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VETERANS' ENTITLEMENTS ACT 1986 - SECT 5C

Eligibility related definitions

             (1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"allied country" means any country (not being Australia or a Commonwealth country):

                     (a)  that was, at the relevant time, at war with the enemy; or

                     (b)  the forces of which were, at the relevant time, engaged in an operational area against forces against which the forces of the Commonwealth were engaged in that area;

and includes:

                     (c)  a state, province or other territory that is one of 2 or more territories that together form, or formed at the relevant time, a discrete part of such a country; and

                     (d)  a place that is, or was at the relevant time, a territory, dependency or colony (however described) of such a country.

"allied mariner" means a person who:

                     (a)  was during the period of World War 2 from its commencement to and including 29 October 1945:

                              (i)  a master, officer or seaman employed under agreement, or an apprentice employed under indenture, in sea‑going service on a ship that was engaged in trading; or

                             (ii)  a master, officer, seaman or apprentice employed in a lighthouse tender or pilot ship; or

                            (iii)  employed as a pilot; or

                            (iv)  a master, officer, seaman or apprentice employed in sea‑going service on a ship (being a hospital ship, troop transport, supply ship, tug, cable ship, salvage ship, dredge, fishing vessel or fisheries investigation vessel) that was operated by, or on behalf of, a foreign country; and

                     (b)  was at any time during the course of that employment during the period referred to in paragraph (a) on a ship that was:

                              (i)  operating from a port in Australia or from a port in a Commonwealth country or an allied country; or

                             (ii)  engaged in trading with Australia or with a Commonwealth country or an allied country; or

                            (iii)  engaged in providing assistance or support to the Defence Force, or to the forces, or any part of the forces, of a Commonwealth country or an allied country; or

                            (iv)  engaged in providing assistance or support to Australia or to a Commonwealth country or an allied country;

but does not include:

                     (c)  an Australian mariner; or

                     (d)  a person who has, at any time, been employed by a foreign country that was, at that time, at war with Australia; or

                     (e)  a person who has, at any time, been employed:

                              (i)  on a ship that operated to, or was operating from, a port in a country that was, at that time, at war with Australia; or

                             (ii)  on a ship that was engaged in trading with a country that was, at that time, at war with Australia; or

                            (iii)  on a ship that was engaged in providing assistance or support to the enemy or to a country that was, at that time, at war with Australia.

"allied veteran" means a person:

                     (a)  who has been appointed or enlisted as a member of the defence force established by an allied country; and

                     (b)  who has rendered continuous full‑time service as such a member during a period of hostilities;

but does not include a person who has served at any time:

                     (c)  in the forces of a country that was, at that time, at war with Australia, or in forces engaged in supporting or assisting the forces of such a country; or

                     (d)  in forces that were, at that time, engaged in war‑like operations against the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Australia.

"Australian mariner" means a person who was, during the period of World War 2 from its commencement to and including 29 October 1945:

                     (a)  a master, officer or seaman employed under agreement, or an apprentice employed under indenture, in sea‑going service on a ship registered in Australia that was engaged in trading between a port in a State or Territory and any other port; or

                     (b)  a master, officer or seaman employed under agreement, or an apprentice employed under indenture, in sea‑going service on a ship registered outside Australia who was, or whose dependants were, resident in Australia for at least 12 months immediately before he or she entered into the agreement or indenture; or

                     (c)  a master, officer, seaman or apprentice employed on a lighthouse tender, or pilot ship of the Commonwealth or of a State; or

                     (d)  a pilot employed or licensed by Australia or a State or by an authority constituted by or under a law of the Commonwealth or of a State; or

                     (e)  a master, officer, seaman or apprentice employed in sea‑going service on a ship owned in Australia and operating from an Australian port, being a hospital ship, troop transport, supply ship, tug, cable ship, salvage ship, dredge, fishing vessel or fisheries investigation vessel; or

                      (f)  a member or employee of the Commonwealth Salvage Board engaged in sea‑going service under the direction of that Board; or

                     (g)  a master, officer, seaman or apprentice employed in sea‑going service on a ship registered in New Zealand who the Commission is satisfied was engaged in Australia and is not entitled to compensation under a law of a Commonwealth country providing for the payment of pensions and other payments to seamen who suffered death or disablement as a result of World War 2.

