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©State of Queensland
QUEENSLAND PLACE NAMES ACT
1981,No.
101 [Reprinted as at 1 September, 1985]An Act to make better provisions for the naming of places in Queensland;
to repeal The Queensland Place Names Act of 1958; and for other purposes
[ASSENTED TO 1l DECEMBER, 1981]
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-
1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Queensland Place Names Ad 1981.
2. Commencement. (1) This section and section (1) *·shall commence on the day on which this Act is assented to for and on behalf of Her Majesty.
(2) Except as provided in subsection ( 1 ), this Act shall commence on a day appointed by Proclamation.
ss. 1, 2 commenced on date of Assent.
Act (except ss. 1, 2) commenced 27 March 1982 (Proc. pubd. Gaz. 27 March 1982, p. 1277).
3. Repeal. The Queensland Place Names Act of 1958 (in this Act referred to as the "repealed Act") is hereby repealed.
4. Interpretation. In this Act save where the contrary intention appears-
" approved place name" means a name which on or before 10 April 1958 was assigned to any place as evidenced by- (a) notation upon any map published by or under the authority
of the Surveyor-General; or
(b) notification in the Gazette by means of any instrument whatever,
or which after 10 April, 1958 was approved by The Queensland Place Names Board under the repealed Act or is approved by the Governor in Council under this Act;
"Board" means the Queensland Place Names Board constituted under this Act;
"Minister" means the Minister for Environment, Valuation and Administrative Services or other Minister of the Crown
*Sic.
2 s.S QUEENSLAND PLACE NAMES ACT 1981 s.8
who, at the material time, is char~ed with the administration of this Act and includes a Mimster of the Crown who is temporarily performing the duties of the Minister;
"place" means any physiographic (including submerged) feature, or any area of land, within the territories and waters of the State of Queensland, but does not include streets, roads or man made structures;
"Surveyor-General" means the person who at any material time held or holds the office of Surveyor-General and includes any person who at any material time performed or performs the duties of Surveyor-General;
5. Constitution of Board. For the purposes of this Act there shall be constituted a board under the name and style "Queensland Place Names Board".
6. Membership of Board. (1) The members of the Board shall be- (a) the Surveyor-General, who shall be a member ex officio and
the Chairman of the Board;
(b) six other persons.
A member referred to in subparagraph (b) of the preceding paragraph is in this Act referred to as an "appointed member".
(2) Appointed members shall be appointed by the Governor in Council by notification published in the Gazette upon the recommendation of the Minister made after consultation with such persons, authorities, organizations and associations as the Minister thinks fit.
7. Effect of Board's constitution on existing rights. ( 1) The Board shall be taken to be duly constituted under this Act on and from the date of the first appointment of the appointed members.
(2) The appointment of persons as members of The Queensland Place Names Committee and The Queensland Place Names Board constituted under the repealed Act at the commencement of this Act shall cease upon the constitution of the Board under this Act.
(3) All actions and proceedings commenced by or against The Queensland Place Names Board constituted under the repealed Act and all objections instituted under that Act and subsisting at the commencement of this Act and all matters and things entered upon by that Board before the commencement of this Act may be continued by or, as the case may be, against the Board in its name and style.
8. Term of appointment. ( 1) Subject to this Act an appointed member shall hold office from the date of his appointment for the respective term for which he is appointed but no such appointment shall be for a term exceeding three years.
Such a. member shall, if otherwise qualified, be eligible for reappointment.
(2) If by the expiration of an appointed member's terms of office his successor has not been duly appointed he shall hold office as a member until his successor takes up office as a member.
9. Casual vacancies. (1) Where a vacancy occurs in the office of an appointed member during the currency of his term of office as such member, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoint another person to fill that vacancy.
(2) A person appointed to fill a casual vacancy shall, subject to this Act, be appointed and hold office for the balance of his predecessor's term of office or until he sooner vacates that office and shall, if otherwise qualified, be eligible for reappointment as a member.
(3) The provisions of this section apply so as not to affect the power of the Governor in Council to appoint a person pursuant to section 13 (2).
