Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts (1) An election for an
office in an organisation may be conducted pursuant to this section where the
Registrar decides that a request that the election be so conducted has been
duly made.
(2) A request is duly
made if it is made in writing within the time prescribed —
(a) by
an officer of an organisation on behalf of the organisation; or
(b) by a
person authorised to make the request by and on behalf of not less than 1/20
th of the members of, or 250 of the members of the organisation,
whichever is the lesser number.
(3) Where a request is
made or purports to be made in accordance with this section, the Registrar
shall, after making such inquiries, if any, as he considers necessary, decide
whether or not the request has been duly made.
(4) Where the
Registrar decides that a request has been duly made, he shall inform the
organisation, and, where the request was made by a person referred to in
subsection (2)(b), that person, accordingly, and make arrangements with
the Electoral Commissioner appointed under the Electoral Act 1907 for
the conduct of the election by an officer holding office under that Act or by
some other person authorised in writing by the Electoral Commissioner.
(5) Notwithstanding
anything contained in the rules of the organisation, the person conducting the
election may take such action and give such directions as he considers
necessary in order —
(a) to
ensure that no irregularities occur in or in connection with the election;
(b) to
rectify the register of members of the organisation; or
(c) to
remedy procedural defects which appear to him to exist in those rules.
(6) A person shall
not —
(a)
refuse or fail to comply with a direction given in accordance with
subsection (5); or
(b)
obstruct or hinder —
(i)
the person conducting an election under this section in
the conduct of the election or the taking of any action in accordance with
subsection (5); or
(ii)
any other person in the carrying out of a direction given
in accordance with subsection (5).
(7) An election
conducted pursuant to this section is not invalid by reason only of an
irregularity in the request in pursuance of which the election was conducted
or by reason of a breach of the rules of the organisation involved in anything
done or omitted, or in compliance with a direction given, in accordance with
this section.
(8) The expense of any
election conducted in accordance with this section shall be borne by the
State; and the Consolidated Account is to the necessary extent appropriated
accordingly.
(9) The Secretary of
the organisation shall, within such time as the Registrar may require, lodge
with the Registrar a copy of the register of members referred to in
section 63 and that register shall be open for inspection and extracts
may be taken therefrom, at the office of the person conducting the election,
by any member of the organisation or candidate at the election.
(10) In proceedings
before the Commission or any court in connection with anything done or
proposed to be done by reason of a request duly made in accordance with this
section the copy register referred to in subsection (9) is evidence that
the persons shown therein as members of the organisation were, at the date on
which that request was so made, members of the organisation.
(11) Where the
Registrar decides that a request has not been duly made under this section he
shall inform the organisation and, where the request has been made by a person
referred to in subsection (2)(b), that person, accordingly.
(12) The officer or
person who made the request for the conduct of the election under this section
may, within 7 days of the organisation or that person, as the case may
be, being informed by the Registrar of his decision that the request has not
been duly made, appeal to the Full Bench in the manner prescribed against that
decision.
[Section 69 amended by No. 94 of 1984
s. 42, 65 and 66; No. 98 of 1985 s. 3; No. 6 of 1993
s. 11; No. 1 of 1995 s. 53; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4.]