Judges’ Pensions (Item 48) Order 2013

The Order revolves around three core computational concepts that translate pension entitlements and transfer amounts into monetary equivalents for transitional family law adjustments. These concepts are scheme value, the immediate transitional pension for a non‑member spouse, and the reduction of a retirement pension for a member spouse. Each concept is explicitly tied to specified provisions in the transitional schedule of the 2012 Amendment Act.

Scheme value. Section 5 establishes that the scheme value, which appears as a defined element in item 44(b) of the transitional provisions, is to be determined using Schedule 1’s methods and factors as in force at the commencement time (s 5(1)-(2); Schedule 1, Part 1). Schedule 1, Part 1 identifies an AP variable described as the annual rate of pension payable to the member spouse at the commencement time, and it instructs use of two neighbouring table entries Fy and Fy+1 together with m, the number of whole months beyond the last whole year of age. The scheme value therefore is produced by combining the member spouse’s annual pension rate, age and gender with numeric factors in Table 2.

Immediate transitional pension for non‑member spouse. Section 6 supplies a stepwise method to convert a transfer amount into a rate for an immediate transitional pension payable to a non‑member spouse (subitem 47(2) of the transitional provisions). The method requires identifying the transfer amount at the commencement time (Step 1), calculating a numeric denominator using Table 1 with the non‑member spouse’s gender, whole‑year age and whole months (Step 2), dividing the transfer amount by that denominator (Step 3), dividing by the Federal Court Judge’s salary and rounding to four decimal places (Step 4), and finally multiplying the rounded result by the Federal Court Judge’s salary (Step 5) (s 6).

Reduction of retirement pension for member spouse. Section 7 sets out a seven‑step calculation that starts with the annual rate of retirement pension payable to the member spouse at the commencement time and uses Table 2 to compute a factor that determines the adjusted pension after recognising the transfer amount (s 7 Steps 1-7). The steps include computing an intermediate product using the Table 2 factor and the pension (Step 2 and Step 3), subtracting the transfer amount (Step 4), reversing the earlier factor multiplication by dividing back through the factor (Step 5), converting into a fraction of the annual rate of the applicable judicial salary with four‑decimal rounding (Steps 6-7), and multiplying by that annual judicial salary to produce the reduced pension amount.

Tables and interpolation. Both Table 1 and Table 2 are sex‑ and age‑specific factor grids (Schedule 1, Part 2). The prescribed methods use interpolation between the FY entry for the person’s whole age and the FY+1 entry for the next whole age, prorated by months m expressed as whole months beyond the last whole year. The Order therefore embeds piecewise linear interpolation across adjoining table ages, with m used as the fraction of the year.

Rounding rule. Both s 6 and s 7 include a precision rule: when dividing by the applicable salary to produce a ratio, the result must be rounded to four decimal places, with the fifth decimal digit rounded up if it is 5 or more (s 6 Step 4; s 7 Step 6). That rounding is a specified mechanical constraint that affects final outcomes because those rounded ratios are multiplied back by the applicable salary.

Cross‑referencing. The Order uses terms defined elsewhere: “scheme value” is defined by reference to s 5(2) here; “commencement time”, “member spouse”, “retirement pension” and “transfer amount” are defined in subsection 2A(2) of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 as noted in s 4 of this Order. The Federal Court Judge’s salary is defined in s 4 for use in the non‑member spouse calculation (s 6).

In sum, the Order converts descriptive transitional provisions into deterministic arithmetic rules: identify inputs (transfer amount, annual pension, age in whole years and whole months, gender, applicable judicial salary), look up numeric factors from the correct table, perform fixed arithmetic operations including prorated interpolation and a precise rounding rule, and produce monetary outputs used in the transitional adjustments.

The Order primarily affects three categories of persons and those who administer their entitlements under the transitional provisions created by the 2012 Amendment Act. Each affected group is identified by the Order’s cross‑references and the computational roles they play in the formulae.

Member spouses. These are persons described as member spouses in the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 definitions (see s 4 note). The member spouse’s annual retirement pension payable at the commencement time is an input to the scheme value calculation (Schedule 1, Part 1, variable AP) and to the retirement pension reduction calculation in section 7 (s 7 Step 1). The Order therefore changes how a member spouse’s pension interacts with a transfer amount under the transitional provisions by fixing the arithmetic for deriving scheme value and the retirement pension reduction.

