Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) If, after having
inspected a public building, the Director or an officer of the Authority
authorised by the Authority in that behalf considers that the safety of
persons in the public building may be endangered in the event of fire or a
hazardous material incident therein, he may —
(a)
using such force as is reasonably necessary for the purpose, cause any aisle,
corridor, door, gangway, lobby or passage connected with any exit or escape
from the public building or any such exit or escape itself, the obstruction,
closing or locking of which aisle, corridor, door, gangway, lobby, passage,
exit or escape is or reasonably appears to be in breach of any requirement of
any Act, or of any proclamation, regulation, rule, local law, by-law, order,
notice, resolution or other instrument —
(i)
made under an Act or under any other such proclamation,
regulation, rule, local law, by-law, order, notice, resolution or instrument;
and
(ii)
having legislative effect,
to be cleared, opened
or unlocked, as the case requires;
(b)
being satisfied that the safety of persons in the public building cannot
reasonably be ensured by other means, order the occupier or presumed occupier
of the public building forthwith to close the public building for such period
not exceeding 48 hours as is specified in that order and as the Director
or officer so authorised considers necessary for the alleviation of the danger
in question; or
(c) if
an order referred to in paragraph (b) cannot for any reason be given to
the occupier or presumed occupier of the public building or if such an order,
having been given to that occupier or presumed occupier, is not forthwith
obeyed, himself, being satisfied that the safety of persons in the public
building cannot reasonably be ensured by other means, close the public
building for such period not exceeding 48 hours as he considers necessary
for the alleviation of the danger in question, using such force as is
reasonably necessary for the removal from the public building of persons
therein without doing them bodily harm.
(2) The occupier or
presumed occupier of a public building may in complying with an order given to
him under subsection (1) use such force as is reasonably necessary for
the removal from the public building of persons therein without doing them
bodily harm.
(3) The Director or
authorised officer giving an order under subsection (1) shall do
so —
(a) in
writing served on the occupier or presumed occupier of the public building in
question; or
(b)
orally, in which case he shall as soon as is practicable thereafter serve on
the occupier or presumed occupier of the public building in question
confirmation in writing of the contents of that order and of the time and
place at which that order was so given,
and shall cause a copy
of that order or confirmation, as the case requires, to be affixed to that
public building in a conspicuous position.
(4) The Director or an
authorised officer may, if he considers that the danger to which an order
given under subsection (1) relates has been alleviated, rescind that
order.
(5) The Commissioner
of Police may, if requested by the Director or an authorised officer to do so,
assist the Director or authorised officer in the exercise of any power
conferred on the Director or authorised officer by subsection (1).
(6) If the Director or
an authorised officer considers that a danger in relation to which he has
exercised the power conferred on him by subsection (1)(b) or (c) cannot
be, or has not been, alleviated within the period of 48 hours referred to
in that paragraph, he shall, having given such prior notice of his intention
to do so to the occupier of the public building in question as is practicable
in the circumstances, apply to the Magistrates Court for an order directing
that occupier to close or keep closed, as the case requires, that public
building for such period as the Court considers necessary for the alleviation
of that danger.
(7) On an application
made under subsection (6), the Magistrates Court shall be constituted by
a magistrate and may grant, subject to any conditions the Court thinks fit to
impose, or refuse to grant, the order sought by the application.
(8) If an application
is made under subsection (6) while —
(a) an
order given under subsection (1) in relation to the public building in
question is in force, that order continues in force; or
(b) the
public building in question is closed under subsection (1)(c), that
closure continues,
until the application
is finally determined or is withdrawn.
(9) The Director or an
authorised officer or the owner or occupier of a public building to which an
order granted under subsection (7) relates may apply to the Magistrates
Court for that order to be rescinded.
(10) On an application
made under subsection (9) the Magistrates Court shall be constituted by a
magistrate and may rescind or refuse to rescind the order to which the
application relates.
(11) The Director
shall exercise general supervision over the exercise or performance by an
authorised officer of any power or duty conferred or imposed by this section
on the authorised officer.
(12) A person
shall —
(a) not
hinder or obstruct a person to whom this subsection applies in the exercise of
any power or the performance of any duty conferred or imposed on him by this
section or by an order given or granted thereunder; or
(b) if
he is the occupier of the public building in question, comply with an order
given or granted under this section in respect of that public building.
Penalty: $50 000.
Daily penalty: $1 000.
(13) The occupier of a
public building who fails to fulfil a contractual obligation is not liable for
any consequences of that failure if —
(a) the
failure resulted from the occupier complying with a requirement of this
section or an order given or granted under this section; and
(b) the
occupier could not have fulfilled the contractual obligation as well as
complying with the requirement.
(14)
Subsection (12) applies to —
(a) the
Director;
(b) an
authorised officer;
(c) a
member of the Police Force assisting the Director or an authorised officer as
a result of compliance by the Commissioner of Police with a request made under
subsection (5); and
(d) the
occupier or presumed occupier of a public building complying with an order
given or granted under this section in respect of the public building.
(15) In this
section —
alleviation means alleviation by compliance with
the relevant requirements of any provision of an Act, or of a proclamation,
regulation, rule, local law, by-law, order, notice, resolution or other
instrument —
(a) made
under an Act or under any other such proclamation, regulation, rule, local
law, by-law, order, notice, resolution or instrument; and
(b)
having legislative effect,
which provision relates to the prevention of fire
or hazardous material incidents in public buildings or to ensuring the safety
of persons in public buildings in the event of fire or hazardous material
incidents therein, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly;
authorised officer means an officer of the
Authority authorised by the Authority within the meaning of
subsection (1);
occupier , in relation to a public building, means
person in charge of, or having the control and management of, the public
building;
presumed occupier , in relation to a public
building, means person who appears to the Director or to an authorised
officer, as the case requires, to be the occupier of the public building;
public building has the meaning given by
section 173 of the Health Act 1911 .
[Section 33A inserted by No. 28 of 1982
s. 20; amended by No. 52 of 1994 s. 21 and 34; No. 14 of
1996 s. 4; No. 42 of 1998 s. 37; No. 38 of 2002
s. 49(3) and 51; No. 50 of 2003 s. 61(2); No. 59 of 2004
s. 141.]