{"id":"F1996B00990","name":"Defence (Visiting Forces) Regulations 1963","slug":"defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"134 of 1963","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":28981,"registerId":"commonwealth-F1996B00990-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Regulations","content":"#### 1 Name of Regulations\n\n  These Regulations are the Defence (Visiting Forces) Regulations 1963.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definition","content":"#### 3 Definition\n\n  In these Regulations:\n\n> Act means the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Declaration—countries within Commonwealth of Nations","content":"#### 4 Declaration—countries within Commonwealth of Nations\n\n  For paragraph 6(1)(a) of the Act, each country mentioned in Schedule 1 is a country within the Commonwealth of Nations.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Declaration—other countries to which Act applies","content":"#### 5 Declaration—other countries to which Act applies\n\n  For subsection 6(2) of the Act, all of the provisions of the Act have effect for each country mentioned in Schedule 2.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Immunities relating to tolls and permissions etc.","content":"#### 6 Immunities relating to tolls and permissions etc.\n\n  (1) The immunities conferred by section 70 of the Defence Act 1903 on members of the Defence Force and vehicles used by members of the Defence Force are conferred on members of a visiting force sent to Australia by a country in relation to which section 16 of the Act applies and vehicles used by members of that force.\n  (2) For paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act, the immunities conferred by subsection 123(1) of the Defence Act 1903 on members of the Defence Force are conferred on members of a visiting force as if:\n    (a) references to the Defence Force in subsection 123(1) of the Defence Act 1903 were references to the relevant visiting force; and\n    (b) the reference in paragraph 123(1)(a) of the Defence Act 1903 to the Commonwealth included a reference to the sending country in relation to the relevant visiting force.\n  (3) For paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act, the immunities conferred by subsection 123(1) of the Defence Act 1903 on members of the Defence Force, to the extent that those immunities relate to the use, possession or registration of a vehicle, are conferred on members of a civilian component of a visiting force of the United States of America, Singapore, Papua New Guinea or Japan as if:\n    (a) references to the Defence Force in subsection 123(1) of the Defence Act 1903 were references to the relevant civilian component of the relevant visiting force; and\n    (b) the reference in paragraph 123(1)(a) of the Defence Act 1903 to the Commonwealth included a reference to the sending country in relation to the relevant visiting force.\n  (4) For paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act:\n    (a) a member of a visiting force of the United States of America or Japan; or\n    (b) a member of a civilian component of such a visiting force;\n  is not bound by any law of a State or Territory that would require the member to have permission (whether in the form of a licence or otherwise) to use or to have in his or her possession, or would require the member to register, a vehicle hired or leased by the sending country in relation to the visiting force.\n  (5) For the purposes of paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act, the immunities conferred by paragraph 123(1)(b) of the Defence Act 1903 on members of the Defence Force are conferred on members of the civilian component of a visiting force of Japan as if references to the Defence Force in subsection 123(1) of the Defence Act 1903 were references to the civilian component of the visiting force.\n  (6) Subregulations (2), (3), (4) and (5) do not limit each other.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Summons to give evidence before, or produce documents to, service tribunal","content":"#### 9 Summons to give evidence before, or produce documents to, service tribunal\n\n  (1) The power to summon witnesses to give evidence and produce documents conferred by section 138 of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 shall, subject to the condition specified in subregulation (2), be exercisable, with respect to the service tribunals of a visiting force of a country in relation to which section 8 of the Act applies, by:\n    (a) an appropriate authority within the meaning of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982; or\n    (b) an officer who holds a rank not below the rank of Commander in the Navy, Lieutenant Colonel in the Army or Wing Commander in the Air Force.\n  (2) The condition subject to which the power to summon a witness shall be exercisable by an appropriate authority or an officer referred to in subregulation (1) is that the authority or officer, as the case requires, is satisfied that the person requesting the issue of the summons has paid or will pay the reasonable expenses of the witness in attending before the service tribunal.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Duties of person summoned before a service tribunal","content":"#### 10 Duties of person summoned before a service tribunal\n\n  Sections 86 and 87 of the Defence Act 1903 have effect in relation to a person who has been lawfully summoned to attend a service tribunal of a visiting force to give evidence or produce documents, to the extent to which they would have effect if the visiting force were a part of the Defence Force.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Civil detention of arrested persons","content":"#### 11 Civil detention of arrested persons\n\n  (1) This regulation applies to a member of a visiting force of a country if:\n    (a) section 8 of the Act applies to the country; and\n    (b) the member is charged with an offence that may be tried by a service tribunal of the visiting force.