Hunter Water Act 1991 (NSW)

Hunter Water Act 1991 No 53

An Act to establish a State owned corporation in relation to the supply of water, the provision of sewerage and drainage services and the disposal of waste water in the Hunter region and certain other matters; to provide for the transfer of assets, rights and liabilities of the Hunter Water Board; to amend the State Owned Corporations Act 1989 and certain other Acts; to repeal the Hunter Water Board Act 1988; and for other purposes.

Part 1 Preliminary

1 Name of Act This Act may be cited as the Hunter Water Act 1991.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

3 Definitions (1) Words and expressions used in this Act have the same meanings as they have in the State Owned Corporations Act 1989. (2) In this Act— area of operations means the area of operations referred to in section 16. authorised person means an officer or other person acting on behalf of the Corporation to whom a certificate of authority has been issued under section 21 (2). availability charge means a charge of a kind referred to in section 43. business undertaking means all assets, rights and liabilities of Hunter Water Corporation Limited, but does not include any excluded undertaking. contract charge means any charge or fee payable under a customer contract, or other contract made between the Corporation and a customer, for the provision of water supply or sewerage services. Corporation means Hunter Water Corporation. customer, in relation to the Corporation, means a person who is taken to have entered into a customer contract or a person who has made a contract with the Corporation of a kind referred to in section 37. customer contract means a contract of a kind referred to in section 36 (1). development and carry out development have the same meanings as they have in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. drainage channel means any artificial channel by which surface water is carried off. environmental levy means an amount imposed under section 45. excluded undertaking means any assets, rights or liabilities of Hunter Water Corporation Limited that the Minister has directed to be excluded under section 6. headworks means dam walls, pumps and other works used for or with respect to the extraction of water in rivers and lakes, water occurring naturally on the surface of the ground or sub-surface waters and the storage of that water. Hunter Water Board means the Hunter Water Board constituted under the Hunter Water Board Act 1988. instrument means an instrument (other than this Act) that creates, modifies or extinguishes rights or liabilities (or would do so if lodged, filed or registered in accordance with any law), and includes any judgment, order and process of a court. lease includes a licence or permit. meter includes any measuring device. Ministerial Corporation means the Hunter Water Ministerial Corporation constituted by section 63. operating licence means an operating licence granted under section 12 or any renewal of it. operational audit means an operational audit of the Corporation that is required to be prepared under the operating licence. owner, in relation to land, includes every person who jointly or severally at law or in equity— (a) is entitled to the land for an estate of freehold in possession, or (b) is a person to whom the Crown has contracted to sell the land under the Crown Land Management Act 2016 or any other Act relating to alienation of land of the Crown, or (c) is entitled to receive, or receives, or if the land were let to a tenant would receive, the rents and profits of the land, whether as beneficial owner, trustee, mortgagee in possession or otherwise, and, in relation to land of the Crown, means the Crown but does not include a person who, or a class of persons that, is specified by a regulation not to be an owner for the purposes of this definition, either generally or in a particular case or class of cases. public road means a road the public are entitled to use, whether or not it is— (a) dedicated as a highway by the Crown or any person, or (b) notified, proclaimed or dedicated as a road or highway under an Act. rate means a rate made and levied on land within a declared drainage area under section 46. special area means an area of land declared by an order in force under section 53 to be a special area. statutory body means a corporation that— (a) is not a company within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth, and (a1) is not a co-operative within the meaning of the Co-operatives National Law (NSW), and (b) is not a society within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Act 1989, and (b1) is not a society registered under the Financial Institutions (NSW) Code or the Co-operative Housing and Starr-Bowkett Societies Act 1998, and (c) is not a body prescribed by the regulations as not being a statutory body for the purposes of this definition, and is incorporated by or under an Act (other than this Act or the Associations Incorporation Act 2009). Tribunal means the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal established under the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal Act 1992. Water Administration Ministerial Corporation means the Water Administration Ministerial Corporation constituted by the Water Management Act 2000. works means water mains, sewer mains, drainage channels and any works ancillary to those works. (3) In this Act— (a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and (b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, if the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.