Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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DEFENCE FORCE DISCIPLINE AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 1999 (NO. 1) 1999 NO. 357

STATUTORY RULES 1999 No. 357

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs

Defence Force Discipline Act 1982

Defence Force Discipline Amendment Regulations 1999 (No. 1)

The Defence Force Discipline Regulations ("the Principal Regulations") made under the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 ("the Act") prescribe various matters relating to the administration of the discipline system established by the Act.

Subsection 179(1) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 ("the Act) provides that there shall be a Judge Advocate General who shall be appointed by the Governor-General to hold his or her appointment either on a full time or part time basis. Subsection 179(2) provides that the Governor-General may appoint one or more Deputy Judge Advocates General, who shall also hold their appointments on either a full time or part time basis.

Section 185 of the Act outlines the provisions dealing with the remuneration of Judge Advocates General and Deputy Judge Advocates General. Subsection 185(1) provides that they shall be paid such remuneration as is determined by the Remuneration Tribunal, but if no determination is in operation, they shall be paid such remuneration as is prescribed. This provision is subject to, among other things, subsection 185(4), which prevents Judge Advocates General and Deputy Judge Advocates General from receiving remuneration under the Act if they are receiving salary or annual allowances as a Justice or as a Judge. To date, there has not been a requirement to determine or prescribe the rates of remuneration as all previous appointees have been judicial appointees. However the appointment of a nonjudicial person as Deputy Judge Advocate General required the rates to be prescribed.

This Statutory Rule prescribes a rate of remuneration for a Deputy Judge Advocate General. The rate is set at a level commensurate with a senior counsel engaged on behalf of the Commonwealth or its agencies. Where the work takes less than 6 hours of the day, the rate is $375 for each hour or part of an hour or if the work takes more than 6 hours, then the daily rate of remuneration is set at $2250 for the work done on the day.

The Statutory Rule does not apply to a Deputy Judge Advocate General who is a Justice or Judge of a federal court or a Supreme Court of a State or Territory and who is receiving a salary or annual allowance.

The Statutory Rule also provides that if a Deputy Judge Advocate General is a defence member and the remuneration to which he or she is entitled under the Statutory Rule exceeds the pay to which he or she is entitled as a defence member, he or she is only entitled to receive in respect of their office as Deputy Judge Advocate General, the amount that is in excess. These two qualifications are imposed by subsections 185(4) and subsections 185(5) of the Act and are repeated as notes in the proposed Regulations to reinforce the limitations on the payment of the prescribed rate of pay.

This Statutory Rule also changes the name of the Principal Regulations to the Defence Force Discipline Regulations 1985.

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