Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]

MILITARY SUPERANNUATION AND BENEFITS DECLARATION NO. 4 1995 NO. 280

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 280

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR DEFENCE SCIENCE AND PERSONNEL

MILITARY SUPERANNUATION AND BENEFITS ACT 1991

MILITARY SUPERANNUATION AND BENEFITS DECLARATION No. 4

The Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991 ("the Act") makes provision in Part 8 for the payment of a retention benefit to certain members of the Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme ("the Scheme") who have completed 15 years of continuous eligible service. The purpose of the benefit is to induce members to serve for another 5 years to their 20 year point An "eligible member" is defined in section 30 of the Act to include: an officer who holds the rank not lower than Major or equivalent (or who was previously an enlisted member); an enlisted member who holds the rank of Sergeant or equivalent; or a member declared by the Minister to be an eligible member.

Members who fail to satisfy the minimum rank requirement and me in employment categories where the normal opportunities for promotion do not exist have been declared to be eligible members by the Minister. These employment categories, referred to as specified categories, are listed in the Minister's declarations.

One of the purposes of this Declaration is to enable the deletion of Certain employment categories which were included in the first Military Superannuation and Benefits Declaration (Statutory Rules 1993 No. 142) and Military Superannuation and Benefits Declaration (No. 3) (Statutory Rules 1994 No. 278) but no longer satisfy the specified category eligibility criteria. This has been achieved by revoking those Declarations and making a consolidated Declaration to provide eligibility for members in employment categories which continue to meet the specified category eligibility criteria. The new Declaration also ensures that members in revoked categories who have become eligible to receive the retention benefit will retain their eligibility.

The other purpose of this Declaration is to declare as eligible members three members of the Scheme who have not reached the required rank but satisfy the eligibility criteria applicable under a special grouping labelled the Inter Employment Category. The Inter Employment Category is unusual in that it is not a specific employment group within the Defence Force. It covers individual Defence Force members who have not reached the required rank for eligibility, have been transferred out of their normal employment groups as a result of Defence Force restructuring, and would have been promoted to the required rank for retention benefit eligibility by the time they had served for 15 years had they not been transferred.

Clause 1. Citation

This clause is formal.

Clause 2. Interpretation

This clause defines references to the "Act".

Clause 3. Eligible members

This clause defines who is an eligible member for the purposes of the Declaration.

Subclause 3(1)

This subclause provides that persons who am described in subclauses 3(2), 3(3) and 3(4) are declared to be eligible members from the date the Declaration takes effect.

Subclause 3(2)

This subclause provides for persons in employment categories listed in the Schedule to be eligible members.

Subclause 3(3)

This subclause provides for persons m the Army employment category of Radiographer who are not officers to be eligible members.

Subclause 3(4)

This subclause lists the name, rank, and service number of the three Inter Employment Category members and provides for them to be eligible members.

Subclause 3(5)

This subclause provides that persons who were eligible members under revoked Declarations, and are in the employment categories described in sub-clauses 3(2) and 3(3), cannot be eligible members under this Declaration also. This is to avoid a double benefit.

Clause 4

This clause revokes the two Declarations which established specified categories. It also ensures that persons who were eligible members under those Declarations, and are in employment categories which continue to be specified categories in accordance with this Declaration or have already become eligible to receive the retention benefit, do not cease to be eligible members because of the revocations.

Subclause 4(1)

This subclause revokes the first Military Superannuation and Benefits Declaration (Statutory Rules 1993 No. 142) and the Military Superannuation and Benefits Declaration (No. 3) (Statutory Rules 1994 No. 278) with effect from the date this Declaration takes effect.

Subclause 4(2)

This subclause ensures that

(a)        persons who were eligible members under the revoked Declarations and are in the employment categories described in subclauses 3(2) and 3(3), do not cease to be eligible members by virtue of those Declarations having been revoked; and

(b)        persons who were eligible to receive the retention benefit by virtue of being eligible members under the revoked Declarations do not cease to be eligible members because of those revocations.

Schedule

The Schedule lists the employment categories of the persons who are eligible members under subclause 3(2).

Commencement

The Declaration comes into operation on the date of gazettal.