{"id":"C1963A00081","name":"Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963","slug":"defence-visiting-forces-act-1963","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"81 of 1963","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":1800,"registerId":"C2017C00397","compilationNumber":"10","startDate":"2017-12-09","status":"InForce","reasons":[{"affect":"Amend","markdown":"sch 3 (item 6) of the [Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017](/C2017A00129)","dateChanged":null,"amendedByTitle":null,"affectedByTitle":{"name":"Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017","year":2017,"number":129,"titleId":"C2017A00129","provisions":"sch 3 (item 6)","seriesType":"Act","optionalSeriesNumber":null}}],"registeredAt":"2017-12-09T09:47:43.123Z"},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part I","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part I—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Repeal","content":"#### 4 Repeal\n\n  The Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1939 is repealed.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 5 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> Australia includes the Territories.\n\n> court means a federal court or a court of a State or Territory.\n\n> dependant, in relation to a member of a visiting force or of a civilian component of a visiting force, means a person, not being an Australian citizen or a person ordinarily resident in Australia, who:\n\n    (a) is the wife, husband or spouse of the member;\n    (b) is wholly or mainly maintained by the member;\n    (c) is in the custody, care or charge of the member; or\n    (d) is one of the family of the member residing with the member.\n\n> forces in relation to a country, means the naval, military or air forces of that country.\n\n> service authorities, in relation to a country, means the naval, military or air force authorities of that country.\n\n> service law, in relation to a country, means the law (including any instrument having the force of law) governing all or any of the forces of that country.\n\n> service tribunal, in relation to a country or a visiting force, means a court‑martial or other like tribunal established under the service law of that country or of the country sending the visiting force, as the case requires, and includes any authority of that country who or which, by or under the law of that country, is empowered to review the proceedings of such a tribunal or to try or investigate charges brought against persons subject to the service law of that country.\n\n> the Defence Force has the same meaning as in the Defence Act 1903‑1956.\n\n> the sending country, in relation to a visiting force, means the country to whose forces the visiting force belongs.\n\n> visiting force means any body, contingent or detachment of the forces of a country that is for the time being present in Australia.\n\n  (2) A reference in this Act to a member of a visiting force shall be read as a reference to a person who, in accordance with the law of the country to which the visiting force belongs, is serving as a member of the visiting force.\n  (3) A reference in this Act to a member of a civilian component of a visiting force shall be read as a reference to a person who, not being a member of that visiting force, an Australian citizen or a person ordinarily resident in Australia:\n    (a) is employed by or in the service of:\n    (i) that visiting force or a part of that visiting force; or\n    (ii) an organization established for the benefit or welfare of members of that visiting force and recognized by the designated authority of the sending country;\n    (b) is serving with an organization that is accompanying that visiting force; or\n    (c) is attached to or is accompanying that visiting force and, in accordance with the law of the sending country, is subject to the service law of that country;\n  but does not include a dependant of a member of that visiting force or of a person referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).\n  (4) A reference in this Act to a person’s having at any time a relevant association with a visiting force shall be read as a reference to his or her being at that time:\n    (a) a member of that visiting force or of a civilian component of that force; or\n    (b) a person who, not being an Australian citizen or a person ordinarily resident in Australia, is a dependant of a member of the visiting force or of a member of a civilian component of that force.\n  (5) In determining, for the purposes of this Act, whether a person is, or was at any time, ordinarily resident in Australia, account shall not be taken of any period during which that person has been or intends to be present in Australia while being:\n    (a) a member of a visiting force or of a civilian component of a visiting force; or\n    (b) a dependant of a member of a visiting force or of a member of a civilian component of a visiting force.\n  (6) For the purposes of this Act, a member of a force of a country that (by whatever name called) is in the nature of a reserve or auxiliary force shall be deemed to be a member of the forces of that country so long as, but only so long as, he or she is called into actual service (by whatever expression described) with those forces or is called out for training with those forces, and any references in this Act to a person’s becoming a member of the forces of a country shall be construed accordingly.\n  (7) A reference in any provision of this Act to the designated authority of a country shall be read as a reference to such authority as is designated for the purposes of that provision by the appropriate authority or officer of that country.\n  (8) A reference in any provision of this Act to trial by a court shall be read as including a reference to hearing and determination by a court of summary jurisdiction of a charge that a person has committed an offence against a law of Australia or of a State or Territory.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Countries in relation to which provisions of this Act apply or may be applied","content":"#### 6 Countries in relation to which provisions of this Act apply or may be applied\n\n  (1) A reference in this Act to a country in relation to which a provision of this Act applies shall be read as a reference to:\n    (a) any country declared by the regulations to be, for the purposes of this Act, a country within the Commonwealth of Nations; and\n    (b) any other country declared under this section to be a country in relation to which that provision has effect.