State Public Service Superannuation Act 1985

This Act may be cited as the State Public Service Superannuation Act 1985.

Parts 1, 2, 6, (section 36 (4) excepted) and 7, and Schedules 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 shall commence on the date of assent to this Act.

(Repealed)

Except as provided by subsections (1) and (2), this Act shall commence on such day as may be appointed by the Governor in respect thereof and as may be notified by proclamation published in the Gazette.

Schedule 4 has effect.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act (including section 54), an employee’s election to contribute to the Fund is not operative unless the election is or was lodged—

in the case of a person who became an employee before 1 February 1988—before 1 April 1988, or

in the case of a person who became an employee between 1 February 1988 and 31 March 1988 (both dates inclusive)—not later than 2 months after the person became an employee.

Schedule 6 has effect.

In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires—

adjustment date means the date specified in an order under section 15 as the date in each year that is the adjustment date for the purposes of this Act.

administration levy means the amount of a contributor’s share of management costs calculated in accordance with the Superannuation Administration Act 1996.

applicable superannuation period has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 25.

appointed day means the day appointed and notified under section 2 (3).

attributed salary, in relation to a contributor at any time, means—

where the contributor is a full-time employee at that time—the salary of the contributor at that time, or

where the contributor is a part-time employee at that time—the salary that would be payable to the contributor at that time if employed as a full-time employee,

as certified by the contributor’s employer.

benefit means benefit payable under this Act.

Board means the SAS Trustee Corporation continued under the Superannuation Administration Act 1996.

contributor means an employee whose election to contribute to the Fund has taken effect.

contributor’s account means the account established and maintained under section 9 (2) in respect of the contributor.

contributor’s component has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 25.

discharge, in relation to a contributor, means the cessation of the contributor’s employment with an employer expressed by the employer to be on the ground that the period, or successive periods, for which the contributor was employed has or have ended.

employee means a person (other than an excluded person referred to in Schedule 4) who is employed by an employer and is the subject of a certificate by the employer to the effect that, for the time being, the person—

is employed by the employer under a contract of employment,

is so employed otherwise than on a casual or temporary basis,

if the regulations prescribe a class of persons as not being employees—is not within that class (specifying the class), and

if the regulations prescribe any requirement with which a person must comply in order to be an employee—complies with the requirement (specifying the requirement).

employer means—

the Government of New South Wales, or

an authority specified in Schedule 3,

and a reference to employment with an employer includes a reference to employment with successive employers.

employer-financed benefit, in relation to a contributor, means—

an employer’s component payable to, or in relation to, the contributor under Part 5,

a benefit payable to the contributor under section 32 (2) (b), or

a benefit (including interest) payable to, or in relation to, the contributor under section 34 (5) (b),

whichever is applicable and, where the supplementary benefit is payable to, or in relation to, the contributor, includes an amount equal to 75 per cent of the supplementary benefit.

employer’s account means the account established and maintained under section 9 (4) in respect of the employer.

employer’s component has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 25.

entry date, in relation to a contributor, means the date as at which the contributor’s election to contribute to the Fund took effect, that election being—

the only such election made by the contributor, or

where the contributor made more than one such election—the later or latest of those elections,

an election made by the contributor for the purposes of section 18 (resumption of contributions after break in employment) or section 19 (resumption of contributions after preservation of benefit) being disregarded.

exit date, in relation to a contributor, means the day on which the contributor ceases employment with an employer, that cessation of employment being—

the only such cessation of employment of the contributor, or

where there has been more than one such cessation of employment of the contributor—the later or latest of them,

any cessation of employment following which the contributor again commenced employment with an employer as referred to in section 18 (resumption of contributions after break in employment) or section 19 (resumption of contributions after preservation of benefit) being disregarded.

final contribution date, in relation to a contributor, means the last day of the superannuation period that ends on, or last precedes, the contributor’s exit date in respect of which the contributor is liable to contribute to the Fund.

financial year means the financial year of the Board specified in section 45.

first contribution date, in relation to a contributor, means the first day of the superannuation period referred to in section 14 (a).

full-time employee means an employee who is not a part-time employee.

