MILITARY SUPERANNUATION AND BENEFITS ACT 1991
MILITARY SUPERANNUATION AND BENEFITS (ELIGIBLE MEMBER)
DECLARATION 2011
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991 (“the Act”) makes provision in Part 8 for the payment of a retention benefit to certain members of the Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme (“the Scheme”) who have completed 15 years of continuous eligible service. The purpose of the benefit is to induce members to serve for another five years and so get to 20 years of service.
Part 8 of the Act was repealed under Schedule 4 of the Defence Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2005. However due to a saving provision in item 4 of Schedule 4 of that Act eligibility for the retention benefit is still applicable for eligible members of the Australian Defence Force who were members of the Scheme before 6 October 2005.
An “eligible member” is defined in subsection 30(1) of the Act to include:
- an officer who holds the rank not lower than Major or equivalent (or who was previously an enlisted member);
- an enlisted member who holds the rank of Sergeant or equivalent; or
- a member declared by the Minister to be an eligible member (paragraph (f) of the definition).
Members who do not satisfy the minimum rank requirement and are in employment categories where the normal opportunities for promotion do not exist may be declared by the Minister to be eligible members for the purposes of the Act. These employment categories are referred to as “specified categories” for identifying members as eligible members for the purposes of the Act. The employment categories are listed in Ministerial Declarations such as the one to which this statement relates.
The purpose of this Declaration is to (i) withdraw specified category status for ten employment categories; (ii) declare specified category status for two new categories; (iii) change the title of two currently declared employment categories; and (iv) declare two additional members to be eligible members under the inter-employment category.
The inter-employment category covers individual Defence Force members who do not satisfy the normal eligibility requirements for the retention benefit, but special circumstances exist that justify declaring them to be eligible. Declaring these members to be eligible members will enable them to elect to receive the benefit.
Schedule 1 to this Declaration lists the employment categories and ranks that a member may hold in order to be part of the class to which this Declaration applies.
Schedule 2 to this Declaration lists two individual members to whom this Declaration applies.
The three Australian Defence Force Career Management Agencies (who nominate employment categories and individual members for listing in the Specified Category and Inter-Employment category Schedules), Defence Legal, the Department of Defence Chief Finance Officer and the Department of Finance and Deregulation have all been consulted during the development of this Declaration.
This is a legislative instrument for the purpose of section 44(2) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA) and is not subject to disallowance in accordance with item 39 of the table in subsection 44(2) of the LIA.
The impacts on business and individuals or the economy of the instrument are low and the Office of Best Practice Regulation advised that no further regulatory analysis was required.
This Declaration is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary) Act 2011.
Authority: Paragraph (f) of subsection 30(1) of the Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991, as continued in force by item 4 of Schedule 4 to the Defence Legislation Amendment Act (No.1) 2005.