Non‑member spouses. These are persons described as non‑member spouses in the Amendment Act’s transitional provisions and referenced in section 6 of this Order. For a non‑member spouse who is entitled to an immediate transitional pension under subitem 47(2) of the transitional provisions, section 6 prescribes how the transfer amount at the commencement time is converted into a rate of transitional pension using Table 1 factors keyed to the non‑member spouse’s gender, age in whole years and months (s 6 Steps 1-5). The Order therefore directly affects the amount and calculation method for interim payments to non‑member spouses.

Administrators and payroll/finance officers. The Order binds administrators responsible for implementing the transitional provisions to apply the prescribed steps and tables. The Order specifies which table to consult for which spouse (Table 1 for non‑member spouse calculations in s 6; Table 2 for member spouse calculations and scheme value in Schedule 1 Part 1 and s 7), how to compute m (the number of whole months beyond the last whole year of age), and the rounding rule to four decimals (s 6 Step 4; s 7 Step 6). Those administering or computing entitlements will therefore be required to perform the indicated lookups, pro rata interpolation and rounding precisely.

Judicial salary reference points. The Order refers to the Federal Court Judge’s salary (s 4 definition) for the non‑member spouse calculation in s 6, and to the “annual rate of the applicable judicial salary” in s 7 Steps 6-7 when converting and re‑expressing amounts. That means the particular judicial salary rates in force at the commencement time are critical inputs; the Order therefore affects whoever calculates or certifies those salaries and their application in the arithmetic.

Legal advisers and courts. Lawyers advising member or non‑member spouses in family law proceedings that engage the transitional provisions will need to apply the Order’s mechanics to assess monetary outcomes. Courts applying or supervising enforcement of arrangements that depend on the transitional numbers will receive results produced under the Order’s method.

Persons outside the tables or unexpected cases. The Order provides numeric tables that cover specified age ranges. Table 1 covers ages “30 or younger” up to “105 or older”; Table 2 covers ages 60 to “105 or older” (Schedule 1, Part 2). Where an affected person’s age does not fall within a table’s explicit range the Order either covers the extreme by the “or younger” or “or older” entries, or remains silent. Administrators and advisers must therefore check the relevant table range when determining which factor applies.

The Order does not create criminal sanctions or new obligations beyond performing the specified calculations. It is a mathematical instruction set that changes how transfer amounts and pensions are converted for the transitional family law settings referenced in the 2012 Amendment Act.

This Order prescribes duties for calculation and leaves substantive rights defined by the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 and the 2012 Amendment Act untouched. The Order’s normative content is operational: it requires administrators to apply particular arithmetic steps, table lookups and rounding rules when producing three transitional values. The Order does not itself create entitlement rights or appeals; those remain in the underlying legislation.

Duty to use Schedule 1 for scheme value. Section 5 imposes a duty: the scheme value used in item 44(b) of the transitional provisions must be determined using the methods and factors set out in Schedule 1 as in force at the commencement time (s 5(1)-(2)). That is a prescriptive obligation on the decision‑maker or calculator named in the transitional provisions to use the Schedule 1 methodology rather than an alternative actuarial approach.

Duty to calculate immediate transitional pension by the prescribed steps. Section 6 lays out a five‑step method that must be followed for subitem 47(2) calculations. The steps specify which inputs to identify (the transfer amount at commencement time), which table to use (Table 1), how to interpolate using Fy, Fy+1 and m, and the precise sequence of divisions, multiplications and rounding (s 6 Steps 1-5). Administrators owe a duty to follow these steps when producing the rate for an immediate transitional pension to a non‑member spouse.

Duty to calculate retirement pension reduction by the prescribed steps. Section 7 imposes a seven‑step calculation for subitem 47(5). It requires identifying the annual rate of the retirement pension at commencement time, computing an intermediate amount using Table 2, subtracting the transfer amount, reversing the earlier factor and converting via the applicable judicial salary while using the four‑decimal rounding instruction (s 7 Steps 1-7). The duty is procedural and mandatory within the transitional scheme.

