Western Australian Consolidated Acts Western Australian Consolidated Acts[Sections 133, 135, 136]
(1) The Board is to
cause to be given to a person who is a party to proceedings reasonable notice
of the time and place at which it intends to conduct those proceedings.
(2) If a person to
whom notice has been given under subclause (1) does not attend at the
time and place fixed by the notice, the Board may conduct the proceedings in
his or her absence.
The Board is to give
each party to proceedings a reasonable opportunity to call or give evidence,
to examine or cross-examine witnesses, and to make submissions.
(1) A party to
proceedings before the Board —
(a) may
appear personally unless the Board, being of the opinion that the personal
appearance of a person would be detrimental to the health of the person,
orders that the person be represented; or
(b) may
be represented in those proceedings by counsel or, with the leave of the
Board, by any other person.
(2) The Board may
arrange for a person to be represented in proceedings before it if the person
wishes the Board to do so.
(3) A person who is
not a legal practitioner must not demand or receive any fee or reward for
representing a party to proceedings before the Board.
Penalty: $1 000.
[Clause 3 amended by No. 65 of 2003
s. 51(3); No. 21 of 2008 s. 680(7).]
4 . Power to compel attendance etc.
(1) The Board
may —
(a) by
summons signed on behalf of the Board by the Registrar, require —
(i)
the attendance before the Board of any person;
(ii)
the production before the Board of any document;
and
(b)
inspect any document produced before it, and retain it for such reasonable
period as it thinks fit, and make copies of the document or any of its
contents; and
(c)
require any person to swear to truly answer all questions relating to a matter
being enquired into by the Board that are put by or before the Board; and
(d)
require any person appearing before the Board (whether or not the person has
been summoned to appear) to answer any relevant question put by a member of
the Board or by any other person appearing before the Board.
(2) For the purposes
of subclause (1) a member of the Board or a public service officer under
the Public Sector Management Act 1994 assisting the Board in the
performance of its functions may administer any oath or affirmation.
5 . No privilege against self-incrimination
(1) A person is not
excused from swearing, from answering any question, or from producing any
document, as required under clause 4 on the ground that the answer to a
question or the contents of a document might tend to incriminate the person or
render the person liable to a penalty.
(2) However, the
answer or the fact that the document was produced is not admissible in
evidence against the person in any civil or criminal proceedings other than
proceedings for perjury or for an offence under this Act arising out of the
false or misleading nature of the answer.
6 . Evidence or findings from other proceedings
In the course of any
proceedings the Board may —
(a)
receive in evidence any transcript of evidence in proceedings before a court
or other person or body acting judicially and draw any conclusion of fact from
the evidence as it thinks fit; and
(b)
adopt, as in its discretion it thinks fit, any finding, decision, or judgment
of a court or other person or body acting judicially that is relevant to the
proceedings before the Board.
7 . Board to avoid technicalities
The Board is to act
according to equity, good conscience, and the substantial merits of the case
without regard to technicalities and legal forms.
8 . Board not bound by rules of evidence
The Board is not bound
by the rules of evidence but may inform itself on any matter in such manner as
it thinks fit.
9 . Vexatious etc. proceedings
Where proceedings
before the Board are instituted frivolously, vexatiously or for an improper
purpose, the Board may —
(a)
dismiss the proceedings; and
(b)
order the party who instituted the proceedings to pay to any other party a
pecuniary sum by way of compensation for any consequential embarrassment,
inconvenience or expense suffered or incurred.
10 . Each party to bear own costs
Each party to
proceedings before the Board is to bear the party’s own costs.
A person must
not —
(a)
having been served with a summons to attend before the Board, fail without
reasonable excuse (proof of which lies upon the person) to attend in obedience
to the summons; or
(b)
having been served with a summons to produce before the Board any document,
fail without reasonable excuse (proof of which lies upon the person) to comply
with the summons; or
(c) fail
without reasonable excuse (proof of which lies upon the person) to swear, or
to answer any question, when required to do so by the Board; or
(d) give
before the Board any answer or other information knowing it to be false or
misleading in a material particular; or
(e)
misbehave before the Board, wilfully insult the Board or a member or interrupt
the proceedings of the Board.
Penalty: $2 000.
(1) A hearing before
the Board is not open to the public unless the Board orders that it is open to
the public.
(2) The Board may
permit specified persons to be, or preclude specified persons (which may
include witnesses) from being, present at a hearing.
(3) In this clause a
reference to a hearing includes a reference to a part of a hearing.
13 . Certain information not to be published
(1) A person is not to
publish by any means —
(a) any
account of any proceedings or part of proceedings before the Board; or
(b) any
evidence given before the Board; or
(c) the
contents of any document produced to the Board; or
(d) any
other information relating to proceedings before the Board,
that might
identify —
(e) a
person who is a party to the proceedings; or
(f) a
person who is related to, or associated with, a party to the proceedings or
is, alleged to be, in any other way concerned in the matter to which the
proceedings relate; or
(g) a
witness in the proceedings.
(2) Except as
permitted by regulations a person is not to publish by any means (other than
by the display of a notice in the premises of the Board), a list of
proceedings to be dealt with by the Board identified by reference to the names
of the parties to those proceedings.
(3)
Subclauses (1) and (2) do not apply to —
(a) the
communication to persons concerned in proceedings in any court or tribunal of
any transcript of evidence or other document for use in connection with those
proceedings; or
(b) the
communication of any transcript of evidence or any other document to a body
that is responsible for disciplining members of the legal or medical
profession or to persons concerned in proceedings before such a body; or
(c) the
communication to a body that grants assistance by way of legal aid of any
transcript of evidence or any other document for the purpose of facilitating
the making of a decision as to whether such assistance should be granted or
continued in any particular case; or
(d) the
publishing of a publication genuinely intended primarily for the use of
members of any profession, being —
(i)
a separate volume or part of a series of law reports; or
(ii)
any other publication of a technical character.
(4) Without limiting
subclauses (1) and (2) the Board may in any particular case order
that —
(a) any
evidence given before it; or
(b) the
contents of any document produced to it; or
(c) any
other information relating to proceedings before it,
must not be published,
or must not be published except in the manner or to persons specified by the
Board.
(5) A person who
contravenes subclause (1) or (2) or an order made under
subclause (4) commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $2 000.
[Clause 13 amended by No. 50 of 2003
s. 80(3).]
The Registrar is to
cause a recording to be made and kept of all proceedings before the Board in a
form that is suitable for enabling a transcript of the proceedings to be
prepared if required.
(1) A party to
proceedings before the Board may, within 14 days after the Board has made
a decision or an order in those proceedings, request the Board to give to the
party reasons in writing for the decision or order.
(2) The Board is to
comply with any such request.
(3) The reasons are to
be expressed in such a manner as to facilitate those reasons being understood
by each party.
(4) Where a party who
is to be given reasons in writing is used to communicating in a form other
than in writing, they are to be given in the form in which the person is used
to communicating that, as nearly as practicable, corresponds to the written
form.
16 . Effect to be given to decision or order
A person who fails to
give effect to a decision or an order of the Board according to its tenor
commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $2 000.
[Clause 16 amended by No. 50 of 2003
s. 80(3).]