"Commonwealth country" means a country (other than Australia) that is, or was at the relevant time, a part of the Dominions of the Crown, and includes:

                     (a)  a state, province or other territory that is one of 2 or more territories that together form, or formed at the relevant time, a discrete part of such a country; and

                     (b)  a place that is, or was at the relevant time, a territory, dependency or colony (however described) of a part of such a country.

"Commonwealth veteran" means a person who rendered continuous full-time service as a member of:

                     (a)  the naval, military or air forces; or

                     (b)  the nursing or auxiliary services of the naval, military or air forces; or

                     (c)  the women's branch of the naval, military or air forces;

of a Commonwealth country during a period of hostilities.

"continuous full-time service" means:

                     (a)  in relation to a member of the Defence Force:

                              (i)  service in the Naval Forces of the Commonwealth of the kind known as continuous full‑time naval service; or

                             (ii)  service in the Military Forces of the Commonwealth of the kind known as continuous full‑time military service; or

                            (iii)  service in the Air Force of the Commonwealth of the kind known as continuous full‑time air force service; or

                     (b)  in relation to a member of the naval, military or air forces of a Commonwealth country or an allied country--service in those forces of a kind similar to a kind of service referred to in subparagraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii).

Note:   see also subsection 5R(1).

"Defence Force" has the same meaning as in the Defence Act 1903 .

"defence force established by a Commonwealth country" means:

                     (a)  the naval, military or air forces of the country; or

                     (b)  the nursing and auxiliary services of the naval, military or air forces of the country; or

                     (c)  the women's branch of the naval, military or air forces of the country.

"defence force established by an allied country" means:

                     (a)  the regular naval, military or air forces; and

                     (b)  the nursing or auxiliary services of the regular naval, military or air forces; and

                     (c)  the women's branch of the regular naval, military or air forces;

raised by an allied country and operated by the country with regular military‑like lines of command, that is to say, raised and operated in such a manner that the members of those forces and services:

                     (d)  were formally appointed to, or enlisted in, those forces or services; and

                     (e)  were required to wear uniforms or insignia distinguishing them as members of those forces or services; and

                      (f)  were required to carry arms openly; and

                     (g)  were subject to the rules and conventions of warfare.

Note 1:       for extended meaning of this term in relation to a government‑in‑exile, see subsection (3).

Note 2:       for an extended meaning of this term in relation to an allied veteran see subsection 5R(2).

"eligible civilian" means a person:

                     (a)  who was killed, or detained by the enemy, during World War 2; and

                     (b)  who was, at the time the person was killed or first detained:

                              (i)  a British subject; and

                             (ii)  a resident, but not an indigenous inhabitant, of the Territory of Papua or the Territory of New Guinea; and

                     (c)  who was not, at that time:

                              (i)  rendering service as a member of the Defence Force; or

                             (ii)  employed by the Commonwealth on a special mission outside Australia.

"enemy" means:

                     (a)  in relation to World War 1 or World War 2--the naval, military or air forces, or any part of the naval, military or air forces, of a State at war with the Crown during that war; and

                     (b)  in relation to service in, or a period of hostilities in respect of, an operational area--the naval, military or air forces against which the Naval, Military or Air Forces of the Commonwealth were engaged in that operational area; and

                     (c)  persons assisting any of those forces.

"fishing vessel" means a ship employed in connection with the occupation of sea fishing for profit.

"former refugee" means a person who was a refugee but does not include a person who ceased to be a refugee because his or her entry permit or visa (as the case may be) was cancelled.

"government-in-exile" , in relation to an allied country, includes a person, or group of persons, claiming to represent, or administer, the country or a part of the country or the people of the country.

"member of a unit of the Defence Force" means:

                     (a)  a member of the Defence Force; or

                     (b)  another person who is:

                              (i)  a member of the unit; or

                             (ii)  attached to the unit; or

                            (iii)  appointed for continuous full‑time service with the unit.

Note:          see also subsection 5R(1).

"member of the Defence Force" includes a person appointed for continuous full-time service with a unit of the Defence Force.