Specification of inputs and definitions. Section 4 supplies local definitions that identify key inputs: the Act (the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968) and the Federal Court Judge’s salary (defined as the annual salary of a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, other than the Chief Justice) (s 4). The Order also explicitly notes that commencement time, member spouse, retirement pension and transfer amount are defined in subsection 2A(2) of the Act (s 4 note). The duty therefore extends to gathering those defined inputs at the commencement time.

Rounding duty. Two steps explicitly require rounding to four decimal places, rounding up if the fifth decimal digit is 5 or more: s 6 Step 4 for the non‑member spouse calculation and s 7 Step 6 for the member spouse retirement reduction. That instruction creates a precise numeric standard that must be followed and recorded by the calculating official.

Rights remaining with parties. The Order does not purport to alter substantive legal rights such as eligibility for pension, entitlement to a transfer amount, or the underlying division of assets. Those substantive rights derive from the Act and the 2012 Amendment Act; the Order’s role is implementation by producing the numeric figures those rights reference. The Order therefore confers no new substantive rights; it secures predictability by making the mechanics deterministic.

Operational reporting duties implied. While not stated as reporting obligations, the Order’s mandatory steps imply that whoever prepares the calculations should record the inputs used: the transfer amount at the commencement time, the AP (annual rate of pension), the ages and months used to determine Fy and Fy+1, the particular table entries chosen, the Federal Court Judge’s salary or applicable judicial salary used, and the rounded figures. The Order itself does not specify documentation requirements, appeals procedures or dispute resolution mechanisms over arithmetic, so existing administrative practices and the underlying legislation determine how such disagreements are handled.

In short, the Order creates binding calculation duties for administrators and preserves substantive rights under the primary Acts. It requires precise use of the specified tables, interpolation method, salary references and rounding rule when computing the transitional monetary figures.

The text of the Judges’ Pensions (Item 48) Order 2013 does not contain penal or enforcement provisions. The Order is strictly an instrument prescribing computational methods and numeric factors; it does not create offences, civil penalties, administrative sanctions or enforcement mechanisms within its text.

Absence of enforcement clauses. Nowhere in sections 1 through 7 or in Schedule 1 does the Order prescribe penalties for failure to apply the methods, nor does it provide a statutory process for requiring recalculation, imposing fines, or sanctioning officials who misapply the tables or rounding rules. The Order’s scope is methodological: it supplies the mechanical steps to be used in calculations referenced by the transitional provisions of the 2012 Amendment Act (s 5(1)-(2); s 6; s 7; Schedule 1).

Enforcement implications must be sought in parent legislation. Because the Order is made under the Judges and Governors‑General Legislation Amendment (Family Law) Act 2012 and the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 remains the Act governing substantive pension law, any enforcement, correction of errors, appeals or sanctions for non‑compliance would need to be pursued under the relevant provisions of those Acts or under the general administrative law framework. The Order itself points to the Act (defined in s 4) and to subsection 2A(2) for key definitions, but it does not attempt to alter or add enforcement mechanisms.

Practical enforcement pathways implied. In practice, administrative bodies or accountants who prepare pension computations would be expected to follow the Order because its calculations are the ones authorised in the transitional provisions. If an incorrect calculation were presented, the affected party could seek correction through the processes available under the underlying Act or through ordinary administrative review or judicial review channels; the Order does not create or modify those channels.

No criminalisation of calculation errors. There is no provision in the Order that criminalises arithmetic mistakes or prescribes disciplinary consequences. The Order therefore functions as a binding instruction set that will be given effect through the administrative and legal machinery established by the primary legislation, rather than through internal sanctions contained within the instrument.

Recordkeeping and accountability. Although the Order specifies calculation steps and rounding rules that permit objective verification, it does not itself mandate recordkeeping or audit trails. Any duty to retain records or to produce them in dispute would arise from the administrative practices or from the Act under which the Order was made, not from the Order’s text.

In summary, enforcement and penalties related to these calculations are not specified in the Order; remedy and enforcement paths must be derived from the underlying statutes and general administrative or judicial processes rather than from the Order itself.

