This subpart applies to all rural fire committees (other than a committee that is a local authority or that consists solely of representatives of the same corporation).

Despite subclause (1), regulation 26 applies to all rural fire committees including a committee that is a local authority or a committee that consists solely of representatives of the same corporation.

A member of a committee may be—

If the member is an entity, its representative on a committee must be—

If the member is a local authority, its representative on a committee must be—

This clause applies unless the Gazette notice that relates to the committee provides otherwise.

Members of a committee are elected or appointed as specified in the Gazette notice that relates to the committee.

An appointed committee member—

This regulation—

An elected committee member—

This regulation—

A member of a committee ceases to hold office if the member—

An individual representing a committee member that is an entity under regulation 5(2) is no longer eligible to represent the entity if he or she ceases to hold office or be employed by the entity.

If subclause (1) applies, the entity must appoint a new representative under regulation 5(2).

An individual representing a committee member that is a local authority under regulation 5(3) is no longer eligible to represent the local authority if he or she ceases to hold office or be employed by the local authority.

If subclause (3) applies, the local authority must appoint a new representative under regulation 5(3).

A member of a committee may be removed from office if the member—

Before a member is removed under subclause (1), the member must be given a reasonable opportunity to make written submissions and be heard on the matter.

A member who is removed under this regulation is not entitled to any compensation or other payment or benefit relating to the member’s removal from office.

A vacancy resulting from the operation of regulation 9 or regulation 10 may be filled by a committee appointing, for the remainder of the term of office of the vacating member, a person who, in the opinion of the committee,—

If a vacancy is not filled within 3 months after the vacancy arises, the NRFO may appoint, for the remainder of the term of office of the vacated member, a person who—

The acts of a person as a member are valid even if—

The powers of a committee are not affected by—

The NRFO must—

At the first meeting of a committee, the committee must appoint one of its members to be the chairperson of the committee.

A committee may regulate its own procedure, except as provided in these regulations or in the Gazette notice that relates to the committee.

The NRFO may, at any time, require a committee to hold a meeting.

A quorum for a meeting of a committee is—

No business may be transacted at a meeting of the committee if a quorum is not present.

A member may appoint any individual to attend a meeting of the member’s committee on the member’s behalf if the member cannot attend the meeting.

An individual appointed under subclause (3) must be treated for all purposes as a member of the committee while attending any meeting of the committee.

At a meeting of a committee, the following person presides:

The chosen person may exercise all the powers, duties, and functions of the chairperson for the purposes of the meeting.

Each member has 1 vote.

However, if there is an equality of votes, the chairperson also has a casting vote.

A resolution of the committee is passed if a majority of votes are cast for it.

A member who, other than as a member, is directly or indirectly interested in any arrangement or agreement made or entered into, or proposed to be made or entered into, by the committee must, as soon as practicable after the relevant facts have come to the member’s knowledge, disclose the nature of the member’s interest at a meeting of the committee.

A disclosure under this regulation must be recorded in the minutes of the committee and, except as otherwise provided by a resolution of the committee, after the disclosure the member must not take part in a deliberation or decision relating to the arrangement or agreement and must withdraw from the meeting during the deliberation or decision.

A committee may, by resolution, appoint 1 or more subcommittees to perform 1 or more of the committee’s functions or duties, or exercise 1 or more of the committee’s powers.

A subcommittee must consist of at least 1 member of the committee and may include any other persons that the committee thinks fit.

A subcommittee is subject in all things to the control of the committee.

A subcommittee may, at any time, be discharged, altered, or reconstituted by the committee.

A committee may employ the employees it thinks necessary in order to carry out its functions under the Act.

A committee must cause accounting records to be kept that—

The accounting records must be in written form or kept in a manner in which they are easily accessible and convertible into written form.

A committee must prepare, for each financial year, annual financial statements in relation to the affairs of the committee in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice (within the meaning of section 3 of the Financial Reporting Act 1993, applied as if the committee were a reporting entity).

A committee must submit its financial statements to a chartered accountant for audit no later than 90 days after the end of each financial year.

