AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Bushfire (Amendment) Act 1998
No. 64 of 1998
	
An Act to amend the Bushfire Act 1936
[Notified in ACT Gazette S209: 11 December 1998]
	The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory enacts as follows:
1. 	Short title 
	This Act may be cited as the Bushfire (Amendment) Act 1998.
2. 	Commencement
	This Act commences on the day on which it is notified in the Gazette. 
3. 	Principal Act
	In this Act, “Principal Act” means the Bushfire Act 1936.1
4. 	Days of acute fire danger
	Section 7A of the Principal Act is amended—
	(a)	by omitting from subsection (1) “Minister” and substituting “Chief Fire Control Officer”;
	(b)	by omitting from paragraph (2) (b) “or” (last occurring);
	(c)	by adding at the end of subsection (2) the following paragraphs:
	“(d)	the lighting, maintenance or use of a fire in accordance with an exemption permit granted under section 7B; or
	(e)	the maintenance of a fire declared by the Minister under subsection (3) to be an exempt fire.”; and
	(d)	by omitting subsection (3) and substituting the following subsection:
		“(3)  The Minister may, by instrument published in the Gazette, declare a fire to be an exempt fire where—
	(a)	the fire is maintained for a ceremonial or commemorative purpose;
	(b)	the fire is less than 1 cubic metre in volume;
	(c)	the surrounding area within a radius of 3 metres from the fire is clear of flammable material;
	(d)	reasonable steps have been taken to prevent the escape of flame, sparks or burning or incandescent material from the fire; and
	(e)	written consent to the maintenance of the fire has been given by—
	(i)	in the case of a fire in a built-up area—the Fire Commissioner; or
	(ii)	in the case of a fire outside a built-up area—the Chief Fire Control Officer.”.
5. 	Insertion
	After section 7A of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:
“7B. 	Exemption permits
“(1) 	The Chief Fire Control Officer may, by instrument, permit a person to light, maintain or use a fire or use fireworks in a public place, on a day or during a period referred to in subsection 7A (1).
“(2) 	An application for an exemption permit shall be in a form approved by the Chief Fire Control Officer and shall specify—
	(a)	the location of the proposed fire or fireworks;
	(b)	the nature of the proposed fire or fireworks;
	(c)	the date and time of the proposed fire or fireworks; and
	(d)	the safety precautions proposed to be undertaken in relation to the proposed fire or fireworks.
“(3) 	For the purposes of making a decision under subsection (1), the Chief Fire Control Officer shall have regard to—
	(a)	the matters specified in paragraphs (2) (a) to (d) (inclusive);
	(b)	the weather conditions forecast for the time of the proposed fire or fireworks;
	(c)	the availability of the Territory’s fire fighting resources for the time of the proposed fire or fireworks; and
	(d)	any other matter relating to fire safety that the Chief Fire Control Officer considers relevant.
“(4) 	The Chief Fire Control Officer shall not issue an exemption permit in respect of a proposed fire in a built-up area where the Fire Commissioner advises the Chief Fire Control Officer that he or she is of the opinion that the proposed fire would cause an unacceptable danger to a person or property in the built-up area.
“(5) 	An exemption permit—
	(a)	may be expressed to be subject to conditions;
	(b)	comes into operation on the date and time specified in the instrument; and
	(c)	unless sooner revoked, remains in effect for such period as is specified in the instrument.
“(6)	In this section—
‘exemption permit’ means a permit granted under subsection (1).”.

NOTE
Principal Act
1.	Reprinted as at 3 June 1997.  See also Acts Nos. 41 and 93, 1997.
[Presentation speech made in Assembly on 17 November 1998]

©  Australian Capital Territory 1998