Defence Science and Technology Agency Act

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Coming into Force: 31 December 2001
• copyrightNote: © Singapore legislation sourced from Singapore Statutes Online. It is subject to copyright of the Singapore Government and is reproduced with the permission of the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore.
• Enactment Date: 15 March 2000
• Published date: 31 December 2001
• Record Number: Cap. 75A
• Act Number: (Original Enactment: Act 9 of 2000)

Defence Science and Technology Agency Act

(CHAPTER 75A)

(Original Enactment: Act 9 of 2000)

REVISED EDITION 2001

(31st December 2001)

An Act to establish the Defence Science and Technology Agency, to provide for its functions and powers, and for matters connected therewith.

[15th March 2000]

PART I PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act may be cited as the Defence Science and Technology Agency Act. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “Agency” means the Defence Science and Technology Agency established under section 3; “board” means the board of directors of the Agency; “Chairman” means the Chairman of the board and includes any temporary Chairman of the board; “Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Agency, and includes any individual acting in that capacity; [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] “director” means a director of the board; “incorporated Departments” means the following departments of the Ministry of Defence: (a) Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems Organisation; (b) Defence Materiel Organisation; (c) Defence Medical Research Institute; (d) Defence Procurement Division; (e) Directorate of Research and Development; (f) Lands and Estates Organisation; (g) Resource Planning Office; and (h) Systems and Computer Organisation; “Singapore Armed Forces” means the Singapore Armed Forces constituted under the Singapore Armed Forces Act (Cap. 295).

PART II ESTABLISHMENT, INCORPORATION AND CONSTITUTION OF AGENCY Establishment and incorporation of Agency 3. There is hereby established a body to be known as the Defence Science and Technology Agency which shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall, by that name, be capable of — (a) suing and being sued; (b) acquiring, owning, holding and developing or disposing of property, both movable and immovable; and (c) doing and suffering all such other acts or things as a body corporate may lawfully do or suffer. Common seal 4.—(1) All deeds and other documents requiring the seal of the Agency shall be sealed with the common seal of the Agency and such instruments to which the common seal is affixed shall be signed by any 2 directors generally or specially authorised by the Agency for the purpose or by one director and the Chief Executive. (2) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the common seal of the Agency affixed to any document and shall presume that it was duly affixed. Board of directors of Agency 5.—(1) There shall be a board of directors of the Agency which shall be responsible for the policy and general administration of the affairs and business of the Agency. (2) The board shall consist of — (a) a Chairman; and (b) not less than 8 and not more than 20 other directors as the Minister may from time to time determine. (3) The First Schedule shall have effect with respect to the board, its directors and its proceedings.

