EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1984 NO 118
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
DEFENCE FORCE RETIREMENT AND DEATH BENEFITS (ANNUAL RATES OF PAY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 3 of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 (“the Act”) provides for a member’s “annual rate of pay” (the basis for calculating his contributions and entitlements under the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme) to be prescribed.
The Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits (Annual Rates of Pay) Regulations (“the Regulations”), made under the Act, prescribe the annual rate of pay of a member of the Defence Force, for the purposes of the Act. Regulation 4 of the Regulations provides for the annual rate of pay to be a member’s salary plus certain allowances specified in the Regulations. Sub-regulation 4(5) makes special provision for the annual rate of pay for all chaplains not holding an appointment as principal naval chaplain, principal chaplain in the Army, or principal air chaplain.
Formerly the annual rate of pay applicable to chaplains in the Navy and the Air Force was prescribed according to the number of years of service completed or deemed to be completed, while chaplains in the Army had their annual rate of pay prescribed according to a combination of years of service completed or deemed completed and a classification accorded by the Army to its chaplains.
This Statutory Rule amends the Regulations to prescribe the annual rates of pay for chaplains of all three services according to years of service completed or deemed completed.
Paragraph (a) of the Statutory Rule amends sub-paragraphs 4(5)(a), 4(5)(c), 4(5)(e) and 4(5)(g) of the Regulations to include Army chaplains within the ambit of those provisions, which formerly applied only to the Navy and Air Force.
Paragraph (b) of the Statutory Rule omits subparagraphs 4(5)(b), 4(5)(d), 4(5)(f) and 4(5)(h), the former provisions which applied exclusively to Army chaplains.
Commencement
The amendments have effect from the date of gazettal of the Statutory Rule.