Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976 No. 31, 1976 - SECT 3

3. (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears-

''accumulated basic contributions'', in relation to a person who has ceased to
be an eligible employee, means an amount equal to the sum of-

   (a)  the basic contributions that have been, or are deemed to have been,
        paid, or have become payable, by him on or after his
        first day of service and the amount of any interest that, in
        accordance with the regulations, is payable in respect of those
        contributions; and

   (b)  any amount that, on or after his first day of service, is paid to the
        Fund under sub-section 112 (5) in respect of him and the amount of any
        interest that, in accordance with the regulations, is payable in
        respect of the amount so paid;

''accumulated contributions'', in relation to a person who has ceased to be an
eligible employee, means the sum of his accumulated basic contributions and
his accumulated supplementary contributions (if any);

''accumulated supplementary contributions'', in relation to a person who has
ceased to be an eligible employee, means an amount equal to the sum of the
supplementary contributions that have been, or are deemed to have been, paid,
or have become payable, by him on or after his first day of service and the
amount of any interest that, in accordance with the regulations, is payable in
respect of those contributions;

''age retirement pension'' means pension payable under Division 1 of Part V;

''approved authority'' means-

   (a)  an authority or other body that is specified in the regulations as an
        approved authority for the purposes of this Act, being-

        (i)    a body corporate incorporated, whether before or after the
               commencement of this Act, for a public purpose by an Act,
               regulations made under an Act or a law of a Territory;

        (ii)   an authority or body, not being a body corporate, established,
               whether before or after the commencement of this Act, for a
               public purpose by, or in accordance with the provisions of, an
               Act, regulations made under an Act or a law of a Territory;

        (iii)  a company or other body corporate incorporated, whether before
               or after the commencement of this Act, under a law of a State
               or Territory, being a body corporate in which the Commonwealth
               has a controlling interest; or

        (iv)   an authority or body established, whether before or after the
               commencement of this Act, and whether by or in accordance with
               the provisions of an Act, regulations made under an Act or a
               law of a Territory or otherwise, and whether a body corporate
               or not, being an authority or body which is financed in whole
               or in substantial part, either directly or indirectly, by
               moneys provided by the Commonwealth; or

   (b)  an authority or body that, immediately before the commencement of this
        Act, was an approved authority for the purposes of the superseded Act;

''approved part-time employee'' means a part-time employee included in a class
of part-time employees declared by the Treasurer, by notice published in the
Gazette, to be an approved class of part-time employees for the purposes of
this Act;

''basic contributions'' means contributions paid or payable under section  45
;

''benefit'' means pension or other benefit payable under this Act;

''benefit classification certificate'', in relation to a person, means a
certificate in force in respect of the person under section 16;

''child'', in relation to a person who has died, means a child (including an
adopted child, an ex-nuptial child, a foster child, a step child or a ward) of
the person or of a spouse of the person;

''commencing day'' means 1 July 1976;

''Commissioner'' means the Commissioner for Superannuation;

''contribution day'' means the Thursday that falls on 8 July 1976, and each
succeeding alternate Thursday;

''contributions'' means basic contributions or supplementary contributions;

''Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act'' means the Defence Force 
Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 as amended and in force from time to
time;

''early retirement pension'' means pension payable under Division 2 of Part V;

''eligible child'', in relation to a person who has died and was, at the time
of his death, an eligible employee or a retirement pensioner, means a person
who-

   (a)  is a child of the deceased person other than (where the deceased
        person was a retirement pensioner at the time of his death) a child
        who, by virtue of section 9, is deemed not to be an eligible child for
        the purposes of this Act;

   (b)  is a person the 16th anniversary of whose birth has not occurred or-

        (i)    the 16th anniversary of whose birth has occurred but the 25th
               anniversary of whose birth has not occurred;

        (ii)   is receiving full-time education at a school, college or
               university; and

        (iii)  is not ordinarily in employment or engaged in work on his own
               account; and

   (c)  immediately before the deceased person's death-

        (i)    was (except where the person is a child of a spouse of the
               deceased person, but not of the deceased person) living with
               the deceased person;

        (ii)   was, in the opinion of the Commissioner, wholly or
               substantially dependent upon the deceased person; or

        (iii)  where the person is a child born after the deceased person's
               death-would have been, in the opinion of the Commissioner,
               living with the deceased person or so dependent if the person
               had been born before the death of the deceased person;

''eligible employee'' means-

   (a)  a person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, was an
        employee for the purposes of the superseded Act and has continued to
        be, and is, such an employee;

   (b)  a person who is a permanent employee;

   (c)  a person who is a temporary employee and is specified in a direction
        given under section 11, 12 or 13;

   (d)  a person who is the holder of a statutory office and is specified in a
        direction given under sub-section 14 (1) in relation to that statutory
        office;

   (e)  a person-

        (i)    who is a temporary employee;

        (ii)   who is the holder of a statutory office to which he was
               appointed on a full-time basis; or