"member of the Interim Forces" means a person who:

                     (a)  enlisted or re‑engaged in, or was appointed or re‑appointed to, the Defence Force for continuous full‑time service for a term of not more than 2 years; or

                     (b)  was appointed for continuous full‑time service with a unit of the Defence Force for a term of not more than 2 years;

on or after 1 July 1947 and before 1 July 1949.

"non-warlike service" means service in the Defence Force of a kind determined in writing by the Minister for Defence to be non-warlike service.

"operational service " has the meaning given by sections 6 to 6F.

"qualifying service" has the meaning given in section 7A.

"refugee" has the meaning given by subsection (4).

"special mission" means a mission that, in the opinion of the Commission, was of special assistance to the Commonwealth in the prosecution of a war to which this Act applies.

"unit of the Defence Force" means a body, contingent or detachment of the Defence Force.

"veteran" means:

                     (a)  a person (including a deceased person):

                              (i)  who is, because of section 7, taken to have rendered eligible war service; or

                             (ii)  in respect of whom a pension is, or pensions are, payable under subsection 13(6); and

                     (b)  in Parts III and VIIC also includes a person who is:

                              (i)  a Commonwealth veteran; or

                             (ii)  an allied veteran; or

                            (iv)  an allied mariner.

Note:          Commonwealth veteran , allied veteran and allied mariner are defined in this subsection.

"warlike service" means service in the Defence Force of a kind determined in writing by the Minister for Defence to be warlike service.

Army Medical Corps Nursing Service

             (2)  For the purposes of this Act, a member of the Army Medical Corps Nursing Service who:

                     (a)  rendered service during World War 1, either within or outside Australia; and

                     (b)  rendered the service as such a member in accordance with an acceptance or appointment by the Director‑General of Medical Services for service outside Australia;

is taken to have been serving as a member of the Defence Force while rendering that service.

Defence force of government‑in‑exile

             (3)  In relation to any period during which there was a government‑in‑exile in relation to an allied country, defence force established by an allied country includes:

                     (a)  the regular naval, military or air forces; and

                     (b)  the nursing or auxiliary services of the regular naval, military or air forces; and

                     (c)  the women's branch of the regular naval, military or air forces;

raised by that government‑in‑exile and operated by it with regular military‑like lines of command, that is to say, raised and operated in such a manner that the members of those forces and services:

                     (d)  were formally appointed to, or enlisted in, those forces or services; and

                     (e)  were required to wear uniforms or insignia distinguishing them as members of those forces or services; and

                      (f)  were required to carry arms openly; and

                     (g)  were subject to the rules and conventions of warfare.

Note:          for an extended meaning of the defence force of a government‑in‑exile in relation to an allied veteran see subsection 5R(2).

Refugee

             (4)  For the purposes of Part III, a person is a refugee if the person:

                     (a)  is taken, under the Migration Reform (Transitional Provisions) Regulations, to be the holder of a transitional (permanent) visa because the person was, immediately before 1 September 1994, the holder of:

                              (i)  a visa or entry permit that fell within Division 1.3--Group 1.3 (Permanent resident (refugee and humanitarian) (offshore)) in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Migration (1993) Regulations as then in force; or

                             (ii)  a visa or entry permit that fell within Division 1.5--Group 1.5 (Permanent resident (refugee and humanitarian) (on‑shore)) in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Migration (1993) Regulations as then in force; or

                     (b)  was, immediately before 1 February 1993, the holder of a visa or entry permit of a class prescribed under the Migration Regulations as then in force that corresponds to a visa or entry permit referred to in subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii); or

                     (c)  is the holder of:

                              (i)  a permanent protection visa; or

                             (ii)  a permanent visa of a class referred to in Schedule 2A; or

                            (iii)  a permanent visa of a class referred to in a declaration of the Minister under subsection (5) that is in force.

Declaration of class of visas

             (5)  If:

                     (a)  after the commencement of this subsection, a class of permanent visas (other than a class referred to in Schedule 2A) is prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of section 31 of the Migration Act 1958 ; and

                     (b)  the Minister is of the view that a person holding a visa of that class should be regarded as a refugee for the purposes of Part III;

the Minister may, by legislative instrument, declare that class of visas to be a class of visas for the purposes of subparagraph (4)(c)(iii).



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