Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) (Benefits) Regulations (Cth)

Statutory Rules 1981 No. 3431

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Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) (Benefits) Regulations

I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Act 1979.

Dated 19 November 1981.

ZELMAN COWEN

Governor-General

By His Excellency’s Command,

IAN VINER

Minister of State for Industrial Relations for and on behalf of the

Prime Minister

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Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) (Benefits) Regulations.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—

“appropriate officer”, in relation to a former employee, means—

(a) except where paragraph (b) applies—a person who is a Chief Officer of the Department in which the former employee was employed immediately before the date of his retirement; or

 

(b) where the former employee was a person employed by a prescribed Commonwealth authority—a person appointed by the prescribed Commonwealth authority to exercise and perform powers and duties similar to those of a Chief Officer of a Department;

“date of retirement”, in relation to a former employee, means—

(a) except where paragraph (b) applies—the date specified by the Permanent Head of a Department in relation to the former employee under sub-section 19 (1) of the Act; or

(b) where the former employee was a person employed by a prescribed Commonwealth authority—the date specified by the authority in relation to the former employee under subsection 19 (2) of the Act;

“former employee” means a person to and in relation to whom these Regulations apply by virtue of regulation 3;

“spouse”, in relation to a former employee who has died, means a person who is a spouse of the deceased former employee for the purposes of the Superannuation Act 1976;

“the Act” means the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) Act 1979.

Application of regulations

3. (1) Subject to sub-regulation (2), these Regulations apply to and in relation to a person who—

(a) was an employee;

(b) was declared to be eligible for redeployment for a reason referred to in sub-paragraph 7 (1) (b) (i) or (iii) of the Act;

(c) was retired under section 19 of the Act; and

(d) had attained the age of 55 years on or before the date of his retirement but had not, on that date, attained the age of 60 years.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to or in relation to a person who was declared to be eligible for redeployment for a reason referred to in subparagraph 7 (1) (b) (i) of the Act unless—

(a) that person—

(i) elected, in pursuance of an award and not later than 28 days after becoming entitled under that award to make the election, to be retired before the expiration of a period of notice to which he would otherwise have been entitled; and

(ii) at the time of making the election referred to in sub-paragraph (i), elected, by notice in writing to an appropriate officer, that these Regulations apply to and in relation to him; or

(b) where that person was not entitled under an award to make an election of the kind referred to in sub-paragraph (a) (i)—

(i) an appropriate officer, by notice in writing given to the person, declared the person to be a person to whom this paragraph applies; and

(ii) the person, by notice in writing given to that appropriate officer not later than 28 days after the giving of the notice referred to in sub-paragraph (i), elected to be retired before the expiration of a period of notice to which he would otherwise have been entitled and that these Regulations apply to and in relation to him.

(3) In their application to and in relation to a person to whom sub-regulation (2) applies, these Regulations have effect to the exclusion of any provision in an award for the making, after the retirement of a person in pursuance of an election of the kind referred to in sub-paragraph (2) (a) (i), of payments to him by reason of that retirement.

(4) In sub-regulations (2) and (3), “award” means—

(a) an award within the meaning of section 82e of the Public Service Act 1922; and

(b) an agreement to which section 31 of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904 applies.

Lump sum payments to former employees

4. (1) Subject to these regulations, a benefit by way of a lump sum is payable to or in respect of a former employee in accordance with sub-regulation (2).

(2) The benefit that is payable to or in respect of a former employee under sub-regulation (1) is an amount in dollars ascertained in accordance with the formula—

where—

a is an amount per annum equal to the annual rate of salary applicable in relation to the former employee; and

b is the number of complete months included in the period commencing on the day immediately following the date of his retirement and ending on the day on which he will, or but for his death, would, attain the age of 60 years.

