Veterans' Affairs Act 1999

1: Short Title and commencement
1: This Act may be cited as the Veterans' Affairs Act 1999.
2: This Act comes into force on 1 July 1999.
1: Preliminary provisions and provisions relating to transfer of staff
2: Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— Chief of Defence Force section 8 Defence Force section 2(1) Department section 2(1) responsible Minister War Pensions Act 1954 Secretary War Pensions Act 1954 transferred employee
a: to transfer to the Defence Force from a department of the Public Service listed in Schedule 1
b: to carry out in the Defence Force, on or after the commencement of this Act, duties relating wholly or partly to veterans' affairs veterans' affairs
a: the administration of pensions and allowances under the War Pensions Act 1954
b: the supply of plaques and headstones for deceased ex-service persons and the maintenance of services' cemeteries:
c: the issue of medals for ex-service persons by the Defence Force:
d: functions and duties related or incidental to any of the above matters. Section 2 veterans affairs amended 15 April 2003 section 12(1) War Pensions Amendment Act 2003
3: Transfer of employees
1: On taking up his or her duties in the Defence Force, a transferred employee (including the person designated by the Chief of Defence Force as the Secretary for War Pensions) must be treated as being appointed to the Civil Staff of the Defence Force under section 61A
2: The transfer of a transferred employee to the Defence Force is subject to any relevant transfer provisions of the employment contract applying to that employee.
3: This section applies despite section 61A
4: Protection of terms and conditions of employment on transfer
1: The employment of a transferred employee in the Defence Force must be on terms and conditions no less favourable to the transferred employee than those applying to the employee at the date of transfer.
2: Any unexpired collective employment contract that covers a transferred employee continues, as from the date of transfer, to apply on the same terms—
a: as if it were a contract that had been made in respect of the Defence Force; and
b: as if it were binding both on that employee and on the Chief of Defence Force.
3: Subsections (1) and (2) cease to apply to a transferred employee if the terms and conditions of employment that apply under the employment contract applying to the employee at the date of the transfer are varied by agreement between the employee and the Chief of Defence Force.
4: Subsection (1) ceases to apply to a transferred employee who, after the transfer, receives any subsequent appointment within the Defence Force.
5: Employment to be continuous
For the purposes of any provisions of a transferred employee's employment contract relating to continuity of service, that employee's transfer to the Defence Force is insufficient by itself to break his or her employment.
6: Membership of Government Superannuation Fund
If a transferred employee was a contributor to the Government Superannuation Fund under the Government Superannuation Fund Act 1956
a: that person must be treated for the purposes of that Act as being employed in the Government service for so long as the person continues to be employed by the Defence Force; and
b: that Act applies to the person in all respects as if the person's service with the Defence Force is Government service.
7: Transfer not sufficient to entitle employee to redundancy or severance payment
No transferred employee is entitled to receive any compensation for redundancy or any severance payment because—
a: the position held by that employee immediately before the transfer has ceased to exist; or
b: he or she has ceased by virtue of that transfer to be an employee of a department under the State Sector Act 1988
2: Amendments to other Acts, and transitional and savings provisions
8: Amendments to other Acts
The Acts specified in the Schedule
9: Continuation of existing proceedings
1: If, before the commencement of this Act, the Minister in Charge of War Pensions or any other Minister had, in relation to the War Pensions Act 1954
2: If, before the commencement of this Act, the chief executive of the department responsible for the administration of the War Pensions Act 1954
3: If, before the commencement of this Act, the Secretary for War Pensions had, in relation to the administration of the War Pensions Act 1954
4: Nothing in this Act affects any—
a: appeal that was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, pending or in progress before a War Pensions Appeal Board; or
b: claim that was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, pending or in progress before a War Pensions Claims Panel.
10: Saving of appointments
Nothing in this Act affects the appointment of any person under the War Pensions Act 1954
a: a War Pensions Appeal Board; or
b: the War Pensions Advisory Board; or
c: a War Pensions Claims Panel.
11: Amendments to references in documents to Minister in Charge of War Pensions, Secretary for War Pensions, and Department
Unless the context otherwise requires, in any regulation, rule, order, agreement, deed, instrument, application, notice, direction, contract, lease, or other document in force at the commencement of this Act, provisions relating to veterans' affairs are to be read subject to the following provisions:
a: every reference to the Minister in Charge of War Pensions is a reference to the responsible Minister:
b: every reference to the chief executive of the Department is a reference to the Chief of Defence Force:
c: every reference to the Department is a reference to the Defence Force:
d: every reference to the Secretary for War Pensions appointed under the State Sector Act 1988
e: every reference to the chief executive of the Department of Internal Affairs or to that department is a reference to the Chief of Defence Force.