Fund means the State Public Service Superannuation Fund established, maintained and administered by the Board in accordance with this Act.

maximum benefit points has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 25.

part-time employee means an employee certified under section 12 (2) to be a part-time employee.

preserved benefit, in relation to a contributor, means a benefit for which the contributor has made provision under section 34.

prospective benefit points has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 25.

regulations means regulations made under, or for the purposes of, this Act.

retire includes cease (otherwise than by reason of death) in any manner to be employed by an employer.

retrenchment, in relation to a contributor, means the termination of the employment of the contributor with an employer where the employment is expressed by the employer to be—

compulsorily terminated by the employer on the ground that—

the employer no longer requires the contributor’s services and, on termination of the contributor’s employment, does not propose to fill the contributor’s position,

the work which the contributor was engaged to perform has been completed, or

the amount of work that the employer required to be performed has diminished and, due to that fact, it has become necessary to reduce the number of employees employed by the employer, or

terminated as a result of the acceptance by the contributor of an offer by the employer of terms of retrenchment made on a ground specified in paragraph (a).

review date means the date specified in an order under section 15 as the date in each year that is the review date for the purposes of this Act.

salary, in relation to a contributor, means salary of the contributor, determined in accordance with section 6 and expressed as an annual rate.

salary ratio, in relation to a contributor at any time, means the number ascertained by dividing the salary of the contributor at that time by the attributed salary of the contributor at that time.

superannuation period means a period commencing on and including a date specified in Column 2 of Schedule 5 and ending on and including the date specified opposite thereto in Column 3 of that Schedule.

superannuation scheme means a retirement scheme, fund or arrangement (whether or not established by an Act) to or in respect of which an employer or a public or local authority constituted by an Act makes, or is liable to make, a payment in respect of a person who retires from the service of the employer or authority, whether or not any other payment may be made under the scheme, fund or arrangement on the occurrence of an event other than retirement.

supplementary benefit has the meaning ascribed thereto in section 25.

supplementary levy means the levy that, in order to attract the supplementary benefit, is paid by transfer from a contributor’s account under section 13 (7) (b).

this Act includes regulations.

union means an industrial union registered as such under the Industrial Arbitration Act 1940, or an association of employees registered as an organization under the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 of the Commonwealth as subsequently amended.

Where a contributor is in part-time employment with more than one employer at the same time, this Act applies to the contributor separately in relation to each employment as if, in relation to each employment, the contributor were a different person, except that the maximum benefit points for the contributor when taken into account in relation to all employments of the contributor shall not exceed in number the number that would have been the number of the contributor’s maximum benefit points if the contributor had been a full-time employee.

A reference in this Act—

to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty, and

to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.

(Repealed)

For the purposes of this Act, salary, in relation to a contributor, means the remuneration, salary or wages payable in money to the contributor in the contributor’s capacity as an employee, as reported to the Board from time to time by the contributor’s employer, including—

a loading in respect of any shift allowance, as determined in accordance with the regulations, and

other allowances payable in money that are of a kind included within the value of leave paid on termination of employment,

but does not include the excluded amounts or allowances referred to in subsection (2).

The excluded amounts or allowances are—

an amount paid for overtime or as a bonus, or an allowance instead of overtime,

except to the extent determined in accordance with the regulations, as referred to in subsection (1) (a)—an amount paid as shift allowance,

except to the extent that this section otherwise provides—a relieving allowance,

an expense allowance or an allowance for travelling, subsistence or other expenses,

an equipment allowance, and

an amount paid for rent or as a residence, housing or quarters allowance.

If a contributor’s employer, or a person authorised to do so on behalf of the employer, certifies in writing to the Board that a relieving allowance to be, or being, paid to the contributor in the contributor’s capacity as an employee is likely to be paid for a continuous period of 1 year (whether or not the period is partly before the date of the certificate), the allowance is, as from—

the date on which the certificate is lodged with the Board, or

the date from which the allowance becomes payable,

whichever is the later, salary for the purposes of this Act.

