{"id":"F2022L01633","name":"Defence Force Discipline (Chief of Air Force) Determination 2022","slug":"defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":441649,"registerId":"F2022L01633-fast-fetch-1775956910152","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Defence Force Discipline (Chief of Air Force) Determination 2022","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 22.10.0\n---\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nDefence Force Discipline (Chief of Air Force) Determination 2022\n\nI, Air Marshal Robert Chipman AM, CSC Chief of Air Force, make the following determination.\n\nDated   8 December 2022\n\nRobert Chipman, AM, CSC\n\nChief of Air Force\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name  \n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Objects of this instrument\n\n5  Simplified outline of this instrument\n\n6  Definitions\n\n7  Chief of Air Force Determination\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\nThis instrument is the Defence Force Discipline (Chief of Air Force) Determination 2022.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument At the same time as Schedule 1 to the Defence Legislation Amendment (Discipline Reform) Act 2021 commences.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This determination is made under subsection 9CA(2) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.\n\n4  Objects of this instrument\n\n  The object of this instrument is to ensure that breaches of discipline by the most senior enlisted members of the Royal Australian Air Force are not dealt with under the infringement scheme established by Part IA of the Act, which is intended to deal only with minor service discipline matters\n\n5  Simplified outline of this instrument\n\nPart IA of the Act establishes an infringement scheme to deal with minor service discipline matters (the infringement scheme). A prescribed defence member may elect to be dealt with under the infringement scheme for breaches of discipline that are disciplinary infringements.\n\nSubsection 9CA(1) of the Act defines a prescribed defence member. Under subsection 9CA(2) of Act, service chiefs may determine that a specified defence member, or each member of a specified class of defence members, holding the rank of warrant officer, chief petty officer or flight sergeant, is not a prescribed defence member.\n\nThis instrument determines that members of the Royal Australian Air Force of the rank of Warrant Officer are not prescribed defence members for the purposes of the infringement scheme.\n\n6  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in the Act, including the following:\n\n(a)      disciplinary infringement\n\n(b)      infringement scheme\n\n(c)      prescribed defence member.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.\n\n7  Chief of Air Force Determination\n\nPursuant to subsection 9CA(2) of the Act each member of the class of defence members in the Royal Australian Air Force holding the rank of Warrant Officer is not a prescribed defence member for the purposes of Part IA of the Act.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument implements a targeted narrowing of who may use the infringement scheme by excluding RAAF Warrant Officers (cl.7), consistent with its stated object to reserve the infringement scheme for minor matters (cl.4). It does not broaden the Act’s disciplinary reach or alter Part IA itself; rather, it changes which members are treated as 'prescribed defence members' under subsection 9CA(2) of the Defence Force Discipline Act (cl.3, cl.7)."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, single-purpose change: excludes only RAAF members holding the rank of Warrant Officer from the infringement scheme (cl.7).","Statutory cross-reference: relies on subsection 9CA(2) of the Defence Force Discipline Act for authority (cl.3, cl.7), so understanding requires reading the Act's definitions and Part IA.","Timing dependency: commencement is tied to Schedule 1 of the Defence Legislation Amendment (Discipline Reform) Act 2021, creating an external timing link (cl.2).","Policy-to-practice impact: shifts which forum handles breaches, affecting case flow and administrative workload within RAAF discipline systems (object cl.4; outline cl.5).","Limited definitional content: several operative terms are defined in the Act rather than the instrument, increasing dependency on external definitions (cl.6).","Discretion and service parity risk: the instrument exercises a service chief’s discretion; other service chiefs could make different determinations, creating inconsistency across services (s9CA(2) context).","Low drafting complexity: short instrument with one operative provision reduces interpretive ambiguity but requires accurate implementation to identify affected personnel."],"plain_english_summary":"This determination, made by the Chief of Air Force under subsection 9CA(2) of the Defence Force Discipline Act, removes Royal Australian Air Force members holding the rank of Warrant Officer from the Part IA ‘‘infringement scheme’’ for disciplinary infringements. Mechanically, those Warrant Officers can no longer elect the faster infringement process; their minor breaches will instead proceed through the fuller service discipline system, transferring decision-making and administrative handling away from the infringement pathway (cl.7; cl.4)."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument remains tightly scoped to its original purpose. It implements a specific power in section 9CA(2) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 to exclude a specific rank from the infringement scheme. There is no scope creep or expansion beyond this narrow administrative function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short instrument: only 7 sections spanning approximately 2 pages","Only 1 defined term ('Act') in the dedicated definitions section","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act (Defence Force Discipline Act 1982)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Single operative provision (section 7) with straightforward exclusionary language","Purpose and operation clearly explained in plain English in the simplified outline (section 5)"],"plain_english_summary":"In December 2022, Air Marshal Robert Chipman made a rule removing Royal Australian Air Force Warrant Officers from the Defence Force’s streamlined “infringement scheme.” Instead of summary administrative penalties for minor breaches, Warrant Officers must now face the full disciplinary process.\n\nThe change targets RAAF Warrant Officers and the legal teams who prosecute disciplinary matters, reflecting a policy choice to hold the service’s most senior enlisted leaders to higher formal accountability."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022","history":"/api/acts/defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022/history","analysis":"/api/acts/defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/defence-force-discipline-chief-of-air-force-determination-2022/documents"}}