Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts
1 After section 12
Insert:
12A Benefit payable where Judge ceases to hold office or dies on or after 1 July 2006
Scope
(1) This section applies if:
(a) a person who is a Judge ceases otherwise than by death to be a Judge on or after 1 July 2006 and no pension is payable to the person or to a spouse or an eligible child of the person; or
(b) a person who is, or has previously been, a Judge dies on or after 1 July 2006 without leaving a spouse or eligible child; or
(c) a person who is, or has previously been, a Judge has died leaving a spouse or spouses or an eligible child or eligible children and:
(i) the pension or pensions payable to the spouse or spouses or the child or children have ceased to be payable; and
(ii) the last such pension that ceased to be payable so ceased on or after 1 July 2006;
and, on the last day on which the person held office as a Judge, the person was not a qualified employee (within the meaning of the Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Act 1988 ).
Benefit
(2) Subject to subsection (3), there is payable to the person or, if the person has died, to the personal representative of the person an amount of benefit equal to the sum of the following amounts:
(a) the total of the minimum amounts that the Commonwealth would have had to contribute to a complying superannuation fund or scheme for the benefit of the person in order to avoid having any individual superannuation guarantee shortfalls in respect of the person if it were assumed that:
(i) the person was an employee of the Commonwealth (within the meaning of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 ) in his or her capacity as a Judge and had never been an employee of the Commonwealth (within the meaning of that Act) in any other capacity; and
(ii) this Act had not been enacted; and
(iii) those contributions were made on a monthly basis;
(b) the interest that would have accrued on the contributions covered by paragraph (a) if it were assumed that interest on those contributions had accrued in accordance with the method set out in a determination made by the Minister under subsection (6) .
Personal representatives
(3) If an amount of benefit is payable to the personal representative of the person under subsection (2), that amount is to be reduced by the sum of the amounts of the pensions (if any) that were paid to the person or any spouse or eligible child of the person under this Act.
(4) If an amount of benefit is payable under subsection (2) to the personal representative of the person and no personal representative can be found, the amount is to be paid to any individual or individuals that the Minister determines.
Appropriation
(5) A benefit under subsection (2) is payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.
Interest method determination
(6) The Minister must, by writing, determine a method for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b).
(7) A method determined under subsection (6) may provide for different interest rates for different periods.
(8) A method determined under subsection (6) may be expressed to relate to a period that began before the determination was made.
(9) A determination under subsection (6) takes effect on the later of the following:
(a) the day after the 15th sitting day of the House of Representatives after a copy of the determination is tabled in that House;
(b) the day after the 15th sitting day of the Senate after a copy of the determination is tabled in the Senate.
(10) The Minister must cause a copy of a determination under subsection (6) to be tabled in each House of the Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the determination is made.
(11) If either House of the Parliament, within 15 sitting days of that House after a copy of a determination under subsection (6) has been tabled in that House, passes a resolution disapproving of the determination, the determination does not come into operation.
(12) A determination under subsection (6) may be varied, but not revoked, in accordance with subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 .
(13) Subsection (12) does not limit the application of subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 to other instruments under this Act.
(14) A determination under subsection (6) is not a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 .
(15) The Minister must not exercise a power conferred by this section in a manner that is inconsistent with paragraph 72(iii) of the Constitution.
Definitions
(16) In this section:
"complying superannuation fund or scheme" has the same meaning as in the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 .
"individual superannuation guarantee shortfall" has the same meaning as in the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 .