Interpretation
3 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
additional contribution means an additional contribution payable under section 21, 64, 87, 89 or 93.
annual rate of pay, in relation to a member of the Defence Force on a particular day, means the amount, that, under the regulations, is the annual pay applicable to the member on that day.
Authority means the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Authority established by section 8, as in force before its repeal by item 44 of Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Legislation (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2011.
benefit means pension benefit, and includes the following:
a lump sum payment under subsection 32(2) or section 48;
a refund of contributions under section 56;
a release authority lump sum paid in relation to a release authority issued to a person under Subdivision 135‑A in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953.
child, in relation to a deceased member of the scheme, includes:
a person who:
is an ex‑nuptial child of the member; or
is, immediately before the member’s death, a stepchild, an adopted child, a foster child or a ward, of the member; or
was, immediately before the member’s death, someone who would have been the stepchild of the member except that the member was not legally married to a spouse who survives the member; or
is a child of the member within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975; and
a person who:
is a child or ex‑nuptial child of a spouse who survives the member; and
was wholly or substantially dependent upon the member at the time of the member’s death; and
a person who:
is, within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975, a child of a spouse who survives the member; and
was wholly or substantially dependent upon the member at the time of the member’s death.
child’s pension means pension payable under Division 2 of Part VI.
Commissioner for Superannuation has the same meaning as Commissioner has in the Superannuation Act.
continuous full‑time Reservist has the meaning given by the Australian Defence Force Superannuation Act 2015.
contributing member means a member of the Defence Force who is making, or is required to make, or, but for section 18 or 18A, would be required to make, contributions under section 17.
contributions means contributions payable under section 17, and includes any additional contributions or previous contributions.
CSC (short for Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation) has the same meaning as in the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011.
date of commencement of the scheme means 1 October 1972.
decision has the same meaning as in the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024.
decision of CSC means a decision of CSC or a delegate of CSC under:
this Act; or
the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1948; or
any other Act that relates to retirement benefits for members of the Defence Force and modifies or affects the provisions of the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1948.
Defence Force Case Assessment Panel means the Panel established under section 100.
Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Board or Board means the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Board as in existence before being abolished by section 91 of the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 1984.
Defence (Parliamentary Candidates) Act means the Defence (Parliamentary Candidates) Act 1969 or the Defence (Parliamentary Candidates) Act 1969‑1973.
eligible child means a person who:
is the child of a deceased member of the scheme who died while he was a contributing member or of a deceased recipient member; and
is a person who has not attained the age of 18 years or:
has attained the age of 18 years but has not attained the age of 25 years;
is receiving full‑time education at a school, college or university; and
is not ordinarily in employment or engaged in work on his own account.
eligible member of the Defence Force means:
a member of the Defence Force who:
is serving on continuous full‑time service under an appointment or engagement, or under a re‑appointment or re‑engagement that occurred before 1 July 2016, for a period of not less than one year; or
is serving on continuous full‑time service, being service that is continuous with previous continuous full‑time service that was, or included, service under an appointment or engagement, or under a re‑appointment or re‑engagement that occurred before 1 July 2016, for a period of not less than one year; or
a member of the Defence Force:
to whom paragraph (a) does not apply;
who is serving on continuous full time service; and
who, immediately before commencing to serve, was a recipient member, was a member of the scheme to whom deferred benefits were applicable under section 78, was a person who was in receipt of, or but for a suspension of his pension under section 53A or 53B of the previous Act, would have been in receipt of, a pension under the previous benefits scheme (being a pension to which he became entitled on retirement from the Defence Force) or was a person to whom deferred benefits were applicable under section 82ZB of the previous Act;
but does not include:
a person who, under section 5A, is excluded from this definition;
a person to whom section 90 applies and who does not make an election under that section; or
a person who has ceased, or is taken to have ceased, under section 134 or 138 to be an eligible member of the Defence Force.
For a continuous full‑time Reservist whose engagement spans 30 June 2016, see section 5B.
eligible orphan means an eligible child who is an orphan, and includes an eligible child who is not an orphan but who is in the custody, care and control of, and is wholly or substantially dependent on, a person other than a person to whom widow’s pension or spouse pension is, or was at any time, payable.
existing contributor means a person who:
immediately before 1 October 1972 was making, or was required to make, or, but for subsection 4AA(2), paragraph 23(5)(b) or (c), or subsection 36(1), of the previous Act, would have been required to make, contributions to the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Fund under the previous legislation; and
on that date, without having ceased to be on continuous full‑time service, became an eligible member of the Defence Force for the purposes of this Act.
