Western Australian Consolidated Acts

MINES SAFETY AND INSPECTION ACT 1994 - SECT 33

33 .         Registered manager, appointment and functions of

        (1)         Before mining operations begin at a mine, the principal employer must appoint a registered manager for the mine and subsequently must ensure that at all times a registered manager is appointed for the mine.

        (2)         The principal employer must inform the district inspector for the region in which the mine is situated within 24 hours (by electronic document transmission confirmed by hard copy within 7 days) of every appointment of a registered manager for the mine and the name and address of the appointee.

        (3)         The registered manager for a mine is responsible on a daily basis for the control and supervision of the mine and mining operations at the mine in accordance with this Act and, except for absences on a regular scheduled basis (referred to in this Act as a commute schedule ), must reside at a location in relation to the mine which will allow the registered manager to control and supervise the mine effectively as required by this section.

        (4)         A person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), or (3) commits an offence.

        (5)         A person who is the registered manager for a mine is not eligible while holding that position to be the registered manager or deputy to the registered manager for another mine except with the approval in writing of the State mining engineer.

        (6)         If mining operations are carried out by a syndicate or other association of persons in such a way that no person is employed at the mine, no registered manager is required and the members of that entity or partnership or those persons are jointly and severally responsible for the performance of those duties and responsibilities which are imposed on registered managers by this Act so far as those duties and responsibilities apply to an operation without employees.

        (7)         Notwithstanding subsection (1), a registered manager need not be appointed for mining operations that consist only of exploration operations unless the State mining engineer, having regard to the scale and nature of the exploration operations, directs that such an appointment must be made.