons Board of South Australia continues in existence as the Veterinary Services Regulatory Board of South Australia. (2) The Board— (a) is a body corporate; and (b) has perpetual succession and a common seal; and (c) is capable of suing and being sued in its corporate name; and (d) has all the powers of an individual that are capable of being exercised by a body corporate. (3) If a document appears to bear the common seal of the Board, it will be presumed, in the absence of proof to the contrary, that the common seal of the Board was duly affixed to the document. (4) The Board is subject to the direction and control of the Minister, however the Minister must not give a direction that relates to— (a) a particular person; or (b) a particular application, complaint, investigation or proceeding; or (c) the performance by the Board of its function of determining qualifications for registration on the general register or the specialist register. 6—Composition of Board (1) The Board consists of 9 members appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Minister of whom— (a) 6 must be veterinarians with primary registration; and (b) 3 must be persons who are not veterinarians of whom— (i) 1 must be a legal practitioner; and (ii) 1 must have skills, knowledge and experience in accounting, business or finance; and (iii) 1 must have skills, knowledge and experience that the Minister considers appropriate to enable the member to effectively carry out the functions of the Board. (2) In recommending veterinarians with primary registration for appointment as members of the Board, the Minister should, as far as reasonably practicable, endeavour to ensure those veterinarians collectively have skills, knowledge and experience in the following areas: (a) management or governance; (b) teaching of veterinary science; (c) government agencies responsible for biosecurity (whether State or Commonwealth); (d) urban companion animal practice; (e) rural mixed or production animal practice; (f) any other area that the Minister considers appropriate to enable the member to effectively carry out the functions of the Board. (3) Before recommending veterinarians with primary registration for appointment as members of the Board, the Minister may consult with a prescribed peak body representing the veterinary profession in the State. (4) The members of the Board referred to in subsection (1)(b)— (a) must not be, or have been, registered as a veterinarian; and (b) must not work in an area relating to, or have a material interest in, veterinary services. (5) The Minister must appoint a member of the Board who is a veterinarian with primary registration with management or governance skills, knowledge and experience as the Chair of the Board, unless the Minister considers that it is appropriate to appoint another member of the Board as the Chair of the Board. (6) At least 2 of the members of the Board must be women and at least 2 must be men. (7) The Governor may appoint a person to be a deputy of a member and a person so appointed may act as a member of the Board in the absence of the member. (8) The requirements of qualification, skills, knowledge, experience and recommendation made by this section in relation to the appointment of a member extend to the appointment of a deputy of that member. 7—Terms and conditions of membership (1) A member of the Board will be appointed by the Governor on conditions, and for a term (not exceeding 3 years), determined by the Governor and specified in the instrument of appointment. (2) A member of the Board is, at the end of a term of appointment, eligible for reappointment but cannot hold office for consecutive terms that exceed 9 years in total. (3) The Governor may, at any time, remove a member of the Board from office for any reason the Governor thinks fit. (4) The office of a member of the Board becomes vacant if the member— (a) dies; or (b) completes a term of office and is not reappointed; or (c) resigns by written notice to the Minister; or (d) ceases to satisfy the qualification by virtue of which the member was eligible for appointment to the Board; or (e) is removed from office under subsection (3) or section 9. (5) If a member of the Board is a member constituting the Board for the purposes of proceedings regarding medical fitness under Part 6 and the member's term of office expires before those proceedings are completed, the member may, for the purpose of continuing and completing those proceedings, continue to act as a member of the Board. 8—Direction if Board fails to carry out functions (1) If the Minister is of the opinion that the Board has failed to carry out its functions satisfactorily, the Minister may direct the Board to carry out the function or functions the Minister considers it has failed to carry out and must provide the Board reasonable time to comply with the direction. (2) The Minister must, within 3 sitting days after giving a direction, cause a copy of the direction to be laid before each House of Parliament. 9—Removal of all members of Board (1) If the Minister is of the opinion that the Board has failed to comply with a direction under section 8, the Minister may recommend that the Governor remove all members of the Board from office. (2) If the Minister has made a recommendation under subsection (1), the Governor may, by notice in the Gazette, remove all members of the Board from office. (3) Despite any other provision of this Act, if all members of the Board are removed from office under subsection (2) the following provisions apply: (a) the Governor may, on the recommendation of the Minister, by notice in the Gazette, appoint an Administrator, on terms and conditions determined by the Governor, to carry out the functions of the Board until members of the Board are appointed in accordance with section 6; (b) the Administrator is entitled to remuneration, allowances and expenses determined by the Governor; (c) the Governor may remove a person from the office of Administrator for any reason the Governor thinks fit; (d) the office of Administrator becomes vacant if the Administrator— (i) dies; or (ii) completes a term of office; or (iii) resigns by written notice to the Minister; or (iv) is removed from office under paragraph (c); (e) the Governor may appoint a person to act as the Administrator— (i) during a vacancy in the office of Administrator; or (ii) when the Administrator is absent from, or unable to discharge, official duties; (f) the Administrator has all the functions and powers of the Board; (g) the Administrator will be taken to be the Board for the purposes of carrying out a function assigned to the Board, or exercising a power conferred on the Board, by or under this Act; (h) the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 applies to the Administrator as if the Administrator were a senior official and the Minister administering this Act were the relevant Minister; (i) in any legal proceedings, an apparently genuine document purporting to bear the common seal of the Board and the signature of the Administrator attesting the affixation of the seal will be presumed, in the absence of proof to the contrary, to have been duly executed by the Board; (j) the Administrator may continue proceedings that are before the Board at the time all members of the Board are removed from office under subsection (2). 