{"id":"C2004A02099","name":"High Court Justices (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979","slug":"high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"89 of 1979","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7008,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A02099-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title [see Note 1]","content":"#### 1 Short title \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act may be cited as the High Court Justices (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement [see Note 1]","content":"#### 2 Commencement \\[see Note 1\\]\n\n  This Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 3 Interpretation\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> judicial salary, in relation to a Justice, means salary at a weekly rate equal to one fifty‑second of the annual rate of salary that was payable to the Justice immediately before the Justice’s retirement or death.\n\n> Justice means a Justice of the High Court.\n\n> retirement, in relation to a Justice, means ceasing to be a Justice otherwise than by death.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment on retirement or death of Justice","content":"#### 4 Payment on retirement or death of Justice\n\n  (1) On:\n    (a) the retirement of a Justice after having completed at least 10 years’ service as a Justice; or\n    (b) the death of a Justice, whether or not he or she has completed 10 years’ service as a Justice;\n  an amount calculated in accordance with subsection (2) is payable in accordance with this Act.\n  (2) The amount payable under subsection (1) in respect of a Justice is an amount equal to the judicial salary of the Justice for:\n    (a) a period of 52 weeks; or\n    (b) a period of weeks calculated at the rate of 5.2 weeks for each completed year of the Justice’s qualifying service;\n  whichever is the lesser period.\n  (2A) Where:\n    (a) a Justice (not being a Justice to whom subsection (1) applies) is to cease to hold office as a Justice upon attaining a particular age, and the Justice ceases to be a Justice upon attaining that age; and\n    (b) at the time of the Justice’s so ceasing, the period of his or her service as a Justice was not less than 6 years;\n  an amount calculated in accordance with subsection (2C) is payable in accordance with this Act.\n  (2B) Where:\n    (a) a Justice (not being a Justice to whom subsection (1) applies) retires; and\n    (b) the Attorney‑General certifies under section 6 of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 that the retirement is due to permanent disability or infirmity;\n  an amount calculated in accordance with subsection (2C) is payable in accordance with this Act.\n  (2C) The amount payable under subsection (2A) or (2B) in respect of a Justice is an amount equal to the judicial salary of the Justice for a period of weeks calculated at the rate of 5.2 weeks for each completed year of the Justice’s qualifying service.\n  (3) In this section:\n\n> qualifying service, in relation to a Justice, means the period of his or her service as a Justice, other than any period of such service in respect of which the Justice has taken long leave or has been paid in lieu of such leave.\n\n> service as a Justice, in relation to a Justice, means the period that is to be regarded, in relation to the Justice, as service as a Judge for the purposes of section 6 of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recipient of payment under section 4","content":"#### 5 Recipient of payment under section 4\n\n  (1) An amount payable under section 4 on the retirement of a Justice is payable to the Justice.\n  (2) An amount payable under section 4 on the death of a Justice is payable to:\n    (a) where the Justice leaves a surviving spouse or de facto partner‑that surviving spouse or de facto partner;\n    (b) where the Justice does not leave a surviving spouse or de facto partner but leaves a dependant or dependants‑that dependant or those dependants; or\n    (c) in any other case‑the legal personal representative of the Justice.\n  (2A) If an amount is payable under paragraph (2)(a) and the Justice leaves more than one surviving spouse or de facto partner, the Attorney‑General may give a direction as to the distribution of the amount between or among them.\n  (3) Where an amount is payable under paragraph (2)(b) to the dependants of a Justice, the Attorney‑General may give a direction as to the distribution of the amount between or among those dependants.\n  (4) Where an amount is payable under this section to a person who is under a legal disability, the Attorney‑General may, instead of authorizing payment of the amount to the person, authorize payment of the amount to such trustee or trustees as the Attorney‑General appoints to be held by that trustee or those trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the person as the Attorney‑General directs.\n  (5) In this section:\n\n> surviving spouse or de facto partner of a Justice who has died means a person who was the spouse or de facto partner (within the meaning of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901) of the Justice immediately before he or she died.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation","content":"#### 6 Appropriation\n\n  Payments under this Act shall be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amount not payable on removal of Justice","content":"#### 7 Amount not payable on removal of Justice\n\n  Unless the Governor‑General otherwise directs, an amount is not payable under this Act by reason of the removal of a Justice under section 72 of the Constitution.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: providing long leave payment entitlements specifically for High Court Justices on retirement or death. Subsequent amendments appear to have expanded eligibility modestly (adding disability retirement and mandatory retirement age scenarios, and recognising de facto partners) but did not materially alter the core scope or intent of the legislation."