Defence Determination, Conditions of service Amendment (Location and Travel allowances – rate amendment) Determination 2019 (No. 24)
This Determination amends Defence Determination 2016/19, Conditions of service (the Principal Determination), made under section 58B of the Defence Act 1903 and in accordance with subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (AIA Act).
Determinations made under section 58B of the Defence Act are disallowable legislative instruments subject to the Legislation Act 2003. These instruments are also subject to the interpretation principles in the AIA Act.
This Determination amends the following Chapters of the Principal Determination for members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
- Chapter 4 sets out provisions dealing with allowances and reimbursements.
- Chapter 7 sets out provisions dealing with housing and meals.
- Chapter 9 sets out provisions dealing with travel costs in Australia.
This Determination has the following purposes.
- To adjust location allowances. The rates are set following advice received from a contracted service provider.
- To adjust the rates of vehicle allowance when a member travels by private vehicle.
- To adjust the rates of accommodation, meal and incidental allowances for ADF members required to travel on Defence business. The allowance rates are set following advice from a contracted service provider.
- To adjust the lists of high-cost and medium-cost country centres for the purposes of determining accommodation, meal and incidental allowances for members required to travel on Defence business.
- To adjust meal rates for members and their dependants living in temporary accommodation.
Section 1 of this Determination sets out the manner in which this Determination may be cited.
Section 2 provides that this instrument commences on 3 October 2019.
Section 3 provides that this instrument has authority under section 58B of the Defence Act.
Section 4 provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1—Location allowance amendments
Section 1 omits and substitutes section 4.4.9 of the Principal Determination. This section provides the rate of district allowance for a member who lives at a remote location. The provisions under section 4.4.10 of the Principal Determination have been included in this section to contemporise and simplify these provisions. The allowance rates are increased in line with the All Groups component of the Consumer Price Index for the 12 month period ending March 2019 (1.3%). The underlying figures are then rounded to the nearest five dollars. Subsection 4.4.9.2 provides for a member who lives out and then must live in for service reasons, the rules have been redrafted to contemporise and simplify the provision.
Section 2 omits section 4.4.10 of the Principal Determination. The section provides the rates of district allowance for a member who lives at a remote location. These provisions have been included in section 4.4.9 of the Principal Determination.
Section 3 omits a see note in paragraph 4.4.16.2.b. The see note is not legislative in nature and is no longer required.
Section 4 omits and substitutes subsection 4.4.19.2 of the Principal Determination which provides the rates for Port Wakefield allowance. The allowance rates are increased in line with the All Groups component of the Consumer Price Index for the 12 month period ending March 2019 (1.3%). The underlying figures are then rounded to the nearest five dollars.
Section 5 omits and substitutes section 4.4.31 of the Principal Determination which provides the rates of Antarctic allowance. The allowance rates are increased in line with new rates advised by a contracted service provider.
Schedule 2—Travelling costs amendments
Section 1 omits and substitutes section 4.5.9 of the Principal Determination which sets out the rates of meal allowance payable in circumstances where Service-provided meals are unavailable. The rates have increased on average by 2% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 2 omits the see notes in paragraph 7.5.24.1.b as they are not legislative in nature and are no longer required.
Section 3 omits and substitutes subsection 7.5.24.2 of the Principal Determination. This subsection provides meal allowance rates for members, their spouse or partner and dependent children 10 years old or older. These meal rates apply to members and their dependants when they are staying in temporary accommodation. The rates are increased on average by 2.11% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 4 omits and substitutes subsection 7.5.24.3 of the Principal Determination which provides meal allowance rates for a member's dependent children who are under 10 years old. These rates apply to meals taken when a member and their dependants are staying in temporary accommodation. The rates are increased on average by 2.13% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 5 omits the example table in subsection 7.5.24.3 of the Principal Determination. This example is not legislative in nature and is no longer required.
Section 6 amends subsection 9.5.10.2 of the Principal Determination which provides the rate for part-day travelling allowance. The rate is increased by 1.97% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 7 amends subsection 9.5.20.2 of the Principal Determination which provides the maximum amount of incidentals that a member may use their Defence Travel Card to pay for during a period of travel, if they are living in at a location that is not their normal place of duty. The rate is increased by 1.67% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 8 amends subsection 9.5.22.2 of the Principal Determination which provides the maximum amounts for which a member may use their Defence Travel Card to pay for accommodation, meals and incidentals when on a travel period longer than 21 days. The weekly incidental rate is increased by 1.67% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 9 amends the table in subsection 9.5.39.2 of the Principal Determination which sets out the maximum amount of travelling allowance for a member for accommodation, meals and incidentals when on a travel period longer than 21 days. The rate for incidentals is increased by 1.67% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 10 amends the table in subsection 9.5.41.2 of the Principal Determination which provides a maximum amount of travelling allowance that a member is eligible for when on a travel period longer than 21 days. The incidentals rate is increased by 1.67% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 11 omits and substitutes Part 2 of Annex 9.5.B of the Principal Determination which provides the maximum meal rates for a member who is living out and is on travel for more than 21 days. The weekly rate for a boarding house or hotel where cooking facilities are not provided is increased by 2.11%. Where cooking facilities are provided in a boarding house or hotel or a member is renting, the rate is increased by 2.13% based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Section 12 omits and substitutes paragraph 9.6.25.1.b of the Principal Determination which provides the vehicle allowance rate per kilometre based on the engine capacity of the vehicle for the calculation of vehicle allowance. The rates are adjusted using established methodology with respect to movement in the Consumer Price Index provided by a contracted service provider.