(3) In this regulation, a reference to the annual rate of salary applicable in relation to a former employee shall be read—

(a) if the former employee was a category A employee for the purposes of the Long Service Leave (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1976—as a reference to the annual rate of salary that is, by virtue of section 21

of that Act, the rate applicable to him in relation to his long service leave immediately before he ceased to be an employee;

(b) if the former employee was a category B employee for the purposes of that Act and was, immediately before he ceased to be an employee, a full-time employee—as a reference to the annual rate of salary that would have been, by virtue of that section, the rate applicable to him in relation to his long service leave immediately before he ceased to be an employee if he had been, for the purposes of that Act, a category A employee the whole of whose employment that counted as employment in a qualifying service for the purposes of that Act had been employment in full-time capacity; or

(c) if the former employee was a category B employee for the purposes of that Act and was, immediately before he ceased to be an employee, a part-time employee—as a reference to the annual rate of salary that would have been, by virtue of that section, the rate applicable to him in relation to his long service leave immediately before he ceased to be an employee if he had been, for the purposes of that Act, a category A employee the whole of whose employment that counted as employment in a qualifying service for the purposes of that Act had been employment in a part-time capacity.

Election to receive pension benefits in lieu of lump sum

5. (1) A former employee may, not later than 3 months after the date of his retirement, elect, by notice in writing to an appropriate officer, that, in lieu of the lump sum payable to or in respect of him under regulation 4, pension benefits be paid to or in respect of him in accordance with these Regulations.

(2) Where a former employee makes an election under sub-regulation (1)—

(a) the former employee is entitled to retirement pension in accordance with regulation 6; and

(b) spouse’s pension is payable in respect of him in accordance with regulation 7 or 8.

(3) Where a former employee—

(a) makes an election under sub-regulation (1); and

(b) subsequently makes an election under the Superannuation Act 1976 by virtue of which he becomes entitled to receive, as a lump sum benefit, all the benefits which, but for that last-mentioned election, he would be entitled to under that Act in consequence of his retirement under section 19 of the Act,

the election referred to in paragraph (a) is void.

Rate of retirement pension

6. Where a former employee is entitled to retirement pension by virtue of paragraph 5 (2) (a), the annual rate of that pension is an amount per annum equal to the amount that is the product of the lump sum to which, but for that election, the former employee would be entitled under regulation 4 and such

factor as would be applicable to the former employee under sub-section 61 (3) of the Superannuation Act 1976 if that pension were additional early retirement pension to which the former employee was entitled by virtue of section 59 of that Act.

Spouse’s pension

7. (1) Subject to regulation 8, where a former employee who has made an election under regulation 5 dies and is survived by a spouse, the spouse is entitled to spouse’s pension in accordance with sub-regulation (2).

(2) The annual rate of the pension to which the spouse of a deceased former employee is entitled by virtue of sub-regulation (1) is 67% of the annual rate at which retirement pension was payable to the former employee immediately before his death.

Former employee survived by more than one spouse

8. (1) Where a former employee who has made an election under regulation 5 dies and is survived by 2 or more persons (in this regulation referred to as the “surviving spouses”) who are spouses of the deceased former employee, spouse’s pension is payable to the surviving spouses in accordance with sub-regulation (2).

(2) The annual rate of the pension to which a surviving spouse is entitled byvirtue of sub-regulation (1) is an amount per annum ascertained in accordance with the formula—

where—

a is an amount per annum equal to the annual rate of pension benefit to which, in accordance with the relevant allocation, the surviving spouse is entitled under the Superannuation Act 1976;

b is an amount per annum equal to the annual rate of the spouse’s pension that, but for the application of this regulation, would be payable in respect of the deceased former employee under regulation 7; and

c is an amount per annum equal to the annual rate of spouse’s pension that under Division 3 of Part VI of the Superannuation Act 1976 would have been payable in respect of the deceased former employee at the time of the relevant allocation if the deceased former employee had had only one spouse who had survived him.

(3) In sub-regulation (2), “relevant allocation” means—

(a) except where paragraph (b) or (c) applies—the allocation, under section 110 of the Superannuation Act 1976, of the benefits payable in respect of a deceased former employee under Division 3 of Part VI of that Act among the surviving spouses of the deceased former employee;

(b) where more than one such allocation has been made—the last of those allocations; or

(c) where that allocation or the last of those allocations, as the case may be, has been varied under sub-section 110 (6) of that Act—that allocation, or the last of those allocations, as varied.