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple eligibility tiers with different qualifying thresholds (10 years, 6 years, or disability certification)","Different calculation formulas depending on which eligibility category applies","Cross-referencing required to external legislation (Judges' Pensions Act 1968, Acts Interpretation Act 1901) to define key terms like 'service as a Justice' and 'de facto partner'","Layered recipient hierarchy on death with Attorney-General discretion for edge cases","Constitutional reference (section 72) for the removal/no-payment scenario","Trustee direction provisions for legally incapacitated recipients"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act provides a lump‑sum long‑service leave payment to High Court Justices (or their surviving spouse, de facto partner, dependants, or estate) on retirement or death, funded from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. It covers proportional payments in certain mandatory‑retirement or disability cases but bars payments if a Justice is removed for misconduct unless the Governor‑General orders otherwise. The Attorney‑General resolves disputed distributions."},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"No amendment history or alternative version is supplied with the text. The Act, as presented, defines its scope through section 4 (who is eligible and how amounts are calculated), recipient rules (s5), funding (s6) and an exception for removal (s7). Without external material, a change from any prior intent cannot be determined from the supplied instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Simple statutory purpose and limited scope: single benefit on retirement or death (s4(1)).","Payment formula includes a capped alternative and a per‑year rate, requiring calculation of qualifying service and selection of the lesser period (s4(2), (2C)).","Eligibility exceptions and additional pathways: standard retirement with >=10 years, death (no service threshold), mandatory age cessation with >=6 years, and disability‑certified retirement (s4(1)(a),(b), (2A),(2B),(2C)).","Definitional nuance: 'qualifying service' excludes periods of long leave or payment in lieu, and links to service as a Judge for pensions purposes (s4(3)). This creates an administrative step to determine service credit.","Recipient and distribution rules create discretionary administrative choices for the Attorney‑General where multiple spouses/de facto partners or multiple dependants exist, and trusteeship for persons under legal disability (s5(1)–(5)).","Funding is explicit: payments drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (s6), so the financial burden is on public funds rather than private parties.","Residual executive discretion: Governor‑General may withhold payment on removal under s72 of the Constitution (s7), introducing a limited conditional exception.","Low compliance burden for beneficiaries but some recordkeeping and certification (e.g. Judges’ Pensions Act certificate for disability) required from officials (s4(2B))."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act provides for a one‑off payment to a High Court Justice (or their estate) on retirement or death. The payment equals the Justice’s weekly judicial salary multiplied by a period determined as either 52 weeks or 5.2 weeks for each completed year of qualifying service, whichever is less. Payments in certain mandatory‑retirement or disability cases use the 5.2 weeks per year formula.\n\nPayments are made from public revenue; the Attorney‑General and Governor‑General have specified limited powers over distribution and exceptions."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of providing long leave payments to High Court Justices upon retirement or death. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific remuneration matter."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 defined terms in the interpretation section (judicial salary, Justice, retirement)","Straightforward conditional structure with clear triggers (10+ years service, death, mandatory retirement age, disability)","Single nested definition in section 4(3) defining 'qualifying service' and 'service as a Justice' by reference to another Act (Judges' Pensions Act 1968)","Simple mathematical formula for calculating payments (5.2 weeks × years of service, capped at 52 weeks)","Clear payment hierarchy in section 5 with Attorney-General discretion for distribution among multiple beneficiaries","Single exclusion clause (section 7) regarding removal under Constitution section 72","No complex cross-referencing beyond the single reference to Judges' Pensions Act 1968 and Acts Interpretation Act 1901 for de facto partner definition"],"plain_english_summary":"This law sets up a **long leave payment scheme** for High Court Justices — essentially a payout for accumulated leave when they retire or die in office.\n\n**What it does:**\n- When a High Court Justice retires after 10+ years of service, or dies at any time, they (or their estate) get a lump sum payment calculated as **5.2 weeks of salary for each year of service**, capped at **52 weeks** (one year) total.\n- There are **two exceptions** that allow payment even without 10 years of service:\n  - If a Justice is forced to retire at a mandatory age with at least 6 years served; or\n  - If the Attorney-General certifies the retirement is due to permanent disability or infirmity.\n\n**Who gets paid:**\n- If the Justice retires: the Justice themselves.\n- If the Justice dies: first to their spouse or de facto partner; if none, to dependants; if none, to their estate (legal personal representative).\n- The Attorney-General can decide how to split payments among multiple spouses/partners or dependants.\n\n**Key limits:**\n- No payment if a Justice is **removed from office** under the Constitution (unless the Governor-General says otherwise).\n- \"Qualifying service\" excludes any time the Justice already took as long leave or got paid for instead of taking leave.\n- Payments come from general government revenue (Consolidated Revenue Fund).\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis ensures High Court Justices don't lose accrued long service leave entitlements upon leaving the bench, treating them similarly to other long-serving public servants while respecting the unique nature of judicial tenure."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979","history":"/api/acts/high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979/history","analysis":"/api/acts/high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/high-court-justices-long-leave-payments-act-1979/documents"}}