Royal Commission on Old-Age Pensions
27 February 1905 – 19 June 1906
A commission of members of Parliament that worked out how a Commonwealth old-age pension scheme should operate and be funded.
How it came into existence
Appointed by Letters Patent dated 27 February 1905 to replace the House of Representatives select committee on old-age pensions, which ended in December 1904. Austin Chapman MHR chaired it; its members included F. W. Bamford, J. L. Bonython, King O’Malley, Senator G. F. Pearce, Thomas Skene, Sydney Smith and James Styles.
How it ended
Its report was presented on 19 June 1906, and the commission then ended. It recommended a non-contributory, means-tested pension paid as of right. The Deakin government enacted such a scheme in the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act 1908, which came into operation on 1 July 1909.
Main functions
- Design of a Commonwealth old-age pension
- Funding options, including revenue from a tobacco monopoly
- Eligibility and means testing
Lineage
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