There is hereby established a commission to be known as the Fire Service Commission.

The Commission shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal and with power to acquire, hold, and dispose of real and personal property, to sue and to be sued, and to do and suffer all such other acts and things as bodies corporate may lawfully do or suffer.

The Commission is hereby declared to be the successor of the Fire Service Council constituted under the section for which this section was substituted by section 3 of the Fire Services Amendment Act 1974.

All real and personal property that immediately before the 1st day of August 1974 was vested in the Fire Service Council shall on that date, without conveyance, transfer, or assignment, vest in the Commission for the estate and interest of the Fire Service Council in that property, subject to all liabilities, charges, obligations, and trusts affecting the property.

All the contracts, debts, and liabilities of the Fire Service Council immediately before the 1st day of August 1974 shall on that date become the contracts, debts, and liabilities of the Commission.

A District Land Registrar shall, on written application under the seal of the Commission, register it as the proprietor of any estate or interest in land that is registered in his land registration district under the Land Transfer Act 1952 and is vested in the Commission under this section.

The Fire Service Council is hereby abolished.

Every reference in any enactment or any document to the Fire Service Council shall hereafter, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to the Commission.

The common seal of the Commission shall not be affixed to any deed or instrument except pursuant to a resolution of the Commission, and every deed or instrument required to be under seal shall be signed by 2 persons, of whom one shall be a member of the Commission, and the other either a member of the Commission or an officer of the Commission authorised in that behalf by the Commission.

The Commission shall be deemed to be a local authority for the purposes of the National Provident Fund Act 1950, the Public Revenues Act 1953, and the Local Authorities Loans Act 1956.

The Commission shall consist of 3 members to be appointed from time to time by the Governor-General, namely,—

Where any person appointed to the Commission is a member of or an office holder in or an employee of any Fire Board or Fire Committee, or association of Urban Fire Authorities or their employees, he shall relinquish that membership, office, or employment before entering upon his duties as a member of the Commission.

Any member of the Commission who after appointment becomes a member of or an office holder in or an employee of any Fire Board or Fire Committee, or association of Urban Fire Authorities or their employees shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Commission and the vacancy so created shall be filled in the manner provided by subsection (7) of this section.

For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, any person who receives any remuneration from any Fire Board or Fire Committee, or association of Urban Fire Authorities or their employees, and whether by way of salary, wages, fee, commission, allowance, or otherwise, shall be deemed to be an employee of that Board, Committee, or association.

Except as otherwise provided in this Act, every member of the Commission shall hold office for such term, not exceeding 5 years, as the Governor-General thinks fit.

Any member of the Commission may at any time be reappointed, or may at any time be removed by the Governor-General for inefficiency, disability, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct, proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General, or may at any time resign his office by written notice given to the Minister.

If any member of the Commission dies, is removed from office, or resigns, the vacancy so created shall be filled by the appointment of another person qualified for appointment to the office of that member.

Unless he sooner vacates his office as provided in subsection (6) of this section, every member of the Commission shall continue in office until his successor is appointed, notwithstanding that the term for which he was appointed may have expired.

The power of the Commission shall not be affected by any vacancy in its membership.

No person shall be deemed to be employed in the service of Her Majesty for the purposes of the State Services Act 1962 or the Superannuation Act 1956 by reason of being a member of the Commission.

Every member of the Commission shall be deemed to be an employee of the Commission for the purposes of the National Provident Fund Act 1950.

In any case in which the Governor-General is satisfied that any member of the Commission is incapacitated or prevented by illness, absence, or other sufficient cause from performing the duties of his office, the Governor-General may appoint a person qualified for appointment to the office of that member to act for that member while he is so incapacitated or prevented, and any such deputy shall, while he acts as such, be deemed to be a member of the Commission and, if he is the deputy of the Chairman and notwithstanding that there is a Deputy Chairman of the Commission under section 6 of this Act, to be the Chairman of the Commission.

No such appointment of a deputy and no acts done by a deputy as such shall in any proceedings be questioned on the grounds that the occasion for his appointment had not arisen or had ceased.

The Minister may from time to time appoint one of the members of the Commission to be the Deputy Chairman thereof.

Subject to section 5 of this Act, the Deputy Chairman shall have and exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman of the Commission—

No acts done by the Deputy Chairman acting as the Chairman shall in any proceedings be questioned on the grounds that the occasion for his so acting had not risen or had ceased.

Meetings of the Commission shall be held at such times and places as the Commission or the Chairman thereof from time to time determines.

At all meetings of the Commission 2 members, one of whom shall be the Chairman, or the Deputy Chairman acting as Chairman, shall be a quorum.

At any meeting of the Commission the Chairman shall have a deliberative vote and, in the case of an equality of votes, shall also have a casting vote.

The decision of the Commission on any matter shall be determined by a majority of the valid votes recorded thereon.

Subject to this Act, the Commission may regulate its procedure in such manner as it thinks fit.”

In addition to his responsibilities as a member of the Commission, the Chief Fire Service Inspector shall have such functions, duties, and powers of the Chief Fire Service Officer as may from time to time be delegated or assigned to him by the Commission.

The fact that the Chief Fire Service Inspector exercises any function, duty, or power of the Chief Fire Service Officer shall be sufficient evidence of his authority to do so.”

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, every person commits an offence under this section who publicly uses in connection with his business, trade, calling, or profession any written words intended or likely to cause any person to believe that he is a fire engineer or engaged in a like occupation.

It shall not be an offence under this section for a person to use the aforesaid words if he possesses one or more of the qualifications in fire engineering (by examination or otherwise) as the Commission may from time to time declare, by notice in the Gazette, to be sufficient for the purposes of complying with this subsection.

In every prosecution for an offence against this section the burden of proving that the defendant possesses any of the qualifications required by subsection (2) of this section shall be on the defendant.”