Annual Report 2003–04
Appendix 2—Reports addressing requirements of legislation
As an Australian Government agency, the department reports annually on its performance in relation to several legislated provisions, as detailed in the following table.
| Section 74 of the Occupational Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991 | During the year, two occupational health and safety incidents
were reported to Comcare under section 68 of the Occupational
Health and Safety (Commonwealth Employment) Act 1991.
Both incidents involved securing doors and resulted in back injury.
The doors were examined for faults, and staff were provided with
instruction on safe methods for dealing with heavy doors and
out-of-reach locks. Additional information on occupational health and safety performance is included in the ‘Management and accountability’ section of this report. |
|---|---|
| Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982 | The Department of the Senate is not subject to the provisions
of the Freedom of Information Act 1982. However,
it is departmental policy to comply with the intent of the Act
to the extent practicable, having regard to the legal issues
which may arise through the non-application to the department
of the protections afforded by the Act. No requests for information were received during the year. |
| The Privacy Act 1988 | The department is not subject to most of the provisions of
the Privacy Act 1988. The provisions relating
to tax file numbers apply, and the department has common‑law
obligations in relation to the handling of personal information.
It is departmental policy to observe, as far as practicable,
the Privacy Principles set out in the Act. No privacy issues were raised with the department during the year. |
| Section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 | During 2003–04, the department paid a total of $232,038
for advertising. Of the total, $213,396 was for Senate committee
activities, and the balance was for recruitment and other minor
advertising, delivered through hma Blaze, the government contractor. The department did not engage market research, polling, direct mail or creative advertising organisations. |
| Section 516A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 | Although the department was not subject to the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, it adopted policies and practices that contributed to best environmental performance during the year. Most aspects of the Parliament’s environmental management are coordinated by the Department of Parliamentary Services, and details are provided in that department’s annual report. |
