National Security (War Deaths) Regulations (Cth)

STATUTORY RULES.

1942. No. 473.

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REGULATIONS UNDER THE NATIONAL SECURITY ACT 1939-1940.*

I, THE DEPUTY OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the National Security Act 1939-1940.

Dated this twenty-ninth day of October, 1942.

Deputy of the Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

for and on behalf of the Minister of State for Defence.

 

National Security (War Deaths) Regulations.

Citation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the National Security (War Deaths) Regulations.

Administration.

2. These Regulations shall be administered by the Attorney-General.

Repeal.

3.—(1.) Regulation 25 of the National Security (Supplementary) Regulations is repealed.

(2.) Certificates of death on war service issued under the regulation repealed by this regulation and uncancelled at the date of commencement of these Regulations shall be as valid and effectual as if these Regulations had been in force at the dates on which they were respectively issued and they had been issued in pursuance of these Regulations, and such certificates shall be deemed to be certificates of death on war service for the purposes of regulation 8 of these Regulations.

 

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on , 1942.

694.5.—Price 3d. 25/29.9.1942.

 

Definitions.

4. In these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—

“competent authority” means a person authorized by the Minister of State for Defence, the Minister of State for the Navy, the Minister of State for the Army, the Minister of State for Air or the Minister of State for Commerce, by notice in the Gazette, to issue certificates of death on war service for the purposes of these Regulations, or of the regulation repealed by these Regulations; and

“engaged on war service” means serving during the present war—

(a) as a member of any naval, military or air force of the Commonwealth or of any other part of His Majesty’s dominions;

(b) with any nursing service, women’s auxiliary service, voluntary aid detachment, red cross society, ambulance association or any similar body or organization attached to or accompanying any of those forces;

(c) as a representative, attached to or accompanying any such force, of any organization which is providing philanthropic, welfare or medical services for members of that force; or

(d) as the master or a member of the crew of a vessel registered in Australia or in, any other part of His Majesty’s dominions or trading from or to an Australian port,

and includes undergoing detention as a prisoner of war or internment in a country under the sovereignty or in the occupation of the enemy or internment in a neutral country immediately after so serving.

Certificates of death of persons engaged on war service.

5. Where a competent authority is satisfied that, from the information available in the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Army, the Department of Air or the Department of Commerce, as the case may require, a person while engaged on war service—

(a) died on a particular date;

(b) died on or after a particular date; or

(c) became missing on a particular date and is for official purposes presumed to be dead,

he may issue a certificate (in these Regulations referred to as “a certificate of death on war service”) that that person, while engaged on war service—

(d) died on that date;

(e) died on or after that date; or

(f) became missing on that date and is for official purposes presumed to be dead,

as the case may be.

Effect of certificates.

6.—(1.) A certificate of death on war service in respect of any person shall in all courts and before all persons acting judicially be prima facie evidence of the death of the person named in the certificate on the date specified in the certificate as the date on which, or on or after which, he died or on which he became missing, as the case may be.

 

(2.) Every court and every person acting judicially shall take judicial notice of the signature of every competent authority and of the fact that he is or has been at any time a competent authority.

(3.) Any person who, acting in good faith on the presumption of the death of any person in respect of whom a certificate of death on war service has been issued, and while that certificate is uncancelled, pays any money or transfers any property to a person who is entitled to receive the money or property on the assumption that the person named in the certificate died on the date specified in the certificate as the date on which, or on or after which, the person named in the certificate died, or on which he became missing, shall obtain a good discharge in respect of that money or property and, in the event of the person named in the certificate being in fact alive subsequently to the date so specified, shall not be subject to any liability, civil or criminal, in connexion with that money or property, to which he would not have been subject had the person named in the certificate died on the date so specified.

No security required in connexion with probate or administration.

7. When probate of the will, or administration of the estate, of a person in respect of whom a certificate of death on war service has been issued, and is uncancelled at the time of the grant, is granted, or proposed to be granted, no leave of a court shall be required for the distribution or administration of the estate and no bond or surety or other security shall be required of any person for the restoration, repayment or replacement upon any condition or event of moneys or other property forming part of the estate which would not be required if the death of the testator had been conclusively proved.

Cancellation of certificates.

8.—(1.) Where a certificate of death on war service has been wrongly issued or, subsequently to the issue of the certificate, information which indicates that the certificate should not have been issued becomes available, a person having possession of the certificate with knowledge that a competent authority has demanded, or wishes to secure, the delivery up of the certificate shall forthwith deliver up the certificate to a competent authority and a competent authority may, on obtaining possession of such a certificate, cancel the certificate.

(2.) A person with knowledge that a competent authority has demanded, or wishes to secure, the delivery up of a certificate of death on war service shall not present the certificate to any other person or otherwise make use of, or act in reliance on, the certificate.

 

By Authority: L. F. Johnston, Commonwealth Government Printer, Canberra.