VPRS 4644 Exemption Court - Register of Applications for Exemption from Military Service

Background: The Commonwealth Jurisdiction of Petty Sessions/Magistrates CourtsSection 77(iii) of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, which established the Commonwealth of Australia, vested in the new Parliament of Australia responsibilities for enacting legislation relating to a large number of matters. It also gave Parliament the power to invest state courts with the jurisdiction to determine matters brought to court under Commonwealth legislation.Since Federation, Victorian Courts of Petty Sessions have heard matters brought to court under several Commonwealth Acts including taxation, electoral, wireless and television licensing and conciliation and arbitration legislation.The Commonwealth Defence Act 1903 allowed for some categories of persons to be exempt from military training in time of peace.Part XIII Section 138 of the Act specified certain categories of men who were exempt from naval or military training in time of peace. These categories included the medically unfit amongst others. The Act was amended to allow a wider range of exemptions including men whose parents or dependants would suffer great hardship if they went into military training.Section 139 stated that the responsibility of proof of eligibility for exemption for compulsory military training rested on the applicant, and that application for exemption should be decided by courts authorized for that purpose under the regulations (referred to in the Act).Exemptions RegistersIn 1915 all Clerks of Courts were instructed to keep a separate register for matters under Commonwealth legislation (as described above) and for cases where the defendant resided in another state. Cases falling into either of these categories were recorded in Commonwealth Registers. Commonwealth Registers are very similar in format and purpose to other Petty Sessions Registers. Commonwealth Registers as a distinct series commonly commenced in 1916.It has yet to be established if a separate Exemptions Register was proscribed in the regulations referred to in Section 139 of the Defence Act 1903.Exemptions Registers are generally in a common format, giving details of the case number, the name of the applicant, their address, occupation, the grounds on which exemption is sought, the date, and the decision or order and any remarks. In order to authenticate entries made in the register the presiding officer(s) of the court signed it at the end of each day.