Interpretation
4 Interpretation
In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
accrued pension factor or APF has the meaning given by subsection 17AD(6).
APF: see accrued pension factor.
appropriate current judicial salary, in relation to a Judge who has retired or died, means:
in the case of a Judge other than a Judge referred to in paragraph (b), (ba), (bb), (c), (d), (da), (db) or (e)—salary at the rate that would be payable to the Judge if he or she had not retired or died; and
in the case of a Judge who was:
the Chief Judge of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration;
the Chief Judge of the Australian Industrial Court;
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea; or
the Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea;
the salary for the time being payable to the Chief Judge of the Federal Court of Australia; and
in the case of a Judge who was a Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia—the salary for the time being payable to the Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1); and
in the case of a Judge who was a Deputy Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia—the salary for the time being payable to the Deputy Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1); and
in the case of a Judge who was the Deputy Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea—salary at a rate equal to the mean of the rates of the salaries referred to in paragraphs (b) and (d); and
in the case of a Judge who was:
a Judge, other than the Chief Judge, of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration;
a Judge, other than the Chief Judge, of the Australian Industrial Court;
a Judge of the Federal Court of Bankruptcy; or
a Papua New Guinea Judge, other than a Judge referred to in paragraph (b) or (c);
the salary for the time being payable to a Judge, other than the Chief Judge, of the Federal Court of Australia; and
in the case of a Senior Judge (other than a Chief Justice or Deputy Chief Justice) of the Family Court of Australia—the salary for the time being payable to a Senior Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1); and
in the case of a Judge (other than a Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice or Senior Judge) of the Family Court of Australia—the salary for the time being payable to a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1); and
in the case of a Judge who was a Presidential Member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission—the salary that would be payable to the Judge if section 79 of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (as in force immediately before the repeal of that section) continued to apply in relation to the Judge.
associate deferred pension means an associate deferred pension under subsection 17AA(3).
associate immediate pension means an associate immediate pension under subsection 17AA(2).
associate pension means an associate deferred pension or associate immediate pension.
base amount means:
for a splitting agreement—the base amount specified in, or calculated under, the agreement; or
for a splitting order—the amount allocated under subsection 90XT(4) or 90YY(5) (as the case may be) of the Family Law Act 1975.
child means a child or an adopted child:
who is under the age of 18 years; or
who:
has reached the age of 18 years but is under the age of 25 years; and
is receiving full‑time education at a school, college or university.
child of a marital or couple relationship, in relation to a marital or couple relationship, means:
a child born of the marital or couple relationship; or
a child adopted by the people in the marital or couple relationship during the period of the relationship; or
someone who is, within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975, a child of both of the people in the marital or couple relationship.
defined benefit interest has the meaning given by subsection 995‑1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Division 293 tax law has the meaning given by subsection 995‑1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Division 296 tax law has the meaning given by subsection 995‑1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
eligible child, in relation to a Judge or retired Judge who has died, has the meaning given by section 4AA.
Family Court of Australia means the federal court known, immediately before the commencement of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021, as the Family Court of Australia.
family law value means:
in relation to a superannuation interest within the meaning of Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act 1975—the amount determined in accordance with regulations under that Act that apply for the purposes of paragraph 90XT(2)(a) of that Act; or
in relation to a superannuation interest within the meaning of Part VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975—the amount determined in accordance with regulations under that Act that apply for the purposes of paragraph 90YY(2)(a) of that Act.
In applying regulations referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), the relevant date is taken to be the date on which the operative time occurs.
This amount is determined by applying those regulations, whether or not an order has been made under subsection 90XT(1) or 90YY(1) (as the case may be) of the Family Law Act 1975.
Judge means:
a Justice or Judge of a federal court (other than the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2));
a person who, by virtue of an Act, has the same status as a Justice or 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; or
a Papua New Guinea Judge.
For service in more than one judicial office, see section 5.
mandatory retirement day of a person who has served as a Judge means the day on which the person would, under the terms of the person’s appointment as a Judge or otherwise, be required to retire.
marital or couple relationship has the meaning given by section 4AB.
medical practitioner means a person registered or licensed as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners.
member spouse means a member spouse within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.
non‑member spouse means a non‑member spouse within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.
non‑standard pension means a pension under section 9, 10, 11 or 12.
operative time means:
for a splitting agreement that is a superannuation agreement or a flag lifting agreement within the meaning of Part VIIIB of the Family Law Act 1975 or for a splitting order within the meaning of that Part—the time that is the operative time for the purposes of that Part in relation to a payment split under the agreement or order; or
for a splitting agreement that is a superannuation agreement or a flag lifting agreement within the meaning of Part VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975 or for a splitting order within the meaning of that Part—the time that is the operative time for the purposes of that Part in relation to a payment split under the agreement or order.
original interest means a superannuation interest to which section 17AA applies.
Papua New Guinea Judge means a Judge of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea who was first appointed as such a Judge before 1 December 1973.
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).
payment split means a payment split within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.
