182.—(1) Where a man of the Permanent Defence Force or a man of the Reserve Defence Force F212[called out on permanent service or deployed on military service under section 91A] signs a confession that he has been guilty of the offence of desertion or of fraudulent enlistment, a prescribed military authority may by order dispense with his trial by court-martial, and may by such order or a subsequent order do any one or more of the following things, that is to say:—

(a) reduce him, if he holds a non-commissioned army rank, to any lower non-commissioned army rank or, if he holds a non-commissioned naval rank, to any lower non-commissioned naval rank;

(b) forfeit in the prescribed manner his seniority of rank;

(c) in case any expense, loss, damage or destruction is occasioned by the commission of such offence, direct that there shall be paid by him as compensation for such expense, loss, damage or destruction such sum (not exceeding the amount required to make good such expense, loss, damage or destruction) as may be specified in such order.

(2) When a man of the Permanent Defence Force or a man of the Reserve Defence Force F212[called out on permanent service or deployed on military service under section 91A] signs a confession that he has been guilty of the offence of desertion or fraudulent enlistment and evidence of the truth or falsehood of such confession cannot then be conveniently obtained, the record of such confession signed by the commanding officer of the man shall be entered in the service books, and such man shall continue to do duty in the service corps in which he may then be serving or to which he may be transferred until he is discharged or, if he is a man of the Permanent Defence Force, is transferred to the Reserve Defence Force or until legal proof can be obtained of the truth or falsehood of such confession.