Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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REMUNERATION TRIBUNAL (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)1991 NO. 44

Statutory Rules 1991 No. 44

Remuneration Tribunal (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Amendment)

(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Industrial Relations)

Under section 13 of the Remuneration Tribunal Act 1973 (the Act) the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Subsection 7(11) of the Act provides that except as prescribed, or as authorised by legislation, a person employed full-time by the Commonwealth or the Administration of a Territory, or by certain other bodies, is not entitled to be paid remuneration for performing the duties of a public office held on a part-time basis.

Regulation 6 of the Remuneration Tribunal (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (the Regulations) prescribes, for the purposes of subsection 7(11) of the Act, those part-time offices the holders of which are entitled to be paid remuneration, as determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.

Subregulation 6(1) provides that a person who holds a relevant fulltime office or appointment or is engaged in relevant full-time employment, and who holds a part-time office specified in Schedule 2, may receive the remuneration applicable to the part-time office. The remaining subregulations of regulation 6 provide for persons who hold certain full-time and part-time offices specified in those subregulations to receive the remuneration of their part-time offices.

A number of the references to individual offices in the regulations were out of date. A full-time employee no longer held a part-time office with the Merit Protection and Review Agency so that subregulations 6(4) and (5) were no longer required. Subregulations 6(8) and (9) relate to a position on the Australian Exposition Committee, which no longer exists. Subregulation 6(12) referred to a part-time office with the ACT Milk Board which is no longer occupied by a full-time employee. Subregulation 3.1 accordingly omits subregulations 6(4),(5),(8),(9) and (12).

Schedule 2 made provision in relation to a member of the Superannuation Fund Investment Trust (the SFIT) referred to in section 30 of the Superannuation Act 1976. Following an amendment to section 30 of the Superannuation Act 1976 this reference was no longer sufficient to identify the position required to be specified under regulation 6. A new subregulation 6(14) is inserted in the Regulations. This is more specific, identifying both the full and parttime positions.

Schedule 2 to regulation 6 also contained references to offices which are no longer required. These-were references to a member of the Australian Film Commission, which is no longer required as there is currently not a member of the Commission who is also a full-time employee, and to members of the ACT House of Assembly which has now been abolished.

In addition, the Regulations provide that persons who hold certain part-time offices not previously referred to in regulation 6 are to be paid remuneration for performing the duties of those offices.

The Superannuation Act 1990 provides for the establishment of a Commonwealth Superannuation Board of Trustees No. 1 of the new Public Service Superannuation Scheme, and further provides that two of the Trustees of the Board will be persons nominated by the ACTU to be appointed on a part-time basis. Similarly, the Superannuation Act 1976 provides for a part-time Member, nominated by the ACTU, of the Commonwealth Superannuation Board.

The Regulations substitute a new Schedule 2 to delete the above-mentioned obsolete and inadequate references and to add the required new references and also insert the necessary new subregulations into regulation 6.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission Act 1989 (the ATSIC Act) established a number of statutory bodies. These include the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, the Torres Strait Islanders Advisory Board, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Advisory Committee and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Regional Councils. The ATSIC Act further provides for a number of part-time offices in each body. Some of the persons who hold these parttime offices are full-time Commonwealth employees.

The amending Regulations insert In the Regulations new subregulations 6(16) and (17) and a new Schedule 3 to provide that the remuneration determined for these part-time offices may be paid where the holder of the office is in full-time relevant employment, including Commonwealth and Territory employment or employment in a public statutory corporation.

It is necessary for some of the Regulations to have retrospective operation. Those relating to the superannuation bodies for which provision must be made are to be retrospective to 1 July 1990. This is the date on which the amendments to the Superannuation Act 1976 commenced. The provisions in relation to offices under the ATSIC Act are retrospective to 1 January 1991, the date on which the employees concerned commenced to perform duties of the part-time offices in question.

The retrospective application of the Regulations does not affect the rights of a person (other than the Commonwealth) in a manner prejudicial to that person, nor does it impose any liability on such a person. It is therefore in accord with the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.