Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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NAVAL FORCES REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1998 NO. 230

STATUTORY RULES 1998 NO. 230

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Defence Industry, Science and Personnel

Naval Defence Act 1910

Naval Forces Regulations (Amendment)

The Naval Forces Regulations ("the Principal Regulations") made under the Naval Defence Act 1910, set out, inter alia, the conditions of service for members of the Navy.

Regulation 202 of the Principal Regulations prescribes the compulsory retirement ages for members of the Naval Reserve. Subregulation 202(1) of the Principal Regulations prescribed the compulsory retirement age for officers in the Naval Reserve: for officers of the rank of Midshipman the compulsory retirement age was 23 years, for officers of the rank of SubLieutenant the compulsory retirement age was 45 years, and for all other officer ranks the compulsory retirement age was 60 years.

This Statutory Rule amends subregulation 202(1) of the Principal Regulations to increase to 60 the compulsory retirement age for Naval Reserve officers of the ranks of Midshipman and Sub-Lieutenant. The amendment standardises at 60 the compulsory retirement age for all Naval Reserve officers and increases the effectiveness and utilization of the Reserve Forces by enabling officers of the affected ranks to serve for longer periods.

The new retirement age applies to all officers of the affected ranks who are appointed after the commencement of the amendment. A transitional provision enables serving officers in those ranks to elect to retain their former retirement age of 55, by writing to the Chief of Navy within 6 months after the amendment takes effect. Officers who do not make an election within the prescribed period automatically adopt the new compulsory retirement age of 60. (In practice, Naval Reserve officers of the affected ranks do not contribute to a retirement scheme and therefore, there are no financial or other benefits which accrue to Naval Reserve officers on retirement. As a result, the increase in retirement age does not have any detrimental consequences.)

The Statutory Rule commences on Gazettal.