10. Vacation of office. (1) The office of an appointed member shall become vacant if the member-
( a) dies;
(b) declines to act or to act further as a member;
(c) resigns his office by writing under his hand addressed to the Minister (such resignation to be complete and take effect from the time it is received by the Minister);
(d) is absent without prior leave granted by the Board from three consecutive meetings of the Board of which due notice has been given to him personally or in the ordinary course of post;
(e) ceases to be qualified to be a member;
(f) is removed from office as a member by the Governor in Council.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (d)-
(a) the non-attendance of a member at the time and place appointed for an ordinary meeting shall not constitute absence from such meeting unless a meeting of the Board at which a quorum is present is actually held on that day;
(b) the attendance of a member at the time and place appointed for an ordinary meeting shall be deemed to constitute presence at an ordinary meeting notwithstanding that by reason of the lack of a quorum a meeting is not actually held on that day.
11. Disqualification from office. A person-
(a) who is an undischarged bankrupt of takes advantage of the laws in force for the time being relating to bankruptcy or insolvent debtors;
(b) who has been convicted in Queensland of an indictable offence or elsewhere than in Queensland in respect of an
4 s.l2 QUEENSLAND PLACE NAMES ACT 1981 s. 14
act or omission that if done or made by him in Queensland would have constitued an indictable offence;
(c) who is a patient within the meaning of the Mental Health Act 1974-1978,
shall not be capable of being or continuing to be a member of the Board.
12. Removal from office. The Governor in Council may at any time remove an appointed member from office as member if-
(a) he becomes incapable, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, of discharging the duties of his office,
(b) he is, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, incompetent or unfit to hold office.
13. Acting appointments. ( 1) If the Surveyor-General is prevented by any cause from performing the duties of the office of chairman of the Board he may nominate another member of the Board to act in the office of chairman whilst he is so prevented and that member whilst so acting shall have and may exercise all the powers, authorities and functions and shall perform all the duties of the chairman.
(2) If an appointed member of the Board is prevented by any cause from performing the duties of his office as such member the Governor in Council may, by notification published in the Gazette, appoint another person to act in that office during the time the appointed member is prevented from performing such duties, and the person so appointed, whilst so acting, shall have and may exercise the powers, authorities and functions and shall perform all the duties of the appointed member in whose place he acts.
(3) The nomination of a person pursuant to subsection (1), the appointment of a person pursuant to subsection (2) or the necessity or proprietary of any such nomination or appointment shall not be called in question in any way.
(4) All acts or things done or omitted by a person nominated pursuant to subsection (1) or appointed pursuant to subsection (2) while acting as chairman or, as the case may be, member of the Board shall have the same consequences as if the same had been done or omitted by the Surveyor-General or, as the case may be, member in whose place such nominated or appointed person is acting.
14. Fees and allowances. (1) Subject to subsection (2), each member shall be paid such fees and allowances, if any, as the Governor in Council from time to time determines.
(2) Allowances shall not be paid by the Board to a member who is an officer of the Public Service of Queensland for attendance at any meeting of the Board held during ordinary office, working hours of that officer.
15. Holder of office not affected by restrictive employment provisions.
A provision of any enactment requiring the holder of an office to devote the whole of his time to the duties of his office or prohibiting him from engaging in employment outside the duties of his office shall not operate to hinder his holding that office and also an appointment as member or, subject to section 14, his acceptance and retention of any ,allowances payable under this Act.
16. Conduct of business. Subject to this Act, the Board shall conduct its business and proceedings at meetings in such manner as is prescribed or, in so far as not prescribed, as it determines from time t:o time.
17. Quorum. (1) A quorum of the Board shall be four members, one of whom shall be the chairman or acting chairman of the Board.
(2) A duly convened meeting of the Board at which a quorum is present shall be competent to transact any business of the Board and shall have and may exercise all the powers, authorities, functions and duties by this Act conferred or imposed upon the Board.
18. Meetings. ( 1) The Board shall meet at such times and places as it determines.
(2) The chairman of the Board shall preside at each meeting of the Board at which he is present and in his absence the acting chairman shall preside.
(3) The Board shall keep a record of its proceedings at meetings.
19. Conduct of affairs. (1) The Board shall exercise or perform a power, authority, function or duty by a majority vote of its members present at the meeting and voting on the business in question.
(2) The person presiding at a meeting of the Board shall have a deliberative vote and in the event of an equality of votes, a casting vote.
20. Protection of Minister and members. No action shall lie against the Minister or any member of the Board on account of loss which may be occasioned to any person or body by reason of things done by or under this Act.
21. Validity of proceedings. Any act or proceeding of the Board shall not be invalidated or in any way prejudiced by reason only of the fact that at the time such act. was done or proceeding taken there were vacancies (not exceeding three) in the membership of the Board or that all the members for the time being holding office were not present at the meeting at which such act or proceeding was done or authorized or that there is a defect in the membership or appointment of any one or more of the members who joined in doing such act or taking such proceeding or in authorizing such act or proceeding or a combination of such facts.