Pension Orders means Pension Orders made under subsection 17AI(1).
period of exempt service:
in relation to a Judge who has prior judicial service—means any period in that service in respect of which no superannuation contributions surcharge was assessed to be payable on the Judge’s surchargeable contributions under the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997; or
in relation to a person:
who is a Judge because of paragraph (b) of the definition of Judge in this subsection; or
who, having been a presidential member of the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal, is taken to be a Judge for the purposes of this Act because of repealed section 16 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (including that section as it continues to apply because of item 34 of Schedule 1 to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Amendment Act 2005);
and the period of whose service as a Judge began before 21 August 1996—means the part of that period of service before that date.
period of service as a Judge has a meaning affected by subsection (2).
permanently incapacitated has the meaning given by subsection 17AB(4).
prior judicial service, in relation to a Judge or retired Judge, means:
service as a Judge or acting Judge of a court of a State or of the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea;
service as a Judge or acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, including that Court as in existence at any time before the commencement of the Northern Territory Supreme Court (Repeal) Act 1979;
service as a Judge or acting Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory;
service, including acting service, in a State office the holder of which may qualify for a pension or retiring allowance under the law of a State relating to pensions or retiring allowances payable to retired Judges;
service in the office of Coal Industry Tribunal referred to in the Coal Industry Act 1946‑1966; or
service before the commencement of the Northern Territory Supreme Court Act 1961 as the Judge or an acting Judge of the Northern Territory;
being service prior to his or her appointment as a Judge or, if he or she has been appointed as a Judge more than once, before the last such appointment, but does not include service as a Justice of the Peace or Magistrate.
qualified for a pension: a person who has served as a Judge has qualified for a pension on a particular day if:
the person would have become entitled to a pension under subsection 6(1) if the person had retired on that day; or
the person would have become entitled to a pension under subsection 6(2D) if the person had ceased to hold office as a Judge on that day.
qualifying period for a pension, in relation to a person who has served as a Judge, has the meaning given by subsection (3).
qualifying service days has the meaning given by section 4AD.
release authority lump sum has the meaning given by section 17AL.
relevant pension, in relation to a Judge who has died, means the pension that would have been payable to the Judge if the Judge had retired on the date of his or her death and, in a case where subsection (1) of section 6 would not have been applicable in relation to that retirement, the Minister had certified that that retirement was due to permanent disability.
retired Judge means a person who has been a Judge and is or has been in receipt of a pension under this Act.
retirement pension means a pension under section 6.
retires, in relation to a Judge, means ceases to be a Judge otherwise than by death, and retirement has a corresponding meaning (see also sections 4B and 5).
salary means salary at the rate determined under the Judicial and Statutory Officers (Remuneration and Allowances) Act 1984 and the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973:
excluding any allowances that are paid in lieu of any other entitlement; and
if any arrangements have been entered into for any amount of the rate of remuneration (other than an allowance covered by paragraph (a)) to be provided in the form of another benefit—including that amount.
Scheme means the scheme constituted by this Act for the provision of retirement and other benefits to and in respect of Judges.
scheme value means the amount determined under the Pension Orders.
splitting agreement means:
a superannuation agreement (within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975); or
a flag lifting agreement (within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975) that provides for a payment split.
splitting order means a splitting order within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.
splitting percentage means:
for a splitting agreement—the percentage specified in the agreement under subparagraph 90XJ(1)(c)(iii) or 90YN(1)(c)(iii) (as the case may be) of the Family Law Act 1975; or
for a splitting order—the percentage specified in the order under subparagraph 90XT(1)(b)(i) or 90YY(1)(b)(i) (as the case may be) of the Family Law Act 1975.
spouse has a meaning affected by section 4AC.
spouse pension means a pension under section 7.
standard pension means:
a retirement pension; or
a spouse pension; or
a pension under section 8; or
an associate pension.
superannuation contributions surcharge has the same meaning as in the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997.
superannuation interest means a superannuation interest within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.
superannuation provider has the meaning given by subsection 995‑1(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea includes a court having, after the attainment by Papua New Guinea of the status of an independent sovereign state, unlimited jurisdiction in civil or criminal matters in that state.
surcharge debt account, in relation to a person who has served as a Judge, means the surcharge debt account that was kept for the person (while he or she was serving as a Judge) under section 16 of the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997.
transfer amount means:
if a splitting percentage applies—the amount worked out by multiplying the splitting percentage by the greater of:
the family law value; and
the scheme value; or
if a base amount applies and the scheme value is not more than the family law value—the base amount; or
if a base amount applies and the scheme value is more than the family law value—the amount worked out using the formula:
transfer factor means the number rounded to 6 decimal places (rounding up if the seventh decimal place is 5 or more) that is worked out by dividing the number of whole dollars in the transfer amount by the number of whole dollars in the scheme value.
If a Judge has had prior judicial service, the period of that service is to be added to, and is taken to be part of, the period of his or her service as a Judge.
The qualifying period for a pension, in relation to a person who has served as a Judge, is:
if the period of the person’s service as a Judge started when the person was not yet 50—a period equal to the number of years worked out by using the formula:
if the period of the person’s service as a Judge started after the person had turned 50 but before he or she had turned 60—a period of 10 years; or
if the period of the person’s service as a Judge started after the person had turned 60—a period equal to the number of years worked out by using the formula:
where:
age at start of period means the person’s age at the start of the period of his or her service as a Judge.
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