There is hereby established an authority to be called the New Zealand Horticulture Export Authority.

The Authority shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall be capable of acquiring, holding, and disposing of real and personal property, of suing and being sued, and of doing and suffering all such other acts and things as bodies corporate may do and suffer.

The primary function of the Authority shall be to promote the effective export marketing of horticultural products.

Without limiting the generality of the Authority’s primary function, the Authority shall also have the following functions:

The Authority shall, in addition to its functions under section 6, have in relation to prescribed products the following special functions:

The Authority shall have all the powers that are reasonably necessary or expedient to enable it to carry out its functions.

Without limiting the generality of its powers under subsection (1), the Authority may—

The Authority is a public body for the purposes of the Public Bodies Contracts Act 1959.

In the exercise of its functions and powers under this Act, the Authority shall give effect to the general policy of the Government in relation to those functions and powers as communicated to it from time to time by notice in writing by the Minister.

However, the Authority must give effect to the policy of Government in relation to international trade matters as communicated to it by notice in writing by the Minister of the Crown who (under the authority of any warrant or with the authority of the Prime Minister) is in charge of international trade.

Where a notice is given to the Authority under subsection (1), the Ministers shall, as soon as practicable after the giving of the notice, publish in the Gazette and lay before the House of Representatives a copy of the notice.

The Authority consists of the following members, who are each appointed by the Minister:

The Minister may appoint a person as a member of the Authority only if the Minister is satisfied that the person has a knowledge of, or experience in, marketing or international trade.

Each member of the Authority shall be appointed for a term of—

Every member shall be eligible for reappointment from time to time.

Where the term for which a member has been appointed expires, that member, unless sooner vacating or removed from office under section 12, shall continue to hold office, by virtue of the appointment for the term that has expired, until—

Any member may at any time be removed from office by the Minister for inability to perform the functions of the office, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct, proved to the satisfaction of the Minister.

The office of the chairperson of the Authority becomes vacant if the person appointed to that office becomes an office holder or a member of Horticulture New Zealand Incorporated or The Horticultural Exporters Council Incorporated.

Any member may at any time resign the office of member by notice in writing addressed to the Minister.

Where any member of the Authority dies or ceases to hold office under this section, the office shall become vacant, and the vacancy shall be filled in the manner in which the appointment to the vacant office was originally made.

The functions and powers of the Authority shall not be affected by any vacancy in its membership.

The Minister may, either at the time of the appointment of a member to the Authority or at any later time, appoint a deputy for that member in the same way as the member was appointed, and that deputy may act for the member whenever the member is prevented by illness, absence, or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of the member’s office.

An appointment as a deputy under this section may be revoked by the Minister at any time.

Any person appointed as a deputy under this section shall, while so acting, be deemed to be a member of the Authority appointed under the same conditions as the member for whom that person is deputising.

Subsection (1) is subject to section 13A.

The alternate chairperson may perform the duties and exercise the powers of the chairperson in relation to a matter.

The alternate chairperson is—

In this section,—

The first meeting of the Authority shall be held at a time and place to be appointed by the Minister.

Subsequent meetings of the Authority shall be held at such times and places as the Authority, or the chairperson with the general or specific authorisation of the Authority, from time to time appoints.

The quorum at any meeting of the Authority shall be 3 members.

The chairperson must preside at all meetings of the Authority at which the chairperson is present. If the chairperson is absent, the alternate chairperson must preside (for the purpose of identifying the alternate chairperson, the term unavailable in section 13A(3) includes absence from the meeting).

All questions arising at any meeting of the Authority shall be decided by a majority of votes of the members present and voting. The presiding member shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

A resolution in writing signed, or assented to by letter, telegram, or telex, by all members of the Authority shall be as valid and effective as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Authority duly called and constituted.

Subject to this Act, the Authority may regulate its own procedure.

The Authority may from time to time appoint, and also alter, discharge, and reconstitute, committees consisting of such number of persons as it thinks fit to investigate and advise the Authority on such matters relating to its functions and powers as are referred to them by the Authority.

A person may be appointed to be a member of any committee under this section whether or not that person is a member of the Authority, but where a person who is not a member is appointed chairperson of a committee, the Authority shall either confirm or reject that appointment.