PART III MISSION, FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF AGENCY Mission and functions of Agency 6.—(1) The Agency shall harness and exploit science and technology, and provide technological and engineering support, to meet the defence and national security needs of Singapore. (2) The functions of the Agency shall be — (a) to advise the Ministry of Defence on all matters relating to defence science and technology; (b) to provide defence science and technology services and facilities to the Ministry of Defence; (c) to promote and facilitate the development of the defence science and technological capability in Singapore; (d) to manage the acquisition of defence systems, provide engineering support for such systems, provide quality assurance and systems engineering services, and forecast and assess future defence systems, for the Ministry of Defence; (e) to manage the acquisition of command, control, communications, computer and simulation systems, develop software and provide engineering support for such systems, and forecast and assess such future systems, for the Ministry of Defence; (f) to manage the design and development of defence buildings and infrastructure, and manage the maintenance of such buildings, infrastructure, and defence estates, for the Ministry of Defence; (g) to manage the acquisition of management information systems and information technology infrastructure, and develop, maintain and support such systems and infrastructure, and forecast and assess future developments in information technology and formulate standards, for the Ministry of Defence; (h) to conduct research on military medicine and perform human factors engineering studies, for the Ministry of Defence; (i) to manage contracts for the purchase of defence systems, spares and services, maintain a catalogue of stocked items, and manage the disposal of old stocks and equipment, for the Ministry of Defence; (j) to manage technological co-operation with other persons, and conduct and manage research and development programmes, for the Ministry of Defence; (k) to undertake any other activity considered necessary or desirable to achieve a cost-effective defence science and technological capability in Singapore; and (l) to perform such other functions as are conferred on the Agency by any other written law. (3) The Agency may undertake such other functions as the Minister may assign to the Agency and in so doing, the Agency shall be deemed to be fulfilling the purposes of this Act and the provisions of this Act shall apply to the Agency in respect of such functions. (4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as imposing on the Agency, directly or indirectly, any form of duty or liability enforceable by proceedings before any court. Powers of Agency 7.—(1) The Agency shall have power to do anything for the purpose of discharging its functions under this Act or under any other written law, or which it may consider advantageous, necessary or convenient to the discharge of those functions and, in particular, may — (a) enter into contracts for itself or the Government for defence systems, facilities, technology, equipment, materials or services or for the execution of works or any other contract as may be necessary for the discharge of its duties and functions; (b) engage alone or in conjunction with other persons in the design and development of defence systems and the provision of systems design services; (c) form or participate in the formation of any company or enter into any joint venture or partnership for the purposes of this Act; (d) provide technical advice, training and assistance to any Government body or statutory board and to defence authorities of other countries; (e) levy such charges and fees as may be reasonable for services and facilities provided by the Agency; (f) provide financial loans, advances, grants, aid or assistance to any person for all or any of the purposes of this Act; (g) collect, compile, analyse and disseminate by any convenient means information of a statistical nature or otherwise concerning matters relating to its functions; (h) provide scholarships and training grants in the fields of defence science and technology; (i) receive donations, grants, gifts, subsidies and contributions from any source and raise funds by all lawful means; (j) make provision for gratuities, pensions, allowances or other benefits for employees or former employees of the Agency; (k) grant or guarantee loans to officers or employees of the Agency for any purpose specifically approved by the Agency; (l) provide recreational facilities and promote recreational activities for, and activities conducive to, the welfare of officers and employees of the Agency and members of their families; and (m) do such other acts as are incidental to any of its functions or powers. (2) The Agency may, in addition to the powers vested in it by subsection (1), exercise such other powers as the Minister may in writing authorise the Agency to exercise. (3) This section shall not be construed as limiting any power of the Agency conferred by or under any other written law. Directions by Minister 8.—(1) The Minister may give to the Agency any direction under section 5 of the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018. [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] (2) The Agency shall furnish the Minister with such information in respect of its property and activities in such manner and at such times as the Minister may require. Appointment of committees and delegation of powers 9.—(1) The board may, in its discretion, appoint from among its own directors or from among other persons such number of committees as it thinks fit for purposes which, in the opinion of the board, would be better regulated and managed by means of such committees. (2) The board may, subject to such conditions or restrictions as it thinks fit, delegate to any committee appointed under subsection (1) or to the Chairman or any director, or to any officer or employee of the Agency or to any other person as the board thinks fit, any of the functions or powers of the Agency administered by the board under this Act or any other written law. (3) Any function or power delegated under subsection (2) to any committee or person may be performed or exercised by the committee or the person to whom it has been delegated, as the case may be, in the name and on behalf of the Agency. (4) [Deleted by Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018]

PART IV PROVISIONS RELATING TO STAFF Chief Executive 10.—(1) There must be a Chief Executive of the Agency, whose appointment, removal, discipline and promotion must be in accordance with the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018. (2) The Commission may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint an individual to act temporarily as the Chief Executive during any period, or during all periods, when the Chief Executive — (a) is absent from duty or Singapore; or (b) is, for any reason, unable to perform the duties of the office. [Act 5 of 2018 wef 01/04/2018] Appointment of officers, employees, other persons, etc., and prohibition of strikes 11.—(1) The Agency may, subject to the Public Sector (Governance) Act 2018, appoint and employ, ...