Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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SUPERANNUATION (PRODUCTIVITY BENEFIT) (QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES AND ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS) DECLARATION NO. 1 1993 NO. 224

Statutory Rules 1993 No. 224

SUPERANNUATION (PRODUCTIVITY BENEFIT) ACT 1988

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE

DECLARATION UNDER SECTION 3F AND 4A

The Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Act 1988 (the Act) provides the mechanism for the payment of superannuation guarantee minimum benefits to Commonwealth employees as required by the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (usually where they have no other superannuation cover). The employers of "qualified employees" are required to pay contributions based on the salary of the employee into a fund either nominated or approved by the Minister for Finance under the Act.

Where employers have inadvertently not made the necessary contributions, a "safety net" arrangement provides equivalent benefits under section 8A of the Act. Under that arrangement notional benefits are accumulated with interest. The benefits become payable either to a fund or to the individual in due course.

Subsection 3F(1) of the Act enables the Minister for Finance to declare a specified class of persons to be qualified employees.

Subsection 4A(1) of the Act allows the Minister for Finance to declare that a specified class of qualified employees are not covered for the benefits provided for under the Act unless the conditions specified in the declaration declare otherwise.

Subsection 4A(2) of the Act allows the Minister for Finance to specify particular replacement superannuation arrangements to apply to a declared class of qualified employee.

This declaration specifies judges for the purposes of the Judges' Pension Act 1968 and the GovernorGeneral as a class of persons to be qualified employees. The declaration provides that judges and the Governor-General are to be provided with the notional safety net superannuation guarantee minimum support under the arrangement underpinned by section 8A of the Act. Where a judge or the GovernorGeneral receives superannuation benefits under the provisions of the Judges' Pension Act 1968 or the Governor-General Act 1974 the notional benefit is reduced by the amount of that benefit. Where no further benefits are payable under the Judges' Pension Act 1968 or the Governor-General Act 1974, the balance of the notional benefit (if any) is payable.

The superannuation benefits provided under this declaration, in combination with the Judges' Pension Act 1968 and the Governor-General Act 1974, ensure that in all circumstances the judiciary and the GovernorGeneral receive a superannuation guarantee minimum level of employer superannuation support.

The declaration takes effect from 1 July 1992.