United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988

Administered by Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

Legislation au C2004A03664 In force Act

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United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988

 

No. 71 of 1988

 

 

 

 

 

An Act relating to the rehabilitation of certain civilian employees employed in connection with the United States Naval Communication Station in Australia and to workers’ compensation for those employees, and for related purposes

 

 

 

Contents

1  Short title

2  Commencement

3  Interpretation

4  Application of Compensation Act to civilian employees

5  Repeal.........................................

Schedule—Modifications of the Compensation Act

 

 

United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988

No. 71 of 1988

 

 

 

An Act relating to the rehabilitation of certain civilian employees employed in connection with the United States Naval Communication Station in Australia and to workers’ compensation for those employees, and for related purposes

[Assented to 15 June 1988]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988.

2  Commencement

  This Act commences at the commencement of Part X of the Compensation Act.

3  Interpretation

 (1) In this Act:

civilian employee means a person (other than a member of the naval, military or air forces of the United States of America) who is employed by the Government of the United States of America in or in connection with the establishment, maintenance or operation of the Station and:

 (a) is not a citizen, or a national, of the United States of America; or

 (b) is a citizen, or a national, of the United States of America but is employed by the Government of the United States of America in accordance with, or by reference to, terms and conditions of employment agreed between that Government and:

 (i) an organisation registered under a law of the Commonwealth relating to conciliation and arbitration; or

 (ii) an organisation registered under the Industrial Relations Act 1979 of the State of Western Australia, as amended and in force from time to time.

Compensation Act means the Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.

Station means the United States Naval Communication Station in Australia referred to in the United States Naval Communication Station Agreement Act 1963.

 (2) For the purposes of this Act, a person who is employed by an instrumentality of the Government of the United States of America shall be deemed to be employed by that Government.

4  Application of Compensation Act to civilian employees

 (1) The Compensation Act applies in relation to a civilian employee, subject to the modifications set out in the Schedule, as if:

 (a) a civilian employee were an employee employed by an exempt authority within the meaning of that Act; and

 (b) the relevant authority in relation to the civilian employee were the Commission for the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation of Commonwealth Employees established by that Act.

 (2) For the purposes of the application of Part X of the Compensation Act in relation to a civilian employee, the civilian employee shall be taken to have been an employee within the meaning of the Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act 1971 immediately before the commencement of Part X of the Compensation Act.

5  Repeal

  The following Acts are repealed:

United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1971

United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1972

United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Amendment Act 1976.

Schedule—Modifications of the Compensation Act

Section 4

Section 5:

After subsection (7) insert the following subsection:

 ‘(7A) This Act applies in relation to a person who is a civilian employee within the meaning of the United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988.’.

Subparagraph 6(1)(b)(v):

After ‘Commonwealth’ (wherever occurring) insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Subparagraph 6(1)(b)(vii):

After ‘Commonwealth’ insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Subsections 7(1), (2), (3) and (7):

After ‘Commonwealth’ (wherever occurring) insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Subsections 8(3), (4), (5), (6) and (9):

After ‘Commonwealth’ (wherever occurring) insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Subsections 9(1), (2) and (3):

After ‘Commonwealth’ (wherever occurring) insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Paragraph 15(1)(a):

After ‘Commonwealth’ (wherever occurring) insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Subsections 33(1) and (2):

After ‘Commonwealth’ (wherever occurring) insert ‘or the Government of the United States of America’.

Subsection 50(6):

 (a) After ‘means an’ insert ‘industrial agreement,’.

 (b) Before paragraph (a) insert the following paragraph:

 ‘(aa) an industrial agreement relating to the terms and conditions of employment by the Government of the United States of America of persons who are civilian employees within the meaning of the United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988;’.

Subsection 52(4):

Omit the subsection, substitute the following subsection:

 ‘(4) Where a claim is given to the Commission, the Commission shall cause a copy of the claim to be given to an officer of the Department of Defence authorised by the Secretary to that Department for the purposes of this subsection.’.

Section 57:

After subsection (1) insert the following subsection:

 ‘(1A) The Commission shall, on request by the Government of the United States of America, give to that Government any document held by the Commission relating to a claim under this Act by a person who is a civilian employee within the meaning of the United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988.’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview

The United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988 was enacted to address the specific needs of civilian employees working at the United States Naval Communication Station in Australia. This legislation was introduced by the Parliament of Australia to ensure that these employees are provided with appropriate rehabilitation and workers' compensation under the Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, despite their employment by the United States government. The policy objective is to provide a seamless application of the Compensation Act to civilian employees, ensuring that they receive the same protections and benefits as employees of the Commonwealth. The Act also repeals previous legislation related to civilian employees at the station, thereby consolidating and modernising the legal framework governing their employment conditions and benefits.

Scope and Application

The United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988 applies to civilian employees who are engaged by the Government of the United States of America in relation to the United States Naval Communication Station in Australia. This Act governs the rehabilitation of these civilian employees and their entitlement to workers' compensation. It specifies that a civilian employee is someone employed by the United States Government in connection with the station who is either not a citizen or national of the United States, or is a citizen or national but is employed under terms and conditions agreed between the United States Government and a specified organisation. The Act extends to the Commonwealth jurisdiction and operates in conjunction with the Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, with specific modifications detailed in the Act's Schedule. The Act also repeals previous legislation on the same subject and ensures the Compensation Act applies to these employees as if they were Commonwealth Government employees, subject to the outlined modifications.

Key Provisions

The United States Naval Communication Station (Civilian Employees) Act 1988 (section 1) applies specifically to civilian employees working in connection with the United States Naval Communication Station in Australia. These employees are defined in section 3 as individuals employed by the Government of the United States of America, excluding members of the U.S. naval, military, or air forces. The Act applies to those who are not U.S. citizens or nationals and those who are U.S. citizens or nationals but are employed under specific conditions agreed upon by the U.S. Government and certain Australian organisations. Section 4 extends the Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 to these civilian employees, subject to modifications outlined in the Schedule. The Act imposes certain obligations on the civilian employees, primarily relating to their eligibility for workers' compensation under the Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. These employees are considered to be employed by an exempt authority for the purposes of this Act, and their claims are managed by the Commission for the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation of Commonwealth Employees. Furthermore, the Act requires the Commission to share relevant documents with the U.S. Government upon request, as stipulated in the modifications to the Compensation Act detailed in the Schedule. The Act does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or consequences for breach. However, the general provisions of the Commonwealth Employees’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, to which this Act refers, may include civil or criminal penalties for fraudulent claims or other breaches of the compensation framework. The penalties for such offences can vary but may include fines or imprisonment, depending on the severity of the breach.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Workers' Compensation Law
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Commencement Provisions
Repeal & Amendment
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations

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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.