\n  (2) Where it appears to the Governor‑General that it is expedient that any of the provisions of this Act should have effect in relation to a country other than a country referred to in paragraph (a) of the last preceding subsection, the regulations may declare that country to be a country in relation to which such provisions of this Act as are specified in the regulations have effect.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension of Act to Territories","content":"#### 7 Extension of Act to Territories\n\n  This Act extends to every Territory.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"Part II","sectionType":"part","heading":"Visiting Forces","content":"## Part II—Visiting Forces","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Exercise of powers by service tribunals and authorities of countries sending visiting forces","content":"#### 8 Exercise of powers by service tribunals and authorities of countries sending visiting forces\n\n  (1) The service tribunals and service authorities of a country in relation to which this section applies may, within Australia, or on board a ship or aircraft belonging to or in the service of the Defence Force or a part of the Defence Force, exercise over persons subject to their jurisdiction in accordance with this section all such powers as are exercisable by them in accordance with the law of that country.\n  (2) The persons subject to the jurisdiction of the service tribunals and service authorities of a country in accordance with this section are:\n    (a) members of any visiting force of that country; and\n    (b) all other persons who, being neither Australian citizens nor persons ordinarily resident in Australia, are for the time being subject to the service law of that country otherwise than as members of that country’s forces.\n  (3) For the purposes of the last preceding subsection, a person shall be treated as not being a member of a visiting force of a country if he or she became, or last became, a member of that country’s forces at a time when he or she was in Australia, unless he or she then became a member of those forces with his or her consent.\n  (4) Where a sentence has, whether within or beyond the territorial limits of Australia, been passed by a service tribunal of a country in relation to which this section applies upon a person who was, immediately before the sentence was passed, subject to the jurisdiction of that tribunal in accordance with this section, then, for the purposes of any proceedings in a court:\n    (a) the service tribunal shall be deemed to have been properly constituted;\n    (b) the sentence shall be deemed to be within the jurisdiction of the service tribunal and in accordance with the law of that country; and\n    (c) the sentence shall, if executed according to its tenor, be deemed to have been lawfully executed.\n  (5) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding provisions of this section, a sentence of death passed by a service tribunal of a country in relation to which this section applies shall not be carried out in Australia.\n  (6) A person who:\n    (a) is detained in custody in pursuance of a sentence with respect to which subsection (4) has effect; or\n    (b) being subject in accordance with this section to the jurisdiction of the service tribunals of a country in relation to which this section applies, is detained in custody pending or during the trial by a service tribunal of that country of a charge brought against him or her;\n  shall, for the purposes of any proceedings in a court, be deemed to be in lawful custody.\n  (7) For the purpose of enabling the service tribunals and service authorities of a country in relation to which this section applies to exercise more effectively the powers referred to in subsection (1), the Chief of the Defence Force, if so requested by the designated authority of that country, may, by general or special orders, direct members of the Defence Force to arrest any person who, being a member of a visiting force of that country, is alleged to have committed an offence punishable under the law of that country and to deliver him or her to such service authority of that country as is designated by or under any of those orders.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Restriction, with respect to certain offences, of trial by courts of offenders connected with visiting force","content":"#### 9 Restriction, with respect to certain offences, of trial by courts of offenders connected with visiting force\n\n  (1) Subject to this section, a person charged with an offence against a law of Australia or of a State or Territory is not liable to be tried for that offence by a court if he or she was, at the time when the offence is alleged to have been committed, a member of a visiting force or of a civilian component of a visiting force and:\n    (a) the alleged offence, if committed by him or her, arose out of and in the course of his or her duty as a member of that force or component, as the case may be, or is an offence solely against the security of the sending country;\n    (b) the alleged offence is an offence against the person, and the person or, if the act or omission constituting the offence has relation to more than one person, each of the persons in relation to whom the offence is alleged to have been committed had at the time of the alleged commission of the offence a relevant association either with that force or with another visiting force of the same country; or\n    (c) the alleged offence is an offence against property, and the whole of the property in relation to which it is alleged to have been committed (or, in a case where different parts of that property were differently owned, each part of the property) was, at the time of the alleged commission of the offence, the property either of the sending country or of an authority of that country or of a person or persons having such an association as is specified in the last preceding paragraph.\n  (2) The last preceding subsection does not apply if:\n    (a) at the time when the offence is alleged to have been committed, the alleged offender was a person not subject to the jurisdiction of the service tribunals of the sending country in accordance with the last preceding section; or\n    (b) the alleged offender was at that time a member of a civilian component of a visiting force and the case cannot be dealt with under the service law of the sending country.