Subject to the provisions of this Act and to any directions given by the Authority, every such committee may regulate its own procedure.

The Authority shall appoint and employ a suitably qualified person to act as the chief executive officer to the Authority.

The chief executive officer shall be appointed for a term of not more than 5 years and shall be eligible for reappointment.

The chief executive officer shall carry out such duties as may be assigned to that officer by the Authority, and shall be responsible for the supervision of officers and employees appointed pursuant to section 17 and of persons appointed pursuant to section 18.

Subject to any contract of service, the Authority may at any time, for reasonable cause, remove the chief executive officer from office.

The chief executive officer shall be paid such salary, allowances, and expenses as the Authority from time to time determines.

The Authority may from time to time appoint a Registrar and such other officers and employees as it thinks necessary for the efficient performance and exercise of its functions and powers.

Persons appointed under subsection (1) shall be employed on such terms and conditions of employment, and shall be paid such salaries and allowances, as the Authority thinks fit.

Subject to any contract of service, the Authority may at any time, for reasonable cause, remove any officer or employee from office or employment.

The Authority may from time to time appoint any person with expert knowledge or other attributes of value to the Authority to carry out any specified activity that will assist the Authority in performing and exercising its functions and powers.

Any person appointed under subsection (1) shall be appointed on such terms and conditions, and shall be paid such remuneration and allowances, as the Authority thinks fit.

The Authority may, for the purpose of providing superannuation or retiring allowances for its officers or employees appointed under section 16 or section 17, from time to time pay sums of money by way of subsidy into any retirement scheme (within the meaning of section 6(1) of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013).

Members of the Authority (and persons appointed to committees established by the Authority) are entitled, in accordance with the fees framework,—

In this section, fees framework has the meaning given in section 10(1) of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

No member of the Authority or any of its committees, and no officer or employee of the Authority or person appointed under section 18, shall be personally liable for any liability of the Authority or for any act done or omitted by the Authority or any of its committees, or by any member, officer, or employee of the Authority or person so appointed, in good faith in pursuance or intended pursuance of the functions or powers of the Authority.

No appointment of a person as a member or deputy under section 10 or section 12 or section 13, and no act done by such person while acting as a member of the Authority, shall in any proceedings be questioned on the ground that the occasion for the appointment had not arisen or had ceased.

This section applies to commercial information of a sensitive nature, being information—

Every member of the Authority or of any committee of the Authority and every officer or employee of the Authority who—

commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.

In sections 23AA to 23AC, unless the context otherwise requires,—

A member is interested in a matter (for the purposes of this section and sections 23AB and 23AC) if he or she—

However, a member is not interested in a matter—

A member who is interested in a matter must disclose details of the nature and extent of the interest (including any monetary value of the interest)—

The member must disclose his or her interest as soon as practicable after he or she becomes aware of it.

The details of the interest disclosed in accordance with subsection (1) must be recorded in the minutes of the first meeting of the Authority held after the disclosure.

A general notice of an interest in a matter relating to the Authority, or in a matter that may in future relate to the Authority, that is disclosed in accordance with this section is a standing disclosure of that interest.

A standing disclosure ceases to have effect if the nature of the interest materially alters or the extent of the interest materially increases.

A member who is interested in a matter must not—

However, the member may—

The permission may be given by—

The permission may be—

The Authority must, in its minutes, record—

The Authority must notify the Minister of a failure to comply with section 23AB or 23AC, and of the acts or matters affected, as soon as practicable after becoming aware of the failure.

A failure to comply with section 23AB or 23AC does not affect the validity of an act or a matter.

However,—

As at 1 October in a year determined under subsections (2) and (3), and in every fifth year thereafter, there shall be carried out, in accordance with this section, a review of how effectively and efficiently the Authority is performing in terms of the policies, procedures, and strategies of the Authority (in this section referred to as a performance review).

If, more than 4 months before 1 October in 1992 or 1993 the Authority decides that the first performance review is to be carried out as at that day, it shall be carried out as at that day.

Subject to subsection (2), the first performance review shall be carried out as at 1 October 1994.

While a performance review shall relate to—

the person carrying it out shall have regard to its performance during the 5 years before that day.

