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Commonwealth legislation
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This 1943 regulation codified how Royal Australian Air Force members were paid, supported, and reimbursed during WWII — covering officers, airmen and nurses, plus family dependants. It set active and deferred pay systems, overseas and duty-related allowances, family allotments and dependants’ payments, travel and outfit reimbursements, POW/missing-pay protections, and pay-forfeiture rules, and was backdated to October 1939 to govern wartime service.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Air Force (War Financial) Regulations.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
STATUTORY RULES.
1943. No. 93.
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REGULATIONS UNDER THE AIR FORCE ACT 1923-1941.*
I, THE DEPUTY OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Air Force Act 1923-1941.
Dated this eighth day of April, 1943.
WINSTON DUGAN
Deputy of the Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
ARTHUR S. DRAKEFORD
Minister of State for Air.
–––––––
AIR FORCE (WAR FINANCIAL) REGULATIONS.
Part I.—Preliminary.
Citation and administration.
1.—(1.) These Regulations may be cited as the Air Force (War Financial) Regulations.
(2.) These Regulations shall be administered by the Minister of State for Air.
Commencement
2.—(1.) These Regulations shall, except where otherwise prescribed in these Regulations, be deemed to have come into operation as on and from the sixth day of October, 1939.
(2.) Regulation 18 of these Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation as on and from the twelfth day of June, 1940.
(3.) Sub-regulation (5.) of regulation 60 and sub-regulation (3.) of regulation 68 of these Regulations shall be deemed to have come into operation as on and from the sixth day of June, 1940.
Parts.
Part I.—Preliminary.
Part II.—Pay and Pay Allowances.
Part III.—Allotments and Dependants Allowances.
Part IV.—Travelling and Subsistence.
Part V.—Clothing and Outfit Allowances.
Part VI.—Miscellaneous.
* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on , 1943.
6226.—Price 1s. 3d. 22/3.3.1943.
Definitions.
4.—(1.) In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—
“air expeditionary force” means any part of the Air Force allotted for war service outside Australia;
“airman” includes every member other than an officer or a nurse;
“child” means any person under the age of sixteen years who is a legitimate or illegitimate son, daughter, step-son or step-daughter or a legally adopted son or daughter of a member;
“de facto wife” means, in relation to any member, any woman who, for a period of not less than six months prior to the member’s becoming subject to these Regulations, lived with him as his wife, though not legally married to him;
“member” means—
(a) any person first appointed to or enlisted in the Air Force, or any officer on the Retired List appointed to the Active Force, on or after the sixth day of October, 1939;
(b) any person who embarks for service with an air expeditionary force and who, at the date of his embarkation for service with that force, was a member of the Air Force appointed or enlisted and employed on continuous full-time war service prior to the sixth day of October, 1939;
(c) any member of the Citizen Air Force who has been called up for continuous full-time war service for the duration of the war; or
(d) any nurse who is employed on continuous full-time duty;
“nurse” means any member of the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service and includes a staff masseuse;
“officer” means any member who is an officer within the meaning of the Air Force Regulations;
“pay allowances” includes crew pay, field allowance, special allowance, exchange allowance and any allowance payable under regulation 12 of these Regulations;
“prescribed authority” means the Minister, the Air Board, the Chief Finance Officer, the Assistant Chief Finance Officer, the Accountant (Pay), any Area Finance Officer, or any Assistant Area Finance Officer, as the case requires;
“rank” includes grade;
“separated wife” means, in relation to any member, his wife who is living apart from him in pursuance of a decree, judgment, order or deed of separation or by reason of desertion by either party, or in circumstances which, in the opinion of a prescribed authority, are analogous thereto;
“standard rate”, in relation to an allotment or allotments from a member’s pay, means—
(a) in respect of any period prior to the sixth day of November, 1941—
(i) in the case of an officer, a matron-in-chief, a principal matron or a matron, a total rate of five shillings per day; or
(ii) in the case of an airman, a senior sister, a sister or a staff masseuse, a total rate of three shillings per day; and
(b) in respect of any period after the fifth day of November, 1941—
(i) in the case of an officer, a total rate of five shillings and sixpence per day;
(ii) in the case of a matron-in-chief, a principal matron or a matron, a total rate of five shillings and fourpence per day;
(iii) in the case of an airman, a total rate of three shillings and sixpence per day; or
(iv) in the case of a senior sister, a sister or a staff masseuse, a total rate of three shillings and fourpence per day;
“the Act” means the Air Force Act 1923-1941.
(2.) In these Regulations any reference to the date of embarkation of a member shall be read as a reference to the date upon which the member embarks on a ship or aircraft for service outside Australia, but shall not be deemed to refer to the embarkation of a member who subsequently disembarks in Australia from that ship or aircraft and does not proceed forthwith in the same or in another ship or aircraft for service outside Australia. In the case of a member who at the time of his appointment, enlistment, transfer or secondment, is not in Australia, any reference to the date of embarkation shall be read as a reference to the date of his appointment, enlistment, transfer or secondment.
(3.) Subject to this regulation, expressions used in these Regulations shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the same meaning as in the Air Force Regulations.
Application of Regulations.
5.—(1.) These Regulations shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the Air Force Regulations, and any provision of those Regulations which is inconsistent with these Regulations shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be deemed not to apply to or in relation to a member:
Provided that, where the total amount of daily pay and allowances payable under the Air Force Regulations to a member of the Citizen Air Force called up for continuous full-time war service for the duration of the war and employed on that service before the sixth day of October, 1939, was higher than the total amount of daily pay and allowances payable under these Regulations, that higher amount may, subject to regulation 12 of these Regulations, be paid to him during the period of his continuous full-time war service.