A committee must send a copy of the audited accounts to the NRFA within 30 days of receiving an audit report from a chartered accountant.

This regulation does not apply to a committee that is a council-controlled organisation within the meaning of section 6 of the Local Government Act 2002.

A committee may not pay money out of its accounts except as authorised by any 2 of the following people:

A committee must send to the NRFA a copy of each estimate of proposed expenditure it has prepared under section 44 of the Act.

A member of a committee is entitled to receive, from the funds of the committee, remuneration and allowances for services as a member in accordance with the framework determined by the Government from time to time for the classification and remuneration of members of statutory and other bodies.

A member of a committee who has information in the member’s capacity as a member that would not otherwise be available to the member must not disclose that information to any person, or make use of, or act on, that information, except—

A member may disclose, make use of, or act on, the information if—

This subpart applies to any committee that is required by the Gazette notice that relates to the committee, to elect 1 or more members.

An election must be conducted in accordance with—

The requirements in this subpart apply subject to the Gazette notice.

An election must be conducted by booth voting using the First Past the Post electoral system.

The first election of members of a committee must be supervised by an electoral officer appointed by the NRFO.

Each subsequent election must be supervised by an electoral officer appointed by the committee as constituted immediately before the election.

An electoral officer is responsible for—

In addition to giving notice of an election under subclause (1)(a), the electoral officer may, if he or she thinks fit, notify in any other manner the date, time, and place of the election.

An electoral officer must be indemnified (from the funds of the committee) against all costs, charges, and expenses incurred in exercising his or her powers under this regulation.

A candidate for election may be an individual, an entity, or a local authority.

Every person who is a ratepayer at the date that is 21 days before an election for a rating unit located in the committee’s district is entitled to exercise 1 vote at an election.

For the purposes of this section, rating unit has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Local Government (Rating) Act 2002.

For the purposes of providing fire suppression services in its district a Fire Authority may establish, by written agreement with able and willing people, a voluntary rural fire force.

The agreement must provide for the following matters:

A voluntary force established under subclause (1)—

For the purposes of these regulations, a member of a voluntary force must be treated as if he or she were an employee of the Fire Authority that established the force, and the provisions of the Act and these regulations apply accordingly, with all necessary modifications.

Subclause (1) applies except where these regulations expressly provide otherwise.

In this regulation, officer means a person appointed as a Principal Rural Fire Officer or Rural Fire Officer under section 13(1) or (3) of the Act.

Every officer must hold a warrant of appointment.

A warrant of appointment—

An officer must produce his or her warrant of appointment when reasonably requested to do so, and it is sufficient evidence that a person is an officer if the person produces his or her warrant.

To avoid doubt, this regulation does not apply to a member of a voluntary force unless the member is an officer.

A Fire Authority in existence at the commencement of these regulations must prepare and adopt a fire plan no later than 60 days after the commencement of these regulations.

Any other Fire Authority must prepare and adopt a fire plan no later than 90 days after the Fire Authority is appointed, constituted, or otherwise formed.

A fire plan must set out the policies and procedures of the Fire Authority under the following headings and in the following order:

A Fire Authority must provide to the NRFA a copy of its fire plan no later than 30 days after the fire plan is adopted.

A Fire Authority must review a fire plan adopted under regulation 39,—

If, after a review, amendments are made to a fire plan, the Fire Authority must promptly provide a copy of the amended fire plan to the NRFA.

Subclause (1) applies to an amended fire plan as if it were the first fire plan adopted by the Fire Authority under regulation 39.

A Fire Authority must include in its fire plan, under the heading “Reduction”, the policies and procedures that the Fire Authority has to reduce the likelihood and consequences of fires in its district.

The policies and procedures must include the following matters:

A Fire Authority must record in its fire plan, under the heading “Readiness”, the policies and procedures that the Fire Authority has in relation to readiness for a fire-fighting event in its district.

The fire plan must include the following matters under this heading:

The information in subclause (2)(g) that relates to personnel is not required to be included in the copy of the fire plan that is made available for public inspection in accordance with section 12(4B) of the Act.

