4. Section 9 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(3) The Board shall, in exercising its powers, have regard to the need for the Corporation, the Commonwealth Bank, the Savings Bank and the Development Bank to perform economically and efficiently and to operate in accordance with commercial principles.”.

5. After section 9 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Delegation by Board

“10. (1) The Board may, by resolution, delegate to a committee of the Board, comprising 2 or more members of the Board, all or any of its powers or functions under this Act, other than this power of delegation.

“(2) A power or function so delegated, when exercised or performed by the delegate, shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have been exercised or performed by the Board.

“(3) A delegation does not prevent the exercise of a power or performance of a function by the Board.”.

6. Section 11 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsections:

“(2a) The Board shall, from time to time and at least once in each year, prepare a corporate plan setting out:

(a) its objectives in relation to the operations of the Commonwealth Bank, the Savings Bank and the Development Bank; and

(b) an outline of the policies to be pursued to achieve those objectives.

“(2b) The objectives specified under paragraph (2a) (a) shall include financial objectives, including the level of profitability and rate of return on resources.

“(2c) The Board shall give the Treasurer a copy of each corporate plan as soon as practicable after it is prepared.

“(2d) The period during which a corporate plan shall remain in effect shall be determined by the Board in consultation with the Treasurer.

“(2e) The Treasurer may, by notice in writing given to the Board within one month after the Treasurer receives a corporate plan (or within such further period as is agreed between the Treasurer and the Board), request the Board to vary the plan in the manner specified in the notice.

“(2f) The Board may vary a corporate plan on the request of the Treasurer or on its own motion.

“(2g) Where the Board varies a corporate plan, it shall, within one month after making the variation (or within such further period as is agreed between the Treasurer and the Board), notify the Treasurer in writing of the variation.

“(2h) The Treasurer may, by notice in writing given to the Board within one month after the Treasurer receives a notice of a variation (or within such further period as is agreed between the Treasurer and the Board), request the Board to alter the variation in the manner specified in the notice.

“(2j) In the event of a difference of opinion between the Treasurer and the Board in relation to a corporate plan, or any variation of a corporate plan, the Treasurer and the Board shall endeavour to reach agreement.”; and

(b) by inserting in subsection (3) “under subsection (2) or (2j)” after “agreement”.

7. Section 12 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection:

“(2a) In managing the Corporation, the Managing Director may exercise or perform, on behalf of the Corporation, all or any of the powers or functions of the Corporation other than such of those powers or functions, if any, as are specified by the Board.”.

8. After section 12 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:

Delegation by the Managing Director

“12a. (1) The Managing Director may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by instrument in writing, delegate to an officer of the Corporation all or any of the Managing Director’s powers or functions under this Act, other than this power of delegation.

“(2) A power or function so delegated, when exercised or performed by the delegate, shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to have been exercised or performed by the Managing Director.

“(3) A delegation does not prevent the exercise of a power or performance of a function by the Managing Director.”.

9. Section 14 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by omitting paragraph (2) (a) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(a) shall be appointed for such period, not exceeding 5 years, as is specified in the instrument of appointment but is eligible for re-appointment; and”; and

(b) by omitting subsection (4).

10. Section 17 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by omitting paragraph (1) (c);

(b) by omitting from paragraph (1) (d) “Treasurer” and substituting “Board”; and

(c) by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsections:

“(1a) A member of the Board appointed under paragraph 14 (1) (d) may resign by delivering to the Governor-General a signed notice of resignation.

“(1b) The Board may grant leave to a member of the Board appointed under paragraph 14 (1) (d) to be absent from a meeting of the Board upon such conditions (including conditions relating to remuneration) as the Board thinks fit.”.

11. Section 19 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection:

“(2a) Where both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman are absent from a meeting of the Board, a member chosen by the other members present at the meeting shall preside.”;

(b) by omitting from subsection (3) “, of whom the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman shall be one,”; and

(c) by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(6) Where all members entitled to vote on a proposed resolution notify the Chairman in writing that they agree with the resolution, the resolution shall be taken to have been passed by the Board on the day on which the Chairman receives the last notification.”.

