s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Superannuation Act 1976.
This Act may be cited as the Superannuation Act 1976.
This Act shall come into operation on 1 July 1976.
This Act continues to apply despite the repeal of the Commonwealth Legal Aid Act 1977 as if:
section 3 and Part IV of that Act had not been repealed; and
any arrangement under subsection 21(1) of that Act that ceased to be in force only because of that repeal had not ceased to be in force because of that repeal.
If an eligible employee is paid remuneration in respect of his or her employment otherwise than in respect of fortnights ending on the day before a day that, apart from this section, would be a contribution day:
CSC and the designated employer may agree in writing that this Act is to apply in relation to the employee as if references to contribution days were references to such days as are stated in, or determined in accordance with, the agreement; and
if such an agreement is made:
the agreement may provide that this Act is to apply in relation to the employee as if references to a fortnight were references to such period as is stated in, or determined in accordance with, the agreement; and
if the agreement provides as mentioned in subparagraph (i), this Act applies in relation to the employee as if cognate expressions (such as fortnightly) were construed accordingly.
An agreement made under subsection (1) has effect according to its terms.
If an agreement is in force under subsection (1) in relation to an eligible employee, CSC may, having regard to this Act and the need to ensure equity between eligible employees, make any adjustments that it thinks appropriate in respect of the calculation and payment of contributions and benefits under this Act in respect of that employee.
A reference in this Act to the designated employer of an eligible employee is a reference to:
if the employee is a permanent employee or temporary employee but is not an LWOP employee or employed by an approved authority:
if the remuneration in respect of his or her employment is paid wholly or mainly out of money appropriated by an annual Appropriation Act—the Department in respect of which the money is appropriated; or
if the remuneration in respect of his or her employment is paid wholly or mainly out of money appropriated by an Act other than an annual Appropriation Act—a Department determined by the Minister; or
if the employee is the holder of a statutory office but is not an LWOP employee:
if the remuneration in respect of the office is paid by an approved authority—the Authority; or
if subparagraph (i) does not apply—a Department or person determined by the Minister; or
if the employee is employed by an approved authority but is not an LWOP employee—the authority; or
otherwise—a person determined by the Minister.
In this section:
Department means:
an APS Agency; or
a Department of the Parliament established under the Parliamentary Service Act 1999.
LWOP employee means an eligible employee who:
is on leave of absence without pay for a period in respect of which the Board has directed, for the purposes of subsection 51(1) of the Superannuation Act 1976 as in force immediately before the commencement of the Superannuation Legislation Amendment Act 1994, that the subsection is not to apply; or
is on leave of absence for a period that:
is more than 12 weeks; and
is an excluded period of leave of absence for the purposes of subsection 51(1); or
is a person to whom section 51A applies and is making contributions in accordance with an election made under subsection (3) of that section.
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences against this Act.
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
This Act applies both within and without Australia.
If a provision of this Act refers to a declaration or determination made, approval given or other thing done by the Minister, CSC or the Commissioner and there is no other provision in this Act expressly authorising the Minister, CSC or the Commissioner to make such a declaration or determination, give such an approval or do such a thing, the Minister, CSC or the Commissioner, as the case may be, is, and is taken to have at all times been, authorised to make such a declaration or determination, give such an approval or do such a thing.
An approval given by the Minister for the purposes of the definition of temporary employee in subsection 3(1) may take effect on a day not earlier than:
12 months before the giving of the approval; or
if contributions have been accepted before the start of that period of 12 months from, or in respect of, the person to whom the approval relates—the earliest day on which contributions were so accepted.
Despite anything in regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 44(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003, section 42 (disallowance) of that Act applies to a declaration for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of approved authority in subsection 3(1) of this Act.
A declaration for the purposes of paragraph (a) of that definition may be expressed to have taken effect from and including a day not earlier than 12 months before the making of the declaration.
For the purposes of this Act, a person is a re‑employed former contributor with preserved rights if:
the person:
was a contributor under the superseded Act; or
has ceased to be an eligible employee; and
after his or her so ceasing or last ceasing to be such a contributor or an eligible employee (as the case may be), a transfer value in respect of the person was paid to the person administering a superannuation scheme (other than the scheme established under the superseded Act or the CSS); and
on or after 1 July 1990, the person becomes:
a permanent employee; or
a temporary employee; or
the holder of a statutory office; or
a person to whom paragraph (ec) of the definition of eligible employee applies;
and a transfer value that includes the transfer value referred to in paragraph (b) is payable, or will, on the person’s becoming an eligible employee, be payable, to or in respect of the person under:
the superannuation scheme referred to in paragraph (b); or
another superannuation scheme applicable in relation to any employment in which the person was employed after ceasing, or last ceasing, to be a contributor under the superseded Act or an eligible employee (as the case may be).