If a relieving allowance has been paid to a contributor in the contributor’s capacity as an employee for a continuous period of 1 year that ends after the commencement of this section and, during that period, the allowance has not been treated as part of the contributor’s salary in accordance with subsection (3), the allowance shall, as from the expiration of that period of 1 year, be treated as part of the contributor’s salary while its payment to the contributor continues.

If a contributor is on secondment to another employer, the salary of the contributor for the purposes of this Act is the salary paid or payable to the contributor by the other employer.

The Governor may, by order in writing, declare unconditionally, or subject to conditions, that subsection (7) applies—

to a contributor specified in the order who is on secondment but not to another employer, and

generally during the period of that secondment, or during such period as is specified in the order, being, in either case, a period commencing before, on or after the date of the order.

During the period in which this subsection is declared pursuant to subsection (6) to apply to a contributor on secondment, the contributor’s salary shall, for the purposes of this Act, be that paid or payable in respect of the employment to which he or she is seconded.

In this section, shift allowance means an allowance paid to an employee in respect of shift work performed by the employee, and includes amounts paid as penalty rates.

Any allowances or other kinds of remuneration treated as salary immediately before the commencement of this section in relation to a contributor shall continue to be treated as salary for the purposes of this Act, but only in relation to that contributor.

The Board shall establish, and shall maintain and manage, the State Public Service Superannuation Fund.

The Board shall—

cause to be paid to the Fund—

contributions made by employers and employees,

income derived from investment of the Fund, and any profit made from realisation of any investment of the Fund,

money borrowed for the purposes of the Fund, and

any other amounts payable to the Fund, and

cause to be paid from the Fund—

by transfer from the Fund to the Management Account—management costs relating to investment of the Fund as referred to in section 46 (1),

the amount of any loss made from realisation of any investment of the Fund,

the benefits payable under this Act, and

any other amounts payable from the Fund.

(Repealed)

The Board shall establish and maintain within the Fund a separate account for each contributor—

to which shall be credited—

the contributions made by the contributor to the Fund, and

the contributor’s component of a refund of benefit made by a contributor pursuant to section 18 (resumption of contributions after break in employment), and

to which shall be debited—

where the contributor is covered for the supplementary benefit—the amount of the supplementary levy,

the amount of the contributor’s component of any benefit paid to, or in relation to, the contributor, and

the administration levy.

The Board shall establish and maintain within the Fund a Supplementary Levy Account—

to which shall be credited the amounts debited pursuant to subsection (2) (b) (i), and

to which shall be debited 25 per cent of any supplementary benefit paid to, or in relation to, a contributor.

The Board shall establish and maintain within the Fund a separate account for each employer—

to which shall be credited—

the contributions or other payments made by the employer to the Fund, and

so much of a benefit paid to a contributor as was paid by the employer and refunded by the contributor pursuant to section 18 (resumption of contributions after break in employment), and

(Repealed)

to which shall be debited—

so much of any benefit payable to, or in relation to, a contributor employed by the employer as comprises the employer-financed benefit, the amount payable where 2 or more employers employed the contributor between entry date and exit date being calculated as prescribed,

the amount of the employer’s share of management costs referred to in section 46 (2), and

interest payable by the employer under section 58.

The Board shall establish and maintain within the Fund such other accounts as, in the opinion of the Board, are necessary or convenient for the management of the Fund and the administration of this Act.

The Board shall, from time to time, adjust each of the accounts and reserves established under this Part at a rate fixed by the Board, having regard to the income of the Fund and such other matters as the Board considers relevant.

The Board may, for the purpose of adjusting a contributor’s account before paying out the balance at credit in the account, fix a rate for that purpose only.

An investigation as to the state and sufficiency of the Fund shall, as at 31 March 1988 and at the expiration of each succeeding period of 3 years, be made by not less than 2 actuaries appointed by the Board.

Actuaries appointed under subsection (1) shall complete their investigation, and shall report the result to the Board, not later than 13 months after the date as at which the investigation is made.

The Board shall, not later than 2 months after it receives a report under subsection (2), forward the report to the Minister with such comments thereon as it thinks fit.

The Minister may, in relation to a particular investigation, extend or further extend a period referred to in subsection (2) or (3) if the Minister considers that special circumstances exist to justify such an extension or further extension.