{"id":"F2009B00154","name":"Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 - Declaration","slug":"defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":121522,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2009B00154-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 - Declaration","content":"![](image.001.png)DEFENCE FORCE RETIREMENT AND DEATH BENEFITS ACT 1973\n\nDECLARATION\n\nIn pursuance of sub-section 72(1) of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973, I, Eric Laidlaw Robinson, Minister of State for Post and Telecommunications, acting for and on behalf of the Treasurer:-\n\n(a) declare employment, whether within or outside Australia, by a person, or by persons included in a class of persons, specified in the schedule to this Declaration to be public employment for the purposes of Division 3 of Part IX of that Act; and\n\n(b). specify the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and seventy six as the day on which this Declaration is deemed to have come into force.\n\nTHE SCHEDULE\n\nThe Commonwealth\n\nThe States\n\nThe Administration of a Territory\n\nAn authority or other body, being:-\n\n(i) a body corporate incorporated for a public purpose by an Act, regulations made under an Act or a law of a Territory;\n\n(ii) an authority or body, not being a body corporate, established for a public purpose by, or in accordance with, the provisions of an Act, regulations made under an Act or a law of a Territory;\n\n(iii) a company or other body corporate incorporated under a law of a State or Territory, being a body corporate in which the Commonwealth has a controlling interest; or\n\n(iv) an authority or body established, whether by or in accordance with the provisions of an Act, regulations made under an Act or a law of a Territory or otherwise, and whether a body corporate or not, being an authority or body which is financed in whole or in substantial part, either directly or indirectly, by moneys provided by the Commonwealth.\n\nThe Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.\n\n![](image.002.png)Bodies corporate established for a public purpose by laws in force in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and northern Ireland.\n\nDated this fourteenth day of October 1976.\n\n![](image.003.png)\n\nEric L. Robinson","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument exercises the specific declaratory power in subsection 72(1) to list which employments count as \"public employment\" for Division 3 of Part IX; it does not amend the Act or broaden the statutory power itself. It identifies covered employers (Commonwealth, States, Territories, specified bodies and certain UK entities) and sets a deemed start date (1 July 1976), so it clarifies application and timing but does not change the Act’s underlying scope."},"complexity_factors":["Uses delegated power in s72(1) of the Act to classify employment rather than changing primary legislation.","Retroactive/‘deemed’ commencement date (declared 14 Oct 1976 but effective 1 July 1976) creates timing/entitlement questions.","Coverage is broad and partly open-ended (terms like \"authority or other body\", \"public purpose\", \"substantial part\" finance tests).","Cross-jurisdictional reach (Commonwealth, States, Territories and specified UK bodies) requires checking multiple legal regimes to identify affected employers.","Effect is defined by reference to Division 3 of Part IX, so determining consequences requires reading that external provision.","Delegated executive decision (Minister acting for the Treasurer) concentrates discretion in administrative act rather than parliamentary amendment."],"plain_english_summary":"This declaration, made under subsection 72(1) of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973, designates employment with the listed bodies as \"public employment\" for the purposes of Division 3 of Part IX and declares that status effective from 1 July 1976. It affects employees of the Commonwealth, the States, Territory administrations, specified public-purpose bodies (including some companies funded or controlled by government) and specified UK government bodies, determining who is covered by the retirement and death-benefit rules in that Division."},"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":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This declaration appears to be operating within its original intended scope. It is a standard machinery provision under s 72(1) of the DFRDB Act, which specifically empowers the Minister to declare employment as 'public employment' for the purposes of the scheme. The inclusion of UK government bodies is notable but appears to be within the contemplation of the Act's framework for recognising comparable public service. There is no evidence of scope creep beyond the original legislative purpose of ensuring continuous superannuation coverage for ADF members transitioning to public sector roles."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision with two straightforward sub-paragraphs (a) and (b)","Schedule contains a nested list structure (4 sub-categories under 'authority or other body') with some conditional logic ('in whole or in substantial part', 'directly or indirectly')","Cross-reference to specific subsection of principal Act (s 72(1) and Division 3 of Part IX)","Retroactive commencement date creates a simple timing issue","Limited defined scope - specific named entities and categories rather than broad principles","Total length is very short (approximately 250 words of substantive text)"],"plain_english_summary":"This 1976 declaration broadens what counts as \"public employment\" for the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act, so certain civilian roles taken by former ADF members—federal, state, territory and specified public bodies (including some government-owned corporations and UK public bodies)—are treated as continuous public service. Backdated to 1 July 1976, it affects how military retirement benefits are calculated, preventing gaps in superannuation when members move to qualifying public-sector jobs."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration","history":"/api/acts/defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration/history","analysis":"/api/acts/defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/defence-force-retirement-and-death-benefits-act-1973-declaration/documents"}}