Before setting any trigger points for the purposes of subclause (2)(l), a Fire Authority must consult with the eligible land-holders of the forest.

A Fire Authority may also include in its fire plan, under the heading “Readiness”, information in relation to the following matters:

A Fire Authority must record in its fire plan, under the heading “Response”, the policies and procedures that the Fire Authority has for responding to a fire in its district.

The policies and procedures must include details of the following matters:

A Fire Authority must record in its fire plan, under the heading “Response”, a description of the systems that the Fire Authority uses for responding to a fire in its district.

The description of the systems must include how the Fire Authority—

A Fire Authority must record in its fire plan, under the heading “Recovery”, the policies and procedures that the Fire Authority has for activities it undertakes following a fire event in its district.

The policies and procedures must include details in relation to the following matters:

In this regulation—

An application by an eligible landholder for registration or re-registration of land as a forest area under section 17 of the Act must—

If the land extends over more than 1 Fire Authority’s district, the eligible landholder must apply to each Fire Authority for registration or re-registration of the land as a forest area in that Fire Authority’s district.

A notification by an eligible landholder for the purposes of section 17(7)(c) of the Act must be in form 5 of the Schedule.

The Principal Rural Fire Officer or a Rural Fire Officer of a fire district must give notice to the following people if 1 or more of the fire control measures specified in subclause (2) has been issued in the officer’s district:

The fire control measures referred to in subclause (1) are—

A permit issued for the purposes of section 23 of the Act must be in form 6 of the Schedule.

A special permit issued for the purposes of section 24 of the Act must be in form 7 of the Schedule.

Subclause (2) applies if there is a restricted fire season in force—

The Fire Authority must erect sufficient fire signs in the district or part of the district advising the public that during the restricted season a permit is required to light a fire in the open air in the district or part of the district.

However, before any sign is erected under subclause (2), the NRFA must give its written approval of the sign’s design.

Subclause (2) applies if there is a prohibited fire season in force—

The Fire Authority must erect sufficient fire signs in the district or part of the district advising the public that during the prohibited season no open air fire may be lit in the district or part of the district.

However, before erecting any sign under subclause (2), the NRFA must give its written approval of the sign’s design.

A person responsible for an industrial operation in a district must ensure that none of the following materials are heaped higher than 3 m above the ground:

However, subclause (1) does not apply if the materials are stored in a fireproof container or building constructed for the purpose of storing the materials.

Every person who breaches subclause (1) commits an offence and is liable to the penalty in regulation 60.

For the purposes of section 31 of the Act, a person must be treated as having obtained the written consent of a Rural Fire Officer for the operation of a motor vehicle in any of the places specified in that section if,—

A Rural Fire Officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that any machinery or vehicle does not comply with section 31 of the Act may, by written notice, require the owner or operator of the machinery or vehicle to make the machinery or vehicle available for inspection.

Any machinery or vehicle to which a notice under subclause (1) applies must be treated as machinery or a vehicle that is not approved under section 31 of the Act—

A permit granted under the Act authorising entry into an exotic forest is suspended if, in relation to the forest, a warning under section 20 of the Act is in place.

A Fire Authority must not unreasonably withhold the issuing of a permit if access into an exotic forest is authorised only by the granting of a permit.

A Fire Authority must erect sufficient warning signs at prominent places in and at the entry into an exotic forest if—

Every person commits an offence and is liable to the penalty in regulation 60 who—

Subclause (4) does not apply—

A Fire Authority must consult with the NRFA if—

A Fire Authority may, by written notice, require the operator of a processing plant or processing equipment to obtain a fire safety clearance for the plant or equipment before using it in a forest in the Fire Authority’s district.

To decide whether an operator requires a fire safety clearance, the Fire Authority must consider the fire risk arising from—

A Fire Authority must not grant a fire safety clearance to an operator if, in relation to the operator,—

Every person who fails to obtain a fire safety clearance in breach of a notice given under subclause (1) commits an offence and is liable to the penalty in regulation 60.

For the purposes of this regulation,—