Treasury Laws Amendment (Reserve Bank Reforms) Act 2024 (96 of 2024)
Schedule 1 Amendments
Part 5 RBA's new Monetary Policy Board: procedural provisions
Reserve Bank Act 1959
56 After Part III
Insert:
Part IIIAA - The Monetary Policy Board
Division 1 - Board members
25AA Membership
The Monetary Policy Board consists of the following members:
(a) the Governor;
(b) the Deputy Governor;
(c) the Secretary;
(d) 6 other members (the external Monetary Policy Board members ).
25AB Appointment of external Board members
(1) External Monetary Policy Board members are to be appointed:
(a) by the Treasurer by written instrument; and
(b) on a part-time basis.
Note: Subject to subsection 25AD(2), the person may be reappointed: see section 33AA of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
(2) A person must not be appointed under subsection (1) if the person is:
(a) a staff member of the Reserve Bank Service; or
(b) a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999; or
(c) a director, officer or employee of an ADI.
25AC Chair and Deputy Chair
(1) The Governor is the Chair of the Monetary Policy Board.
(2) The Deputy Governor is the Deputy Chair of the Monetary Policy Board.
(3) The Deputy Chair is to act as the Chair:
(a) during a vacancy in the office of the Governor; or
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when the Governor:
(i) is absent from duty; or
(ii) is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.
Note: For rules that apply to persons acting as the Chair, see section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
25AD Period of appointment of external Board members
(1) An external Monetary Policy Board member holds office for the period specified in the instrument of appointment. The period must not exceed 5 years.
(2) A person must not be appointed under subsection 25AB(1) for a period if the sum of the following exceeds 7 years:
(a) that period;
(b) any earlier periods that the person has been an external Monetary Policy Board member.
25AE Acting appointments of external Board members
The Treasurer may, by written instrument, appoint a person to act as an external Monetary Policy Board member:
(a) during a vacancy in the office of an external Monetary Policy Board member (whether or not an appointment has previously been made to the office); or
(b) during any period, or during all periods, when an external Monetary Policy Board member:
(i) is absent from duty; or
(ii) is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.
Note: For rules that apply to acting appointments, see sections 33AB and 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
25AF Other terms and conditions of external Board members
An external Monetary Policy Board member holds office on the terms and conditions (if any) in relation to matters not covered by this Act that are determined by the Treasurer.
25AG Remuneration of external Board members
(1) An external Monetary Policy Board member is to be paid the remuneration that is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal. If no determination of that remuneration by the Tribunal is in operation, the member is to be paid the remuneration that is prescribed by the regulations.
(2) An external Monetary Policy Board member is to be paid the allowances that are prescribed by the regulations.
(3) This section has effect subject to the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973.
25AH Leave of absence of external Board members
The Monetary Policy Board may grant leave of absence to any external Monetary Policy Board member on the terms and conditions that the Board determines.
25AJ Declaration by Board members
(1) Each member of the Monetary Policy Board must, before first starting to perform the duties of the office:
(a) make an oath or affirmation of allegiance; and
(b) make a declaration of secrecy.
(2) The oath or affirmation of allegiance must be made:
(a) in accordance with the form set out in the Schedule to the Constitution; and
(b) before a justice of the peace or a commissioner for taking affidavits.
(3) The declaration of secrecy must be:
(a) in the prescribed form; and
(b) made before a justice of the peace or a commissioner for taking affidavits.
(4) However, this section does not apply to a member of the Monetary Policy Board if the member is also a member of the Payments System Board or the Governance Board and has already complied with section 25E or 25NJ (as applicable).
25AK Independence of Board members
(1) Subject to this Act and to other laws of the Commonwealth, each person who is a member of the Monetary Policy Board, in performing the person's functions and duties and exercising the person's powers as a member of the Board:
(a) has complete discretion; and
(b) is not subject to direction from anyone (including direction from the Government); and
(c) must act in an independent and impartial manner.
(2) In particular, and without limiting subsection (1), the Secretary is a member of the Board in the Secretary's individual capacity.
