The following minute has been submitted to me for advice:

During the war members of the Expeditionary Forces committed offences of a fraudulent nature triable by civil courts as well as by courts-martial but in some instances these offences were not discovered until the members concerned had returned to Australia and resumed civilian life.

2. As except in very few instances offences committed outside Australia cannot be tried by civil courts in Australia owing to want of jurisdiction these cases could not be tried before these courts. The offences also were not triable by court-martial as the circumstances were not brought to light until the expiration of six months after they had been on war service.
3. One recent case is that of an officer who was a paying officer in one of the camps in England. He manipulated the payrolls so as to make it appear that he had paid the officers more than he actually had and had retained the balance. The fraud in this case was not revealed until the paybooks were audited and to take action was impossible as the officer had returned to Australia and been demobilised.
4. It is very desirable that in such cases the offender should be brought to justice and not escape through want of proper provision in the Act. It is therefore recommended that the following amendments be made to sections 103 and 105 of the Defence Act:

[Matter omitted, consisting of proposed amendments to sections 103 and 105 and draft of those sections as they would read if so amended.]

It is assumed that the question upon which advice is sought is whether there is power to pass legislation investing courts-martial convened in Australia with power to deal with offences committed abroad.

Section 5 of the Defence Act 1903-1918 applies that Act to all the Naval and Military Forces of the Commonwealth.

Section 177 of the Army Act authorises the application of any law of a colony to the forces of that colony whether within or without the limits thereof.

'Colony' is defined in the Army Act as meaning any part of His Majesty's dominions exclusive of the British Isles and British India.

By virtue of the above provisions of the Army Act it is proposed to insert in the Defence Act a new section 56 whereby the application of the Act is extended to members of the Forces serving outside the limits of the Commonwealth.

In my opinion it is competent for the Commonwealth Parliament to pass also legislation giving power to courts-martial convened within the Commonwealth to adjudicate as to offences committed outside the Commonwealth by members of the Forces.

[Vol. 17, p.83]