Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT (LIFE GOLD PASS) REGULATIONS 2002 2002 NO. 313

Statutory Rules 2002 No. 313

Issued by the authority of the Special Minister of State

Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002

Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Regulations 2002

The Members of Parliament (Life Gold Pass) Act 2002 (the Act) specifies the entitlements of holders of a Life Gold Pass, and their spouses and widows and widowers. The basic rule is that a Life Gold Pass holder is entitled to 25 return trips, within Australia, per year. (Former Prime Ministers are entitled to 40 return trips within Australia per year). The Act received Royal Assent on 2 December 2002.

The Act recognises that a Life Gold Pass holder may wish to visit more than one place in a single journey and sets out the provisions (Part 7) which apply when a traveller has a stopover in any given place of longer than 24 hours. In such a case the travel to the stopover point is counted as 0.5 of a return trip unless exceptional circumstances prevented the traveller departing within the 24 hour period.

Subsections 21(c)(ii), 22(d)(ii), 23(d)(ii) and 24(c)(ii) of the Act contain provisions for the declaration in Regulations of the kind of circumstances which constitute exceptional circumstances.

Section 35 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make Regulations required or permitted to be prescribed by the Act or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

The purpose of the Regulations is to prescribe the kinds of circumstances which constitute exceptional circumstances for the purposes of Part 7 of the Act and to prescribe the procedure, including the evidence required, for meeting the exceptional circumstances test.

The Regulations make:

•       Regulation 3 which provides definitions of 'eligible traveller' and '24 hour period';

•       Regulation 4 which prescribes that injury or illness which prevents an eligible traveller from travelling within the 24 hour period is an exceptional circumstance and that a medical certificate is evidence of those exceptional circumstances;

•       Regulation 5 which prescribes that a delay in or cancellation of a scheduled transport service which prevents the eligible traveller from travelling within the 24 hour period is an exceptional circumstance and a statutory declaration is evidence of those exceptional circumstances; and

•       Regulation 6 which prescribes that the evidence of exceptional circumstances must be provided to the Special Minister of State.

The Regulations commenced on the commencement of Part 7 of the Act. Part 7 commenced on 30 December 2002, being 28 days after Royal Assent Subsection 4(1) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that a Regulation may be made after the enactment of an Act but before the Act comes into operation. This means these Regulations may be made now even though the power to make Regulations (section 35) has not yet commenced.

The Regulations have been made to coincide with the date the Act comes into operation so that if a Life Gold Pass holder or spouse or widow(er) is unable to resume travel within 24 hours at a stopover point because of health or transport availability reasons they will not be penalised.

The Minute recommends the Regulations be made in the form proposed.