This Order is an implementation instrument that operates by reference to the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 and the Judges and Governors‑General Legislation Amendment (Family Law) Act 2012. Its content modifies the computational detail of transitional provisions in the 2012 Amendment Act rather than creating standalone law.

Made under the Amendment Act. Section 3 states the Order is made under the Judges and Governors‑General Legislation Amendment (Family Law) Act 2012. The title of the Order and the internal references (for example, to item 44 and subitems 47(2) and 47(5)) show that it is intended to be read together with the transitional provisions contained in Schedule 1 to the Amendment Act (s 5(1), s 6, s 7). Thus the Order is an instrument that supplies the arithmetic required by specified entries in the Amendment Act’s Schedule.

Connection to the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968. Section 4 of the Order defines “Act” as the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 and includes a note that several important terms (commencement time, member spouse, retirement pension, transfer amount) are defined in subsection 2A(2) of that Act (s 4). Consequently, the Order presupposes the substantive definitions and entitlements set out in the Judges’ Pensions Act and in the Amendment Act; it only prescribes how particular monetary figures referenced in those substantive provisions are to be computed.

Transitional provisions reference. Section 5 explicitly states that the scheme value calculation is made for paragraph (b) of the definition of transfer amount in item 44 of the transitional provisions. Section 6 explicitly addresses subitem 47(2) of the transitional provisions for the immediate transitional pension for a non‑member spouse. Section 7 explicitly addresses subitem 47(5) of the transitional provisions for the reduction of a retirement pension. The Order thereby implements discrete parts of the Amendment Act’s transitional regime by supplying numeric methods.

Inputs from judicial salary schedules. The Order requires use of the “Federal Court Judge’s salary” and the “annual rate of the applicable judicial salary” as inputs (s 4 definition; s 6 Step 4; s 7 Steps 6-7). Those salary amounts will themselves be governed by other statutes, determinations or instruments that set judicial salaries. Therefore, the Order interacts functionally with whatever laws or determinations govern judicial remuneration, because those salary levels at the commencement time are explicit inputs in the arithmetic.

Definitional cross‑reference. By noting that commencement time and the key spouse and pension concepts are defined in subsection 2A(2) of the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968, the Order ties its operation to the timing and eligibility rules contained in the primary statute. The Order’s methods operate only at the commencement time defined in the Act, rather than at any later dates, unless the Act’s definitions provide otherwise.

No conflict or displacement language. The Order does not attempt to amend the Act or the Amendment Act directly; it is an instrument made under the Amendment Act for the specified purpose. It therefore interacts as subordinate legislation or an instrument that fills out details the Amendment Act required to be specified.

Limits and potential mismatches. The Order’s tables cover specified age ranges and include “or younger” and “or older” endpoints in some places (Schedule 1, Table 1 and Table 2). If the underlying Acts contemplate circumstances outside those ranges, administrators must reconcile the Order’s numeric domain with any broader eligibility definitions in the Act. The Order does not itself resolve such cross‑statutory domain issues.

In short, this Order is an implementing instrument that must be used in conjunction with the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 and the 2012 Amendment Act. It prescribes precise arithmetic to operationalise specific transitional provisions; the substantive legal rights and enforcement frameworks remain located in the primary statutes and related salary determinations.

The Order contains a concise internal amendment narrative limited to its making and commencement. The Order itself is the Judges’ Pensions (Item 48) Order 2013 and records the following steps and dates.

Made and dated. The Order is dated 12 March 2013 and signed by Penelope Ying Yen Wong, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, as the maker (header and signature block). The Order therefore bears an instrument date of 12 March 2013.

Commencement. Section 2 states that the Order commences on 15 March 2013. That is a clear commencement provision specifying the operative date for the methods, factors and rounding rules contained in the instrument.

Authority for amendment. Section 3 records that the Order is made under the Judges and Governors‑General Legislation Amendment (Family Law) Act 2012. The title of the instrument, Judges’ Pensions (Item 48) Order 2013, indicates that it gives effect to item 48 as intended by that Amendment Act’s transitional framework. There is no separate amending history inside the Order beyond this connection to the 2012 Amendment Act.