6 s. 22 QUEENSLAND PLACE NAMES ACT 1981 s.24
22. Advisory committees. (1) The Board may from time to time appoint such advisory committees as it thinks fit to advise it on such matters within the scope of its functions as are referred to those committees by the Board.
(2) A person may be appointed to be a member of a committee appointed under subsection (1) notwithstanding that he is not a member of the Board.
(3) The Board may, from time to time, as it thinks fit cancel any or all appointments of committees made under subsection ( 1 ).
23. Staff. (1) The Governor in Council may from time to time appoint any officer of the Public Service of Queensland to be secretary to the Board.
The officer so appointed shall serve the Board exclusively in the performance of such duties, and in such performance shall be subject to the direction of the Surveyor-General.
(2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoint such other officers of the Public Service of Queensland as are necessary for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the Board and those officers shall perform such duties as are determined by the Surveyor-General.
(3) The person who, at the date of commencement of this Act, holds the office of secretary to The Queensland Place Names Board constituted under the repealed Act shall without any further appointment be the secretary to the Board constituted under this Act.
24. Functions of the Board. The functions of the Board are- ( a) to assign a name to any place in Queensland;
(b) to alter the name of any approved place name by substituting another name, or by correcting the spelling of that name;
(c) to omit from official maps and records any approved place name;
(d) to carry out and record research work into the origin, meaning and use of names of places in Queensland;
(e) to adopt principles of spelling and nomenclature and to recommend standardized pronunciation in respect of names of places in Queensland;
(f) to complete and maintain a gazetteer of names of places in Queensland;
(g) to make inquiries and recommendations on matters relating to names of places in Queensland as may be referred to it by the Minister;
(h) to collect and record Aboriginal words relating to names of places in Queensland;
(i) to investigate and determine, as far as possible, the boundaries of any feature or area to which an approved place name refers; and
G) to exercise and perform such other powers and duties as are conferred or imposed on it by or under this Act.
25. Proposed alterations to be referred to Board. No Order in Council shall be made under the provisions of paragraph (ii) of section 5 (1) of the Local Government Act 1936-1981 altering the name of a city, town or shire unless the question of the altered name of the city, town or shire, as the case may be, has been referred to the Board and the Board has reported to the Governor in Council that it approves of the altered name.
26. Notice of proposal to assign, etc., a place name. Where the Board proposes to assign a name to any place or alter or omit the name of any approved place name pursuant to this Act, it shall-
( a) cause to be published in the Gazette and in a newspaper circulating in the locality of such place (or by such other publicity medium as the Minister directs) a notice of its intention so to do, specifying in the notice the proposed name, alteration or omission; and
(b) cause a copy of the notice, as soon as possible after its
· publication, to be displayed at the office of a clerk of the court or other public place situated at or nearest to such place and to be kept so displayed until the expiration of a period of one month from the date of the publication.
27. Objection to proposal under s. 26. (1) Any person wishing to object to a proposal referred to in section 26 may within the period of one month referred to in that section ~veto the secretary to the Board notice in writing of his objection, settmg out the grounds of objection.
(2) As soon as practicable after the expiration of the period of one month referred to in section 26, the Board shall inquire into and consider all objections made pursuant to this section.
(3) Where, after considering any objections to a proposal referred to in section 26 the Board-
(a) decides that the proposal should not be proceeded with the Board, with the consent of the Minister, may abandon the proposal; or
(b) decides that the proposal should be proceeded with, either with or without modification, it may so recommend to the Minister in a report which shall also set out the grounds of objections.
( 4) The Minister, after considering the Board's recommendation and the grounds of objection, and after making such inquiry as he thinks fit may recommend to the Governor in Council that the Board's decision be confirmed, modified or reversed, and the decision of the Governor in Council shall be final.
28. If no objections Board's decision to be final when approved. If no objection is received by the Board within the period of one month
8 s. 29 QUEENSLAND PLACE NAMES ACT 1981 s.33 referred to in section 26 the Board shall transmit its decision to the Minister for the approval of the Governor in Council and that decision when so approved shall be final.
29. Final decision to be published. (1) The Board shall cause notice of the decision of the Governor in Council in respect of a proposal referred to in section 26 or, if there has been no objection to the proposal, the decision of the Board (after approval by the Governor in Council) in respect thereof to be published in the Gazette.
