AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Interpretation (Amendment) Ordinance 1986
No. 92 of 1986
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Ordinance under the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910. 
Dated 18 December 1986.
	N. M. STEPHEN
	Governor-General
By His Excellency’s Command,
LIONEL BOWEN
Attorney-General

An Ordinance to amend the Interpretation Ordinance 1967
Short title
1.  This Ordinance may be cited as the Interpretation (Amendment) Ordinance 1986.1
Principal Ordinance
2.  In this Ordinance, “Principal Ordinance” means the Interpretation Ordinance 1967.2
Meaning of certain words
3.  Section 14 of the Principal Ordinance is amended—
	(a)	by inserting after the definition of “Department” in sub-section (1) the following definition:
	“ ‘estate’ includes any estate, interest, charge, right, title, claim, demand, lien or encumbrance at law or in equity;”; and
	(b)	by inserting after the definition of “financial year” in sub-section (1) the following definition:
	“ ‘foreign country’ means any country (whether or not an independent sovereign state) outside Australia and the external Territories;”.
4.  After section 30 of the Principal Ordinance the following section is inserted:
Periodic reports
	“30A.	(1)	In this section—
‘periodic report’ means a regular report relating to–
	(a)	the activities, operations, business or affairs of a person; or 
	(b)	the administration, operation or working of an Ordinance or part of an Ordinance,
during a particular period that ends on or after 30 June 1987;
‘person’ includes a body corporate, office, commission, authority, committee, tribunal, board, institute, organization or other body however described.
	“(2)	Where an Ordinance requires a person to furnish a periodic report to a Minister but does not specify a period within which the report is to be so furnished, that person shall furnish the report to the Minister as soon as practicable after the end of the particular period to which the report relates and, in any event, within 6 months after the end of that particular period.
	“(3)	Where an Ordinance requires a person to furnish a periodic report to a Minister for presentation to the Parliament but does not specify a period within which the report is to be so presented, that Minister shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the day on which he or she receives the report.
	“(4)	Where this or any other Ordinance requires a person to furnish a periodic report to a Minister within a specified period and that person is of the opinion that it will not be reasonably practicable to comply with the requirement, that person may, within the specified period, apply to the Minister for an extension of the period and, if he or she does so apply, he or she shall furnish to the Minister a statement in writing explaining why, in his or her opinion, it will not be reasonably practicable to comply with the requirement.
	“(5)	On such an application, a Minister may grant such extension as he or she considers reasonable in the circumstances.
	“(6)	Where a Minister grants such an extension—
	(a)	the Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of the Parliament, within 3 sitting days of that House after the day on which he or she grants the extension, a copy of the statement furnished pursuant to sub-section (4) in respect of the relevant application together with a statement specifying the extension granted and his or her reasons for granting the extension;
	(b)	notwithstanding sub-section (2) and any other Ordinance, the person who made the application shall furnish the periodic report to the Minister within the extended period; and
	(c)	the Minister shall cause a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the day on which he or she receives the report.
	“(7)	Where this or any other Ordinance requires a person to furnish a periodic report to a Minister within a specified period or a period as extended under sub-section (5) and that person fails to do so—
	(a)	that person shall, within 14 days after the end of that specified period or extended period, as the case may be, furnish to the Minister a statement in writing explaining why the report was not furnished as required; and
	(b)	the Minister shall cause a copy of the statement to be laid before each House of the Parliament within 3 sitting days of that House after the day on which he or she receives the statement.”.

NOTES
1.	Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 12 January 1987.
2.	No. 48, 1967 as amended by Nos. 18 and 42, 1972; No. 23, 1973; No. 6, 1975; No. 30, 1976; Nos. 24 and 65, 1977; No. 46, 1978; No. 4, 1979; No. 31, 1980; No. 28, 1982; No. 5, 1983; No. 73, 1984; Nos. 24, 58 and 67, 1985.