No subsequent amendments recorded in the instrument. The text provided contains no schedule of subsequent amendments to the Order itself, no expiry date, and no saving or transitional clauses within the Order other than those cross‑referenced to the Amendment Act’s transitional provisions. The Schedule 1 methods and tables are stated to apply “as in force at the commencement time” (s 5(2); Schedule 1 note), which allows for the possibility that Schedule 1 could be varied by later instrument, but no later instruments or variations are recorded within this text.

Tables and schedule as enacted. Schedule 1, Parts 1 and 2, and the two numeric tables are included in the instrument as enacted. Table 1 provides factors spanning from “30 or younger” through to “105 or older” with separate male and female entries. Table 2 provides factors from age 60 through to “105 or older” with separate male and female entries. These numeric factors are part of the initial instrument as made.

No legislative amendments to the Order shown. The instrument as provided contains no marginal notes or markings indicating later amendments, rescissions or revocations. Any future amendment history must be located in the statute book or instruments register rather than in this text.

In summary, the amendment history recorded in the instrument is limited: made 12 March 2013, commenced 15 March 2013, made under the 2012 Amendment Act. The Schedule and tables are enacted as part of the Order. The Order contains no recorded subsequent amendments or expiry.

The text of this Order does not include any litigation history, references to judicial decisions, or mentions of cases. The Order is an administrative instrument that prescribes calculation methods and numeric factors; it contains no footnotes, annotations or references to litigation. The only cross‑references are to the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 and to the Judges and Governors‑General Legislation Amendment (Family Law) Act 2012 for authority and definitions (s 3; s 4 note).

Because the document supplied is the Order itself and not a compendium of case law, no decisions, appeals or disputes are cited within its text. The Order does not contain a section that reports on judicial interpretation of its methods or on any disputes about the tables, rounding or interpolation. Any litigation that might arise from the application of these calculations would therefore be found in court records or law reports external to this instrument. The provided text does not provide those materials.

Given the Order’s role as a prescriptive computational instrument, litigation would, if it occurred, generally concern factual application of the specified steps, interpretation of terms defined in the Act (for example, commencement time, member spouse), or alleged administrative error in applying the prescribed arithmetic. None of those disputes are narrated here.

Therefore, on the basis of the instrument supplied, there is no litigation history to report. Users seeking case law or contested applications must consult court records, administrative decisions or legal reporting databases for matters arising under the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 and the 2012 Amendment Act that reference this Order.

The Order is precise but contains several points where administrators, advisers or affected persons should be alert to mechanical pitfalls, domain limits and procedures that the Order leaves to other instruments. These are practical “gotchas” that arise directly from reading the text.

Tables with limited domain and endpoint rules. Table 1 covers ages from “30 or younger” through to “105 or older” (Schedule 1, Table 1). Table 2 covers ages 60 through to “105 or older” (Schedule 1, Table 2). If a calculation requires a factor for a member spouse younger than 60 and Schedule 1 Part 1 specifies Table 2 for the member spouse’s factor, the Order does not, within its own text, provide a Table 2 entry for ages below 60. The Order contains no explicit instruction on handling ages not listed within a table beyond the “or younger” or “or older” endpoints where they appear. Administrators should therefore confirm that the person’s age is within the relevant table’s domain before proceeding and, if not, determine how the underlying Act contemplates such cases.

Different tables for member and non‑member spouses. Section 6 requires use of Table 1 for non‑member spouses and Table 2 is used for member spouses in both the scheme value formula and the retirement pension reduction (s 6; s 7; Schedule 1 Part 1 and Part 2). Mixing the wrong table will produce materially different results because the numeric factors differ by table, age and gender. The Order is strict about which table to use.

Age in whole years and months beyond the whole year. The Order uses the person’s age in whole years and the number m of whole months that are not included in the person’s age in whole years at the commencement time (s 6 Step 2; s 7 Step 2; Schedule 1 Part 1). Administrators must compute m as the count of whole months beyond the last whole year, not as fractional months or as days‑based fractions, because the Order’s arithmetic depends on m as a whole number of months for the linear interpolation.

Prorated interpolation between Fy and Fy+1. The Order directs using Fy (the table entry for the whole year age) and Fy+1 (the entry for the next whole year) and prorating between them by m/12 (s 6 Step 2; s 7 Step 2; Schedule 1 Part 1). If m is not computed correctly, the interpolated factor will be wrong. The Order does not allow alternative interpolation methods; it prescribes the linear prorating between adjacent table entries.