12. Section 24 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by inserting after subsection (3) the following subsection:

“(3a) A member of the Board who has disclosed under this section a prescribed interest in a matter that is being or is about to be considered by the Board may, unless the Board otherwise determines, be present during any deliberations of the Board, and take part in any decisions of the Board, with respect to the matter.”;

(b) by omitting from subsection (4) “the nature of the member’s” and substituting “an interest other than a prescribed”;

(c) by omitting from subsection (5) “subsection (4)” and substituting “subsection (3a) or (4)”; and

(d) by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(6) This section does not apply to a pecuniary interest of a member who is a customer of the Commonwealth Bank, the Savings Bank or the Development Bank, being an interest that the member has as a customer and in common with other customers.”.

13. Section 26 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by omitting paragraph (b) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(b) engages in any paid employment outside the duties of his or her office without the approval of the Treasurer; or”;

(b) by omitting from paragraph (c) “or” (last occurring);

(c) by omitting paragraph (d); and

(d) by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(2) The Managing Director and the Deputy Managing Director may resign by delivering to the Governor-General a signed notice of resignation.”.

14. Section 28 of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(1a) The Commonwealth Bank may provide insurance services if, in the opinion of the Board, it is necessary to do so to enable the Commonwealth Bank to remain competitive with other banks.”; and

(b) by omitting subsection (3).

15. Section 29 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsections (2) and (3) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Commonwealth Bank has power, in addition to any other powers conferred on it by this Act:

(a) to receive money on deposit;

(b) to borrow money;

(c) to lend money;

(d) to subscribe for, buy, sell, discount, re-discount, redeem and otherwise deal in bills of exchange, promissory notes, Treasury notes and other securities issued by the Commonwealth, and other securities and instruments;

(e) to buy, sell and otherwise deal in foreign exchange, foreign currency hedging instruments, gold and other precious metals;

(f) to establish credits and engage in hire-purchase and lease financing and factoring;

(g) to carry on (whether as principal, agent, manager, broker or otherwise) all kinds of insurance, re-insurance, assurance, annuity guarantee and indemnity business;

(h) to issue bills and drafts and effect transfers of money;

(j) to guarantee the due fulfilment of contracts and obligations by any person;

(k) to act as attorney for any person;

(m) to promote, effect, guarantee, underwrite, manage and carry out:

(i) any issue of shares, stock or debenture stock of any body corporate or association;

(ii) any issue of bonds of any description; and

(iii) any joint lending operations;

and to borrow or lend money for the purposes of any such issue or operation;

(n) to operate unit trusts;

(p) with the approval of the Treasurer, to join in the formation of subsidiary companies;

(q) to enter into a partnership, or an arrangement for sharing of profits;

(r) to subscribe for, buy, or otherwise acquire, and to hold, sell or otherwise deal in, shares, stocks, debenture stocks and other similar instruments;

(s) to act as principal, agent or broker in stock and share broking and commodity and commodity futures dealings;

(t) to be a member (whether alone or in partnership or joint venture, or as a shareholder in a body corporate) of stock and securities exchanges and commodity exchanges;

(u) to keep for a body corporate, association or authority any register relating to funds, shares, stocks or other securities of the body corporate, association or authority and to undertake any duties in relation to such funds, shares, stocks or securities, including the registration of transfers and the issue of certificates;

(w) to act as trustee of, and to administer:

(i) any superannuation, pension, provident or retirement fund scheme;

(ii) any property trust; or

(iii) any other trust;

and to act as executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased person;

(y) to furnish managerial, financial, technical and administrative advice and services to any person and to assist a person to obtain such advice and services;

(z) to process (whether as principal or agent) debit and credit card arrangements;

(za) to provide facilities (whether as principal or agent) for the merchandising of goods and services;

(zb) to provide computer hardware and software facilities;

(zc) to act as agent in the provision of financial services, including the settlement of financial transactions;

(zd) to subscribe for, and to hold, shares in the capital of the Savings Bank; and

(ze) to do anything incidental to any of its powers.”.

17. Section 35 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (2) the following subsection:

“(2a) In managing the Commonwealth Bank, the Managing Director, and the person managing the Commonwealth Bank under subsection (1),

may, in accordance with the policy of the Commonwealth Bank and the directions of the Board, perform any function, or exercise any power, of the Commonwealth Bank on its behalf.”.

