Child Endowment Regulations (Amendment)

Legislation au C1942L00131 Regulations Not in force Legislative Instrument

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STATUTORY RULES.

1942. No. 131.

 

REGULATIONS UNDER THE CHILD ENDOWMENT ACT 1941.*

I, 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 Child Endowment Act 1941.

Dated this thirteenth

day of March          , 1942.

(SGD.) GOWRIE

Governor-General.

By His Excellency’s Command,

Minister of State for Social Services.

 

Amendments of the Child Endowment Regulations.†

Person by whom child is deemed to be maintained.

1.—(1.) Regulation 7 of the Child Endowment Regulations is amended—

(a) by omitting the first proviso to paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (1.) and inserting in its stead the following proviso:—

“Provided that, where the parents are permanently living apart and the father is, by his contributions, wholly or mainly maintaining the child, the child shall, for the purposes of section 13 of the Act, be deemed to be maintained by the father:”;

(b) by inserting in paragraph (b) of sub-regulation (1.), before the proviso, the following proviso:—

“Provided that, where the parents are permanently living apart and the mother is, by her contributions, wholly or mainly maintaining the child, the child shall, for the purposes of section 13 of the Act, be deemed to be maintained by the mother:”;

(c) by inserting in the proviso to paragraph (b) of sub-regulation (1.), after the word “Provided”, the word “further”;

(d) by omitting sub-regulation (2.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-regulations:—

“(2.) Subject to the next succeeding sub-regulation, a child who is an inmate of an approved institution shall, for the purposes of section 13 of the Act, be deemed to be maintained by that institution.

 

* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on      , 1942.

† Statutory Rules 1941, No. 180.

1297.—25/27.2.1942.—Price 3d.


“(2a.) Where a child is an inmate of an approved institution which is a hospital or which normally undertakes the care of children only temporarily (not including an institution which undertakes the care of children until they reach a certain age), the child shall be deemed to be maintained by the person by whom it is ordinarily maintained or deemed to be maintained except—

(a) where that person is not maintaining or deemed to be maintaining any other child; or

(b) where the hospital or other institution has certified to the Deputy Commissioner, in the approved form, that the child is likely to continue to be an inmate for a period of at least twelve weeks calculated from the date of the admission—during the period after that certification; or

(c) where at the expiration of twelve weeks from the date of the child’s admission to the hospital or other institution it is still an inmate of that hospital or other institution—during the period after that twelve weeks

Provided that none of the exceptions specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this sub-regulation shall apply in respect of any period during which the child is entitled to be maintained in the hospital or other institution by reason of a voluntary contributory scheme; and

(e) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-regulation:—

“(4.) Subject to sub-regulations (2.) and (2a.) of this regulation, but notwithstanding anything else contained in this regulation, where a husband and wife are living together, or are living apart but not permanently, and the husband is by his contributions wholly or mainly maintaining a child who is not living with himself or his wife, that child shall, for the purposes of section 13 of the Act, be deemed to be maintained by his wife.”.

(2.) The sub-regulation added by paragraph (e) of the last preceding sub-regulation shall be deemed to have come into operation on the twenty-ninth day of July, 1941:

Provided that this sub-regulation shall not affect the validity of any payment of endowment which has been made in respect of any child, and no further endowment shall be payable by reason of this sub-regulation in respect of any child for any period for which any such payment has been made in respect of that child.

2. After regulation 34 of the Child Endowment Regulations the following regulation is inserted:—

Endowment due at death of endowee.

34a. Any amount of endowment accrued and unpaid up to and including the date of the death of an endowee, if applied for within six months after that date, or within such further period as the Commissioner, in special circumstances, allows, may be paid to the person who, in the opinion of the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner, is best entitled to receive it.”.

 

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

Overview

The Child Endowment Regulations of 1942 were enacted under the authority of the Governor-General of Australia, acting on the advice of the Federal Executive Council, to provide regulations implementing the Child Endowment Act 1941. This legislation was introduced to address the economic hardship experienced by families with children during the early years of World War II by providing financial support to eligible families. The policy objective of the Child Endowment Act was to improve the health and well-being of children by providing a regular income to their parents. The Child Endowment Regulations, therefore, outline the eligibility criteria and payment procedures for the child endowment benefit, including the circumstances in which a child is deemed to be maintained by a particular person or institution, as well as the payment of endowment upon the death of the beneficiary.

Scope and Application

The Child Endowment Regulations 1942, made under the Child Endowment Act 1941, apply to individuals and institutions involved in the maintenance of children and the administration of child endowment benefits. These regulations pertain to the Commonwealth of Australia and outline the criteria and conditions for determining who is considered the maintainer of a child for the purposes of receiving child endowment benefits. The Act applies to children who are either living with their parents, in the care of an approved institution, or maintained by a parent living apart from the other. It also covers cases where a husband is maintaining a child not living with him or his wife. Notably, the regulations exclude certain scenarios, such as when a child is maintained by a person who is not maintaining any other child or when a child is in a hospital or other institution for a specified period. These regulations extend the application of the Act through subordinate instruments and ensure that child endowment payments are appropriately allocated based on the maintenance arrangements of the child.

Key Provisions

The Child Endowment Regulations, as amended, introduce specific provisions regarding the maintenance of children and the payment of child endowment upon the death of an endowee. Under the amended Regulation 7, the maintenance of a child is determined based on who is making significant contributions to the child’s upkeep. If parents are permanently living apart, the parent contributing more to the child’s maintenance is deemed the maintainer. For example, if the father is contributing more, the child is considered to be maintained by the father (sub-regulation 1(a)). Conversely, if the mother is contributing more, she is deemed the maintainer (sub-regulation 1(b)). If a child is an inmate in an approved institution, the institution is deemed the maintainer unless certain conditions apply, such as the child being in a temporary care facility or the institution certifying that the child will be an inmate for at least twelve weeks (sub-regulation 2(a)). Additionally, if a husband and wife are living together or apart but not permanently, and the husband is maintaining a child not living with them, the wife is deemed the maintainer of the child (sub-regulation 4). These regulations impose specific obligations on parents, institutions, and other parties involved in the maintenance of a child. Parents are required to contribute to the upkeep of their children, and the primary contributor in cases of separation is deemed the maintainer. Institutions are required to certify the expected length of a child’s stay if they are in temporary care facilities. The husband’s contributions to a child not living with him or his wife lead to the wife being deemed the maintainer. Furthermore, these regulations mandate that any accrued endowment payable to a deceased endowee must be claimed within six months of the death, or within an extended period if special circumstances are recognised by the Commissioner (Regulation 34a). Breaching the provisions of these regulations can lead to various consequences. For example, failure to correctly identify the maintainer of a child may result in incorrect payments of child endowment, potentially leading to financial discrepancies and administrative penalties. Additionally, not adhering to the timelines for claiming unpaid endowment upon the death of an endowee may result in forfeiture of the unpaid amount. While the specific penalties are not detailed in the regulations, they could include financial penalties or other administrative actions to rectify the non-compliance.

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.