STATUTORY RULES.
1909. No. 117.
PROVISIONAL REGULATIONS UNDER THE DEFENCE ACTS 1903-1904.
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby certify that, on account of urgency, the following Regulation under the Defence Acts 1903-1904 should come into immediate operation, and make the Regulation to come into operation forthwith as a provisional Regulation.
Dated this 8th day of October, One thousand nine hundred and nine.
DUDLEY,
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
JOSEPH COOK.
Regulations (Provisional) for the Military Forces of the Commonwealth.
Addition.
After Regulation 129 add—
“129a. Officers will only be permitted to remain on the Unattached List for five years, and failing to gain a re-transfer to a regiment or corps on completion of this period, will be transferred to the Reserve of Officers.
This Regulation will not apply to officers who have been placed on the Unattached List on completion of a period of command as prescribed in Commonwealth Military Regulation 79, nor to those officers referred to in the last portion of Commonwealth Military Regulation 129.”
Printed and Published for the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia by J. Kemp, Government Printer for the State of Victoria.
C.12990—Price 3d.
Overview
The Statutory Rules 1909 No. 117, Provisional Regulations under the Defence Acts 1903-1904, was enacted by the Governor-General in Council to address the need for more efficient management and deployment of military officers within the Commonwealth's military forces. The urgency of this legislation was recognised by the Governor-General, leading to its immediate effect as a provisional regulation. This legislative instrument was issued under the Defence Acts 1903-1904 and was designed to streamline the process of managing officers on the Unattached List, ensuring they are either reintegrated into active regiments or transferred to the Reserve of Officers after a specified period. The policy objective was to maintain an organised and effective military force by regulating the duration officers could remain unattached and their subsequent transfer requirements.
Scope and Application
The Provisional Regulations under the Defence Acts 1903-1904, as certified by the Governor-General and coming into operation as of 8 October 1909, outline specific conditions and limitations for military officers within the Commonwealth of Australia. These regulations apply to officers who are on the Unattached List, imposing a mandatory five-year limit for their stay in this status unless they are successfully transferred to a regiment or corps. Officers who remain on the Unattached List beyond this period are to be transferred to the Reserve of Officers, with exceptions for those who have completed a prescribed period of command as stipulated in Commonwealth Military Regulation 79, and for those referred to in the last portion of Commonwealth Military Regulation 129. The regulation's scope is confined to the military forces of the Commonwealth, thereby affecting only military personnel and their operational statuses. The jurisdictional reach of these regulations is national, applying across the Commonwealth of Australia, and they serve to streamline the management and deployment of military officers within the framework of the Defence Acts 1903-1904.
Key Provisions
The main operative sections of these provisional regulations introduce a new rule concerning the duration officers can remain on the Unattached List before they are transferred to the Reserve of Officers. According to Regulation 129a, officers are only permitted to remain on the Unattached List for a period of five years. Upon the completion of this period, if an officer has not been re-transferred to a regiment or corps, they will automatically be transferred to the Reserve of Officers (129a). However, there are exceptions to this rule. Officers who have been placed on the Unattached List upon the completion of a period of command as prescribed in Commonwealth Military Regulation 79, and those officers referred to in the last portion of Commonwealth Military Regulation 129, are exempted from this new rule (129a).
These regulations impose specific obligations on officers within the military forces of the Commonwealth. Primarily, they require officers who are on the Unattached List to actively seek re-transfer to a regiment or corps within five years of being placed on the list. Failure to do so will result in automatic transfer to the Reserve of Officers. The regulations also require officers to be aware of and understand the exceptions to this rule, ensuring they are not inadvertently affected by the new provisions if they fall into the categories outlined in Commonwealth Military Regulation 79 or 129.
Failure to comply with the provisions of these regulations could lead to officers being transferred to the Reserve of Officers against their wishes if they have remained on the Unattached List for more than five years without a re-transfer. The regulations do not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. However, the automatic transfer to the Reserve of Officers serves as a clear consequence for those who do not adhere to the new rules regarding the Unattached List. There is no mention of financial penalties or criminal consequences in the text of the regulations, suggesting that the primary enforcement mechanism is the automatic transfer itself.