Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022

14

Amendment of section 50 of Principal Act

14. Section 50 of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) In this section—

‘contractor’ means a holder of a contract under Part 6 or 8;

‘investigator’ means a person appointed as an investigator under subsection (2).”,

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) If a person authorised by the Commission under subsection (2A) has reason to suspect that a contractor is not providing a service in accordance with the terms of the contractor’s contract, the person may appoint a member of the staff of the Commission, or such other person as he or she considers appropriate, as an investigator to carry out an investigation under this section into the operational, programming, financial, technical or other affairs of the contractor.”,

(c) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) The Commission may authorise any Commissioner or member of its staff to make an appointment referred to in subsection (2).”,

(d) in subsection (3)—

(i) by the substitution of “investigator” for “Compliance Committee”, and

(ii) by the substitution of “investigator” for “Committee” in the second place it occurs,

(e) in subsection (6), by the substitution of “Commission” for “Committee” in the second place it occurs,

(f) in subsection (8), by the insertion of “the operation of an investigation under this section, and” before “the conduct”,

(g) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (8):

“(8A) The functions of the Commission under subsections (5), (6) and (7) shall be exercised by a division of the Commission consisting of such uneven number of Commissioners, not being less than 3, as the Commission may determine.

(8B) If the person appointing an investigator to carry out an investigation under subsection (2) is a Commissioner, the division exercising the functions referred to in subsection (8A) in relation to the investigation shall not include that Commissioner.”,

and

(h) by the deletion of subsection (9).