The terms of reference for every performance review shall be—

The Minister shall not recommend the making of an order under subsection (5) in relation to any performance review unless the Minister—

Subject to subsection (8), every performance review shall be carried out by a person appointed by the Minister and the Authority jointly.

Where the Minister and the Authority have not appointed a person to carry out a performance review at least 1 month before the day as at which it is to be carried out, it shall be carried out by a person appointed by the Minister.

For the purposes of this section, how efficiently and effectively the Authority is performing includes—

but the fact that any other matter is agreed or specified under subsection (5) is conclusive evidence that it relates to how efficiently and effectively the Authority is performing.

Every person who carries out a performance review shall, after carrying it out, prepare a written report on the conclusions the person reached as a result of carrying it out; and shall give copies of the report to the Minister and the Authority.

The Authority shall pay the reasonable costs of every performance review; and the person carrying it out may recover those costs accordingly as a debt due to the person.

The reasonable costs of a performance review are—

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister,—

The Order in Council—

An Order in Council made under this section may be amended or revoked only in accordance with section 31(2) or section 32 or section 33.

Subsection (1) is subject to sections 25 and 25A.

An order under this section is secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The Minister must not recommend the making of an Order in Council under section 24 unless—

For the purposes of subsection (1)(c), the Minister must have regard to—

For the purposes of subsection (1)(d), the Minister must have regard to—

The condition described in section 25(1)(b) is met if the Minister is satisfied that—

The Minister must, after a product group asks the Minister to recommend the making of an Order in Council under section 24, decide whether it is more appropriate for the group to demonstrate support for the proposal through—

In deciding on the more appropriate process, the Minister must have regard to—

After the Minister has decided on the process, the product group must conduct that process and then give to the Minister—

A process is properly and fairly conducted if—

A process demonstrates that the producers and exporters of the product support the proposal if the following persons vote in support of the proposal:

For the purposes of subsection (6),—

In this section,—

The recognised product group for a product that is specified by Order in Council to be subject to export licensing shall, as soon as practicable after the making of that order, formulate an export marketing strategy for the product.

The export marketing strategy must set out—

The export marketing strategy may also do 1 or both of the following:

Requirements of the kind referred to in subsection (2AA)(a)(ii) may relate only to the matters specified in subsection (2AA)(b)(i) to (iii).

An export marketing strategy that specifies more than 1 tier of licence must rank the tiers of licence from the lowest to the highest tier.

The export marketing strategy must not include—

In formulating the export marketing strategy, the recognised product group shall consult with—

The recognised product group shall, after formulating the export marketing strategy, submit it to the Authority for approval under section 28, together with details of its consultations with the associations, persons, and bodies referred to in subsection (3).

The recognised product group for a prescribed product shall keep its export marketing strategy under review with a view to determining whether, in light of changing circumstances or new developments, it is necessary or desirable to replace or amend or revoke the strategy.

The recognised product group may, after such consultation with the persons specified in section 26(3) as is reasonable having regard to the extent of any proposed change, submit to the Authority for approval any proposal to replace or amend the export marketing strategy, together with details of the consultations carried out on the proposal.

The Authority may at any time, of its own motion or at the request of any producer, exporter, or other interested party,—

The recognised product group for a prescribed product may propose 1 or both of the following when submitting a proposal to replace or amend an export marketing strategy under section 27:

The recognised product group must not submit the proposal until at least 1 year after the later of the following dates:

On and from the date that the proposal comes into force, the holder of an existing licence for the prescribed product must be treated as if the person holds—

As soon as practicable after a proposal comes into force or notice is given in accordance with subsection (3)(b),—

After considering a strategy or a proposal submitted to it under section 26 or section 27, the Authority may, if it considers that—

refer the strategy or proposal, together with any recommendation of the Authority, back to the recognised product group for review or further consultation.

The Authority shall not approve an export marketing strategy or proposal unless satisfied that—

Where the Authority approves a strategy or a proposal under section 28, it shall fix a date on which the strategy or proposal will come into force for the purposes of Part 3.

In fixing any date under this section, the Authority shall—

The Authority may at any time, after consultation with the recognised product group, amend any date fixed under this section to a later date, and where this occurs the strategy or proposal shall not come into force until that later date.

