Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Pay and allowances earned by a person as a member of the Defence Force are exempt from income tax where:
(a) the pay and allowances are earned during a period of operational service of the person; and
(b) the person served in an operational area during the whole or a part of that period.
(2) Subject to this section, the operational service of a member of the Defence Force, for the purposes of this section, is the member's service where all of the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) the member's service was while:
(i) a member of, or attached to, a body, contingent or detachment of the Naval, Military or Air Forces of the Commonwealth at a time when it was allotted for duty in an operational area; or
(ii) a member of the Naval, Military or Air Forces of the Commonwealth allotted for duty in an operational area; or
(iii) a member of the Naval, Military or Air Forces of the Commonwealth attached to a particular part of the armed forces of the United Kingdom or of the United States of America at a time when that part was allotted, by the appropriate authority of the country concerned, for duty in an operational area;
(b) if the operational area is covered by subsection (6) and:
(i) subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii) applies; or
(ii) subparagraph (a)(iii) applies and the member was not serving in an operational area on 2 August 1990;
there is in force a certificate in writing issued by the Chief of the Defence Force to the effect that the allotment concerned was in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait;
(c) if the operational area is covered by subsection (6) and paragraph (b) does not apply--the member was serving in the operational area on 2 August 1990;
(ca) if the operational area is covered by subsection (6A)--there is in force a certificate in writing issued by the Chief of the Defence Force to the effect that the allotment concerned was in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait;
(cb) if the operational area is Cambodia--there is in force a certificate in writing issued by the Chief of the Defence Force to the effect that the allotment concerned was in respect of the member's service as part of:
(i) the group called the United Nations Advance Mission in Cambodia; or
(ii) the group called the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia;
(cc) if the operational area is the former Yugoslavia--there is in force a certificate in writing issued by the Chief of the Defence Force to the effect that the allotment concerned was in respect of the member's service as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force;
(cd) if the operational area is Somalia--there is in force a certificate in writing issued by the Chief of the Defence Force to the effect that the allotment concerned was in respect of the member's service as part of:
(i) the operation called Operation Restore Hope; or
(ii) the operation called the United Nations Operation in Somalia;
(d) the member's service was not as or under an attachÈ at an Australian embassy or legation.
(2A) A certificate issued in accordance with paragraph (2)(cb), (cc) or (cd) shall cease to have force only in accordance with a certificate of revocation signed by the Chief of the Defence Force.
(2B) A certificate of revocation made in accordance with subsection (2A) is a legislative instrument.
(3) For the purposes of this section, the operational service of a member of the Defence Force allotted for duty in an operational area covered by subsection (6), (6A) or (6B):
(a) is taken to have commenced:
(i) if he was in Australia at the time at which he was allotted for duty in the operational area--at the time of his departure from the last port of call in Australia for duty in that area;
(ii) if he was outside Australia at the time at which he was allotted for duty in the operational area--at the time at which he was so allotted;
(iii) if he was allotted for duty in the area before the time at which it became an operational area and he was in Australia at that time--at the time of his departure from the last port of call in Australia for duty in that area; or
(iv) if he was allotted for duty in the area before the time at which it became an operational area and he was outside Australia at that time--at that time;
(b) is taken to have ended at the earlier of the end of the termination date (if any) applicable to the operational area and:
(i) on his returning to Australia--at the time at which he arrived at the first port of call in Australia, unless he left Australia for further duty in an operational area within 14 days after his arrival in Australia; or
(ii) where he was allotted for duty in an area outside Australia other than an operational area--at the time at which he arrived in that area, or, if he was in that area at the time at which he was so allotted, at that time; and
(c) is taken to include a period of hospital treatment consequent upon an illness contracted or injuries sustained during the person's operational service.
(3A) For the purposes of this section, the operational service of a member of the Defence Force allotted for duty in an operational area to which subsection (6C) or (6D) applies:
(a) is taken to have begun at the later of:
(i) the time when the member arrived in the operational area; and
(ii) the time when the member's allotment for the duty in the operational area began; and
(b) is taken to have ended at the earliest of:
(i) the time when the member departed from the operational area; and
(ii) the time when the member's allotment for the duty in the operational area ended; and
(iii) the end of any termination date (defined in subsection (7)) applicable to the operational area; and
(c) is taken to include a period of hospital treatment resulting from an illness contracted, or injuries sustained, during the member's operational service.
(4) The Chief of the Defence Force may, by signed instrument, delegate to an officer of the Defence Force the powers conferred by paragraph (2)(b), (ca), (cb), (cc) or (cd).
(5) Applications may be made to the Tribunal for review of decisions of the Chief of the Defence Force under paragraph (2)(b), (ca), (cb), (cc) or (cd).
(6) For the purposes of this section, the area comprising the following countries and sea areas:
(a) Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the island of Cyprus;
(b) the sea areas contained within the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman;
(c) the sea area contained within the Arabian Sea north of the boundary formed by joining each of the following points to the next:
(i) 20° 30x N 70° 40x E;
(ii) 14° 30x N 67° 35x E;
(iii) 8° 30x N 60° 00x E;
(iv) 6° 20x N 53° 52x E;
(v) 5° 48x N 49° 02x E;
(d) the sea areas contained within the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea east of 30° E;
is taken to have become an operational area on 2 August 1990.
(6A) For the purposes of this section, the area comprising Iraq and Kuwait is taken to have become an operational area on 23 February 1991.
(6B) For the purposes of this section, the area comprising Cambodia is taken to have become an operational area on 20 October 1991.
(6C) For the purposes of this section, the area comprising the former Yugoslavia is taken to have become an operational area on 12 January 1992.
(6D) For the purposes of this section, the area comprising Somalia is taken to have become an operational area on 20 October 1992.
(7) In this section:
"operational area" has the meaning given by subsection (6), (6A), (6B), (6C) or (6D).
(a) in relation to an operational area covered by subsection (6) or (6A)--9 June 1991; or
(b) in relation to an operational area covered by subsection (6B), (6C) or (6D)--the date prescribed by regulations (which may be a date before the commencement of the regulations) for the purposes of this definition as the termination date in respect of the operational area covered by that subsection.