In this section, salary means salary or wages and includes any allowance, or the value of any allowance, or any fee, that is an allowance or fee of a kind that, under the regulations, is to be treated as salary for the purposes of this Act, but does not include any part of any salary or wages that, under the regulations, is not to be treated as salary for the purposes of this Act.
For the purposes of this Act but subject to subsections (3) to (3E), the annual rate of salary of an eligible employee on a particular day is an amount equal to the amount per annum of the salary payable to him or her on that day.
The regulations may provide that, in a case specified in the regulations, the annual rate of salary of an eligible employee on a particular day shall, for the purposes of this Act or a provision of this Act specified in the regulations, be an amount equal to such amount per annum as is ascertained under the regulations.
Despite subsections (1), (2) and (3), an eligible employee and his or her designated employer may agree that a particular annual rate is to be the employee’s annual rate of salary for the purposes of the application of this Act on a particular day and, if such an agreement is made, the agreed rate is taken to be the employee’s annual rate of salary on that day.
Subsection (3AC) applies if:
a Minister makes a determination under an Act in respect of the remuneration of a person appointed under that Act; or
the Presiding Officers (within the meaning of the Parliamentary Service Act 1999) make a determination under that Act in respect of the remuneration of a person appointed under that Act; or
a determination is made under the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 in respect of the remuneration of a person;
and an annual rate of salary of the person can be ascertained under the determination. (To avoid doubt, subsection (3AC) applies whether a determination is expressed to apply to a person or an office.)
Despite subsections (1), (2) and (3), for the purposes of the application of this Act on a particular day, the annual rate of salary of the person is the annual rate of salary ascertained for the purposes of this Act under the determination on that day.
If, at the time (the later time) immediately before a person ceased or last ceased to be an eligible employee, the person was entitled to partial invalidity pension under section 77 or 78, the annual rate of salary payable to the person at the later time is to be worked out, for the purposes of this Act other than sections 77 and 78, under subsections (3B) to (3E).
If the person’s entitlement arose under section 77, the annual rate of salary payable to the person at the later time is taken to be the amount per annum that would have been the person’s final annual rate of salary at the time (the earlier time) that was the occasion on which the person ceased or last ceased to be an eligible employee before the person’s entitlement arose.
If the person’s entitlement arose under section 78, the annual rate of salary payable to the person at the later time is taken to be the amount per annum that would, if the person had ceased to be an eligible employee on the day immediately before the day on which the person’s entitlement arose, have been the person’s final annual rate of salary at the time (the earlier time) that would have been the occasion of the person’s so ceasing to be an eligible employee.
However, if:
the Australian Statistician has published, at or before the later time, an estimate or successive estimates of the change or changes (expressed as a percentage or percentages) in AWOTE in respect of the period between the relevant earlier time and the later time; and
the estimate or estimates show an overall increase (expressed as a percentage) in those earnings over that period, or over the part of that period in respect of which the estimate or estimates were published;
the annual rate of salary payable to the person at the later time is taken to be the annual rate of salary worked out under subsection (3B) or (3C), as the case requires, increased by that percentage.
If, at any time, whether before or after the commencement of this subsection, the Australian Statistician has published or publishes for a particular period an estimate of a change (including an estimate that no change has occurred) in AWOTE in substitution for an estimate of such a change for that period previously published by the Australian Statistician, the publication of the later estimate is to be disregarded for the purposes of this section.
Where the rate of the salary, or of a part of the salary, of an eligible employee is not an annual rate, the amount per annum of that salary, or of that part of that salary, as the case may be, shall, for the purposes of this section, be ascertained:
where the rate is a weekly rate—by multiplying the weekly rate by 52;
where the rate is a monthly rate—by multiplying the monthly rate by 12; and
in any other case—in such manner as is prescribed.
A reference in this Act to the anniversary of the birth of a person shall be read as a reference to the day on which the anniversary occurs, and a reference in this Act to the anniversary of the birth of a person last preceding a particular day shall, where the person is or has been an eligible employee and that anniversary occurred before his or her first day of service, be read as a reference to his or her first day of service.
Where a person was born on 29 February in any year, then, in any subsequent year that is not a leap year, the anniversary of the birth of the person shall be deemed to occur on 1 March of that subsequent year.
For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be taken to have attained a particular age on the day immediately preceding the relevant anniversary of his or her birth.
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