\n  (3) Subsection (1):\n    (a) does not prevent a person from being tried by a court in a case where the Attorney‑General certifies in writing, either before or in the course of the trial, that the designated authority of the sending country has notified him or her that it is not proposed to deal with the case under the law of that country;\n    (b) does not affect anything done or omitted in the course of a trial unless in the course of the trial objection has already been made that, by reason of that subsection, the court is not competent to deal with the case; and\n    (c) shall not, after the conclusion of a trial, be treated as having affected the validity of the trial, if no such objection was made in the proceedings at any stage before the conclusion of the trial.\n  (4) Where the charge is a charge (by whatever words expressed) of attempting or conspiring to commit an offence, or of aiding, abetting, inciting, procuring or being accessory to the commission of an offence:\n    (a) paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) have effect as if references in those paragraphs to the alleged offence were references to the offence that the person charged is alleged to have attempted or conspired to commit or, as the case may be, the offence the commission of which it is alleged that he or she aided, abetted, incited or procured or to the commission of which he or she was accessory; and\n    (b) references in those paragraphs to persons in relation to whom, or property in relation to which, the offence is alleged to have been committed shall be construed accordingly.\n  (5) This section does not derogate from any provision of any law that restricts the prosecution of any proceedings or requires the consent of an authority of Australia or of a State or Territory to the prosecution of any proceedings.\n  (6) For the purposes of this section, the expressions offence against the person and offence against property shall be construed in accordance with the provisions of the Schedule.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Waiver of jurisdiction otherwise exercisable by a court","content":"#### 10 Waiver of jurisdiction otherwise exercisable by a court\n\n  (1) Where:\n    (a) a service tribunal of a country in relation to which this section applies has jurisdiction to try a person alleged to have committed an offence against the law of Australia or of a State or Territory; and\n    (b) the jurisdiction of a court with respect to the alleged offence is not excluded by virtue of the last preceding section;\n  the designated authority of that country may request the Attorney‑General that jurisdiction be not exercised by a court with respect to the alleged offence and, if the Attorney‑General agrees to that request, he or she shall, by writing under his or her hand, notify the appropriate authority of Australia or of a State or Territory, as the case requires, that it is not desirable that the case should be dealt with by a court.\n  (2) Upon the Attorney‑General notifying an appropriate authority under the last preceding subsection, the provisions of the last preceding section shall be deemed to apply as if the alleged offence were an offence described in subsection (1) of that section.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Courts not to try offenders tried by service tribunals of visiting forces","content":"#### 11 Courts not to try offenders tried by service tribunals of visiting forces\n\n  (1) Where a person has been tried for an offence by a service tribunal of a country in relation to which section 8 applies in the exercise of the powers referred to in subsection (1) of that section, he or she shall not be tried by a court for an offence that is substantially the same offence.\n  (2) Where a person who has been convicted of an offence by a service tribunal of such a country in the exercise of those powers is convicted by a court of a different offence, but it appears to the court that the conviction by the service tribunal was wholly or partly in respect of acts or omissions in respect of which he or she is convicted by the court, the court may, in determining any penalty that may be imposed or order that may be made, have regard to the sentence of the service tribunal.","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Arrest, custody etc. of offenders against Australian law","content":"#### 12 Arrest, custody etc. of offenders against Australian law\n\n  (1) Neither section 9 nor the last preceding section affects:\n    (a) any powers of arrest, search, entry, seizure or custody exercisable under the law of Australia or of a State or Territory with respect to offences committed or suspected or believed to have been committed;\n    (b) any obligation of a person in respect of a recognisance or bail bond entered into in consequence of his or her arrest, or the arrest of another person, for such an offence; or\n    (c) any power of a court to remand (whether in custody or otherwise) a person brought before the court in connexion with such an offence.\n  (2) Where a person is charged with an offence against a law of Australia or of a State or Territory, and it appears that that person is subject to the jurisdiction of the service tribunals of a country in relation to which section 8 applies, the designated authority of that country shall be notified.\n  (3) Where a person is charged with an offence against a law of Australia or of a State or Territory, and it appears to the court before which he or she is charged that he or she is a person subject to the jurisdiction of the service tribunals of a country in relation to which section 8 applies, the court shall determine the period that it considers reasonable to enable inquiries to be made with a view to determining whether he or she should be dealt with by a court or by a service tribunal of that country, and further proceedings with respect to the offence charged are, by force of this Act, stayed for that period.\n  (4) Where:\n    (a) a person referred to in the last preceding subsection is remanded in custody by order of a court; and\n    (b) the Attorney‑General, by writing under his or her hand:\n    (i) states that the designated authority of the sending country has requested that that person be delivered into the custody of a service authority of that country pending trial; and\n    (ii) requests that that person be so delivered;\n  the court shall revoke the order and shall order that that person be so delivered.