Victorian Consolidated Legislation

County Court Act 1958 - SECT 17B

Pension entitlements of associate judges, their partners and children

17B. Pension entitlements of associate judges, their partners and children









(1) An associate judge who-





   (a)  has attained-

   (i)  the age of 65 years; or

   (ii) in the case of an associate judge who was appointed as a master before
        the commencement of section 26 of the
        Judicial Remuneration Tribunal Act 1995, the age of 60 years- and has
        held office for at least 10 years; or

   (aa) has held office for at least 20 years; or





   (b)  was appointed while under the age of 60 and has become afflicted with
        a permanent incapacity that disables him or her from the due execution
        of the office-

is, on resignation or retirement, entitled to a pension payable fortnightly at
the annual rate of 60% of the annual salary for the time being applicable to
his or her former office.

(1A) An associate judge who-





   (a)  had attained the age of 60 years when appointed as an associate judge;
        and



   (b)  has attained the age of 70 years-

is, on resignation or retirement, entitled to a pension payable fortnightly at
the proportion of the rate of the pension that would have been payable if he
or she had held office for 10 years that is equal to the proportion of 10
years during which he or she held office as an associate judge.

(1B) An associate judge who-





   (a)  had attained the age of 60 years when appointed as an associate judge;
        and



   (b)  has become afflicted with a permanent incapacity that disables him or
        her from the due execution of the office-

is, on resignation or retirement, entitled to a pension payable fortnightly at
the rate of the pension that would have been payable under subsection (1A) if
he or she had held office until attaining the age of 70 years.

(2) On the death of an associate judge, a former associate judge or a former
master his or her partner is, until death or marriage or until the partner
becomes the domestic partner of another person, entitled to a pension payable
fortnightly at the annual rate of 3/8ths of the annual salary for the time
being applicable to the former office of the associate judge, former associate
judge or the office of associate judge that is equivalent to the former office
of the former master, as the case requires.

(3) A pension is not payable under subsection (2) to the partner of an
associate judge, a former associate judge or former master where the marriage
took place or the domestic partnership was entered into after the associate
judge's or former master's resignation or retirement.





(4) On the death of an associate judge, a former associate judge or a former
master in respect of whom no pension is payable under subsection (2) any
eligible child of the associate judge, former associate judge or former master
is entitled to a pension payable fortnightly at the annual rate set out in
subsection (2) divided by 4 or the number of eligible children, whichever is
the greater.

(5) An eligible child of an associate judge, a former associate judge or
former master is a child, adopted child or stepchild of the associate judge,
former associate judge or former master or his or her partner-

   (a)  who is under the age of 16; or

   (b)  who is over the age of 16 but under the age of 25 and receiving
        full-time education at a school, college or university.

(6) A pension payable under subsection (4) shall be paid to such person or
persons as the Attorney-General directs.

(7) The right of a former master or former associate judge to a pension under
this section-

   (a)  ceases if he or she accepts appointment to a judicial office in or
        outside Victoria;

   (b)  is suspended while-

   (i)  he or she holds an office or place of profit under the Crown in right
        of the Commonwealth or of a State; or

   (ii) he or she is engaged in legal practice in any State or Territory of
        the Commonwealth or is employed by a legal practitioner in connection
        with the practitioner's legal practice in any such State or Territory.

(8) Subsection (7) applies unless the Governor in Council by Order otherwise
determines in any particular case.

(9) An associate judge retires for the purposes of this section only if he or
she ceases to hold office in the circumstances described in section 17A(2)(d).

(10) This section does not apply to or in relation to a master who resigned or
retired before the commencement of section 6 of the Courts (Amendment) Act
1990.

(10A) Subsections (7) to (21) of section 14 apply with such modifications as
are necessary to and in respect of a pension under this section in the same
circumstances and to the same extent as those subsections apply to and in
respect of a pension under section 14.

(11) Pensions under this section and any payments of lump sums provided by the
commutation of those pensions are payable out of the Consolidated Fund which
is appropriated to the necessary extent.

(12) For the purposes of this section, service as a master before the
commencement of section 53 of the Courts Legislation Amendment (Associate
Judges) Act 2008 shall count as service as an associate judge.

(13) In this section, former master means a master who resigned, retired or
died before the commencement of section 56 of the Courts Legislation Amendment
(Associate Judges) Act 2008.