Judges (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979

This Act may be cited as the Judges (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979.

This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

Judge means:

a Judge of a federal court (other than the High Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)); or

a person who, by virtue of an Act, has the same status as a Judge of a court referred to in paragraph (a); or

a person who was a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory immediately before the commencement of the A.C.T. Supreme Court (Transfer) Act 1992.

judicial salary, in relation to a Judge, means salary at a weekly rate equal to one fifty‑second of the annual rate of salary that was payable to the Judge immediately before the Judge’s retirement or death.

retirement, in relation to a Judge, means ceasing to be a Judge otherwise than by death (see also section 3A).

If:

a person’s appointment as a Judge terminates; and

a new appointment of the person as a Judge takes effect immediately after the termination;

the person is taken, for the purposes of this Act, not to retire when the earlier appointment terminates.

This section applies to the termination of an appointment however it occurs (whether because of resignation or because of the expiration of the term of the appointment or otherwise).

To avoid doubt, a person may satisfy the definition of Judge at a particular time even if the person also holds, at the same time, an office as a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2).

Note: See paragraph (a) of the definition of Judge in section 3.

On:

the retirement of a Judge after having completed at least 10 years’ service as a Judge; or

the death of a Judge, whether or not he or she has completed 10 years’ service as a Judge;

an amount calculated in accordance with subsection (2) is payable in accordance with this Act.

The amount payable under subsection (1) in respect of a Judge is an amount equal to the judicial salary of the Judge for:

a period of 52 weeks; or

a period of weeks calculated at the rate of 5.2 weeks for each completed year of the Judge’s qualifying service;

whichever is the lesser period.

Where:

a Judge (not being a Judge to whom subsection (1) applies) is to cease to hold office as a Judge upon attaining a particular age, and the Judge ceases to be a Judge upon attaining that age; and

at the time of the Judge’s so ceasing, the period of his or her service as a Judge was not less than 6 years;

an amount calculated in accordance with subsection (2C) is payable in accordance with this Act.

Where:

a Judge (not being a Judge to whom subsection (1) applies) retires; and

the Attorney‑General certifies under section 6 of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 that the retirement is due to permanent disability or infirmity;

an amount calculated in accordance with subsection (2C) is payable in accordance with this Act.

The amount payable under subsection (2A) or (2B) in respect of a Judge is an amount equal to the judicial salary of the Judge for a period of weeks calculated at the rate of 5.2 weeks for each completed year of the Judge’s qualifying service.

In this section:

qualifying service, in relation to a Judge, means the period of his or her service as a Judge, other than any period of such service in respect of which the Judge has taken long leave or has been paid in lieu of such leave.

service as a Judge, in relation to a Judge, means the period that is to be regarded, in relation to the Judge, as service as a Judge for the purposes of section 6 of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968.

An amount payable under section 4 on the retirement of a Judge is payable to the Judge.

An amount payable under section 4 on the death of a Judge is payable to:

where the Judge leaves a surviving spouse or de facto partner—that surviving spouse or de facto partner;

where the Judge does not leave a surviving spouse or de facto partner but leaves a dependant or dependants—that dependant or those dependants; or

in any other case—the legal personal representative of the Judge.

If an amount is payable under paragraph (2)(a) and the Judge leaves more than one surviving spouse or de facto partner, the Attorney‑General may give a direction as to the distribution of the amount between or among them.

Where an amount is payable under paragraph (2)(b) to the dependants of a Judge, the Attorney‑General may give a direction as to the distribution of the amount between or among those dependants.

Where an amount is payable under this section to a person who is under a legal disability, the Attorney‑General may, instead of authorizing payment of the amount to the person, authorize payment of the amount to such trustee or trustees as the Attorney‑General appoints to be held by that trustee or those trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the person as the Attorney‑General directs.

In this section:

surviving spouse or de facto partner of a Judge who has died means a person who was the spouse or de facto partner (within the meaning of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901) of the Judge immediately before he or she died.

Payments under this Act shall be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.

Unless the Governor‑General otherwise directs, an amount is not payable under this Act by reason of the removal of a Judge under section 72 of the Constitution or under any similar provision in an Act.