18. Section 36 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

Commonwealth Bank to pay expenses of Corporation

“36. The Commonwealth Bank shall pay all of the expenses of the Corporation.”.

19. Section 41 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after subsection (1) the following subsection:

“(1a) The Savings Bank may provide insurance services if, in the opinion of the Board, it is necessary to do so to ensure that the Savings Bank remains competitive with other savings banks.”.

20. Section 42 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Savings Bank has power, in addition to any other powers conferred on it by this Act:

(a) to receive money on deposit;

(b) to borrow money;

(c) to lend money;

(d) to subscribe for, buy, sell, discount, re-discount, redeem and otherwise deal in bills of exchange, promissory notes, Treasury notes and other securities issued by the Commonwealth, and other securities and instruments;

(e) to buy, sell and otherwise deal in foreign exchange, foreign currency hedging instruments, gold and other precious metals;

(f) to establish credits and engage in hire-purchase and lease financing and factoring;

(g) to carry on (whether as principal, agent, manager, broker or otherwise) all kinds of insurance, re-insurance, assurance, annuity guarantee and indemnity business;

(h) to issue bills and drafts and effect transfers of money;

(j) to guarantee the due fulfilment of contracts and obligations by any person;

(k) to act as attorney for any person;

(m) to promote, effect, guarantee, underwrite, manage and carry out:

(i) any issue of shares, stock or debenture stock of any body corporate or association;

(ii) any issue of bonds of any description; and

(iii) any joint lending operations;

and to borrow or lend money for the purposes of any such issue or operation;

(n) to operate unit trusts;

(p) with the approval of the Treasurer, to join in the formation of subsidiary companies;

(q) to enter into a partnership, or an arrangement for sharing of profits;

(r) to subscribe for, buy, or otherwise acquire, and to hold, sell or otherwise deal in shares, stocks, debenture stocks and other similar instruments;

(s) to act as principal, agent or broker in stock and share broking and commodity and commodity futures dealings;

(t) to be a member (whether alone or in partnership or joint venture, or as a shareholder in a body corporate) of stock and securities exchanges and commodity exchanges;

(u) to keep for a body corporate, association or authority any register relating to funds, shares, stocks or other securities of the body corporate, association or authority and to undertake any duties in relation to such funds, shares, stocks or securities, including the registration of transfers and the issue of certificates;

(w) to act as trustee of, and to administer:

(i) any superannuation, pension, provident or retirement fund scheme;

(ii) any property trust; or

(iii) any other trust;

and to act as executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased person;

(y) to furnish managerial, financial, technical and administrative advice and services to any person and to assist a person to obtain such advice and services;

(z) to process (whether as principal or agent) debit and credit card arrangements;

(za) to provide facilities (whether as principal or agent) for the merchandising of goods and services;

(zb) to provide computer hardware and software facilities;

(zc) to act as agent in the provision of financial services, including the settlement of financial transactions; and

(zd) to do anything incidental to any of its powers.”.

21. Section 47 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(3) In managing the Savings Bank, the Managing Director, and the person managing the Savings Bank under subsection (1), may, in accordance

with the policy of the Savings Bank and the directions of the Board, perform any function, or exercise any power, of the Savings Bank on its behalf.”.

22. Section 48 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting “the Corporation an amount determined by the Board to be the proportion” and substituting “the Commonwealth Bank the amount”.

23. Section 74 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraphs (2) (d) to (i), inclusive, and substituting the following paragraphs:

“(d) to subscribe for, buy, sell, discount, re-discount, redeem and otherwise deal in bills of exchange, promissory notes, Treasury notes and other securities issued by the Commonwealth, and other securities and instruments;

(e) to establish credits and engage in hire-purchase and lease financing and factoring;

(f) to issue bills and drafts and effect transfers of money;

(g) to guarantee the due fulfilment of contracts and obligations by any person or body corporate;

(h) to underwrite loans and issues of capital;

(j) to join in the formation of a company;

(k) to subscribe for, buy, or otherwise acquire, and to dispose of, shares, stocks, debenture stocks and other securities;

(m) to enter into a partnership, or an arrangement for sharing of profits; and

(n) to do anything incidental to any of its powers.”.