Where the Authority first approves an export marketing strategy for a prescribed product, it shall—

Where the Authority approves any proposal to replace, amend, or revoke an export marketing strategy, it shall—

Where the Authority amends any date fixed for the coming into force of a strategy or proposal under section 29(3), it shall—

The Governor-General may from time to time, on the recommendation of the Minister in accordance with section 32 or section 33,—

Notwithstanding subsection (1), or anything in sections 32 and 33, the Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, amend any Order in Council made under section 24 for the purpose of correcting any error or making any minor or technical amendment.

The following are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements):

The Minister shall not recommend any amendment of an Order in Council made under section 24 that would render the product concerned subject to export licensing unless the requirements specified in section 25 in relation to the original Order in Council are also met in relation to the proposed amendment.

The Minister shall not recommend any amendment of an Order in Council made under section 24 that would delete any specification that the product is subject to export licensing unless—

The Minister shall not recommend any amendment of an Order in Council made under section 24 that would substitute a different recognised product group for that named in the order unless—

Before recommending any amendment of an Order in Council made under section 24 that would exclude any specified variety or cultivar from the order, the Minister shall—

The Minister shall not recommend the revocation of an Order in Council made under section 24 unless—

A person may export a prescribed product only if the person holds an export licence that allows the licence holder to export the product to the intended market.

However, subsection (1) does not apply to the export of a product—

For the purposes of this section, any person who has applied for an export licence before the date referred to in subsection (2)(b) shall be deemed to hold an export licence until the date on which the Authority notifies that person of its determination of the application.

Every person who exports any prescribed product in contravention of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

Every application for an export licence shall—

An application may be accompanied by any evidence the applicant thinks fit relating to the matters referred to in section 36(1).

An applicant may make a statement in writing to the Authority, setting forth such information or comment as the applicant considers will assist the Authority in its consideration of the application.

As soon as practicable after receiving an application under section 35, the Authority shall consider it and shall grant an export licence to the applicant if, and only if, the Authority is satisfied (on the basis of evidence put before it by the applicant) that the applicant—

The Authority shall not grant an export licence to an applicant without first—

Where an applicant lacks experience in international marketing or in handling export product, but otherwise fulfils the criteria set out in paragraphs (b) to (c) of subsection (1), the Authority shall grant the applicant a provisional licence valid for such period (being a period of not less than 2 years) as may be specified in the licence.

Where, after considering an application, the Authority is not satisfied that it should grant a licence or provisional licence, or determines that it should grant a provisional licence only, it shall appoint a convenient time and place for hearing the application, and shall give at least 14 days’ notice of the hearing to the applicant.

For the purposes of any hearing under this section,—

After determining an application, the Authority shall—

An export licence expires at the end of the fifth anniversary of the date on which it was granted, unless the licence is revoked or cancelled earlier.

Nothing in subsection (6) limits or affects the ability of—

to apply for and be granted another.

Every export licence shall be subject to—

The Authority may at any time revoke or vary a condition imposed under paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subsection (1) after giving such notice to the licensed exporter as is reasonable in all the circumstances.

A licensed exporter who is dissatisfied with any condition imposed under subsection (1)(b) or (c), or any variation of a condition under subsection (2), may, within 30 days of receiving notice of the condition or variation concerned, request the Authority to reconsider its imposition or variation of the condition, and if necessary afford the exporter a hearing.

If the exporter requests a hearing on the matter, the Authority must appoint a time and place for the hearing and give reasonable notice of the appointed time and place to the exporter.

For the purposes of any hearing under this section,—

After hearing the exporter (or, if appropriate, considering the exporter’s submissions), the Authority—

Where the Authority believes on reasonable grounds that—

the Authority shall inform the exporter in writing accordingly.

Any written notice under subsection (1) shall specify—

The day referred to in subsection (2)(c) shall be—

Where the exporter requests a hearing on the matter, the Authority shall appoint a time and place for the hearing and give reasonable notice of the appointed time and place to the exporter.

For the purpose of any hearing under this section,—

In determining whether or not it is necessary or desirable to impose conditions on an exporter’s licence to prevent any repetition or continuance of prejudice to the export licensing strategy, the Authority shall have regard to the following matters:

Where the Authority is satisfied both that prejudice to the export marketing strategy has occurred, and that it is appropriate to impose conditions on the exporter’s licence to prevent any repetition or continuance of that prejudice, the Authority may attach to the exporter’s licence such reasonable conditions as the Authority considers necessary or desirable to ensure that the exporter carries out export operations in compliance with the current export marketing strategy.

