Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970 (Qld)

401 t1CPtt5f itlt't-r ANNO NONODECIMO ELIZABETHAE SECUNDAE REGINAE ... ....e. ...e,.,. No. 31 of 1970 An Act to Amend The Friendly Societies Acts 1913 to 1965 in certain particulars [ASSENTED TO 16TH DECEMBER, 1970] BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in Parliament assembled, and by the authority of ft- same, as follows:- 1. Short title and citation . (1) This Act may be cited as the Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970. (2) The Friendly Societies Act of 1913 as amended from time to time is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act. (3) The Principal Act as amended by this Act may be cited as the friendly Societies Act 1913-1970.

402 Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970, No. 31 2. Amendment of s. 2. Section 2 of the Principal Act is amended by- (a) adding to the meaning of the term " Friendly Societies " the following paragraph:- 41 The term includes societies established to provide, or providing, group sickness benefits pursuant to the provisions of section 8A of this Act; "; (b) inserting after the term " Friendly Societies " the following term:- " Group sickness benefit "--Sickness benefit provided by a friendly society to participating members of a group (as defined in section 8A of this Act) in pursuance of the provisions of the said section 8A, whether such participating members are members of the society concerned or not;". 3. Repeal of and new s. 8. Section 8 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section is inserted in its stead:--- " 8. Registration of societies and limitation of benefits . following societies may be registered under this Act:- (a) Friendly societies; (b) Cattle insurance societies; (c) Benevolent societies; (d) Social societies; (e) Specially authorised societies; (f) House societies. (I) The (2) (a) The benefits specified in this subsection for the payment of which a friendly society or branch of a friendly society may contract with any person are limited as follows:-- (i) an amount or aggregate of annuity benefit not exceeding the rate of six hundred and twenty-four dollars per annum; (ii) an amount or aggregate of a gross sum benefit not exceeding six thousand dollars exclusive of bonus additions resulting from declarations of surplus following actuarial valuations; (iii) an amount or aggregate of any periodical payment benefit, other than annuity benefit or hospital benefit, not exceeding the rate of eight dollars and forty cents per week or, in the case of a person producing to the society or branch medical evidence of good health immediately prior to the making of any contract for an amount or aggregate or increased aggregate of any such periodical payment benefit exceeding the rate of eight dollars and forty cents per week, not exceeding the rate of sixteen dollars and eighty cents per week; (iv) an amount or aggregate of hospital benefit not exceeding the rate of sixteen dollars and eighty cents per week.

Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970, No. 31 403 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Governor in Council may from time to time by Order in Council published in the Gazette vary any limitation of benefit referred to in the said paragraph (a) by increasing it or decreasing it. (3) (a) A registered friendly society or branch of a friendly society shall not contract for the payment of any benefit in excess of the limitation imposed in relation thereto by subsection (2) of this section and any registered friendly society or branch of a friendly society contravening or failing to comply with this provision is guilty of an offence. (b) An unregistered friendly society or branch of a friendly society which contracts for the payment of any benefit in excess of the limitation imposed in relation thereto by subsection (2) of this section shall not be registered under this Act. (c) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this subsection, a friendly society which is a registered hospital benefits organization under and within the meaning of the National Health Act1953-1970 of the Commonwealth may be registered as a friendly society under this Act notwithstanding that it contracts to pay a hospital benefit in excess of the limitation imposed in relation thereto by subsection (2) of this section. (4) The Minister may limit the application of this Act, in the case of a specially authorised society, to such of its provisions as are specified in the authority for registering such society. (5) The Minister may if he thinks fit exempt any house society registered under this Act from such provisions of this Act as are specified in the certificate of registration. (6) A society or branch which does not consist of at least seven persons shall not be registered. (7) A society or branch shall not be registered under a name identical with that under which any other existing society or branch is registered, or under any name likely, in the opinion of the registrar, to deceive the public as to its nature or its identity. (8) (a) A society or branch may be registered notwithstanding any rule for or practice of dividing any part of its funds, if its rules contain distinct provision for meeting all claims upon the society or branch existing at the time of division before any such division takes place. (b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection do not apply to a benevolent society or a social society or a branch of either." 4. New s. 8A. The Principal Act is amended by inserting after section 8 the following section :- " 8A. Group sickness benefit. (1) Notwithstanding the limitation referred to in subsection (2) of section 8 of this Act in respect of a periodical payment benefit, a friendly society may, subject to this section, contract to provide a group sickness benefit for payment of an amount not exceeding the rate of thirty dollars per week in each case to a participating member of the group.