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Restriction of proceedings in respect of service of members etc. of visiting force","content":"#### 13 Restriction of proceedings in respect of service of members etc. of visiting force\n\n  Proceedings shall not be brought in any court with respect to:\n    (a) the pay of a person in respect of his or her service as a member of a visiting force or of a civilian component of a visiting force;\n    (b) the terms of a person’s service as a member of a visiting force or of a civilian component of a visiting force; or\n    (c) a person’s discharge from the service of a visiting force or of a civilian component of a visiting force.","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Inquests","content":"#### 14 Inquests\n\n  (1) If a coroner having jurisdiction to hold an inquest into the manner and cause of a death is satisfied that the deceased person had, at the time of his or her death, a relevant association with a visiting force, the coroner:\n    (a) shall not hold the inquest; or\n    (b) where the inquest has been commenced but is not then completed, shall adjourn the inquest;\n  and, where a jury has been summoned, shall discharge the jury.\n  (2) If, on an inquest into the manner and cause of a death, the coroner is satisfied that:\n    (a) a person who in accordance with section 8 is subject to the jurisdiction of the service tribunals of a country in relation to which this section applies has been charged before a service tribunal of that country with the homicide of the deceased person, whether or not that charge has been dealt with; or\n    (b) such a person is being detained by an authority of that country with a view to his or her being so charged;\n  the coroner shall adjourn the inquest and, where a jury has been summoned, shall discharge the jury.\n  (3) The last preceding subsection does not prevent the coroner from:\n    (a) taking evidence of the identity of the deceased person and of the place and date of his or her death;\n    (b) furnishing information to the appropriate authority of the State or Territory concerned for the purpose of registration of the death; or\n    (c) authorizing the burial, cremation or other disposal of the body of the deceased person.\n  (4) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, the Attorney‑General may notify the appropriate authority of the State or Territory concerned that there are no circumstances connected with the operation of this Act that make it undesirable that an inquest into the manner and cause of a specified death should be held or continued, as the case may be, and, if the Attorney‑General gives such a notification, the inquest may be held or resumed, as the case requires, and in the case of resumption proceed as if it were commenced for the first time.\n  (5) Where an inquest is held or resumed as provided by the last preceding subsection, it is not obligatory that the coroner shall view the body of the deceased person.\n  (6) A law in force in any part of Australia that imposes restrictions upon the removal out of Australia, or a part of Australia, of the body of a deceased person does not apply to or in relation to the body of a deceased person who at the time of his or her death had a relevant association with a visiting force, and the body of such a deceased person may be disposed of as the Attorney‑General, having regard to any request by the designated authority of the country concerned, determines.\n  (7) In this section, the expression homicide includes murder, manslaughter and infanticide and any other offence under the law of the country concerned that is substantially similar to any of those offences.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"15","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imprisonment etc. of persons sentenced by service tribunals","content":"#### 15 Imprisonment etc. of persons sentenced by service tribunals\n\n  (1) Where the designated authority of a country in relation to which this section applies requests the Attorney‑General that assistance be given in carrying out a sentence of imprisonment or detention imposed upon a person by a service tribunal of that country, the Attorney‑General may, by writing under his or her hand, authorize the reception of a person so sentenced, and his or her confinement for the whole or any part of the term of his or her sentence, in a prison or other place in Australia provided for the confinement of persons accused or convicted of offences against the laws of Australia or of a State or Territory.\n  (2) A person held in custody or under restraint or kept in confinement for the purpose of giving effect to an authority given under the last preceding subsection shall be deemed to be in lawful custody.\n  (3) The regulations may make provision with respect to the circumstances under which the persons imprisoned or detained as provided by this section may be discharged or returned to the service authorities of the country under the service law of which they were sentenced.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"16","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application to visiting forces of law relating to Defence Force","content":"#### 16 Application to visiting forces of law relating to Defence Force\n\n  (1) Where, under an enactment, a power is exercisable by an authority or person with respect to:\n    (a) the Defence Force, a part of that Force, members of that Force or of a part of that Force or other persons connected in any way with that Force or a part of that Force;\n    (aa) service tribunals, within the meaning of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982;\n    (ab) a court of inquiry or a board of inquiry appointed under regulations under the Defence Act 1903;\n    (b) any property used or to be used for the purposes of that Force or a part of that Force; or\n    (c) taking possession of any property to be so used, or acquiring (whether by agreement or compulsorily) any property so used or to be so used;\n  the regulations may provide that that power shall, subject to such conditions (if any) as are prescribed, be exercisable by that authority or person with respect to a visiting force, its service tribunals, persons connected with the visiting force or property used or to be used by the visiting force to any extent to which the power would be exercisable if the visiting force were a part of the Defence Force.