\n  (2) For section 16 of the Act:\n    (a) subsection 94(1) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 applies to the member as if the member were a person arrested under that Act; and\n    (b) subsection 94(2) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 applies to the member as if the member were:\n    (i) a person arrested under that Act; and\n    (ii) in the custody of a member of the Defence Force.\n  (3) For section 16 of the Act, if a commanding officer or the senior member mentioned in paragraph 94(2)(b) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 certifies as mentioned in that paragraph in relation to the member, the officer or senior member must issue a warrant for the temporary detention of the member in a civil detention facility.\n  (4) A warrant under subregulation (3) must be in accordance with the form in Schedule 3.\n  (5) In this regulation:\n\n> civil detention facility has the meaning given by subsection 3(1) of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Witnesses before service tribunals","content":"#### 12 Witnesses before service tribunals\n\n  (1) A service tribunal of a visiting force of a country in relation to which section 8 of the Act applies may receive evidence on oath from a person not subject to the jurisdiction of the service tribunal who appears as a witness before the tribunal, whether the person has been summoned or appears without being summoned, and for this purpose a member of the tribunal may administer an oath to the person.\n  (2) Where a witness conscientiously objects to take an oath, he may make an affirmation that he conscientiously objects to take an oath and that he will state the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth to all questions that are asked him.\n  (3) An affirmation so made is of the same force and effect, and entails the same liabilities, as an oath.\n  (4) A person referred to in subregulation (1) who appears as a witness before a service tribunal has the same protection as a witness in a matter before the High Court.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension of investigative powers to visiting force of Japan","content":"#### 13 Extension of investigative powers to visiting force of Japan\n\n  Members of a visiting force of Japan\n  (1) For the purposes of subsection 16(1) of the Act, a power that would be exercisable, with respect to a member of the Defence Force, under Part VI of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 by an authority or person is exercisable by that authority or person with respect to a member of a visiting force of Japan if:\n    (a) the power is to be exercised for the purposes of investigating an offence against Japanese law that is equivalent to a Defence Force Discipline Act service offence that can be committed by a defence member; and\n    (b) Japan requests the investigation.\n  Members of a civilian component of a visiting force of Japan\n  (2) For the purposes of subsection 16(1) of the Act, a power that would be exercisable, with respect to a defence civilian, under Part VI of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982 by an authority or person is exercisable by that authority or person with respect to a member of a civilian component of a visiting force of Japan if:\n    (a) the power is to be exercised for the purposes of investigating an offence against Japanese law that is equivalent to a Defence Force Discipline Act service offence that can be committed by a defence civilian; and\n    (b) Japan advises that the member is subject to the jurisdiction of a Japanese service tribunal; and\n    (c) Japan requests the investigation.\n  Definitions\n  (3) In this regulation:\n\n> defence civilian has the same meaning as in the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.\n\n> Defence Force Discipline Act service offence means a service offence within the meaning of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.\n\n> defence member has the same meaning as in the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982.","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"Form Warrant for the temporary detention","sectionType":"part","heading":"Form Warrant for the temporary detention in a civil detention facility of a person charged with an offence","content":"## Form Warrant for the temporary detention in a civil detention facility of a person charged with an offence\n\nCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA\n\nDefence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963\n\nWARRANT FOR THE TEMPORARY DETENTION IN A CIVIL DETENTION FACILITY OF A PERSON CHARGED WITH AN OFFENCE\n\n  To (description of person in charge of civil detention facility) at (address)\n\nI, (full name of person issuing warrant), being a person authorized to issue warrants for the temporary detention in a civil detention facility of persons charged with offences before the service tribunal of\n\n, do, by this warrant, authorize the temporary\n\ndetention of (full name and description of person to be detained in civil detention facility), a person charged with an offence triable by a service tribunal of , in (name of civil detention\n\nfacility) and order you, , to receive\n\ninto your custody at and detain for a\n\nperiod not exceeding 7 days.\n\n  Dated thisday of 20 .\n  (Signature of officer authorized  \n  to issue warrant)","sortOrder":10}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These Regulations do not purport to amend the substantive text of the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963. Instead, they declare which countries the Act applies to (Schedules 1 and 2) and set out procedural implementations, immunities, and country-specific extensions of powers under the Act and complementary legislation (Regulations 4–6, 9–13; Schedule 3). The instrument therefore operates by applying and specifying the Act's operation in particular circumstances rather than changing the Act's defined scope."