404 Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970, No. 31 (2) The Governor in Council may from time to time by Order in Council published in the Gazette vary the amount of thirty dollars referred to in subsection (1) of this section by increasing it or decreasing it. (3) The provision of a group sickness benefit by a friendly society pursuant to this section is subject to the following requirements:- (a) the terms of the scheme for the benefit shall be approved by the registrar and the official valuer (where he is not the registrar); (b) the number of members of the group who participate in the scheme for the benefit shall be not less than- (i) eighty-five per centum; or (ii) such lesser percentage than eighty-five per centum as may be approved by the registrar and the official valuer (where he is not the registrar) in any particular case of the number of members of the group who are eligible to participate in the scheme, and in any case shall be a minimum number of twenty members; (c) the friendly society shall contract to provide the benefit in respect of sickness commencing during a period not exceeding one year at a time, and the benefit to be provided under such contract shall be assessed on a basis estimated to provide that the contribution income derived from the contract and any other moneys derived from, payable for the benefit of or credited to the contract during such period, together with any interest earnings resulting from the investment of such income or other moneys, is at least sufficient to meet the claims expenditure arising out of, and the costs of administration in respect of, the contract; and any succeeding contract shall be subject to a like assessment; (d) in addition to the provisions required pursuant to this Act to be contained in the rules of the friendly society, the rules of the society shall set out as fully as practicable the provisions for the operation of the group sickness benefit including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, provisions as to benefit available, conditions of eligibility for benefit, contributions for benefit, and rights, duties, privileges and obligations of a member of the group; (e) without limiting the generality of the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, the contributions for the benefit payable by or on behalf of members of the group who participate in the scheme shall be at such rates as may from time to time be approved by the official valuer who may, without limit to his discretion or the grounds of its exercise in that respect. require scales of contribution rates that increase in accordance with attained age groups determined by him;

Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970, No. 31 405 (f) a member of the group who participates in the scheme ceases to be eligible for the benefit- (i) on ceasing to be a member of the group; or (ii) on attaining such age as the friendly society prescribes in its rules as the maximum age for such eligibility, which shall be an age of not more than 65 years in the case of a male and not more than 60 years in the case of a female, whichever first occurs; (g) such other requirements as the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the registrar and the official valuer (where he is not the registrar) may from time to time determine. (4) If the registrar and the official valuer do not, or either of them does not, approve of any terms of the scheme for the benefit, the society has the same right of appeal as it has from the refusal of the registrar or certifying barrister referred to in section 17 of this Act, and if the appeal is allowed, the registrar and the official valuer or either of them, as the case requires, shall approve of the terms or otherwise act in accordance with the decision or the terms of the order of the court. (5) In this section the term "group" means a body of persons associated as officers, members or employees of any body corporate or unincorporate, business, trade union, association, club or person, or any body of persons, or body of persons of a class of bodies of persons, declared by the Governor in Council (who is hereby thereunto authorized) by Order in Council to be a group for the purposes of this section." 5. Amendment of Second Schedule. The Second Schedule to the Principal Act is amended by, in rule 29- (a) omitting the words " paragraph (a) of the proviso to " and inserting in their stead the words " subsection (2) of"; (b) omitting the words " the said paragraph (a)." and inserting in their stead the words " the said subsection (2)."; (c) omitting the words " Bonuses or additions payable in respect of a gross sum benefit " and inserting in their stead the words " Bonus additions resulting from declarations of surplus following actuarial valuations ". 6. Amendments relating to currency references . The Principal Act is amended as set forth in the Schedule to this Act.

406 Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970, No. 31 THE SCHEDULE AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DECIMAL CURRENCY [s. 6] Provisions to be amended Omit Insert Section 2, paragraph fifteen pounds (f) of meaning of term " Friendly Societies " Section 23A (3) fifty pounds Section 25 (4) one hundred pounds Section 29 (4) (ii) three pounds Section 50 (1) ten pounds Section 50B (2) two hundred pounds Section 50B (2) five pounds Section 50B (2) twenty pounds Section 50c (7) one hundred pounds Section 50c (7) twenty pounds Section 53 (1) twenty pounds Section 56 fifty pounds Section 57 (1) one pound Section 57 (1) ten pounds Section 57 (2) fifty pounds Section 57 (2) twenty pounds Section 63 (1) (vi) twenty pounds Second Schedule- Rule 4 (iii) ten shillings Rule 14 . . three pounds Rule 17 (2) (b) five hundred pounds Rule 17 (2) (c) fifty pounds Rule 18 (1) twenty pounds (where twice occur- ring) Rule 20 twenty pounds Rule 22 (1) (a) two hundred pounds Rule 23 . . two hundred pounds Rule 28 (1; six pounds Rule 28 (1) ten pounds Rule 28 (5) six pounds Rule 28 (5) ten pounds Rule 28 (10) four pounds Rule 37 (1) ten pounds Rule 37 (2) twenty pounds Third Schedule- Rule 4 (1) (a) two thousand pounds Rule 4 (1) (b) two thousand pounds Rule 6 ( 2) (a) (i) four pounds Rule 6 ( 2) (a) (ii) twenty-five pounds Rule 6 ( 2) (a) (ii) fifteen pounds thirty dollars one hundred dollars two hundred dollars six dollars twenty dollars four hundred dollars ten dollars forty dollars two hundred dollars forty dollars forty dollars one hundred dollars two dollars twenty dollars one hundred dollars forty dollars forty dollars one dollar three dollars one thousand dollars one hundred dollars forty dollars (in each case) forty dollars four hundred dollars four hundred dollars twelve dollars twenty dollars twelve dollars twenty dollars four dollars twenty dollars forty dollars four thousand dollars four thousand dollars eight dollars fifty dollars thirty dollars

Friendly Societies Act Amendment Act 1970, No. 31 407 THE SCHEDULE- continued AMENDMENTS RELATING TO DECIMAL CURRENCY-continued Provisions to be amended Omit Insert Rule 6 (2) (c) .. fifteen pounds Rule 6 (4) fifteen pounds Rule 16 (c) .. one shilling Rule 17 (3) .. one hundred pounds thirty dollars thirty dollars ten cents two hundred dollars