Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022

15

Amendment of section 51 of Principal Act

15. Section 51 of the Principal Act is amended—

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

“(1) Without prejudice to any provision of this Act, or of a contract made under it, the Commission may terminate, or suspend for such period as it considers reasonable, a contract entered into under Part 6 or Part 8—

(a) if any false or misleading information of a material nature was given to the Commission by or on behalf of the holder of the contract before it was entered into, or

(b) if, following an investigation under section 50, the Commission has made a finding under subsection (7) of that section that the holder of the contract has failed on one or more occasions to comply with a term or condition of the contract, and the nature of that failure is of such seriousness as in the Commission’s opinion warrants the termination or suspension of the contract.”,

(b) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (1):

“(1A) The functions of the Commission under subsections (1) and (2), 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.

(1B) In the case of functions under subsection (1)(b), and subsection (2) as it applies to a decision under subsection (1)(b), if the person who appointed the investigator to carry out the investigation referred to in subsection (1)(b) was a Commissioner, the division referred to in subsection (1A) shall not include that Commissioner.”,

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

“(2) Where the Commission proposes to make a decision under subsection (1) the Commission shall by notice in writing afford the holder of the contract concerned an opportunity to make submissions, in accordance with any rules made under subsection (3), at a hearing before the Commission in respect of the matter under consideration.”,

(d) in subsection (3), by the insertion of “the operation of this section, including” before “the conduct”,

(e) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) The Commission may make guidelines in relation to the operation of section 50 and this section and shall publish any guidelines on a website maintained by it.”,

and

(f) by the deletion of subsection (5).