Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts Australian Capital Territory Numbered Acts3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—“agency” means a Department or a prescribed authority; “authorised person” means a person appointed by the Commissioner to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act; “Commissioner” means the Commissioner for the Environment appointed in accordance with section 4; “Department” means an administrative unit of the Public Service; “law of the Territory” includes part of such a law; “officer” means—
(a) in relation to a Department—
(i) a public servant (including the principal officer of that Department) who is a member of that Department; or
(ii) any other person (not being a Minister) authorised to exercise powers or perform functions on behalf of that Department by the principal officer of that Department; and
(b) in relation to a prescribed authority—
(i) the person who constitutes, or is acting as the person who constitutes, the authority;
(ii) a person who is, or is acting as, a member of the authority or is a deputy of such a member;
(iii) a person who is employed in the service of, or is a member of the staff of, the authority, whether or not the person is employed by the authority; or
(iv) a person authorised by the authority to exercise any powers or perform any functions of the authority on behalf of the authority;
(a) a body corporate, or an unincorporated body, established for a public purpose by, or in accordance with the provisions of, a law of the Territory, other than—
(i) an incorporated company or association; or
(ii) a body that, under subsection (2) or the regulations, is not a prescribed authority for the purposes of this Act;
(b) any other body, whether incorporated or unincorporated, that is declared by the regulations to be a prescribed authority for the purposes of this Act, being—
(i) a body established by the Executive or by a Minister; or
(ii) an incorporated company or association over which the Territory is in a position to exercise control;
(c) subject to subsection (3), the person holding or performing the duties of an office, other than the office of Ombudsman, established by a law of the Territory; or
(d) a person holding, or performing the duties of, an office declared by the regulations to be an office the holder of which is a prescribed authority for the purposes of this Act, being an office created by the Executive or by a Minister otherwise than under a law of the Territory;
(a) in relation to a Department—the Head of Administration or, if an Associate Head of Administration has been placed in control of that Department, that Associate Head of Administration or a person acting in such an office; or
(b) in relation to a prescribed authority—
(i) if the regulations declare an office to be the principal office in respect of the authority—the person holding, or performing the duties of, that office; or
(ii) in any other case—the person who constitutes that authority or a person acting in his or her office or, if the authority is constituted by 2 or more persons, the person who is entitled to preside at any meeting of the authority at which the person is present or a person acting in his or her office;
(a) subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), the Minister who is responsible for that agency;
(b) in relation to a prescribed authority referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of “prescribed authority”—the Minister administering the law of the Territory concerned; or
(c) in relation to a prescribed authority referred to in paragraph (b) or (d) of the definition of “prescribed authority”—the Minister declared by the regulations to be the responsible Minister in respect of that authority;
or another Minister acting for and on behalf of that Minister.
(2) An unincorporated body, being a board, council, committee, subcommittee or other body established by or under a law of the Territory for the purpose of assisting, or performing functions connected with, a prescribed authority shall not be taken to be a prescribed authority, but action taken by the body, or by a person on its behalf, shall be taken to have been taken by that prescribed authority.
(3) A person shall not be taken to be a prescribed authority only because the person holds or performs the duties of—
(a) a prescribed office;
(b) an office the duties of which the person performs as duties of his or her employment as an officer of an agency;
(c) an office of member of a body; or
(d) an office established by a law of the Territory for the purposes of a prescribed authority;
but any action taken by or on behalf of a person holding or performing the duties of such an office shall be deemed to have been taken by the agency or body concerned.