120BAttachment of salaries of members

120B  Attachment of salaries of members  (1) Where judgment has been given by a court against a member for the payment of a sum of money, the person in whose favour judgment was given (in this section referred to as the judgment creditor) may serve on a paying officer:  (a) a copy of the judgment, certified under the hand of the Registrar or other appropriate officer of the court; and  (b) a statutory declaration that:  (i) states that the judgment has not been satisfied by the member; and  (ii) sets out the amount then due by the member under the judgment.  (2) The paying officer shall, as soon as practicable after service of the copy of the judgment and the statutory declaration, by notice in writing given to the member:  (a) inform the member of the service on the paying officer of the copy of the judgment and the statutory declaration; and  (b) require the member:  (i) to inform the paying officer, in writing, within the time specified for the purpose in the notice, whether the judgment has been satisfied; and  (ii) if:  (A) the member claims the judgment has been satisfied, to furnish evidence in support of the claim; or  (B) the member admits that the judgment has not been satisfied, to state the amount then due under the judgment.  (3) If the member:  (a) fails, within the time specified for the purpose in the notice, to satisfy the paying officer that the judgment has been satisfied; or  (b) admits that the judgment has not been satisfied; the paying officer shall, subject to subsection (13), in relation to each pay‑day of the member, cause to be deducted from the salary payable to the member on the pay‑day an amount equal to the normal deduction in relation to the member in relation to the pay‑day or such lesser amount as is, in the opinion of the paying officer, sufficient to satisfy the amount then due under the judgment.  (4) There is payable to the Commonwealth, by the judgment creditor, an administration fee, at the prescribed rate, in respect of each amount deducted pursuant to subsection (3).  (5) The paying officer shall, subject to subsection (6), cause an amount equal to each amount deducted pursuant to subsection (3) to be paid to the judgment creditor.  (6) Where an amount is deducted pursuant to subsection (3) and the whole or part of the administration fee payable in respect of the amount has not been paid by the judgment creditor, the paying officer shall:  (a) apply, in or towards payment of the administration fee, the amount of the deduction or so much of the amount of the deduction as is equal to the administration fee; and  (b) if the whole of the amount of the deduction is not applied in accordance with paragraph (a), pay an amount equal to the balance to the judgment creditor.  (7) Upon the application under subsection (6) of an amount (in this subsection referred to as the relevant amount) in or towards payment of the administration fee payable in respect of an amount deducted pursuant to subsection (3) from the salary payable to the member on a pay‑day:  (a) the judgment creditor shall be deemed to have paid the relevant amount to the Commonwealth in satisfaction or partial satisfaction, as the case requires, of the administration fee;  (b) an amount equal to the relevant amount shall be deemed to have been paid by the Commonwealth to the member on account of the salary payable to the member on the pay‑day; and  (c) an amount equal to the relevant amount shall also be deemed to have been paid by the member to the judgment creditor in relation to the judgment.  (8) Upon payment being made to the judgment creditor pursuant to subsection (5) or (6) of an amount (in this subsection referred to as the relevant amount) in relation to an amount deducted pursuant to subsection (3) from the salary payable to the member on a pay‑day:  (a) an amount equal to the relevant amount shall be deemed to have been paid by the Commonwealth to the member on account of the salary payable to the member on the pay‑day; and  (b) an amount equal to the relevant amount shall also be deemed to have been paid by the member to the judgment creditor in relation to the judgment.  (9) When the judgment has been satisfied, the judgment creditor shall forthwith notify the paying officer accordingly. Penalty: Imprisonment for 3 months or 5 penalty units.  (10) If the amounts deemed, by virtue of paragraphs (7)(c) and (8)(b), to have been paid by the member to the judgment creditor exceed, in the aggregate, the amount due under the judgment, the excess is repayable by the judgment creditor to the member, and, in default of repayment, may be recovered, by action in a court of competent jurisdiction, as a debt due by the judgment creditor to the member.  (11) Where, in relation to an amount deducted pursuant to subsection (3) from the salary payable to the member on a pay‑day, an amount is, by virtue of paragraph (7)(c), deemed to have been paid by the member to the judgment creditor and an amount is, by virtue of paragraph (8)(b), deemed to have been paid by the member to the judgment creditor, then, for the purposes of subsection (10), the last‑mentioned amount shall be deemed to have been paid after the second‑mentioned amount.  (12) If the member ceases to be a member before the paying officer is notified that the judgment has been satisfied, the paying officer shall forthwith inform the judgment creditor, in writing, of the fact that the member has ceased to be a member and the date on which the member ceased to be a member.  (13) If the paying officer is satisfied that the deduction of the amount that the paying officer would, but for this subsection, be required to deduct from the salary payable to the member on a pay‑day would cause severe hardship to the member, the paying officer may deduct a lesser amount in relation to the pay‑day.  (14) Where copies of more than one judgment, and statutory declarations in relation to those judgments, are served under subsection (1) in relation to a member, the judgments shall be dealt with under this section in the order in which copies of the judgments are served under that subsection.  (15) Subsections (1) to (14) (inclusive) do not apply to a member:  (a) who is a bankrupt; or  (b) in relation to whom a personal insolvency agreement is in force under the Bankruptcy Act 1966.  (16) In this section: member means a member of the Defence Force rendering continuous full‑time service. net salary, in relation to a member in relation to a pay‑day, means the amount of salary payable by the Commonwealth to the member on the pay‑day after deductions have been made:  (a) pursuant to Part 2‑5 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953; and  (b) pursuant to Part III of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973; and  (c) for purposes prescribed for the purpose of this paragraph. normal deduction, in relation to a member in relation to a pay‑day, means an amount equal to 20% of the net salary of the member in relation to the pay‑day or such greater amount as the member notifies a paying officer, in writing, should be the normal deduction for the purposes of this section in relation to the pay‑day. pay‑day, in relation to a member, means a day on which salary is payable to the member. paying officer means a person engaged under the Public Service Act 1999 performing duties in the Department who is appointed by the Secretary, in writing, to be a paying officer for the purposes of this section. salary, in relation to a member, means any money payable by the Commonwealth to the member by way of salary, and includes any money payable by the Commonwealth to the member by way of an allowance prescribed for the purposes of this definition, but does not include any money payable to the member by way of a weekly payment of compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence‑related Claims) Act 1988 or the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004.