(2.) If, in respect of the period from and including the sixth day of October, 1939, to the date of notification in the Gazette of these Regulations, the total amount of daily pay and allowances prescribed by the Air Force Regulations as payable to any member to whom these Regulations apply (other than a member to whom the proviso to sub-regulation (1.) of this regulation applies) was higher than the total amount of daily pay and allowances payable under these Regulations, the member shall not be entitled to recover the amount of the difference.
Delegations.
6.—(1.) The Minister may, by writing under his hand, delegate any power, duty or function Conferred or imposed on him by these Regulations.
(2.) The Air Board may delegate to any officer any power, duty or function conferred or imposed on the Board by these Regulations.
(3.) Every delegation under this regulation shall be revocable at will, and no delegation shall prevent the exercise or performance of any power, duty or function by the Minister or the Air Board, as the case may be.
(4.) A delegation under this regulation shall not lapse or be revoked by the Minister ceasing to hold office by death or otherwise, or by reason of the powers or functions of the Air Board becoming vested in any officer appointed to command the Air Force in time of war.
Part II.—Pay and Pay Allowances.
Pay.
7.—(1.) Subject to these Regulations, the daily rate of pay of a member in respect of his service up to and including the day before the date of his embarkation shall be—
(a) during the period up to and including the fifth day of November, 1941, the rate specified in column 2 of the First Schedule to these Regulations, and
(b) after that date, the rate specified in column 3 of that Schedule.
opposite to the designation of his branch or group and rank in column 1 of that Schedule.
(2.) Subject to these Regulations, the daily rate of active pay of a member in respect of his service on and after the date of his embarkation shall be—
(a) during the period up to and including the fifth day of November, 1941, the rate specified in column 4 of the First Schedule to these Regulations, and
(b) after that date, the rate specified in column 5 of that Schedule,
opposite to the designation of his branch or group and rank in column 1 of that Schedule.
(3.) For the purposes of this regulation, the Minister shall determine the Group within which any particular mustering shall be classified.
Deferred pay.
8.––(1.) Subject to these Regulations, deferred pay shall be credited to the account of each member in respect of his service on and after the date of his embarkation at the rate specified in column 6 of the First Schedule to these Regulations opposite to the designation of his branch or group and rank in column 1 of that Schedule.
(2.) Deferred pay shall not be payable in respect of any day for which a member is granted leave without pay.
(3.) Deferred pay shall be forfeited for any day for which a member’s active pay is forfeited, except in the case of a forfeiture under regulation 25 of these Regulations, in which case one-third of his daily rate of deferred pay shall be forfeited for each day of the period of that forfeiture.
(4.) Interest at the prescribed rate shall be credited to the account of a member at the end of the second and each subsequent year of his service after the date of his embarkation on the amount of deferred pay accumulated to his credit at the end of the previous year of that service. Interest credited to a member’s deferred pay account shall be considered as part of his accumulated deferred pay and shall bear interest accordingly.
(5.) When deferred pay becomes payable in accordance with the next succeeding sub-regulation, interest on the amount of accumulated deferred pay of the member at the end of the last completed year of his service after the date of his embarkation shall be allowed for the period from the end of that year to the date upon which his pay ceases in accordance with these Regulations.
(6.) The deferred pay accumulated to a member’s credit, including interest thereon, shall become payable upon the termination of his service, but shall be subject to a deduction of any amount standing to his debit in his pay account:
Provided that in the case of a member included in the class specified in paragraph (b) of the definition of “member” in sub-regulation (1.) of regulation 4 of these Regulations, his accumulated deferred pay including interest thereon may be paid upon the termination of his service with an air expeditionary force or upon his return to Australia, whichever first occurs.
(7.) The prescribed rate of interest for the purposes of this regulation shall be—
(a) for the period prior to the first day of January, 1941, three and one-half per centum per annum;
(b) for the period from and including the first day of January, 1941, to and including the thirty-first day of December, 1942, three per centum per annum; and
(c) for any period after the thirty-first day of December, 1942, such rate as is from time to time fixed by the Treasurer by notice in the Gazette.
Rates payable to certain members during certain periods.
(a) the daily rates of pay of a member whose group and rank are specified in the following table shall, in respect of his service (if any) up to and including the twentieth day of March, 1940, be the rates specified in that table opposite to the designation of his group and rank:—
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:100%; margin-bottom:0pt; border-collapse:collapse"><tbody><tr style="height:1pt"><td rowspan="3" style="width:59.62%; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">Group and Rank.</span></p></td><td colspan="3" style="border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">Rate per day.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:1pt"><td style="width:13.56%; border:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">Before embarkation.</span></p></td><td colspan="2" style="border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">After embarkation.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:1pt"><td style="width:13.56%; border:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">Pay.</span></p></td><td style="width:13.32%; border:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">Active pay.</span></p></td><td style="width:13.5%; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif">Deferred pay.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:1pt"><td style="width:59.62%; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:justify; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif"></span></p></td><td style="width:13.56%; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif; font-style:italic">s. d.</span></p></td><td style="width:13.32%; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif; font-style:italic">s. d.</span></p></td><td style="width:13.5%; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-bottom:0pt; text-align:center; line-height:normal"><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman', serif; font-style:italic">s. d.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:1pt"><td style="width:59.62%; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding
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