\n  (2) The regulations may, subject to such conditions (if any) as are prescribed:\n    (a) exempt a visiting force, its members, its service tribunals or persons in any way connected with a visiting force, or property used or to be used for the purposes of a visiting force, from the operation of any enactment specified in the regulations to any extent to which the force, its members, its service tribunals, such persons or such property would be, or would be capable of being, exempted if the force were a part of the Defence Force; and\n    (b) confer on a visiting force, its members, its service tribunals, persons in any way connected with a visiting force or property used or to be used for the purposes of a visiting force any privilege or immunity specified in the regulations, being a privilege or immunity that would be enjoyed by, or would be capable of being conferred on, the force, its members, its service tribunals, such persons or such property if the force were a part of the Defence Force.\n  (3) Where by an enactment the doing of anything is prohibited, restricted or required in relation to:\n    (a) the Defence Force, a part of that Force, members or service tribunals of a part of that Force or persons in any way connected with a part of that Force; or\n    (b) any property used or to be used for the purposes of the Defence Force or a part of that Force;\n  the regulations may provide that the prohibition, restriction or requirement has effect in the case of a visiting force to any extent to which it would have effect if the visiting force were a part of the Defence Force.\n  (4) Regulations made for the purposes of this section may contain such incidental, consequential and supplementary provisions as are expedient for the purposes of any provision of those regulations.\n  (5) Any provision of regulations made for the purposes of this section may be expressed to apply either generally or in relation to a particular visiting force or in relation to a particular place.\n  (6) Subsections (1) and (3) apply whether the power concerned is exercisable, or the prohibition, restriction or requirement concerned is imposed, by a provision expressly relating to the Defence Force or a part of that Force or by a more general provision.\n  (7) Subsection (2) applies whether the exemption, privilege or immunity concerned would subsist, or be capable of being conferred, by virtue of an enactment so providing or by reason that an enactment does not bind Australia.\n  (8) In this section:\n\n> enactment means an Act, an Ordinance of a Territory and any regulation, order or other instrument having effect by virtue of an Act or such an Ordinance.\n\n> property includes both real and personal property.","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"17","sectionType":"section","heading":"Settlement of claims against visiting forces","content":"#### 17 Settlement of claims against visiting forces\n\n  (1) Where Australia has entered into an agreement with another country under which payments of amounts in satisfaction of claims arising out of acts or omissions of members of a visiting force or of persons connected with a visiting force are to be or may be made by Australia, payment by Australia of such an amount, being an amount agreed upon, or determined by judicial process, between Australia and the claimant, is a full discharge from liability of Australia or other person against whom the claim was made.\n  (2) The Australian Government Solicitor may act as solicitor for any person referred to in the last preceding subsection against whom any claim referred to in that subsection is made, and, for that purpose, is entitled to practise as a solicitor in any court exercising jurisdiction with respect to such a claim and has all the rights and privileges of a solicitor in any State or Territory, whether or not he or she is enrolled as a solicitor in that State or Territory.","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"18","sectionType":"section","heading":"Evidence for the purposes of this Part","content":"#### 18 Evidence for the purposes of this Part\n\n  (1) Where the designated authority of a country in relation to which section 8 applies certifies in writing that, at a time specified in the certificate, a person so specified either was or was not a member of a visiting force of that country, that certificate is, in any proceedings in a court, sufficient evidence of the facts so certified, unless the contrary is proved.\n  (2) Where, in connexion with a charge against a person of having committed an offence against a law of Australia or of a State or Territory, the designated authority of a country in relation to which section 8 applies certifies in writing that the case can be dealt with under the service law of that country, that certificate is, in any proceedings in a court with respect to that charge, conclusive evidence, for the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 9 of the matter so certified.\n  (3) Where the designated authority of a country in relation to which section 8 applies certifies in writing that a person specified in the certificate:\n    (a) was, on a date so specified, sentenced by a service tribunal of that country to such punishment as is so specified;\n    (b) is, or was at a time so specified, detained in custody in pursuance of a sentence passed upon him or her by a service tribunal of that country, or pending or during the trial by such a service tribunal of a charge brought against him or her; or\n    (c) has been tried, at a time and place so specified, by a service tribunal of that country for an offence so specified;\n  that certificate is, in any proceedings in a court, conclusive evidence of the facts so certified.\n  (4) Where:\n    (a) a person is charged with an offence against a law of Australia or of a State or Territory;\n    (b) at the time when the offence is alleged to have been committed he or she was a member of a visiting force or a member of a civilian component of a visiting force; and\n    (c) the Attorney‑General certifies in writing that the alleged offence, if committed by that person, arose out of and in the course of his or her duty as a member of that force or component, as the case may be;\n  that certificate is, in any proceedings in a court, sufficient evidence of the fact so certified, unless the contrary is proved.","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"Part V","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"## Part V—Miscellaneous","sortOrder":19},{"sectionNumber":"27","sectionType":"section","heading":"Proof of facts by certificate","content":"#### 27 Proof of facts by certificate\n\n  (1) Where the designated authority of a country certifies in writing that a body, contingent or detachment of the forces of that country is, or was at a time specified in the certificate, present in Australia, that certificate is, in any proceedings in a court, conclusive evidence of the fact stated in the certificate.