        (iii)  who is the holder of a statutory office to which he was
               appointed otherwise than on a full-time basis and who is
               specified in a direction given under sub-section 14 (2) in
               relation to that statutory office,

and who, immediately before the commencement of the employment by reason of
which he is such a temporary employee or his appointment to that office, was
an eligible employee by virtue of another paragraph of this definition or a
previous application of this paragraph;

   (f)  a person-

        (i)    who is a temporary employee; or

        (ii)   who is the holder of a statutory office,

and to whom, immediately before becoming a temporary employee or the holder of
that office, invalidity pension was payable and who is specified in a
direction given under sub-section 15 (1); and

   (g)  the Commissioner and the Chairman of the Trust,

but does not include a person to whom the Judges' Pensions Act 1968-1974
applies or any person included in a prescribed class of persons;

''existing contributor'' means a person referred to in paragraph (a) of the
definition of ''eligible employee'' in this sub-section and who, immediately
before the commencing day, was a contributor for the purposes of the
superseded Act;

''final annual rate of salary'', in relation to a person who has ceased to be
an eligible employee, means-

   (a)  if paragraph (b) or (c) does not apply in relation to him-his annual
        rate of salary on his last day of service;

   (b)  if the annual rate of salary by reference to which his final basic
        contribution was calculated is higher than the rate specified in
        paragraph (a)-that higher rate; or

   (c)  if his annual rate of salary was higher than the rate referred to in
        paragraph (a) or (b) at any time on or after-

        (i)    the anniversary of his birth last preceding his last day of
               service; or

        (ii)   where, on or after that anniversary, he made an election under
               section 47 in respect of a reduction in his annual rate of
               salary-the date of the election,

that higher rate;

''final basic contribution'', in relation to a person who has ceased to be an
eligible employee, means the fortnightly basic contribution payable by him on
the contribution day last preceding his last day of service, or, if his
last day of service is a contribution day, payable by him on his last day of
service;

''first day of service'', in relation to a person who is, or has ceased to be,
an eligible employee, means-

   (a)  except where paragraph (b) applies-the day on which he became an
        eligible employee; or

   (b)  where the person has become an eligible employee on more than 1
        occasion-the day on which he last became an eligible employee;

''fortnightly rate of salary'', in relation to an eligible employee, means an
amount equal to one-twenty-sixth of the amount of his annual rate of salary;

''Fund'' or ''Superannuation Fund'' means the Superannuation Fund established
by this Act;

''invalidity pension'' means pension payable under Division 4 of Part V, other
than partial invalidity pension;

''last day of service'', in relation to a person who has ceased to be an
eligible employee, means-

   (a)  except where paragraph (b) applies-the day on which he so ceased; or

   (b)  where the person has ceased to be an eligible employee on more than 1
        occasion-the day on which he last so ceased;

''maximum retiring age'', in relation to a person who is, or has been, an
eligible employee, means the age of 65 years or such lesser age as, under the
regulations, is the maximum retiring age applicable to him or a class of
persons in which he is, at the relevant time, included;

''minimum retiring age'', in relation to a person who is, or has been, an
eligible employee, means the age of 60 years or such lesser age as, under the
regulations, is the minimum retiring age applicable to him or a class of
persons in which he is, at the relevant time, included;

''orphan pension'' means pension payable under Division 4 of Part VI;

''partial invalidity pension'' means pension payable under section 77 or 78;

''pension'' means any pension payable under this Act;

''pension pay day'' means the Thursday that falls on 1 July 1976, and each
succeeding alternate Thursday;

''pensioner'' means a person who is entitled to pension under this Act and,
for the purposes of Part III and sub-section 154 (6), includes a pensioner
under the superseded Act;

''period of contributory service'', in relation to a person who has ceased to
be an eligible employee, means a period equal to the period commencing on his
first day of service and ending on his last day of service (less any period
during that period when he was on leave of absence without pay and in respect
of which sub-section 51 (1) applies) together with, in the case of a person
who had previously ceased to be an eligible employee on an occasion earlier
than his first day of service, any period that, under section 8, is to be
added to his period of contributory service;

''period of prospective service'', in relation to a person who, before
attaining the age of 65 years or, if his maximum retiring age is less than 65
years, before attaining his maximum retiring age, ceases to be an eligible
employee by reason of having been retired on the ground of invalidity or by
reason of death, means the aggregate of-

   (a)  his period of contributory service; and

   (b)  the period commencing on the day immediately following his last day
        of service and ending on the day on which he will, or but for his
        death, would, attain the age of 65 years or his maximum retiring age,
        whichever is the earlier;

''permanent employee'' means-

   (a)  a person who is an officer for the purposes of the Public Service Act;
        and

   (b)  any other person employed by the Commonwealth or by an approved
        authority in a permanent capacity,

but does not include a part-time employee who is not an approved part-time
employee;

''Public Service Act'' means the Public Service Act 1922 as amended and in
force from time to time;

''retirement pensioner'' means a person to whom age retirement pension,
early retirement pension or invalidity pension is payable;

''spouse'', in relation to a person who has died and was, at the time of his
death, an eligible employee or a retirement pensioner, means-