Any conditions imposed under subsection (6)—

The Authority may at any time revoke or vary a condition imposed under this section after giving such notice to the licensed exporter as is reasonable in all the circumstances.

Subject to the provisions of this section, the Authority may revoke, or suspend for a specified period not exceeding 2 years, a licence granted under this Act if—

Where the Authority proposes to revoke or suspend a licence, it shall—

Where the exporter requests a hearing on the matter, the Authority shall appoint a time and place for the hearing and give reasonable notice of the appointed time and place to the exporter.

For the purposes of any hearing under this section,—

If, after hearing the exporter (or, as the case may be, considering any submissions made by the exporter within the time specified in the written notice or within such longer time as the Authority may allow), the Authority is satisfied of the matters specified in subsection (1), the Authority—

The Authority may cancel the licence of a licensed exporter where—

For the purposes of subsection (6)(b)(iv)(A) and (v)(B), a change in the shareholding of a company or other body corporate is significant if a person who did not satisfy any of paragraphs (i) to (iv) of section 5(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1993 before the change in shareholding does satisfy 1 or more of those provisions after the change.

In this section,—

The following persons may apply to the Authority for an exemption from the requirement to hold an export licence:

A joint venture may apply for an exemption only if each participant in the joint venture is licensed to export the product to the intended market.

The Authority may, where it is satisfied that the grant of the exemption would not prejudice the current export marketing strategy for the product, issue to the applicant a certificate of exemption subject to such conditions as it thinks fit. If the Authority determines not to grant the exemption applied for, it must notify the applicant of that fact in writing as soon as practicable.

A certificate of exemption issued to a joint venture must specify the date on which it expires (which must be no more than 1 year after the date on which the certificate is issued).

The Authority may at any time, for reasonable cause, revoke a certificate of exemption issued under this section, or revoke or vary any conditions attached to any such certificate, after giving such notice to the holder of the certificate as is reasonable in all the circumstances.

Any licensed exporter may apply to the Authority for an exemption from the general requirement that exporting operations be carried out in such a way as not to prejudice the current export marketing strategy for the product to which the licence relates.

Any such application shall specify the operation or operations in respect of which the exemption is sought, and the reasons why the exemption should be granted.

The Authority, or any member or officer of the Authority authorised by it in that behalf, may, where satisfied that—

grant an exemption from compliance with the export marketing strategy subject to such conditions as the Authority, or the member or officer, thinks fit.

Subject to subsection (5), every application for and every grant of an exemption shall be in writing.

Where in all the circumstances it is not practicable for the application to be made or the exemption to be granted in writing, the application or grant may be made orally, but shall be reduced to writing as soon as possible.

The Authority, or any member or officer authorised by the Authority in that behalf, may at any time revoke an exemption granted under this section, or revoke or vary any conditions attached to any such exemption, after giving such notice to the licensed exporter as is reasonable in all the circumstances.

An applicant for or holder of an exemption under section 40 or section 41 who is dissatisfied with a decision of the Authority to refuse to grant or to revoke the exemption, or to impose or vary any conditions in relation to an exemption, may, within 30 days of receiving notice of the decision concerned, request the Authority to reconsider its decision, and if necessary afford the applicant or the holder a hearing.

If the person requests a hearing on the matter, the Authority must appoint a time and place for the hearing and give reasonable notice of the appointed time and place to the person.

For the purposes of any hearing under this section,—

After hearing the person (or, if appropriate, considering the person’s submissions), the Authority—

The Registrar appointed under section 17 shall set up and maintain a register of export licences and exemptions granted under this Act.

The following matters shall be recorded in the register:

Any person may, on application to the Registrar and on payment of the prescribed fee (if any), search, inspect, and obtain particulars of any entry in the register during ordinary office hours.

The purpose of this section is to enable the making of agreements under which the following people may share information about the export of prescribed products with the Authority:

The Authority may enter into 1 or more agreements with the chief executive or the Director-General.

