{"id":"C2004A02100","name":"Judges (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979","slug":"judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"90 of 1979","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7016,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A02100-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Judges (Long Leave Payments) Act 1979.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\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> Judge means:\n\n    (a) a Judge of a federal court (other than the High Court or the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)); or\n    (b) a person who, by virtue of an Act, has the same status as a Judge of a court referred to in paragraph (a); or\n    (c) a person who was a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory immediately before the commencement of the A.C.T. Supreme Court (Transfer) Act 1992.\n\n> judicial salary, in relation to a Judge, means salary at a weekly rate equal to one fifty‑second of the annual rate of salary that was payable to the Judge immediately before the Judge’s retirement or death.\n\n> retirement, in relation to a Judge, means ceasing to be a Judge otherwise than by death (see also section 3A).","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Consecutive appointments","content":"#### 3A Consecutive appointments\n\n  (1) If:\n    (a) a person’s appointment as a Judge terminates; and\n    (b) a new appointment of the person as a Judge takes effect immediately after the termination;\n  the person is taken, for the purposes of this Act, not to retire when the earlier appointment terminates.\n  (2) This section applies to the termination of an appointment however it occurs (whether because of resignation or because of the expiration of the term of the appointment or otherwise).","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"3B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Service in more than one judicial office","content":"#### 3B Service in more than one judicial office\n\n  To avoid doubt, a person may satisfy the definition of Judge at a particular time even if the person also holds, at the same time, an office as a Judge of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2).\n\n> Note: See paragraph (a) of the definition of Judge in section 3.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment on retirement or death of Judge","content":"#### 4 Payment on retirement or death of Judge\n\n  (1) On:\n    (a) the retirement of a Judge after having completed at least 10 years’ service as a Judge; or\n    (b) the death of a Judge, whether or not he or she has completed 10 years’ service as a Judge;\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 Judge is an amount equal to the judicial salary of the Judge 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 Judge’s qualifying service;\n  whichever is the lesser period.\n  (2A) Where:\n    (a) a Judge (not being a Judge to whom subsection (1) applies) is to cease to hold office as a Judge upon attaining a particular age, and the Judge ceases to be a Judge upon attaining that age; and\n    (b) at the time of the Judge’s so ceasing, the period of his or her service as a Judge 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 Judge (not being a Judge 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 Judge is an amount equal to the judicial salary of the Judge for a period of weeks calculated at the rate of 5.2 weeks for each completed year of the Judge’s qualifying service.\n  (3) In this section:\n\n> qualifying service, in relation to a Judge, means the period of his or her service as a Judge, other than any period of such service in respect of which the Judge has taken long leave or has been paid in lieu of such leave.\n\n> service as a Judge, in relation to a Judge, means the period that is to be regarded, in relation to the Judge, as service as a Judge for the purposes of section 6 of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968.","sortOrder":5},{"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 Judge is payable to the Judge.\n  (2) An amount payable under section 4 on the death of a Judge is payable to:\n    (a) where the Judge leaves a surviving spouse or de facto partner—that surviving spouse or de facto partner;\n    (b) where the Judge 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 Judge.\n  (2A) If an amount is payable under paragraph (2)(a) and the Judge 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 Judge, 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 Judge 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 Judge immediately before he or she died.","sortOrder":6},{"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":7},{"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 Judge under section 72 of the Constitution or under any similar provision in an Act.","sortOrder":8}],"analysis":{"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":true,"description":"The original 1979 Act appears to have been a straightforward long leave payment scheme for retiring federal judges. However, amendments have expanded coverage significantly: (1) addition of section 3A to handle consecutive appointments without treating them as retirement breaks; (2) section 3B clarifying that judges can hold multiple offices simultaneously; (3) section 4 subsections 2A-2C creating reduced benefits for judges with only 6+ years service who retire at mandatory age or due to disability; (4) modernised definitions including 'de facto partner' and references to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) which didn't exist in 1979; and (5) expanded beneficiary rules in section 5 to include de facto partners. The scheme has evolved from a simple 10-year cliff-vesting system to a more nuanced graduated benefits structure with broader relationship recognition."