   (a)  a person who was legally married to the deceased person at the time of
        the person's death and who, at that time, was living with the person
        on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis;

   (b)  a person who was legally married to the deceased person at the time of
        the person's death but who was not living with the person on a
        permanent and bona fide domestic basis at that time, and who, in the
        opinion of the Commissioner, was wholly or substantially dependent
        upon the deceased person at that time;

   (c)  a person who was not legally married to the deceased person at the
        time of the person's death but who, for a continuous period of not
        less than 3 years immediately preceding the person's death, had
        ordinarily lived with the person as the person's husband or wife, as
        the case may be, on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis; and

   (d)  a person who was not legally married to the deceased person at the
        time of the person's death but who, for a continuous period of less
        than 3 years immediately preceding the person's death, had ordinarily
        lived with the person as the person's husband or wife, as the case may
        be, on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis, and who, in the
        opinion of the Commissioner, was wholly or substantially dependent
        upon the deceased person at the time of the deceased person's death,

but, where the deceased person was, at the time of his death, a retirement
pensioner, does not include-

   (e)  a person who was legally married to the deceased person at the time of
        his death if the marriage took place after the deceased person had
        become a pensioner and after the deceased person had attained the age
        of 60 years unless-

        (i)    the marriage took place not less than 5 years before the
               deceased person's death; or

        (ii)   the marriage took place less than 5 years before the deceased
               person's death but-

                (A)  the person had, immediately preceding the marriage, for a
                     continuous period that commenced while the deceased
                     person was a retirement pensioner and not later than 5
                     years before the deceased person's death, lived with the
                     deceased person as the person's husband or wife, as the
                     case may be, on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis;

                (B)  the person had, immediately preceding the marriage, for a
                     continuous period that commenced while the deceased
                     person was an eligible employee and not later than 3
                     years before the deceased person's death, lived with the
                     deceased person as the deceased person's husband or wife,
                     as the case may be, on a permanent and bona fide domestic
                     basis; or

                (C)  the person had, immediately preceding the marriage, for a
                     continuous period that commenced while the deceased
                     person was an eligible employee but later than 3 years
                     before the deceased person's death, lived with the
                     deceased person as the deceased person's husband or wife,
                     as the case may be, on a permanent and bona fide domestic
                     basis and was, in the opinion of the Commissioner, wholly
                     or substantially dependent upon the deceased person at
                     the time of the deceased person's death; or

   (f)  a person who was not legally married to the deceased person at the
        time of his death if the person commenced living with the deceased
        person as the person's husband or wife, as the case may be, on a
        permanent and bona fide domestic basis after the deceased person had
        become a pensioner and after the deceased person had attained the age
        of 60 years unless the person had so lived with the deceased person
        for a continuous period of not less than 5 years immediately preceding
        the deceased person's death;
''spouse's pension'' means pension payable under Division 1, 2 or 3 of Part
VI;

''statutory office'' means an office established by an Act, by regulations
made under an Act or by a law of a Territory, or an office specified in the
regulations as an office that is a statutory office for the purposes of this
Act;

''superseded Act'' means the Superannuation Act 1922 as amended and in force
from time to time;

''supplementary contributions'' means contributions paid or payable under
section 48;

''temporary employee'' means-

   (a)  a person who is an employee for the purposes of the Public Service
        Act; and

   (b)  any other person employed by the Commonwealth or by an approved
        authority otherwise than in a permanent capacity,

but does not include-

   (c)  a part-time employee who is not an approved part-time employee; or

   (d)  a person who is engaged or appointed for employment outside Australia
        only, not being a person who is included in a class of persons
        approved by the Treasurer, in writing, for the purposes of this
        definition;

''Trust'' or ''Investment Trust'' means the Superannuation Fund Investment
Trust established by this Act.

(2) Where the Commissioner is of the opinion that a person would, but for a
temporary absence or an absence resulting from illness or infirmity, have been
living with another person at any time on a permanent and bona fide domestic
basis, the first-mentioned person shall, for the purposes of the definition of
''spouse'' in sub-section (1) of this section, and of section 9, be deemed to
have been living with the other person on a permanent and bona fide domestic
basis at that time.

(3) Where a person ceases to be an eligible employee and, immediately after so
ceasing, again becomes an eligible employee, he shall, for the purposes of
this Act, be deemed not to have so ceased.

(4) A reference in this Act to a person who has ceased to be an eligible
employee shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as including a
reference to a person who has ceased to be an eligible employee by reason of
death.

(5) A person who is or becomes employed by the Commonwealth or by an
approved authority shall not be taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be
employed otherwise than in a permanent capacity by reason only that his
appointment was or is on probation and has not been confirmed.

(6) Where a person is a director of a company or other body corporate
incorporated, whether before or after the commencement of this Act, under a
law of a State or Territory, being a company or other body that is an approved
authority, the person shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be
employed by the company or other body.

(7) A reference in this Act, by number, to a provision of the superseded Act
shall be read as a reference to that provision as re-numbered by section 78 of
the Superannuation Act 1959.