While an agreement is in force, the chief executive or the Director-General may provide to the Authority information that is—

The specified purpose is to enable the Authority to determine whether the exporter of a prescribed product—

Before entering into or amending an agreement, the Authority must consult on the proposed agreement or amendment with—

The Authority must publish on its Internet site the current version of any agreement made under this section.

The holder of an export licence who is dissatisfied with any decision of the Authority arrived at after a reconsideration or a hearing under any of sections 37, 38, 39, and 41A—

may, within 28 days after receiving written notice of the decision, appeal in writing, setting out the grounds for the appeal, to the Authority.

Any applicant for a licence or for a certificate of exemption under section 40, or any person who has obtained a certificate of exemption, who is dissatisfied with any decision of the Authority arrived at after a reconsideration or a hearing under section 36 or section 41A—

may, within 28 days after receiving written notice of the decision, appeal in writing, setting out the grounds for the appeal, to the Authority.

On receipt of any notice of appeal, the Authority shall refer its decision together with that notice to the arbitrator appointed pursuant to subsection (4).

For the purposes of hearing any appeal under this section, the Minister shall appoint as an independent arbitrator a barrister or solicitor of the High Court of at least 7 years standing who shall be nominated by the President of the New Zealand Law Society.

The arbitrator shall appoint a time and place for hearing the appeal, shall give reasonable notice of the appointed time and place to the appellant and to the Authority, and shall regulate the procedure to be followed on appeal.

On hearing the appeal, the arbitrator may affirm or reverse or vary the decision given by the Authority.

The arbitrator may also—

The decision of the arbitrator shall be notified in writing to the appellant and the Authority.

The decision of the arbitrator shall be final, and shall bind both the appellant and the Authority.

Where the decision of the Authority appealed against is a decision to revoke or suspend a licence or an exemption, or to impose conditions on a licence under section 38, the operation of that decision shall be suspended until the final determination of the appeal by the arbitrator.

Where a party to proceedings before the arbitrator is dissatisfied with any decision of the arbitrator as being erroneous in point of law, that party may appeal to the High Court on that question of law.

Every such appeal shall be heard and determined by the High Court, the decision of which shall be final.

Subject to this Act, the procedure in respect of any such appeal shall be in accordance with the rules of court.

Every appeal under section 44 shall be instituted by the appellant lodging a notice of appeal within 1 month after the date of the decision with—

Either before or immediately after the lodging of the notice of appeal, the appellant shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal, either personally or by post, on every other party to the proceedings before the arbitrator.

Service under subsection (2), if by post, shall be by registered letter and shall be deemed in the absence of proof to the contrary, for the purposes of this section, to be effected at the time when the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.

Every notice of appeal shall specify—

The arbitrator shall, as soon as practicable after receiving a copy of the notice of appeal, send a copy of the whole of the decision appealed from to the Registrar of the court in Wellington.

Any party to the proceedings before the arbitrator who wishes to appear and be heard on the hearing of the appeal shall, within 10 days after the date of the service on that party of a copy of the notice of appeal, give notice to the Registrar of the court in Wellington of that party’s intention to appear and be heard.

Any party who gives a notice of intention to appear and be heard, and the appellant, shall be parties to the appeal and shall be entitled—

Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the court may, of its own motion or on the application of any party, make all or any of the following orders:

An application under subsection (1) shall be made,—

The court may make an order under subsection (1) only if it is satisfied that a proper determination of the point of law in issue so requires, and the order may be made subject to such conditions as the court thinks fit.

The court may dismiss any appeal under section 44—

The court or a Judge may, in the court’s or the Judge’s discretion, on the application of the appellant, or intending appellant, or any other party, extend any time prescribed or allowed under sections 43 to 48 for the lodging of any notice, application, or other document.

When a party to the appeal notifies the Registrar of the court in Wellington—

the appeal shall be, in all respects, ready for hearing and the Registrar shall arrange a date and place for the hearing as soon as is practicable.

The funds of the Authority shall consist of—

For the purposes of this Act, there shall be maintained at any trading bank, bank accounts into which shall be paid all money received by the Authority.

The Authority may from time to time open with the bank at which its accounts are kept, or with any branch or agency of that bank, such imprest or subsidiary accounts as it thinks necessary for the exercise of its functions and powers.

