Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976 No. 31, 1976 - SECT 119

119. (1) Where a judgment given by a court in Australia or in an external
Territory for the payment of a sum of money has not been fully satisfied by
the judgment debtor and the judgment debtor is entitled to a benefit under
this Act, the judgment creditor may serve on the Commissioner a copy of the
judgment, certified under the hand of the Registrar or other proper officer of
the court by which the judgment was given, and a statutory declaration by the
judgment creditor stating that the judgment has not been fully satisfied by
the judgment debtor and specifying the amount due by the judgment debtor under
the judgment.

(2) Where a copy of a judgment and a statutory declaration are served on the
Commissioner in accordance with sub-section (1), the Commissioner shall, as
soon as practicable, by notice in writing given to the judgment debtor, inform
him of the service of those documents and require him, within such period as
is specified in the notice and in such manner as is so specified, to notify
the Commissioner whether the amount specified in the declaration is still due
under the judgment and, if no amount or a lesser amount is due under the
judgment, to furnish to the Commissioner, in such manner as is specified in
the notice, evidence in support of that fact.

(3) If, at the expiration of the period specified in the notice-

   (a)  the person to whom the notice was given has not complied with the
        notice; or

   (b)  the person has complied with the notice, but the Commissioner is
        satisfied that an amount is due under the judgment, the Commissioner
        may, at his discretion, authorize the deduction from the benefit, and
        the payment to the judgment creditor, of such sums as do not exceed,
        in the aggregate, the amount that the Commissioner is of the opinion
        is due under the judgment, and those deductions and those payments
        shall be made accordingly.

(4) A deduction shall not be authorized from-

   (a)  an instalment of orphan pension or the part of a spouse's pension (if
        any) that is attributable to an eligible child or eligible children;
        or

   (b)  an instalment of any other pension or any other part of a pension, as
        the case may be, if the deduction will reduce the amount of the
        instalment or that part of the instalment payable to less than
        one-half of the amount that would, but for this section, be payable.

(5) If, after a copy of a judgment given against any person entitled to a
benefit under this Act, being a judgment in respect of which the Commissioner
is satisfied that an amount is due, has been served in accordance with
sub-section (1), a copy of another judgment given (whether before or after the
first-mentioned judgment) against the same person in favour of the person in
whose favour the first-mentioned judgment was given, or in favour of another
person, is served in accordance with that sub-section, a payment shall not be
made in pursuance of this section to the judgment creditor under the other
judgment in respect of the amount due under that judgment until the amount due
under the first-mentioned judgment has been paid.

(6) A payment made to a judgment creditor in pursuance of this section out of
an amount of benefit payable to a person shall be deemed to be a payment of
benefit to the person entitled to benefit.

(7) A judgment creditor who serves a copy of a judgment on the Commissioner
under sub-section (1) shall notify the Commissioner when the judgment debt is
satisfied.

Penalty: $100 or imprisonment for 10 days.

(8) If the amounts paid in pursuance of this section to a judgment creditor in
respect of a judgment exceed, in the aggregate, the amount due under the
judgment, the excess is repayable by the judgment creditor to the judgment
debtor and, in default of payment, may be recovered by the judgment debtor
from the judgment creditor in any court of competent jurisdiction.