\n  (3) Where in a certificate given for the purposes of this Act reference is made to a person by name and that certificate includes a description of the person named by reference to his or her physical characteristics and a court is satisfied that a person before it is a person having that name and answering to the description in the certificate, the certificate shall be deemed to refer to that person, unless the contrary is proved.\n  (4) A document purporting to be a certificate, request or notification given or made for the purposes of a provision of this Act, and to be signed by an authority or person specified in the document, shall, upon its production in any proceedings in a court, be received in evidence and shall, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be a certificate, request or notification given or made by that authority or person.\n  (5) Where under a provision of this Act a certificate, request or notification is required or permitted to be given or made by the designated authority of a country, and a certificate, request or notification purports to be signed by a person described in that document as the designated authority of a country, that person shall, in any proceedings in a court, be deemed to be the designated authority of that country for the purposes of that provision, unless the contrary is proved.","sortOrder":20},{"sectionNumber":"28","sectionType":"section","heading":"Delegation of powers and functions","content":"#### 28 Delegation of powers and functions\n\n  (1) The Attorney‑General may, in relation to a matter, or to a State, Territory or other part of Australia, delegate in writing all or any of the Attorney‑General’s powers and functions under this Act to an SES employee, or acting SES employee, in the Attorney‑General’s Department.\n  (3) Subject to subsection (4), the Chief of the Defence Force may, in relation to a matter or class of matters, or to a State, Territory, or other part of Australia, another country or part of another country, by writing signed by him or her, delegate to an officer who holds a rank not below the rank of Captain in the Australian Navy, Colonel in the Australian Army or Group Captain in the Australian Air Force all or any of his or her powers or functions under this Act.\n  (4) The Chief of the Defence Force shall not delegate his or her power to make general orders for the purposes of subsection (7) of section 8 except to an officer who holds a rank not below the rank of Rear‑Admiral in the Australian Navy, Major‑General in the Australian Army or Air Vice‑Marshal in the Australian Air Force.\n  (5) A power or function delegated under this section may be exercised or performed by the delegate in accordance with the instrument of delegation.\n  (6) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and does not prevent the exercise of a power or the performance of a function by the Attorney‑General or the Chief of the Defence Force, as the case may be.\n  (7) A delegation under this section continues in force notwithstanding a change in the occupancy or a vacancy in the office of Attorney‑General or Chief of the Defence Force.\n  (8) A document purporting to be a copy of:\n    (a) a delegation signed by the Attorney‑General or a written authority signed by the Attorney‑General or a delegate of the Attorney‑General; or\n    (b) a delegation by the Chief of the Defence Force, or an order or written authority made or given by the Chief of the Defence Force or by a delegate of the Chief of the Defence Force, and bearing the signature or a facsimile of the signature of the Chief of the Defence Force or of the delegate, as the case may be;\n  with an endorsement in writing that the delegation, order or written authority is, or was on a specified date, in force, is, upon its production in a court or otherwise for any purpose arising under this Act, without proof of the signature on the document or of the authority to give or make the delegation, order, written authority or endorsement, sufficient evidence, unless the contrary is proved, that the delegation, order or written authority was duly given or made in the terms set out in the document and is, or was on the date specified, in force.","sortOrder":21},{"sectionNumber":"30","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 30 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters which by this Act are required or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.","sortOrder":22},{"sectionNumber":"Offences Against Property","sectionType":"section","heading":"Offences Against Property","content":"#### Offences Against Property\n\n  3. For the purposes of section 9, the expression offence against property includes, without prejudice to the generality of the expression, burglary, housebreaking, stealing, larceny, embezzlement, any form of wrongful taking or appropriation of property, obtaining property by extortion, fraud or false pretences, and any form of malicious damage to property, as provided by the law in force in that part of Australia in which the offence is committed.","sortOrder":23},{"sectionNumber":"General","sectionType":"section","heading":"General","content":"#### General\n\n  4. A reference in the preceding paragraphs of this Schedule to a particular offence shall be read as including a reference to any offence (by whatever name called or however described in the law of Australia or of the State or Territory concerned) that is substantially similar to that offence.","sortOrder":24}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Section 4 expressly repeals the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1939, so this Act replaces that earlier statutory framework. The text provided does not set out a side‑by‑side comparison or specify how each provision differs from the repealed Act; therefore it is clear the statutory vehicle and legal basis have changed (repeal and replacement), but the particular scope changes between the old and new instrument cannot be determined from this text alone."