Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Every company carrying on business in Australia, or deriving in Australia income from property, shall at all times, unless exempted by the Commissioner, be represented for the purposes of this Act by a public officer duly appointed by the company or by its duly authorized agent or attorney, and with respect to every such company and public officer the following provisions shall apply:
(a) The company, if it has not appointed a public officer before the commencement of this Act, shall appoint a public officer within three months after the commencement of this Act or after the company commences to carry on business or derive income in Australia.
(b) The company shall keep the office of the public officer constantly filled.
(c) No appointment of a public officer shall be deemed to be duly made until after notice thereof in writing, specifying the name of the officer and an address for service upon the officer has been given to the Commissioner.
(d) The company shall duly appoint a public officer when and as often as such an appointment becomes necessary.
(e) Service of any document at the address for service, or on the public officer of the company, shall be sufficient service upon the company for all the purposes of this Act or the regulations, and if at any time there is no public officer then service upon any person acting or appearing to act in the business of the company shall be sufficient.
(f) The public officer shall be answerable for the doing of all such things as are required to be done by the company under this Act or the regulations, and in case of default shall be liable to the same penalties.
(g) Everything done by the public officer which the officer is required to do in the officer's representative capacity shall be deemed to have been done by the company. The absence or non-appointment of a public officer shall not excuse the company from the necessity of complying with any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations, or from any penalty for refusal or failure to comply therewith, but the company shall be liable to the provisions of this Act as if there were no requirement to appoint a public officer.
(h) Any notice given to or requisition made upon the public officer shall be deemed to be given to or made upon the company.
(i) Any proceedings under this Act taken against the public officer shall be deemed to have been taken against the company, and the company shall be liable jointly with the public officer for any penalty imposed upon the officer.
(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, and without in any way limiting, altering or transferring the liability of the public officer of a company, every notice, process or proceeding which under this Act or the regulations thereunder may be given to, served upon or taken against the company or its public officer may, if the Commissioner thinks fit, be given to, served upon or taken against any director, secretary or other officer of the company or any attorney or agent of the company and that director, secretary, officer, attorney or agent shall have the same liability in respect of that notice, process or proceeding as the company or public officer would have had if it had been given to, served upon, or taken against the company or public officer.
(2) A person is not capable of being a public officer of a company at a particular time unless the person:
(a) is a natural person who has attained the age of 18 years;
(b) is ordinarily resident:
(i) in the case of a company that:
(A) at that time carries on business solely or principally in a prescribed Territory (in this paragraph referred to as the relevant prescribed Territory ); or
(B) at that time does not carry on business solely or principally in a prescribed Territory, but derived not less than 50% of its income from sources in Australia and the prescribed Territories from sources in a particular prescribed Territory (in this paragraph referred to as the relevant prescribed Territory ) during the year immediately preceding that time;
in Australia or the relevant prescribed Territory; or
(ii) in any other case--in Australia; and
(c) is capable of understanding the nature of the person's appointment as the public officer of the company.
(3) A company that contravenes paragraph (1)(d) is, in respect of each day on which it contravenes that paragraph (including the day of a conviction of an offence against this subsection or any subsequent day), guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding 1 penalty unit.
(4) An offence under subsection (3) is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .
(5) A reference in subsection (1) (other than in paragraph (a)) to this Act or the regulations includes a reference to Part III of the Taxation Administration Act 1953 to the extent to which that Part of that Act relates to this Act or the regulations.
(6) In subsection (2):
"Australia" does not include a prescribed Territory.
"prescribed Territory" means an external Territory referred to in subsection 7A (2).