Rounding to four decimal places with upward rounding on the fifth digit. Two steps require rounding to four decimal places, with the fifth decimal digit rounded up if it is 5 or more (s 6 Step 4; s 7 Step 6). The Order does not specify the rounding mode beyond that rule, so administrators must apply standard rounding-rule mechanics exactly as stated. Small differences in rounding implementation can change final amounts because the rounded ratio is multiplied back by the applicable salary.

Use of salary denominators and multipliers. For the non‑member spouse calculation the method includes dividing by the Federal Court Judge’s salary and later multiplying back (s 6 Steps 4-5). For the member spouse retirement reduction the method includes dividing by the annual rate of the applicable judicial salary and multiplying back (s 7 Steps 6-7). Administrators must be careful to use the correct salary reference: s 4 defines Federal Court Judge’s salary as the annual salary of a Judge of the Federal Court other than the Chief Justice, while s 7 refers to the applicable judicial salary without a single specific title. The Order prescribes a difference in the salary concept used in the two calculations.

No express instruction for recordkeeping, dispute resolution or documentation. The Order mandates arithmetic steps but does not require particular forms of documentation, notice to parties, or administrative processes for correcting arithmetic errors. That administrative process will need to be handled under the primary Act or by local procedures. Parties should be aware that the Order itself does not provide a statutory process for complaining specifically about calculation errors.

Potential for mis‑application if inputs are incorrectly sourced. The Order depends on inputs located in other legislation or determinations: the transfer amount at the commencement time, the annual rate of retirement pension at the commencement time, the Federal Court Judge’s salary and the applicable judicial salary. Using the wrong historical salary or the wrong transfer amount will produce an incorrect result even if the arithmetic is executed correctly. Confirming the correct input values at the commencement time is therefore essential.

Gendered factors. Both tables provide separate male and female factors (Schedule 1, Part 2). The Order prescribes using the factor that applies to the person’s gender at the commencement time. Administrators must therefore determine the correct gender column to use in each case.

Precision of AP (annual pension) input. The scheme value calculation and the retirement pension reduction rely on the annual rate of pension payable to the member spouse at the commencement time (Schedule 1 Part 1 AP; s 7 Step 1). Any ambiguity about whether to use a gross rate, a net rate or an indexed rate must be resolved by reference to the Act and the transitional provisions, because the Order prescribes the arithmetic but not the interpretive conventions for AP.

In short, the Order’s technical clarity reduces ambiguity about arithmetic, but it creates practical risks if administrators mis‑identify table coverage, choose the wrong salary input, compute months m incorrectly, or misapply the rounding rule. Careful input verification and strict adherence to the specified steps are therefore crucial.

This section sets out a practical checklist and procedural steps to ensure compliance with the Order’s prescribed methods, and highlights inputs to verify and records to maintain. The steps follow the Order’s own multi‑step procedures and reference the relevant sections.

Preliminaries: establish the commencement time and relevant definitions. Confirm the commencement time from the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968 definitions referenced in s 4 note. Identify whether the person is a member spouse or a non‑member spouse as defined in subsection 2A(2) of the Act. Confirm the transfer amount, the annual rate of the relevant retirement pension payable at the commencement time, and which judicial salary rate applies at the commencement time.

Checklist of required inputs

• Transfer amount payable at the commencement time (s 6 Step 1; s 7 Step 4).
• Annual rate of pension payable to the member spouse at the commencement time, labelled AP in Schedule 1 Part 1 (Schedule 1 Part 1; s 7 Step 1).
• The person’s age at the commencement time expressed in whole years and whole months beyond those years. Compute m as the number of whole months not included in the age in whole years (s 6 Step 2; s 7 Step 2).
• Gender of the spouse at the commencement time to select the appropriate column in Table 1 or Table 2 (Schedule 1 Part 2).
• Federal Court Judge’s salary at the commencement time (s 4 definition) for use in the non‑member spouse calculation (s 6 Steps 4-5).
• Annual rate of the applicable judicial salary at the commencement time for use in the member spouse reduction calculation (s 7 Steps 6-7).