(2) The Board shall cause a copy of the notice referred to in subsection ( 1 ), as soon as possible after its publication, to be displayed at the office of a clerk of the court or other public place situated at or nearest to such place and to be kept so displayed until the expiration of one month froilltlihe date of its publication.
30. Effective date of decision. (1) Every decision made pursuant to section 27 (4) or approved pursuant to section 28 shall take effect on and from a date to be specified in the notice referred. to in section 29 (1) as being the effective date of the decision, which date shall be not earlier than two months after the date of publication in the Gazette pursuant to section 26 of the notice referred to in that section.
(2) A copy of the Gazette containing any notice published pursuant to subsection (1) shall, until the contrary is proved, be conclusive evidence of the matters contained therein.
31. Only approved names to be published. (1) Subject to subsection (2), any person who publishes by any means whatever the name of any place that is not an approved place name commits an offence against this Act.
Penalty: $200
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the publishing of the name of a place if it is clearly stated when publishing that name that it is not an approved place name.
32. Annual report. The chairman of the Board shall, as soon as practicable after 30 June in each year, prepare and furnish to the Minister a report on the proceedings of the Board during the year ending on that date.
33. Regulations. The Governor in Council may make regulations not inconsistent with this Act providing with respect to-
(a) all matters that are required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed;
(b) forms or other documents required for the purposes of this Act;
(c) the form of and the method of keeping the records of the Board;
(d) all matters that in his opinion are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the proper administration of this Act
(e)
69223 (nnapl)-
or for the proper exercise, discharge and performance by the Board of its powers, functions and duties;
all matters that in his opinion are necessary or convenient to be prescribed to achieve the objects and purposes of this Act.
By Authority: S. R. HAMPSON, Government Printer, Queensland
TO THE
QUEENSLAND PLACE NAMES ACT 1981
Act-
commencement of . short title of Annual Report . Appointed member-
meaning of term for purposes of s. 6 re-appointment of .
removal from office ..
term of appointment of.
vacation of office of Approved name place-
meaning of term
Board-
A
B
all actions and proceedings re The Queensland Place Names Board.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . appointllfent of officers of the Public Service of Queensland to constitutiOn of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
re The Queensland Place Names Committee re effective date of decisions by
functions of
membership of. . . . . . re Surveyor-General ..
re appointed members- re disqualification of from re fees and allowances . . . . . . meaning of term for purposes of s. 6
not effected by restrictive employment provisions . removal of, from office .
proposals of . . . . . . protection of members of publication of final decisions of . quorum, constitution of . . re advisory committees . re Annual Report . . . . re conduct of business by re final decisions . . . . . . re meetings, conduct of affairs re proceedings, validity of
Governor in Council-
G
appointments of Officers of the Public Service of Queensland by may remove appointed member .
re acting appointments . . . . . . . . re fees and allowances paid to members re regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . to appoint appointed members of Board
s. 2 2 32
6 8 (I) . 9 8 (I) ..
10
4
7 (3).
23 5 7 30 24
6 (I) (a) II 14 6 15 12 26 20 ss. 29, 31.
s. 17 22 32 16 28 ss. 18,19
s. 21
23 (I) 9 13 14 33 6
Page
2 2 3 2 3
2 6 2 2 8 6 2 3 4 2 3 4 7 4 8 5 6 8 5 7 5 5
6 3 4 4 8 2
12
Meaning of Terms-
appointed member for purposes of s. 6 approved name place
Board ..
Minister place . . . . . Surveyor-General members-
appointment of . . ..
appointment of, when to cease fees and allowances paid to . protection of
Minister- meaning of term protection of
Offences-
re publication of approved names penalty for
"The Queensland Place Names Act of 1958"- repeal of
The Queensland Place Names Board. See Board
INDEX
M
0
Q
The Queensland Place Names Committee. See also Board re membership, when to cease
R
Regulations
s
Surveyor-General-
as chairman to be part of quorum . . . . . . . . . . . may nominate another member of the Board to act as Chairman meaning of term
re acting appointments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . re Officers of the Public Service of Queensland, appointments of to be member ex officio and chairman of the Board
s. 6 4 4 4 4 4
9 7 (2) 14 20
4 20
31 (1) . 31 (2).
7 (2).
33
17 13 4 13 23 ..
6 (1) (a)
By Authority: S. R. HAMPSON, Government Printer, Queensland
69223 (imap 1 )-5/86
Page
3 2 4 5
5 4 2 4 6 2