The Authority may also from time to time establish such special funds or reserves as it thinks necessary for the exercise of its functions and powers.

Every account under this section shall be operated upon only by cheque or other instrument (not being a bill or promissory note) signed by such person or persons as may from time to time be authorised by the Authority for that purpose.

The Authority may invest any of its money not immediately required in the exercise of its functions and powers in any investment.

The Authority may, with the consent of the Minister of Finance and upon and subject to such conditions as the Minister of Finance, after consultation with the Minister, thinks fit, borrow money, issue debentures, and mortgage or charge any of its real or personal property.

The Minister of Finance may, from time to time,—

All money advanced by the Minister of Finance under subsection (2)(a) shall be paid from money appropriated by Parliament for the purpose.

The financial year of the Authority shall end with 30 September or with such other day in any calendar year as the Authority may determine.

The Authority may, in any financial year, expend out of the funds of the Authority for purposes not authorised by this Act or any other enactment any sum or sums not amounting in the whole to more than $5,000.

The Authority must ensure that, within 5 months after the end of the financial year, financial statements that comply with generally accepted accounting practice are—

The Authority must ensure that the financial statements of the Authority are audited.

The Authority is a public entity as defined in section 4 of the Public Audit Act 2001 and, in accordance with that Act, the Auditor-General is its auditor.

As soon as reasonably practicable after the end of each financial year the Authority shall deliver to the Minister an annual report of its operations during the year together with a copy of its duly audited financial statements for that year and the report of the Auditor-General on those financial statements.

A copy of the annual report and of the financial statements of the Authority, together with a copy of the report of the Auditor-General on the financial statements, shall be laid before the House of Representatives as soon as practicable after their receipt by the Minister.

Nothing in this Act shall derogate from or limit any of the provisions of the Commerce Act 1986.

Nothing in the provisions of any export marketing strategy, or in section 37(1)(a) or section 38, shall, for the purposes of section 43(1) of the Commerce Act 1986, be taken to specifically authorise the doing of any act, matter, or thing in contravention of the provisions of Part 2 of that Act.

Any notice or other document to be given to or served on any person for the purposes of this Act may be given or served—

Where any notice or document is sent to any person by registered letter, the notice or document shall be deemed to be given or served at the time when the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post.

Every notice or other document shall be signed by the chairperson of the Authority, or by such other officers as may from time to time be authorised by the Authority to sign notices; and every notice purporting to be signed shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been duly signed by the person or persons purporting to have signed it.

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations prescribing fees—

Regulations made under this section—

If the regulations exempt persons from having to pay a fee, the reasons for the exemption must be set out in the explanatory note of the regulations.

Before recommending that regulations be made under this section, the Minister must take reasonable steps to consult the persons who may have to pay the fee.

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations providing for the payment of a levy by recognised product groups to the Authority to fund the costs of carrying out its functions under this Act.

Regulations made under this section must—

The regulations may do 1 or more of the following:

If the regulations allow the Authority to determine the amount of levy payable by a recognised product group, the regulations must prescribe—

If the regulations exempt product groups from having to pay the levy, the reasons for the exemption must be set out in the explanatory note of the regulations.

Before recommending that regulations be made under this section, the Minister must take reasonable steps to consult the recognised product groups that will be responsible for paying the levy.

A levy imposed by regulations made under this section must be reasonable having regard to—

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

The purpose of this section and section 62C is to allow levies to be imposed for the purpose of funding—

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations imposing levies in accordance with the provisions of the Commodity Levies Act 1990, as applied by section 62C.

Regulations made under subsection (2) are to be administered under this Act.

Regulations under this section—

For the purposes of section 62B, the provisions of the Commodity Levies Act 1990 apply to prescribed products as if they were commodities within the meaning of that Act.

However,—

The provisions of the Commodity Levies Act 1990 must also be read with the following modifications:

The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations for 1 or more of the following purposes:

Regulations under this section are secondary legislation (see Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019 for publication requirements).

Every person commits an offence against this Act who, with intent to deceive, makes any false or misleading statement or any material omission in any application, statement, or other communication made to the Authority or to any other person for the purposes of this Act.

Every person who commits an offence against this Act or against any regulations made under this Act for which no penalty is provided elsewhere than in this subsection shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.