},"complexity_factors":["Only 7 defined terms in the interpretation section (Judge, judicial salary, retirement, qualifying service, service as a Judge, surviving spouse or de facto partner, and de facto partner which references another Act)","Simple conditional structure with clear triggers (10+ years/retirement, death, 6+ years/mandatory retirement age, disability retirement)","Minimal cross-referencing — only references to the Judges' Pensions Act 1968, Acts Interpretation Act 1901, A.C.T. Supreme Court (Transfer) Act 1992, and Constitution section 72","Straightforward mathematical formula (5.2 weeks × years of service, capped at 52 weeks)","Single nested exception in section 7 (removal under Constitution) with discretionary override by Governor-General","Short statute — 7 operative sections plus interpretation"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a **long service leave payment scheme for federal judges** (except High Court and certain other judges). It works like this:\n\n**What it does:**\n- When a federal judge retires or dies, they (or their estate) get a lump sum payment based on their salary and years of service\n- Think of it as \"payment in lieu of long leave\" — money for leave they never took\n\n**Who qualifies:**\n- Judges who served **at least 10 years** and then retire\n- Judges who die (regardless of how long they served)\n- Judges forced to retire at a certain age after **at least 6 years** of service\n- Judges who retire early due to **permanent disability** (certified by the Attorney-General)\n\n**How much they get:**\n- **5.2 weeks of salary** for each completed year of service, **OR**\n- **52 weeks of salary** (whichever is smaller)\n- Years where the judge already took long leave don't count toward this calculation\n\n**Who gets paid:**\n- If retired: the judge themselves\n- If died: surviving spouse/de facto partner first; if none, then dependants; if none, then the estate\n\n**Key catches:**\n- Judges **removed from office** under the Constitution (section 72) generally get nothing unless the Governor-General says otherwise\n- If a judge moves straight from one judicial appointment to another, that's not considered \"retirement\" — their service continues\n- Payments come from general government revenue (Consolidated Revenue Fund)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nFederal judges don't get standard annual leave like regular employees. This ensures they're compensated for their continuous service when they leave the bench, while preventing \"double-dipping\" if they already took long leave during their tenure."},"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains focused on its original narrow purpose: providing long leave payment entitlements for federal judges on retirement or death. Amendments have updated beneficiary definitions (adding de facto partners), clarified consecutive appointments, and addressed dual office-holding, but these are modest expansions consistent with the original intent rather than substantive changes in scope."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple triggering conditions for payment (retirement, death, mandatory age retirement, disability retirement), each with different eligibility thresholds and calculation methods","Cross-references to external legislation (Judges' Pensions Act 1968, Acts Interpretation Act 1901) required to fully understand key terms like 'qualifying service' and 'de facto partner'","Nuanced definition of 'Judge' that excludes certain courts and includes legacy ACT Supreme Court judges, with a specific carve-out for dual-office holders","Consecutive appointment provisions (section 3A) that affect how service periods are calculated","Attorney-General discretion in distributing payments among multiple beneficiaries and handling legally incapacitated recipients adds procedural complexity","Constitutional reference (section 72) for removal scenarios requires some knowledge of how judicial tenure works in Australia"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act provides federal judges (excluding High Court judges and one division of the Federal Circuit and Family Court) with a lump‑sum long‑service leave payment when their judicial service ends or on death, paying out accumulated leave they cannot otherwise take. Payments go to the judge or, on death, to spouse/partners, dependants or estate and are funded from consolidated revenue.\n\nIt matters because it converts accrued leave into a cash entitlement on retirement, death or certain incapacity."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act, as drafted, targets a defined set of federal judges and their beneficiaries for a specified lump‑sum long‑leave payment. No text in the supplied instrument indicates an expansion or contraction of that scope from its core purpose; eligibility, calculation, payment source, and limited administrative discretions are set out within the Act itself."},"complexity_factors":["Payment formula with a per‑year accrual (5.2 weeks) and an overall cap (52 weeks) creates a two‑tier calculation (s4(2),(2C)).","Different eligibility thresholds: standard retirement requires ≥10 years, age‑ceasing and disability retirements permit payments with ≥6 years (s4(1),(2A),(2B),(2C)).","Definition of \"Judge\" has exclusions and cross‑references to other courts and statutes, affecting who qualifies (s3, s3B).","Qualifying service excludes periods of long leave or where payment was made in lieu, requiring record reconciliation (s4(3)).","Consecutive appointments rule treats immediate reappointments as non‑retirement, affecting accruals and timing (s3A).","Recipient rules allow Attorney‑General discretion on distribution and trustee appointments, introducing administrative decision points (s5(2A),(3),(4)).","Cross‑reference to the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 for the meaning of service ties interpretation to another statute (s4(3)).","Exception for removal under constitutional or similar provisions means potential non‑payment subject to Governor‑General direction (s7)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act provides a one‑off long‑leave payment to specified federal judges on retirement (after qualifying service) or to beneficiaries on a judge’s death. Payments equal 5.2 weeks’ judicial salary for each completed year of qualifying service, capped at 52 weeks, with separate rules for age‑based cessation and disability retirements (s4). Payments are made from the Consolidated Revenue Fund; the Attorney‑General may direct distribution among multiple beneficiaries and may appoint trustees for minors or others (s6; s5; s7)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979","history":"/api/acts/judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979/history","analysis":"/api/acts/judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/judges-long-leave-payments-act-1979/documents"}}