},"complexity_factors":["Numerous cross-references to other statutes (Defence Act 1903; Defence Force Discipline Act 1982; the principal Act) requiring interpretation across instruments (Regulations 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13).","Country-specific and component-specific variations (different rules for visiting forces and for civilian components; special provisions for the USA, Japan, Singapore, Papua New Guinea) (Regulation 6(2)–(5); Regulation 13).","Interplay between federal regulation and State/Territory laws (e.g. disapplication of State/Territory vehicle licensing/registration requirements for specified visiting-force vehicles) (Regulation 6(4)).","Procedural conditions and discrete administrative thresholds (satisfaction about payment of witness expenses, certification by commanding officers, requests/advice from sending country) that allocate discretion and require factual findings (Regulations 9(2), 11(3), 13(1)–(2)).","Inclusion of prescriptive forms and time limits (warrant form in Schedule 3; detention not exceeding 7 days), which create fixed procedural steps and limits (Regulation 11(4); Schedule 3).","Overlap and non-limitation clause (Regulation 6(6)) which requires careful reading to understand how subregulations interact.","Operational dependence on Schedules for lists of countries (Regulations 4–5; Schedules 1–2)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations operationalise the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act by naming which countries are covered and setting practical rules for visiting forces in Australia. They grant visiting personnel certain immunities (notably vehicle‑related), allow authorised officers to summon witnesses (with requester‑paid expenses), enable civil detention under a seven‑day warrant, permit tribunals to take sworn evidence with High Court protections, and permit Australia to exercise specified investigative powers for Japan at Japan’s request.\n\nThey mainly affect visiting forces, summoned witnesses, state regulators and custodial facilities."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation appears consistent with its original purpose of implementing the Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963 by specifying which countries are covered and detailing the practical legal mechanisms (immunities, detention, evidence) needed for visiting forces to operate in Australia. The country-specific variations (particularly regarding Japan, US, Singapore, Papua New Guinea) reflect negotiated bilateral arrangements rather than scope creep."},"complexity_factors":["Heavy cross-referencing to three other Acts (Defence Act 1903, Defence Force Discipline Act 1982, and the parent Defence (Visiting Forces) Act 1963)","Nested conditional logic in regulation 6 with multiple subsections applying to different country-specific scenarios (US, Japan, Singapore, Papua New Guinea treated differently in various subsections)","Regulation 13 creates a complex three-part test for investigative powers involving Japanese forces, with different conditions for military members versus civilian components","Regulation 11 creates a multi-layered application of detention laws requiring tracking across multiple sections of the Defence Force Discipline Act 1982","Use of 'as if' modifications in regulations 6 and 11, requiring readers to mentally substitute text from other legislation","Schedule-dependent operation – the actual countries covered aren't in the main text but referenced to Schedules 1 and 2 (not provided in this extract)"],"plain_english_summary":"This legislation sets out the rules for how foreign military forces ('visiting forces') operate when they're in Australia. It basically extends certain Australian military laws and protections to soldiers from other countries who are visiting for training, exercises, or other defence purposes.\n\n**Key things it does:**\n\n- **Lists which countries count** – It names which Commonwealth countries and other nations (like the US, Japan, Singapore, Papua New Guinea) are covered by these rules.\n\n- **Gives visiting soldiers legal immunities** – Foreign military members get similar exemptions to Australian soldiers when it comes to things like road tolls, vehicle registration, and licences. This means they don't need local driving licences or registration for vehicles hired by their home country.\n\n- **Sets up court procedures** – It allows Australian officers to issue summonses (official orders to attend court) for people to give evidence before foreign military tribunals. It also protects witnesses who appear before these foreign courts, giving them the same legal protections as witnesses in Australian federal courts.\n\n- **Allows temporary detention in civilian jails** – If a visiting soldier is arrested and charged with an offence that will be tried by their own military court, they can be held in an Australian civilian prison for up to 7 days under a special warrant.\n\n- **Extends investigation powers** – Australian military investigators can help investigate offences committed by Japanese forces (both military members and civilian support staff) if Japan asks for assistance.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Foreign military personnel temporarily in Australia\n- Australian defence personnel who interact with visiting forces\n- Australian civilians who might be called as witnesses before foreign military courts\n- Prison officers who might hold foreign soldiers in custody\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis ensures foreign troops can operate smoothly in Australia without getting tangled in red tape, while also making sure there's a clear legal framework for when things go wrong (like if a foreign soldier commits an offence or needs to be detained). It's part of Australia's defence cooperation agreements with allied nations."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963","history":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963/history","analysis":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/defence-visiting-forces-regulations-1963/documents"}}