DEFENCE FORCES RETIREMENT BENEFITS.

No. 67 of 1962.

An Act relating to Retirement Benefits for Members of the Defence Forces of the Commonwealth.

[Assented to 24th November, 1962.]

BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Part I.—Preliminary.

Short title and citation.

1.—(1.)  This Act may be cited as the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1962.

(2.)  The Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1948-1959 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

(3.)  The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1948-1962.

Commencement.

2.—(1.)  Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.

(2.)  The amendments made by sections eleven, fifteen, eighteen, nineteen and twenty of this Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the fourteenth day of December, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine.

Parts.

3.  This Act is divided into Parts, as follows:—

Part I.—Preliminary.

Part II.—Amendments of the Principal Act.

Part III.—Amendments of the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1959-1961.

Part IV.—Miscellaneous.

Part II.—Amendments of the Principal Act.

Parts.

4.  Section three of the Principal Act is amended by omitting the words—

“Division 3.—Rates of Contributions by Members (Sections 30-31).”

and inserting in their stead the words—

“Division 3.—Rates of Contributions by Members (Sections 30-31A).”.

Interpretation.

5.—(1.)  Section four of the Principal Act is amended by inserting in sub-section (1.), after the definition of “contributor”, the following definition:—

“‘daily rate of pay’, in relation to a member, means his maximum daily rate of active pay as ascertained in accordance with the regulations;”.

(2.)  Section four of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-sections:—

“(7.)  Where a member is promoted and, as a result of the promotion, his category changes and he is included within a category that has a lower category number than the category within which he was included immediately before the change, that change in category shall be disregarded for the purposes of this Act.

“(8.)  Where the category of a member who has attained the retiring age for the rank held by him changes and—

(a) the change occurred as a result of his being reduced to a lower rank; or

(b) the change occurred after the expiration of a period of two years after he has attained that retiring age,

that change in category shall be disregarded for the purposes of this Act.”.

Categories of members.

6.  Section four a of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting sub-section (1.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(1.)  For the purposes of this Act, members are divided into categories according to the daily rates of pay set out in the First Schedule, and a reference in this Act to the category of a member shall be read as a reference to the category of members within which, having regard to his daily rate of pay, he is included.”; and

(b) by omitting from sub-section (2.) the word “, Fourth”.

Delegation.

7.  Section twelve of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “under this Act or the regulations”.

Change in contributions.

8.  Section thirty-one of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “, subject to the next succeeding sub-section,”; and

(b) by omitting sub-section (2.).

9.  After section thirty-one of the Principal Act the following section is inserted in Division 3 of Part IV.:—

Contribution on change of category of member who has attained age of sixty years.

“31a.  Where the category of a member who has attained the age of sixty years changes and, as a result of the change, he is included within a category that has a higher category number than the category within which he was included immediately before the change, he shall, notwithstanding sub-section (5.) of section twenty-three of this Act, before the expiration of one month after the date of the change or before the day on which he ceases to be a member, whichever first occurs, make one contribution to the Fund of such amount as is determined by the Board on the advice of the Commonwealth Actuary.”.

Pension on retirement under special circumstances—officers.

10. Section thirty-nine of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (c) of sub-section (2.) the word “category” and inserting in its stead the word “rank”.

Invalidity benefit.

11. Section fifty-one of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (1.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(1.)    Where—

(a) a member has been retired before attaining the retiring age for the rank held by him;

(b) a member, being an officer, has been granted an extension of service for a period that does not extend beyond the period of two years after the attainment by him of the retiring age for the rank held by him and has been retired before the expiration of the period of the extension;

(c) a member, not being an officer, has been engaged for a period of service extending beyond the date on which he will attain the retiring age for the rank held by him and has been retired before the expiration of a period of two years after that date and before the expiration of the period of the engagement; or

(d) the age for compulsory retirement of a member, not being an officer, has been extended and the member has been retired before the attainment by him of the extended age and before the expiration of a period of two years after the attainment by him of the retiring age for the rank held by him,

on the ground of invalidity or of physical or mental incapacity to perform his duties (not, in the opinion of the Board, due to wilful action on his part for the purpose of obtaining pension or other benefit), he is entitled to benefit in accordance with the next two succeeding sections, but, subject to section sixty of this Act, is not otherwise entitled to benefit under this Act.”.

Regulations.

12.—(1.)   Section eighty-eight of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—

“(2.)  Where the pay of any class of members is increased or reduced, regulations for the purpose of the definition of ‘daily rate of pay’ in sub-section (1.) of section four of this Act in relation to members included within that class made after the date on and from which the increase or reduction took effect may be expressed to have taken effect from and including that date.”.

(2.)  Regulations under the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1948-1962 for the purpose of the definition of “daily rate of pay” in sub-section (1.) of section four of that Act made within the period of six months immediately following the date fixed under sub-section (1.) of section two of this Act shall, unless otherwise provided by the regulations, have effect and be deemed to have had effect from and including that date.

The Schedules.

13. The Schedules to the Principal Act are repealed and the following Schedules inserted in their stead:—

THE SCHEDULES.

——

Section 4A.                                             FIRST SCHEDULE.

Categories of Members According to Daily Rates of Pay.

First Schedule—continued.

SECOND SCHEDULE.                                         Section 30.

Amount of Contribution to be Paid Fortnightly by Members.

Table 1.—Male officers, other than—

(a) officers of the Special Duties List of the Permanent Naval Forces;

(b) officers of the Permanent Military Forces, being Quartermasters or members of the Canteen Corps, Catering Corps, Dental Corps, Education Corps, Legal Corps, Medical Corps, Pay Corps, Psychology Corps or Survey Corps or of the Printing and Stationery Service;

Second Schedule—continued.

(c) officers of the Permanent Air Force, not being officers of the General Duties Branch; and

(d) Chaplains.

Second Schedule—continued.

Amount of Contribution to be Paid Fortnightly by Members.

Table 2.—Members other than those to whom Table 1 applies.

THIRD SCHEDULE.                       Sections 38, 39 and 41.

Rates of Pension per Annum.

Part 1.—Officers.