10—Vacancies or defects in appointment of members An act or proceeding of the Board is not invalid by reason only of a vacancy in its membership or a defect in the appointment of a member. 11—Remuneration A member of the Board is entitled to remuneration, allowances and expenses determined by the Governor. 12—Governance training A member of the Board must, in accordance with any requirements set out in the regulations, complete training related to corporate governance. 13—Publication of appointments The Board must, on a website determined by the Board, publish and maintain a list of the current members of the Board which includes the following information in respect of each member: (a) name; (b) initial date of appointment; (c) current term of appointment; (d) skills, knowledge and experience (as required by section 6). 14—Functions (1) The functions of the Board include— (a) to determine applications for registration for the purposes of this Act; and (b) to recognise courses of education or training that provide qualifications for registration on the general register or the specialist register; and (c) to determine the requirements necessary for registration on the general register or the specialist register; and (d) to determine the specialties in which a person may be registered on the specialist register; and (e) to prepare or endorse codes of conduct, professional standards and guidelines for the purposes of this Act; and (f) to prepare or endorse standards relating to minimum requirements for registered premises; and (g) to receive and deal with complaints made about the conduct of veterinarians; and (h) to provide advice to the Minister as may be appropriate or requested by the Minister; and (i) to provide information and advice to veterinarians and the public about relevant legislation, codes of conduct, professional standards and other standards and guidelines prepared or endorsed by the Board; and (j) to confer and collaborate with other veterinary regulatory authorities to ensure effective national exchange of information and promote uniformity and consistency in the regulation of veterinarians within Australia; and (k) to carry out other functions assigned to the Board by or under this Act or by the Minister. (2) The Board must ensure that applications for registration under this Act are determined in a timely and efficient manner. (3) In recognising a course of education or training, the Board may act on the recommendation of the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council Incorporated relating to the course. (4) If the Board prepares or endorses a code of conduct, professional standard, veterinary premises standard or guidelines under subsection (1), or varies, substitutes or revokes such a code, standard or guidelines, the Board must— (a) consult on the proposed code, standard or guidelines, or variation, substitution or revocation (as the case requires), with veterinarians, a prescribed peak body representing the veterinary profession in the State or relevant stakeholders in accordance with a scheme determined by the Board and approved by the Minister (which, in the case of varying or revoking a code, standard or guidelines, may provide that no consultation is required); and (b) cause an up-to-date copy of the code, standard or guidelines to be published in the Gazette and on a website determined by the Board; and (c) advise veterinarians of the new or updated code, standard or guidelines within 30 days after it is prepared, endorsed, varied or substituted (as the case requires). (5) The Board must review and, if necessary, update a code of conduct, professional standard, veterinary premises standard or guidelines under subsection (1) at least once every 5 years. (6) Proof of compliance with subsections (4) and (5) is not necessary for the purposes of any proceedings that involve an alleged contravention of a code of conduct or professional standard. (7) The Board must provide to the Minister (in a manner and form specified by the Minister) such information, records or other documents relating to any aspect of the functions or operations of the Board as the Minister may from time to time require. (8) The Board must exercise its functions under this Act with the object of supporting animal health, safety and welfare and the public interest by achieving and maintaining high professional standards both of competence and conduct in the provision of veterinary services in this State. 15—Reporting on exercise of functions (1) The Minister may, in writing, request a written report from the Board about the exercise of the Board's functions. (2) The request may be for a report into the Board's functions generally or in relation to a specified matter. (3) The Board must provide a report under this section within the time the Minister reasonably requires. 16—Committees (1) The Board may establish committees— (a) to advise the Board on any matter; or (b) to carry out functions on behalf of the Board. (2) The membership of a committee will be determined by the Board and may, but need not, consist of, or include, members of the Board. (3) The Board will determine who will be the chair of a committee. (4) The procedures to be observed in relation to the conduct of the business of a committee will be— (a) as determined by the Board; or (b) insofar as a procedure is not determined under paragraph (a)—as determined by the committee. (5) A member of a committee is entitled to such remuneration, allowances and expenses (if any) as may be determined by the Minister. 