New South Wales Consolidated Acts

CONSTITUTION ACT 1902 - SECT 13A

13A Further disqualifications

(1) If a Member of either House of Parliament--

(a) fails for one whole Session of the Legislative Council and Assembly to give his attendance in the House of which he is a Member, unless excused in that behalf by the permission of that House entered upon its journals,

(b) takes any oath or makes any declaration or acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to any foreign prince or power or does or concurs in or adopts any act whereby he may become a subject or citizen of any foreign state or power or become entitled to the rights, privileges or immunities of a subject of any foreign state or power,

(c) becomes bankrupt or takes the benefit of any law for the relief of bankrupt or insolvent debtors,

(d) becomes a public defaulter, or

(e) is convicted of an infamous crime, or of an offence punishable by imprisonment for life or for a term of 5 years or more, and is the subject of the operation of subsection (2),

his seat as a Member of that House shall thereby become vacant.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) (e), a Member is the subject of the operation of this subsection if--

(a) the Member has not lodged an appeal against the conviction within the prescribed period, or

(b) the conviction has not been quashed on the determination of an appeal or appeals lodged within the prescribed period, or

(c) such an appeal has been lodged within the prescribed period but has been withdrawn, or has lapsed, without being determined, and no other appeal lodged within the prescribed period is pending.

(3) Nothing in this section affects any power that a House has to expel a Member of the House.

(4) An appeal is taken to have lapsed when a court makes a declaration to that effect or relevant rules of court treat the appeal as having lapsed.

(5) In this section--

"appeal" includes a notice of appeal and an application for leave to appeal, and any appeal lodged pursuant to such a notice or pursuant to leave granted on such an application.

"prescribed period" , in relation to an appeal, means the period within which the appeal may be lodged, but does not include any extension of a period which a court may grant.

"quash" a conviction means quash or otherwise set aside the conviction.