Finance Minister means the Minister administering the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013.
fortnightly rate of pay, in relation to a member of the Defence Force on a particular day, means an amount calculated in accordance with the formula:
where A is the annual rate of pay applicable to him on that day.
invalidity benefit means invalidity benefit under section 26.
invalidity pay means invalidity benefit consisting of invalidity pay.
marital or couple relationship has the meaning given by section 6A.
member of the Defence Force does not include a person who is a member as defined by subsection 3(1) of the Defence Force (Papua New Guinea) Retirement Benefits Act 1973.
member of the scheme means a person who is, or at any time on or after the date of commencement of the scheme, has been, an eligible member of the Defence Force.
MSB scheme means the superannuation scheme established under the Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991.
officer means a member of the Defence Force who is an officer for the purposes of the Defence Act 1903‑1970.
partner: a person is the partner of another person if the two persons have a relationship as a couple (whether the persons are the same sex or different sexes).
pension benefit means retirement pay, invalidity pay, widow’s pension, spouse pension or child’s pension.
period of effective service, in relation to a member of the scheme, means:
any period commencing on or after the date of commencement of the scheme during which he is an eligible member of the Defence Force, less any period included in such a period that:
is a period of non‑effective service in relation to him; or
is a period that, under section 5B or 57, is to be disregarded as a period of effective service in relation to him; and
any period that is deemed to be a period of effective service in relation to him under section 21, 64 or 91.
period of non‑effective service, in relation to a member of the scheme, means a period that, under section 6, is deemed to be a period of non‑effective service in relation to him.
Permanent Forces means the Permanent Navy, the Regular Army and the Permanent Air Force.
previous Act means the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Act 1948 or that Act as amended and in force from time to time before 1 October 1972.
previous benefits scheme means the retirement benefits scheme provided for in the previous legislation.
previous contributions, in relation to a person, means contributions made by him under the previous legislation, less any such contributions refunded to him under the previous legislation or (except for the purposes of Part X) under section 86 of this Act.
previous legislation means the previous Act, and includes any other Act relating to retirement benefits for members of the Defence Force that came into operation before 1 October 1972 and modifies or affects the provisions of the previous Act.
productivity superannuation benefit, in relation to a member of the scheme, means productivity superannuation benefit payable in respect of the member under the determination made by the Minister under section 52 of the Defence Act 1903.
rank, in relation to a member of the Defence Force, means:
his substantive rank or, if he is appointed provisionally or on probation, the rank to which he is so appointed; or
if he is provisionally promoted to another rank—that other rank.
recipient member:
means a member of the scheme who is entitled to retirement pay or invalidity pay; and
includes a member of the scheme who, apart from the suspension of his or her invalidity pay under subsection 35(3), would be entitled to invalidity pay.
release authority lump sum has the meaning given by section 49K.
Reserve means:
in relation to a member of the Navy—the Naval Reserve; and
in relation to a member of the Army—the Army Reserve; and
in relation to a member of the Air Force—the Air Force Reserve.
retirement means retirement as a member of the Defence Force, and includes discharge from the Defence Force, and retire has a corresponding meaning.
retirement pay means retirement pay payable under section 23.
Rules for the administration of the Superannuation (1990) Scheme means the rules for the administration of that scheme set out in the Schedule to the deed by which that scheme was established.
service means service as a member of the Defence Force.
service offence has the same meaning as in the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.
spouse has a meaning affected by section 6B.
spouse pension means pension payable under Division 1 of Part VI.
Superannuation Act means the Superannuation Act 1976.
Superannuation (1990) Scheme means the Superannuation Scheme established by deed under the Superannuation Act 1990.
surcharge debt account, in relation to a member of the scheme, means the surcharge debt account kept for the member by CSC under section 16 of the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997.
surcharge deduction amount, in relation to a member of the scheme to or in respect of whom benefits become payable under this Act, means the surcharge deduction amount that is specified in the determination made by CSC, under section 6C, in relation to the member.
total period of effective service, in relation to a member of the scheme, means:
in the case of a member in relation to whom there is only one period of effective service—that period; or
in the case of a member in relation to whom there are 2 or more periods of effective service—a period equal to the total of those periods.
A reference in this Act to benefit under subsection 32(2) shall be read as including a reference to a refund of contributions under that subsection.
A reference in this Act to a provision of the Superannuation Act shall, except where the context otherwise requires, be read as including a reference to that provision as modified by regulations made under that Act.
Where, at any time after 1 October 1972, an existing contributor:
ceases to be an eligible member of the Defence Force; and
after so ceasing to be such a member again becomes an eligible member of the Defence Force;
that person shall, for the purposes of sections 25, 33, 86, 87, 87A, 92 and 95, be taken not to be an existing contributor in respect of any period after he or she so ceases to be such a member.
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