25AL Resignation of external Board members
(1) An external Monetary Policy Board member may resign the member's appointment by giving the Treasurer a written resignation.
(2) The resignation takes effect on the day it is received by the Treasurer or, if a later day is specified in the resignation, on that later day.
25AM Termination of external Board members
(1) The Treasurer may terminate the appointment of an external Monetary Policy Board member:
(a) for misbehaviour; or
(b) if the member is unable to perform the duties of the member's office because of physical or mental incapacity.
(2) The Treasurer must terminate the appointment of an external Monetary Policy Board member if:
(a) the member:
(i) becomes bankrupt; or
(ii) applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors; or
(iii) compounds with the member's creditors; or
(iv) makes an assignment of the member's remuneration for the benefit of the member's creditors; or
(b) the member is absent, except on leave of absence, from:
(i) 2 consecutive meetings of the Monetary Policy Board; or
(ii) 3 meetings of the Monetary Policy Board in any period of 12 months; or
(c) the member is or becomes:
(i) a staff member of the Reserve Bank Service; or
(ii) a person appointed or engaged under the Public Service Act 1999; or
(iii) a director, officer or employee of an ADI.
Note: The appointment of an external Monetary Policy Board member may also be terminated under section 30 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (which deals with terminating the appointment of an accountable authority, or a member of an accountable authority, for contravening general duties of officials). That section applies to the member because of section 7F of this Act.
Division 2 - Meetings of the Board
25AN Convening meetings
(1) The Monetary Policy Board must hold such meetings as the Board determines are necessary for the efficient performance of its functions.
(2) The Chair of the Monetary Policy Board may convene a meeting at any time.
25AP Presiding at meetings
(1) The Chair of the Monetary Policy Board must preside at all meetings at which the Chair is present.
Note: Subsection 25AC(3) provides acting arrangements for the Chair. This section also applies to an acting Chair as if they were the Chair (see section 33A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901).
(2) If the Chair is not present at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Board, the other members of the Board present must appoint one of themselves to preside.
Note: For reasons explained in the note to subsection (1), this subsection only applies where neither the Chair nor an acting Chair is present at the meeting.
25AQ Quorum
At a meeting of the Monetary Policy Board, a quorum is constituted by 5 members of the Board.
25AR Voting at meetings
(1) A question arising at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Board is to be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Board present and voting.
(2) The person presiding at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Board has a deliberative vote and, if the votes are equal, a casting vote.
25AS Secretary may nominate alternate to attend meetings
(1) The Secretary may, by written instrument, nominate a specified person who is an SES employee or acting SES employee in the Department to attend a particular meeting, or all meetings, of the Monetary Policy Board at which the Secretary is not present.
Note: The expressions SES employee and acting SES employee are defined in section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
(2) A person so nominated may attend a meeting to which the nomination applies and, while the person does so, this Part applies in relation to the person as if the person were the Secretary.
25AT Conduct of meetings
The Monetary Policy Board may, subject to this Part, regulate proceedings at its meeting as it considers appropriate.
Note: Section 33B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 contains further information about the ways in which members of the Monetary Policy Board may participate in meetings.
25AU Decisions without meetings
(1) The Monetary Policy Board is taken to have made a decision at a meeting if:
(a) without meeting, a majority of the members of the Board entitled to vote on the proposed decision indicate agreement with the decision; and
(b) that majority would have constituted a quorum at a meeting of the Board; and
(c) that agreement is indicated in accordance with the method determined by the Board under subsection (2); and
(d) all the members of the Board were informed of the proposed decision, or reasonable efforts were made to inform all of the members of the Board of the proposed decision.
(2) Subsection (1) applies only if the Monetary Policy Board:
(a) has determined that it may make decisions of that kind without meeting; and
(b) has determined the method by which members of the Board are to indicate agreement with proposed decisions.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a member of the Monetary Policy Board is not entitled to vote on a proposed decision if the member would not have been entitled to vote on that proposal if the matter had been considered at a meeting of the Board.
Note: Sections 7D and 7E affect the member's entitlement to vote on matters at meetings of the Board.
(4) The Monetary Policy Board must keep a record of decisions made in accordance with this section.