17—Delegations (1) The Board may delegate any of its functions under this Act other than a prescribed function. (2) A delegation under this section— (a) may be made— (i) to a member of the Board, the Executive Officer or a member of staff of the Board; or (ii) to a committee established by the Board; and (b) must be in writing; and (c) may be made subject to conditions and limitations specified in the instrument of delegation; and (d) is revocable at will and does not derogate from the power of the Board to act in a matter. (3) A delegation under this section must be provided to members of the Board and the Minister within 7 days after it is made. 18—Procedures (1) Subject to this Act, a quorum of the Board consists of one half of the total number of its members (ignoring any fraction resulting from the division) plus 1. (2) One of the members constituting a quorum must be a person who is not a veterinarian. (3) A meeting of the Board (other than for the purposes of hearing and determining proceedings regarding medical fitness under Part 6) will be chaired by the Chair of the Board or, in their absence, the members present at a meeting of the Board must choose 1 of their number to chair the meeting. (4) A decision carried by a majority of the votes cast by members of the Board at a meeting is a decision of the Board. (5) Each member present at a meeting of the Board has 1 vote on any question arising for decision and, except in hearing and determining proceedings regarding medical fitness under Part 6, the member presiding at the meeting may exercise a casting vote if the votes are equal. (6) A video or telephone conference between the members of the Board will, for the purposes of this section, be taken to be a meeting of the Board at which the participating members are present if— (a) notice of the conference is given to all members in the manner determined by the Board for the purpose; and (b) each participating member is capable of communicating with every other participating member during the conference. (7) A proposed resolution of the Board becomes a valid decision of the Board despite the fact that it is not voted on at a meeting of the Board if— (a) notice of the proposed resolution is given to all members of the Board in accordance with procedures determined by the Board; and (b) a majority of the members express concurrence in the proposed resolution in writing setting out the terms of the resolution. (8) However, subsections (6) and (7) do not apply in relation to the hearing and determination of proceedings regarding medical fitness under Part 6 by the Board as constituted for the purposes of proceedings under that Part. (9) The Board must have accurate minutes kept of its meetings and provide a copy of the minutes, and any written resolutions, to members. (10) Subject to this Act, the Board may determine its own procedures. 19—Staff and resources (1) There will be such staff of the Board as the Board thinks necessary for the proper performance of its functions. (2) A member of the staff of the Board is not, as such, a member of the Public Service, but the Board may employ a person who is on leave from employment in the Public Service or with an instrumentality or agency of the Crown. (3) The Board may, with the approval of the Minister administering an administrative unit of the Public Service, make use of the services, facilities or officers of that unit. 20—Application of Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act (1) The Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 applies to a member of a committee of the Board as if the committee were an advisory body and the Minister responsible for the administration of this Act were the relevant Minister. (2) A member of the Board or a committee of the Board will not be taken to have a direct or indirect interest in a matter for the purposes of the Public Sector (Honesty and Accountability) Act 1995 by reason only of the fact that the member has an interest in a matter that is shared in common with veterinarians generally, or a substantial section of veterinarians. 21—Power to require medical examination or report (1) The Board may, for any purpose associated with the administration or operation of this Act, require a veterinarian or a person who is applying for registration or reinstatement of registration as a veterinarian to— (a) submit to an examination by a health professional, or by a health professional of a class, specified by the Board; or (b) provide a medical report from a health professional, or from a health professional of a class, specified by the Board, (including an examination or report that will require the person to undergo some form of medically invasive procedure). (2) If a veterinarian fails to comply with a requirement made under subsection (1), the Board may suspend the person's registration until further order of the Board. 22—Accounts and audit (1) The Board must keep proper accounting records in relation to its financial affairs, and must have annual statements of account prepared in respect of each financial year. (2) The accounts must be audited at least once in every year by an auditor approved by the Auditor‑General and appointed by the Board. (3) The Auditor‑General may, at any time, audit the accounts of the Board. 23—Annual report (1) The Board must, on or before 30 September in each year, deliver to the Minister a report on the administration of this Act and the work of the Board during the financial year ending on the preceding 30 June. (2) The report must— (a) incorporate the audited accounts of the Board for the relevant financial year; and (b) include details of each delegation made under section 17 in the relevant financial year or which is in operation at the end of the relevant financial year; and (c) include details of any Ministerial direction under this Act and any action taken by the Board in response to such a direction; and (d) include the following information in respect of complaints received about the conduct of veterinarians under this Act: (i) the number of complaints received by the Board in the relevant financial year; (ii) the number of complaints received by the Board in a previous financial year that were ongoing in the relevant financial year; (iii) the number of complaints finalised (including by dismissal, decision to take no further action, Board resolution and order of the Tribunal) in the relevant financial year; (iv) the average time taken for complaints referred to in subparagraph (iii) to be finalised; (v) the number of complaints dealt with in the relevant financial year that were ongoing for more than 6 months, 12 months or 18 months; and (e) include any other information required by or under this Act. (3) The Minister must, within 12 sitting days after receiving a report under this section, have copies of the report laid before both Houses of Parliament.