25. Section 80 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end the following subsection:

“(3) In managing the Development Bank, the Managing Director and the person managing the Development Bank under subsection (1), may, in accordance with the policy of the Development Bank and the directions of the Board, perform any functions, or exercise any powers, of the Development Bank on its behalf”.

26. Section 81 of the Principal Act is amended by omitting “the Corporation an amount determined by the Board to be the proportion” and substituting “the Commonwealth Bank the amount”.

27. After section 87 of the Principal Act the following section is inserted in Division 2 of Part VIII:

Application of merit principle, prohibition of patronage etc.

“87a. The appointment, promotion and transfer of officers shall be in accordance with procedures that preclude patronage and favouritism and ensure that:

(a) all persons have, so far as practicable, a reasonable opportunity to apply for appointment or be considered for, promotion or transfer, as the case may be; and

(b) appointments, promotions and transfers are made on the basis of an assessment of the relevant suitability of the persons considered for appointment, promotion or transfer, as the case may be, having regard to:

(i) the nature of the duties to be performed by the person appointed, promoted or transferred; and

(ii) the abilities, qualifications, experience and other attributes of each person so considered that are relevant to the performance of those duties.”.

28. Sections 88 and 89 of the Principal Act are repealed and the following section is substituted:

Appointment of officers

“88. (1) The Corporation may appoint such officers as are necessary for the purposes of this Act.

“(2) The officers appointed by the Corporation constitute the Commonwealth Banking Corporation Service.

“(3) The terms and conditions of employment of officers shall be determined by the Corporation.”.

29. Section 1 10a of the Principal Act is amended:

(a) by omitting subsection (1) and substituting the following subsection:

“(1) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to the payment, in such circumstances as are prescribed, to or in respect of an officer who has been retired from the Service of a benefit, whether by way of lump sum or otherwise, ascertained in accordance with the regulations.”; and

(b) by omitting from subsection (2) “either or both of the paragraphs of subsection (1)” and substituting “that subsection”.

30. Section 112 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

Entitlements of statutory officers

“112. (1) On the death, retirement, or termination of the period of office, of a statutory officer who was not an officer of the Service immediately before his or her appointment as a statutory officer, there is payable to or in respect of the officer the same benefits that would have been payable if he or she had been an officer of the Service during the period when he or she held office as a statutory officer.

“(2) On the death, retirement, or termination of the period of office, of a statutory officer who was an officer of the Service immediately before his or her appointment as a statutory officer, there is payable to or in respect of the officer the same benefits that would have been payable if he or she had remained an officer of the Service during the period when he or she held office as a statutory officer.”.

31. Section 118 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is substituted:

Accounts and records

“118. A body to which this Part applies shall:

(a) cause proper accounts and records of the transactions and affairs of the body to be kept in accordance with the accounting principles generally applied in commercial practice; and

(b) do all things necessary to ensure that all payments are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the body and over the incurring of liabilities by the body.”.

32. Section 119 of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end the following subsections:

“(3) Stamp duty or other tax under a law of the Commonwealth is not payable in respect of the vesting of an asset of the Corporation in the Commonwealth Bank under section 7a.

“(4) The Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 applies in relation to the Commonwealth Bank with respect to any property that becomes vested in the Commonwealth Bank under section 7a as if the Commonwealth Bank were the Corporation.”.

33. After section 124 of the Principal Act the following sections are inserted:

Affixing of seals

“124a. (1) Where the seal of a body to which this Part applies is affixed to a document, the Managing Director, or any person authorised by the Managing Director, may sign the document as witness to the affixing of the seal.

“(2) A person dealing with a body to which this Part applies is entitled to assume that the seal of that body has been duly affixed to a document that bears what appears to be an impression of that seal and that appears to have been signed by a person described as the Managing Director, or a person authorised by the Managing Director, as witness to the affixing of the seal.

“(3) This section shall not be taken to affect the operation of any other law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory relating to the execution of documents by bodies corporate.

Persons dealing with bodies

“124b. A person dealing with a body to which this Part applies is entitled to assume that an exercise of a power, or the performance of a function, by the Managing Director, or any person managing the body, is in accordance with the policy of the body and the directions of the Board.”.

Other amendments