In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Except as provided in the last preceding subsection or as the context may otherwise require, words and expressions used in this Act have the same meanings respectively as in the War Pensions Act, 1915, and its amendments.

Unless in any case the context otherwise requires, references in any other Act to pensions under the War Pensions Act, 1915, or to war veterans’ allowances, or to persons in receipt of any such pension or allowance, shall, as the case may require, be deemed to include a reference to a pension or a like allowance granted under this Act, or a reference to a person in receipt of any such pension or allowance.

For the purposes of this Act the several ranks of the Royal New Zealand Air Force specified in the first column of the Schedule hereto shall be deemed to correspond and be equivalent to the several Army and Navy ranks and ratings set opposite thereto respectively in the second column of that Schedule.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the War Pensions Act, 1915, in its application to pensions under this Act, no child (being a step-child or an adopted child of a member of the Forces) shall be entitled to a pension under Part II or Part III of this Act in respect of the death or disablement of that member for any period while he is in receipt of a pension under the War Pensions Act, 1915, or this Act as the child of any other member of the Forces.

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, make all such regulations as in his opinion are necessary for the purposes of this Act.

All regulations made under the authority of this section shall be laid before Parliament within fourteen days after the making thereof if Parliament is then in session, and if not, shall be laid before Parliament within fourteen days after the commencement of the next ensuing session.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, pensions and allowances in accordance with the War Pensions Act, 1915, and any amendments thereof (whether passed before or after the passing of this Act), shall be payable in respect of the death or disablement of any member of the Forces in the following cases, namely:—

Pensions in respect of the death or disablement of any person, not being a member of the Forces within the meaning of this Act, may be paid under this Part of this Act in connection with the present war if, in like circumstances, pensions would, pursuant to any of the provisions of the War Pensions Act, 1915, or its amendments, be payable in connection with the last war in respect of the death or disablement of any person not being a member of the Forces within the meaning of that Act.

Save as expressly provided in the following provisions of this Part of this Act, all the provisions of the War Pensions Act, 1915, and of the War Veterans’ Allowances Act, 1935 (including the penal provisions of those Acts), shall, so far as applicable and with any necessary modifications, apply with respect to pensions and allowances payable under this Part of this Act.

Pensions payable under the last preceding section to or in respect of nurses, being members of the Forces within the meaning of this Act, shall be payable in all respects as if they were payable in accordance with section twenty-two of the War Pensions Act, 1915, and the rates of pensions for the time being prescribed under that section for or in respect of members of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service shall be deemed to be the rates prescribed for or in respect of nurses, being members of the Forces as aforesaid.

In the application for the purposes of this Part of this Act of section fourteen of the War Pensions Amendment Act, 1917, references to His Majesty’s Imperial Naval or Military Forces or to His Majesty’s Naval or Military Reserve Forces shall be extended to include references to the Royal Air Force or to the Royal Air Force Reserve, as the case may require.

This section applies in every case where a claim for a pension under this Part of this Act is made in respect of the death or disablement of a member of the Forces who suffered any disablement as a member of the Forces in the last war.

Where in any case to which this section applies a claim for a pension under this Part of this Act is made by any person (whether the member or any of his dependants) who is in receipt of a pension under the War Pensions Act, 1915, in respect of the disablement of the member in the last war, the aggregate of the rates of the pension in respect of the last war and the pension under this Part of this Act shall not exceed the rate of pension to which the claimant would be entitled under this Part if the grounds for the grant of both pensions were attributable exclusively to the present war.

Notwithstanding the limitation of the War Pensions Act, 1915, in its application to adopted children, any child who is legally adopted by a member of the Forces before the date of his departure from New Zealand as a member of the Forces shall be deemed to be a child of that member for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, pensions in accordance with the War Pensions Act, 1915, and its amendments (whether passed before or after the passing of this Act) shall be payable in respect of the death or disablement of any member of the Forces in the following cases, namely:—

Save as expressly provided in the following provisions of this Part of this Act, all the provisions of the War Pensions Act, 1915 (including the penal provisions thereof), shall, so far as applicable and with any necessary modifications, apply with respect to pensions payable under this Part of this Act.

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be construed to confer on any person a right to receive a pension thereunder in respect of the death or of any disablement of a member of the Forces if in respect of the death or of that disablement a pension is payable under the War Pensions Act, 1915, or under Part II of this Act.

This section applies in every case where a claim for a pension under this Part of this Act is made in respect of the death or disablement of a member of the Forces who suffered any disablement as a member of the Forces in the last war or in the present war.

Where in any case to which this section applies a claim for a pension under this Part of this Act is made by any person (whether the member or any of his dependants) who is in receipt of a pension under the War Pensions Act, 1915, in respect of the disablement of the member in the last war, or who is in receipt of a pension under Part II of this Act in respect of the disablement of the member in the present war, the aggregate of the rates of the existing pension or pensions and the pension under this Part of this Act shall not exceed the rate of the total pension to which the claimant would be entitled under this Part of this Act if his existing pension or existing pensions had been granted thereunder.

Notwithstanding the limitation of the War Pensions Act, 1915, in its application to adopted children, any child who is legally adopted by a member of the Forces before the date of his death or disablement shall be deemed to be a child of that member for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

In determining the rate of any pension under this Part of this Act the War Pensions Board may, in its discretion, take into consideration any amount paid by way of pension, retiring-allowance, compensation, or compassionate allowance out of any public moneys or out of any Government superannuation fund in respect of the death or disablement of the person in respect of whose death or disablement the claim for a pension is made.

The date from which all pensions granted under this Part of this Act shall commence shall be decided by the War Pensions Board.

This Part of this Act is in substitution for Part II of the Finance Act (No. 2), 1939, and the said Part is hereby repealed accordingly.

All pensions heretofore granted under the said Part and in force on the passing of this Act shall be deemed to have been granted under this Part of this Act.