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑jurisdictional interaction between Australian courts and foreign service tribunals (s.8–s.11)","Multiple decision points and discretionary powers concentrated in the Attorney‑General and Chief of the Defence Force (s.10, s.15, s.28)","Regulatory delegation that can change application and scope of numerous enactments to visiting forces (s.16, s.30)","Strong evidentiary effect given to foreign certificates and documents in Australian proceedings (s.18, s.27)","Procedural obligations on courts and coroners to stay or adjourn proceedings while jurisdictional inquiries are made (s.12(3), s.14)","Overlap between criminal jurisdiction, military service law, and civil remedies (s.9, s.11, s.13, s.17)","Delegation regime with continuing effect through office vacancies and revocability, affecting accountability lines (s.28)","Dependence on definitions and qualifying conditions (who is \"ordinarily resident\", who is a \"dependant\", what counts as a \"visiting force\") which affect applicability (s.5)"],"plain_english_summary":"# What this Act does\n\nThis Act sets out how foreign military forces (and certain civilians associated with them) are treated while they are present in Australia or in Australian Defence Force ships or aircraft. It defines who counts as a \"visiting force\" or a person associated with one, says which foreign service courts can exercise jurisdiction in Australia, limits when Australian courts and coroners will proceed against such people, and creates administrative and evidentiary rules to make those arrangements work. (See s.5, s.8–s.18, s.27.)\n\n# Who it affects\n\n- Members of visiting foreign armed forces and certain civilian staff and dependants who are not Australian citizens or ordinarily resident in Australia (s.5).  \n- The sending country’s service tribunals and service authorities (s.8).  \n- Australian courts, coroners and custodial authorities (s.9, s.12, s.14, s.15).  \n- The Attorney‑General and the Chief of the Defence Force, who have decision and delegation powers under the Act (s.10, s.28).  \n- Australian Government agencies that may handle claims or detain persons under requests from sending countries (s.15, s.17).  \n\n# How it works (mechanics)\n\n- Definitions: The Act defines key categories—\"visiting force\", \"dependant\", \"service law\", \"designated authority\", and who is or is not treated as ordinarily resident in Australia for these purposes (s.5).  \n\n- Foreign service tribunals may exercise their domestic powers in Australia over persons subject to their service law (s.8). That includes members of visiting forces and certain non‑resident civilians who are subject to the sending country’s service law (s.8(1)–(2)).  \n\n- Australian courts are prevented from trying certain offences that are covered by the foreign service tribunal’s jurisdiction: for example, offences arising in the course of duty, offences against persons where victims had a relevant association with the visiting force, and offences against property owned by the sending country or related persons (s.9). There are specific exceptions (s.9(2)–(3)).  \n\n- The sending country’s designated authority may request that Australia defer to its service tribunal even where Australian courts would otherwise have jurisdiction; the Attorney‑General can accept that request and notify Australian authorities (waiver) (s.10).  \n\n- A person already tried by a visiting force’s service tribunal cannot later be tried in an Australian court for a substantially identical offence; courts may take prior service tribunal sentences into account (s.11).  \n\n- Police and courts retain arrest, search, seizure and remand powers under Australian law, but must notify the sending country’s designated authority when a person subject to foreign service jurisdiction is charged (s.12). Courts must allow a reasonable period for inquiries into whether the case should be dealt with by a service tribunal (s.12(3)).  \n\n- Coroners must generally not hold or must adjourn inquests where the deceased had a relevant association with a visiting force, or where a service tribunal is investigating or charging someone for the homicide; the Attorney‑General can direct that an inquest proceed in specified cases (s.14).  \n\n- The Attorney‑General may authorise Australia to receive and imprison persons sentenced by a foreign service tribunal, and those persons are deemed lawfully in custody while so confined (s.15). Regulations may set rules for discharge or return to the sending country (s.15(3)).  \n\n- Regulations can make parts of Australian law that apply to the Defence Force also apply to visiting forces, and can create exemptions, privileges or immunities for visiting forces to the same extent those would apply if the visiting force were part of the Australian Defence Force (s.16). The Governor‑General may make regulations to implement the Act (s.30).  \n\n- Australia may enter agreements to pay claims arising from acts of visiting force members; payment under such an agreement discharges Australia or others from further liability (s.17). The Australian Government Solicitor is authorised to act for persons in such claims (s.17(2)).  \n\n- Certificates and documents issued by a sending country’s designated authority or other authorised signatory are treated as sufficient or conclusive evidence in Australian courts of facts such as membership of a visiting force, sentence by a service tribunal, or that a matter can be dealt with under foreign service law (s.18, s.27).  \n\n- The Attorney‑General and the Chief of the Defence Force can delegate their statutory powers in writing to specified senior officials; delegations are revocable and continue through office vacancies (s.28).\n\n# Purposes claimed in the Act and mechanical implications\n\n- The Act allows sending countries to exercise their service law over their personnel in Australia (s.8). Mechanically, that shifts investigation, charging and trial authority for certain offences from Australian courts to foreign service tribunals where criteria in the Act are met (s.9).  \n\n- The Act gives the Attorney‑General and the Chief of the Defence Force targeted discretion to agree to foreign requests, to receive persons sentenced abroad, to direct orders to the Defence Force to assist foreign service authorities, and to make or delegate decisions (s.8(7), s.10, s.15, s.28). Mechanically, this concentrates decision‑making in central federal offices and in defined military officers.  \n\n# Costs, incentives, trade‑offs and implementation features to note (section references provided)\n\n- Who pays: Australia can be the payer under international agreements for claims arising from visiting force acts (s.17). Australia may also bear custodial costs when receiving persons sentenced by foreign service tribunals (s.15).  \n\n- Who decides: The designated authority of the sending country establishes facts and requests (s.18, s.27); the Attorney‑General decides whether to accept waiver requests and to authorise reception of prisoners; the Chief of the Defence Force may direct arrests on request (s.8(7), s.10, s.15). These decision points shift practical control over jurisdiction and custody to a mix of foreign authorities and specified Australian officials.  \n\n- Compliance and court burden: Courts must stay proceedings for a period to allow inquiries about foreign jurisdiction, and must accept certain foreign certificates as conclusive or sufficient evidence unless rebutted (s.12(3), s.18). This creates administrative steps for courts and can limit avenues for evidence or challenge.  \n\n- Civil remedies and private choice: The Act bars courts from hearing proceedings about pay, service terms and discharge of visiting force members (s.13). It also allows Australia to pay and thereby discharge liability for claims (s.17). These provisions remove some civil law routes for affected private parties.  \n\n- Delegation and discretion: The Attorney‑General and Chief of the Defence Force can delegate powers to senior public servants and senior officers, and regulations can be used to extend, exempt or confer privileges and immunities (s.16, s.28, s.30). That produces administrative flexibility but concentrates substantial implementation choices in regulation and delegated instruments.  \n\n- Evidence and finality: Certificates from the sending country’s designated authority are given a strong evidentiary status in Australian proceedings, including being conclusive in some cases (s.18, s.27). That reduces the range of factual contests before Australian courts over status and prior foreign proceedings.  \n\n- Cross‑jurisdictional trade‑off: Mechanically, the Act trades Australian court jurisdiction in defined situations for recognition of foreign military jurisdiction and administrative cooperation (s.8–s.11, s.16). The Act leaves police and remand powers intact (s.12(1)), creating a layered jurisdictional regime rather than removing Australian law enforcement powers.\n\n# Implementation risk and likely operational frictions\n\n- The Act relies heavily on regulations and on certified communications from foreign designated authorities (s.16, s.18, s.27, s.30). If those instruments and communications are not precise or timely, courts and officials may face uncertainty about jurisdiction and custody.  \n\n- The requirement that courts stay proceedings to allow inquiries (s.12(3)) and coroners adjourn inquests (s.14) shifts procedural timing and may create delays or contested choice‑of‑forum decisions.  \n\n# Quick practical summary\n\n- Foreign military personnel can be tried by their own service tribunals in Australia for many offences (s.8–s.11).  \n- Australian courts and coroners must defer or limit proceedings in specified situations, subject to exceptions and the Attorney‑General’s discretion (s.9, s.10, s.14).  \n- The Attorney‑General and the Chief of the Defence Force have named powers and can delegate them; the Governor‑General may make regulations to implement the Act (s.10, s.15, s.28, s.30).  \n\nReaders should look at the specific sections cited for the detailed conditions and the procedural steps that apply in any particular case."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with its original purpose of governing visiting military forces. While it has been amended over time (evidenced by references to the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 and modernised delegation language), it remains focused on the core function of jurisdictional arrangements for foreign military personnel in Australia."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple nested definitions in section 5 (8 defined terms with sub-definitions, including recursive definitions of 'civilian component' and 'dependant')","Complex conditional logic in section 9 with three main exemption categories (duty-related, person offences, property offences) plus two exception clauses and three savings provisions","Cross-references between sections 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 creating interdependent jurisdictional rules","Certificate-based evidence system (sections 18 and 27) creating conclusive vs. sufficient evidence distinctions","Schedule with separate definitions of 'offences against property' and 'offences against person' that interact with section 9","Delegation provisions with rank-specific limitations (section 28)","Regulation-making powers that can modify application to specific countries (section 6) and specific forces (section 16)"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up the legal framework for when foreign military forces visit Australia. It covers:\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Members of foreign military forces (\"visiting forces\") temporarily in Australia\n- Civilian employees supporting those forces\n- Dependants (family members) of service personnel\n- Australian courts, police, and defence personnel who interact with them\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Gives foreign military courts power** to try their own personnel for offences committed in Australia, rather than Australian courts\n- **Limits when Australian courts can prosecute** visiting force members for crimes committed here\n- **Protects service-related acts** — if a foreign soldier commits an offence \"in the course of duty,\" Australian courts generally can't try them\n- **Allows transfer of prisoners** — foreign military personnel sentenced by their own courts can serve time in Australian prisons if requested\n- **Blocks Australian courts** from hearing disputes about military pay, terms of service, or discharge\n- **Restricts coroners' inquests** into deaths of visiting force members, giving priority to foreign military investigations\n- **Lets the government make regulations** extending Defence Force benefits and exemptions to visiting forces\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis law protects Australia's international military relationships (like joint exercises with the US, UK, or other allies). It ensures foreign troops are subject to their own military justice system while in Australia, preventing legal conflicts and respecting military sovereignty. It balances this with safeguards — for example, death sentences can't be carried out here, and the Attorney-General can override certain restrictions."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-act-1963","history":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-act-1963/history","analysis":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-act-1963/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-act-1963/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-act-1963/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-act-1963/documents"}}