Statute Details
- Title: Retirement and Re-employment (Fees) Regulations 2011
- Act Code: RRA1993-S561-2011
- Legislation Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Retirement and Re-employment Act (Chapter 274A)
- Enacting Authority: Minister for Manpower (under section 12 of the Retirement and Re-employment Act)
- Commencement: 1 January 2012
- Regulation Number: S 561/2011
- Status: Current version as at 27 March 2026
- Key Provisions (from extract): Regulation 1 (Citation and commencement); Regulation 2 (Fees)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Retirement and Re-employment (Fees) Regulations 2011 (“Fees Regulations”) is a short piece of subsidiary legislation made under the Retirement and Re-employment Act (Chapter 274A). Its practical purpose is to set specific monetary fees payable in connection with the statutory retirement and re-employment framework—particularly where an employee makes a claim to the Commissioner.
In plain terms, the Fees Regulations answers a narrow but important question: how much should the employee or the requesting party pay when they trigger certain administrative steps under the Retirement and Re-employment Act. Rather than creating new rights or obligations, the Regulations operationalise the Act by prescribing the amounts payable for (i) making a claim and (ii) obtaining certified copies of notes of evidence and decisions recorded.
Although the Regulations are brief, they matter for practitioners because fees can affect access to administrative processes, timing, and cost planning for parties. They also interact with the Act’s procedural provisions—especially those that refer to section 8D of the Retirement and Re-employment Act (which, in the extract, is where the relevant fee triggers are located).
What Are the Key Provisions?
Regulation 1: Citation and commencement provides the formal legal identity of the instrument and when it takes effect. The Fees Regulations may be cited as the “Retirement and Re-employment (Fees) Regulations 2011” and come into operation on 1 January 2012. For legal practice, this is relevant when determining which fee schedule applies to claims made before or after commencement, and for assessing whether any administrative action taken by the Commissioner aligns with the correct regulatory regime.
Regulation 2: Fees is the substantive provision. It contains two fee-setting rules, each tied to specific references in section 8D of the Retirement and Re-employment Act.
First fee: registration fee payable by an employee for making a claim—Regulation 2(1) states that the registration fee payable by an employee under section 8D(1)(b) of the Act for making a claim with the Commissioner is $3. This is a low, fixed amount. The wording indicates that the fee is associated with the act of “making a claim” and is payable to the Commissioner as part of the claim registration process.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the key interpretive points are: (1) the fee is payable by the employee (not the employer) for the claim registration step; (2) it is triggered by the employee’s claim under the specific statutory pathway in section 8D(1)(b); and (3) the amount is fixed at $3, meaning there is no discretion to vary it based on claim complexity, number of documents, or other factors.
Second fee: fee payable to the Commissioner for certified copies of notes of evidence and decisions—Regulation 2(2) provides that the fee payable to the Commissioner under section 8D(1)(j) of the Act for supplying a certified copy of notes of evidence and any decision recorded is $5 per page. This fee is not a one-off registration fee; it is a cost for obtaining certified materials.
Practically, this provision is significant for disputes where parties need documentary proof for internal review, legal advice, or potential further proceedings. The “$5 per page” structure means the total cost depends on the number of pages in the certified materials supplied. The Regulations also specify the scope of what is covered: certified copies of notes of evidence and any decision recorded. This suggests that the Commissioner’s supply obligation under section 8D(1)(j) is tied to both evidentiary records and the decision outcome, and that certification is a key feature (i.e., the materials are not merely copies; they are certified copies).
For counsel, the per-page model raises typical administrative questions that may arise in practice: how pages are counted, whether blank pages are included, and whether annexes or schedules are treated as pages. While the extract does not elaborate, the clear legal baseline is that the fee is charged per page for the certified materials described in the Act.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The Fees Regulations are structured as a very compact instrument with two regulations:
Regulation 1 deals with citation and commencement, setting the effective date and the short title.
Regulation 2 sets out the fees. It is divided into two subsections: (1) the registration fee for an employee’s claim, and (2) the per-page fee for certified copies of notes of evidence and decisions recorded.
There are no additional parts, schedules, or complex procedural rules in the extract. The Regulations therefore function as a fee schedule attached to the broader administrative and dispute-resolution architecture in the Retirement and Re-employment Act.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Fees Regulations apply to parties interacting with the Commissioner under the Retirement and Re-employment Act’s claim and record-supply mechanisms—most directly, employees who make claims under section 8D(1)(b). The registration fee rule is explicitly framed as payable by an employee.
In addition, the per-page certified copy fee applies to any person who requests certified copies under section 8D(1)(j) (the extract does not specify the requester’s identity, but it is tied to the statutory supply of certified materials by the Commissioner). In practice, this will typically involve parties to the claim process—often employees and employers—seeking certified records for legal advice, documentation, or follow-on steps.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
Even though the Fees Regulations are short, they are important because they translate statutory rights and procedures into workable administrative steps. A claim to the Commissioner under the Retirement and Re-employment Act is not purely conceptual; it has a cost component at the registration stage. By setting the registration fee at $3, the Regulations ensure that the claim process is accessible while still reflecting administrative processing costs.
For practitioners, the Regulations also matter for cost disclosure and client counselling. When advising an employee on the likely steps and expenses of pursuing a claim, counsel should be able to identify the statutory fee amounts. Similarly, when advising on documentary needs—such as obtaining certified notes of evidence and decisions—counsel should anticipate the $5 per page cost and manage expectations about total charges based on document length.
Finally, the Regulations support procedural certainty. Fixed fee amounts reduce the risk of disputes about whether a fee was correctly assessed. They also provide a clear compliance benchmark for the Commissioner’s administrative handling of claims and requests for certified records. In any challenge involving administrative process, the fee schedule is a straightforward reference point.
Related Legislation
- Retirement and Re-employment Act (Chapter 274A) — in particular, section 8D (referenced in the Fees Regulations for the claim registration fee and the certified copy fee), and section 12 (the enabling provision authorising the making of these Regulations).
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Retirement and Re-employment (Fees) Regulations 2011 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.