Section 13 omits the table in paragraph 9.6.25.1.c of the Principal Determination. The table was incorrectly located under this paragraph and is now located under paragraph 9.6.25.1.b through section 12 of this Determination.
Section 14 amends subsection 9.6.26.1 of the Principal Determination which provides an increased rate of vehicle allowance if a member uses their private vehicle to carry passengers, goods or materials when travelling at Commonwealth expense. The rate is increased based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
Schedule 3—Amounts for accommodation, meals and incidentals amendments
Section 1 omits and substitutes Annex 9.5.A of the Principal Determination which sets out the maximum daily allowance rates that may be provided to members for accommodation, meals and incidentals when travelling on Defence business. The following changes are based on advice received from a contracted service provider.
- Part 1 specifies the maximum accommodation rate payable for members at the rank of Brigadier or higher and for Colonel or lower. Accommodation rates for Brigadier or higher have decreased on average by 10.53% and the rates for Colonel or lower have decreased by an average of 10.56%. Rates for medium-cost country centres have increased by 4.96% and for other country centres the rates have increased by 7.03%.
- Part 2 specifies the accommodation rates for high-cost country centres. Accommodation rates for Alice Springs, Katherine and Yulara have been divided into high and low cost rates similar to that provided for Darwin. Nine additional high-cost country centres have been added and 26 locations are moved to a lower category.
- Part 3 specifies the medium-cost country centres. Nine locations have been removed from the list with three being placed in the list for high-cost country centres. Eleven new locations have been added to the list of medium-cost country centres.
- Part 4 specifies the rates for meals and incidentals. Meal rates for capital cities and high-cost country centres have increased by an average of 2.13%. Meal rates for medium-cost country centres and other country centres have increased by 2.08%. The rate of incidentals has increased by 1.78%.
Consultation
Consultation is not considered necessary in the allowance adjustment process as this falls within the bounds of routine housekeeping of an established benefit. The adjustments are either aligned with the Consumer Price Index or from data from a recognised data provider. They are made according to established policy. The rule maker was satisfied that further external consultation was not required.
Authority: Section 58B of the
Defence Act 1903
This Determination is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Determination
This Determination makes technical amendments to Defence Determination 2016/19, Conditions of service.
This Determination has the following purposes.
- To adjust location allowances. The rates are set following advice received from a contracted service provider.
- To adjust that rates of vehicle allowance when a member travels by private vehicle.
- To adjust the rates of accommodation, meal and incidental allowances for ADF members required to travel on Defence business. The allowance rates are set following advice from a contracted service provider.
- To adjust the lists of high-cost and medium-cost country centres for the purposes of determining accommodation, meal and incidental allowances for members required to travel on Defence business.
- To adjust meal rates for members and their dependants living in temporary accommodation.
Human rights implications
Right to the enjoyment of just and favourable conditions of work
The protection of a person's right to remuneration engages Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 7 guarantees just and favourable conditions of work, including remuneration, safe and healthy conditions, equal opportunity and reasonable limitations.
Right to an adequate standard of living
The protection of a person's right to an adequate standard of living engages Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 11 recognises the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for them and their family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.
Location allowances
Legitimate objective: ADF members who are posted to some remote locations may experience adverse living conditions during service. This could cause significant adverse effects on the lifestyle or welfare of members and their dependants, as a result of the living conditions at the remote location. Those hardship conditions can include, but are not limited to, climate, health care facilities, infrastructure and isolation.
Reasonable, necessary and proportionate: This Determination makes annual adjustments to ADF location allowances to ensure that members and their families who are required to live in remote locations do not suffer a financial disadvantage.
Travel allowances
Legitimate objective: Defence has interests across Australia, and travel by members is necessary to achieve Defence goals. Travel allowance benefits ensure that members and their families who travel are accommodated and fed in a way that meets their needs, and assists in meeting the goal of the travel. The underlying principle is that people should be provided assistance with reasonable travel costs on the basis that they should neither gain nor lose financially when required to travel.
Reasonable, necessary and proportionate: This Determination adjusts the vehicle, accommodation, meal and incidental rates to ensure that members and their families who are required to travel to another location do not suffer a financial disadvantage resulting from the expenses incurred.
Conclusion
This Determination is compatible with human rights because it advances the protection of human rights.
Fiona Louise McSpeerin, Assistant Secretary People Policy and Employment Conditions