Procedure for immediate transitional pension (non‑member spouse) , follow s 6 Steps 1-5

1. Identify the transfer amount payable at the commencement time (s 6 Step 1).
2. From Table 1, read Fy using the non‑member spouse’s gender and whole years of age at commencement time, and read Fy+1 for the next whole year. Compute the prorated denominator using Fy, Fy+1 and m as specified in s 6 Step 2.
3. Divide the transfer amount by the amount computed in Step 2 (s 6 Step 3).
4. Divide the result from Step 3 by the Federal Court Judge’s salary at the commencement time. Round the quotient to four decimal places, rounding up if the fifth decimal digit is 5 or more (s 6 Step 4).
5. Multiply the rounded quotient by the Federal Court Judge’s salary. The product is the rate of the immediate transitional pension to be applied (s 6 Step 5).

Procedure for reduction of retirement pension (member spouse) , follow s 7 Steps 1-7

1. Identify the annual rate of the retirement pension payable at the commencement time (s 7 Step 1).
2. From Table 2, read Fy using the member spouse’s gender and whole years of age at commencement time, and Fy+1 for the next whole year. Compute the prorated factor using Fy, Fy+1 and m as specified in s 7 Step 2.
3. Multiply the annual rate of retirement pension (Step 1) by the amount calculated at Step 2 to obtain the intermediate amount in Step 3.
4. Subtract the transfer amount from that intermediate amount (s 7 Step 4).
5. Divide the amount from Step 4 by the factor computed in Step 2 (s 7 Step 5).
6. Divide the result from Step 5 by the annual rate of the applicable judicial salary at the commencement time and round the quotient to four decimal places, rounding up if the fifth decimal digit is 5 or more (s 7 Step 6).
7. Multiply the rounded quotient by the annual rate of the applicable judicial salary to produce the reduced retirement pension amount (s 7 Step 7).

Scheme value computation. For any calculation requiring the scheme value under item 44(b) of the transitional provisions, apply the Schedule 1 Part 1 method. Identify AP (annual rate of pension payable to the member spouse at the commencement time), determine Fy and Fy+1 from Table 2 and compute m, and then apply the Schedule 1 formula as stated (s 5(2); Schedule 1 Part 1). Where the Order provides a named formula image, follow the same interpolation and multiplication logic as used in s 6 and s 7.

Rounding discipline. Apply the four‑decimal rounding rule precisely where the Order directs (s 6 Step 4; s 7 Step 6). Record the pre‑rounded value and the rounded value to enable verification.

Domain checks. Before applying a table lookup, confirm that the person’s age falls within the table’s explained domain. Use the “or younger” and “or older” endpoints where applicable. If the person’s age is outside the table’s domain for a required table, refer to the underlying Acts or administrative guidance to resolve how to proceed, because the Order itself supplies no alternative.

Documentation and audit trail. Although the Order does not mandate specific records, to facilitate verification and dispute resolution preserve:

• A copy of the transfer amount source and calculation or certificate that produced that transfer amount at the commencement time.
• The AP value used and the source for that AP.
• The salary figure(s) used and their statutory or determination source at the commencement time.
• The person’s date of birth, the calculation of whole years and m (whole months beyond the last whole year), and the table entries selected.
• The unrounded intermediate values and the rounded quotient(s), showing the rounding decision.

Confirm salary reference. For non‑member spouse calculations use the Federal Court Judge’s salary as defined in s 4. For member spouse retirement reductions identify which judicial salary is the “applicable judicial salary” in the context of the member spouse’s pension and use that annual rate at the commencement time.

Cross‑verify. Because the calculations involve multiple dependent steps, perform an independent second calculation or peer review to catch transcription errors in table entries, months m, or rounding.

Legal review. If there is any doubt about which table to use, which salary is applicable, or which date constitutes the commencement time, seek direction from counsel or the agency responsible for administering the Judges’ Pensions Act 1968. The Order prescribes the arithmetic; interpretive questions about definitions or sources of inputs belong to the Act and its transitional provisions.

Following these steps and maintaining the specified records will align administrative practice with the Order’s mechanical instructions and will provide a clear audit trail should the computation be queried.