Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AIR FORCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1997 NO. 15

STATUTORY RULES 1997 NO. 15

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

Air Force Act 1923

Air Force Regulations (Amendment)

The Air Force Regulations ("the Principal Regulations"), made under the Act, set out, inter alia, the conditions of service for members of the Air Force. Regulation 88 of the Principal Regulations prescribes the age at which members are compulsorily retired.

For officers of the ranks of Flight Lieutenant, Flying Officer, Pilot Officer and Officer Cadet of the General List and General Duties Branches the compulsory retirement age was 45. This Statutory Rule amends regulation 88 increases to 55 the compulsory retirement age for those officers. This amendment standardises the compulsory retirement age for all Air Force Officers below the rank of Air Vice-Marshal. This also aligns the Air Force provisions with those for the Army and Navy.

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 adopt the new retirement age of 55, by writing to the Chief of the Air Staff within 6 months after the amendment takes effect. Officers who do not make an election within the prescribed period retain the existing compulsory retirement age of 45 until promoted beyond the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

The Statutory Rule also makes a number of technical amendments to the Principal Regulations by omitting provisions which are redundant as they refer to expressions which no longer exist or which have been replaced by consolidated provisions. Details of these amendments are contained in the Attachment to this Statement.

The Statutory Rule comes into operation on the date of gazettal.

ATTACHMENT

DETAILS OF TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS TO THE AIR FORCE REGULATIONS

Subregulation 4(3) incorporated definitions from the former Defence Force (Salaries) Regulations. As the Defence Force (Salaries) Regulations have been repealed, subregulation 4(3) is meaningless. The Statutory Rule omits the provision.

Subregulation 4(8) referred to expressions from the former Defence Force (Salaries) Regulations and linked their use in the Principal Regulations to members of the Air Force Reserve. As the Defence Force (Salaries) Regulations have been repealed, subregulation 4(8) is meaningless. The Statutory Rule omits the provision.

As the majority of financial conditions of service for members of the Defence Force are dealt with by Determinations made under section 58B of the Defence Act 1903, and the few remaining financial provisions relating to members of the Air Force have been transferred from the Air Force Regulations to the Defence Force Regulations, the Statutory Rule does not replace the omitted definitions.

Regulation 443B defined the "prescribed authority" for the purposes of subsections 4J(3) and (4) of the Air Force Act. As the expression "prescribed authority" no longer appears in those subsections (it having been replaced by reference to the Chief of the Air Staff in 1987), regulation 443B is redundant. The Statutory Rule omits the provision.

Regulation 443E defined the prescribed authority for the purposes of section 50B of the Defence Act. As section 50B was repealed in 1987, regulation 443E is redundant. The Statutory Rule omits the provision.

Regulation 468 empowered the Chief of the Air Staff to recommend the termination of the appointment of an officer of the Air Force Reserve for specified reasons. This recommendation was formerly made to the Governor-General, to invoke the power of the Governor-General under regulation 72. As regulation 72 has been repealed and the grounds for terminating all officers' appointments are now dealt with by regulation 81, regulation 468 of the Principal Regulations is meaningless. The Statutory Rule omits the provision.