POVB Legal Fund gets Tax Exemption

In an official ruling made today, the 30th July 2003, the Commissioner of Taxation has decided that payment of fees by POVB members to the Legal Fund is tax deductible. His decision is retrospective and operates from the 1st July 2002.

The Commissioner has based his decision on a number of aspects including the following five points:

• The PSA is a registered Union and has a number of prison officers (also referred to as correctional officers) employed by the NSW Department of Corrective Services among its members. These members belong to the Prison Officers Vocational Branch (POVB) of the PSA.

• The corrections industry can be a difficult and dangerous one. Uniformed staff members are often accused by inmates or members of the public of criminal behaviour. The most common alleged offence is assault.

• The PSA cannot directly provide financial assistance to members who have been charged with a criminal offence which is associated with employment.

• The Legal Fund does not assist any member in respect of any matter relating to libel and/or defamation or equal opportunity and/or sexual harassment whether such a claim arises out of or in the course of his/her employment or otherwise.

• The Legal Fund does not assist members in relation to criminal charges which arise outside of the normal course of their duties even where the charge may impact on their employment activity. For example, a drink driving charge.

A full text of the 7-page decision is available from PSA. Send requests to aissac@psa.asn.au