SAS Trustee Corporation v Miles

Superannuation and pensions – Police pension – Disabled member of police force – Entitlement to additional allowance – Where respondent certified by appellant as incapable of personally exercising functions of police officer due to specified infirmities determined by Commissioner of Police to have been caused by being hurt on duty – Where respondent received annual superannuation allowance as disabled member of police force – Where s 10(1A)(b)(ii) of Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906 (NSW) provided that annual superannuation allowance might increase by additional amount commensurate with member's incapacity for work outside police force – Where respondent sought additional amount by reason of supervening infirmity increasing respondent's incapacity for work outside police force – Where supervening infirmity increasing respondent's incapacity for work outside police force not subject of certification by appellant or determination by Commissioner of Police – Whether respondent entitled to additional amount of annual superannuation allowance.

Statutes – Interpretation – Principles – Context – Cognate terms – Choice between textually available constructions – Where cognate terms "incapable", "incapacity" and "totally incapacitated" appearing in Act – Where alternative textual constructions as to whether infirmity increasing incapacity for work outside police force required to be caused by being hurt on duty – Whether cognate terms to be construed as bearing same meaning.

Words and phrases – "additional amount", "annual superannuation allowance", "certified", "commensurate", "disabled member of the police force", "hurt on duty", "incapable of personally exercising the functions of a police officer", "incapacity for work outside the police force", "infirmity of body or mind", "member of the police force", "specified infirmity", "supervening infirmity or incapacity".

Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906 (NSW) – ss 1, 1A, 3, 4, 5, 5A, 7, 8, 10, 10B, 14, 21.

Superannuation Administration Act 1996 (NSW) – s 57.