6BOperational service—Australian mariners

#### 6B Operational service—Australian mariners (1) A person is taken to have been rendering operational service during: (a) any period of employment outside Australia as an Australian mariner on a ship; or (b) any period of employment within Australia as an Australian mariner on a ship if that period of employment ended immediately before, or started immediately after, the period of employment referred to in paragraph (a). (2) A person who, while employed within Australia as an Australian mariner on a ship, was injured, or contracted a disease, as a result of enemy action is taken to have been rendering operational service at the time of the event as a result of which the person was injured or contracted the disease. (3) A person who was employed within Australia as an Australian mariner on a ship in such circumstances that the employment should, in the opinion of the Commission, be treated as employment in actual combat against the enemy is taken to have been rendering operational service while the person was so employed. (4) Without limiting subsection (1), a person is taken to have been employed outside Australia as an Australian mariner on a ship in each of the following circumstances: (a) at any time when the person was at a place outside Australia on leave from the ship while the ship was at a port outside Australia; (b) at any time when the person was outside Australia while on his or her way to take up employment as an Australian mariner on a ship; (c) while the person was awaiting return to Australia from employment as an Australian mariner on a ship; (d) while the person was returning to Australia from employment as an Australian mariner on a ship. (5) For the purposes of this section, if a person was employed as an Australian mariner on a ship undertaking a voyage for the purpose of going from a place within Australia to another place within Australia, the person is taken to have been employed within Australia during the whole of the voyage. (6) In this section: > Australia does not include an external territory.