Payment in association with payment under Superannuation Act 1976

9. Where a person is entitled to the payment of a pension benefit under these Regulations, that benefit shall be paid to the person in association with any benefit payable to the person under the Superannuation Act 1976 and as if it were a benefit payable under that Act.

Application of Superannuation Act 1976

10. The provisions of the Superannuation Act 1976 other than the provisions of Part X of that Act apply, subject to the modifications and adaptations specified in the Schedule, to and in relation to a pension benefit payable under these Regulations.

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SCHEDULE Regulation 10

MODIFICATIONS AND ADAPTATIONS OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976 (OTHER THAN THE PROVISIONS OF PART X OF THAT ACT) SUBJECT TO WHICH THAT ACT APPLIES TO AND IN RELATION TO PENSION BENEFITS PAYABLE UNDER THESE REGULATIONS

PART I

Column 1	Column 2
Column 2	Section Modification or adaptation
3	Omit from sub-section (1) the definition of “benefit”, and substitute the following definition: “ ‘benefit’ means pension payable under the prescribed regulations;” Insert after the definition of “minimum retiring age” in sub-section (1) the following definition: “ ‘original Act’ means the Superannuation Act 1976 as applicable in relation to a person otherwise than by virtue of regulation 10 of the prescribed regulations;” Omit from sub-section (1) the definition of “pension”, substitute the following definition: “ ‘pension’ means any pension payable under the prescribed regulations;” Insert after the definition of “permanent employee” in sub-section (1) the following definition: “ ‘prescribed regulations’ means the Commonwealth Employees (Redeployment and Retirement) (Benefits) Regulations;” Omit sub-section (7), substitute: “(7) A reference in this section, by number, to a Part, Division, section or sub-section shall be read as a reference to the Part, Division, section or sub-section so numbered in the original Act.”
17	Omit, substitute: “17. The Commissioner shall have the general administration of this Act.”
25	Omit “or the superseded Act”
111	Omit, substitute: “111. (1) Where the total amount of the benefit or benefits paid to or in respect of a person who has been an eligible employee is, at a time when no further benefit is payable to or in respect of the person, less than the lump sum that, but for the election made by the person under the prescribed regulations, would have been payable to the person under those regulations, then, except where sub-section (2) applies, an amount equal to the difference shall be paid to the personal representative of the person or, if the Commissioner has made a determination for the purposes of sub-section 111 (2) of the original Act, to the person or persons specified in that determination. “(2) Where— (a) the total amount of the benefit or benefits paid to or in respect of a person who has been an eligible employee is, at a time when no further benefit is payable to or in respect of the person, less than the lump sum that, but for the election made by the person under the prescribed regulations, would have been payable to the person under those regulations; and (b) the total amount of the benefit or benefits (whether paid by way of instalments of pension or as a lump sum or lump sums, or both) paid to or in respect of a person (other than any benefit or benefits, or a part of any benefit or benefits, that, by virtue of sub-section 111 (4), (5) or (6) of the original Act is or are to be excluded from consideration for the purposes of sub-section 111 (2) of the original Act) is, at a time when no further benefit is payable under the original Act to or in respect of the person, greater than the accumulated contributions of the person as at the time when he ceased to be an eligible employee or, if the person had ceased to be an eligible employee on more than one occasion, as at the time when he last ceased to be an eligible employee, an amount equal to the difference between— (c) the amount by which the lump sum referred to in paragraph (a) exceeds the total amount of the benefit or benefits referred to in that paragraph; and (d) the amount by which the total amount of benefit or benefits referred to in paragraph (b) exceeds the accumulated contributions referred to in that paragraph, is payable to the personal representative of the person or to such person or persons (if any) as the Commissioner determines.

SCHEDULE—continued

Column 1

Column 2

Section

Modification or adaptation

“(3) An amount is not payable to a person under sub-section (2) where the amount of the excess referred to in paragraph (2) (d) in relation to the person is equal to or exceeds the amount of the excess referred to in paragraph (2) (c) in relation to the person.

“(4) In paragraph (2) (b), ‘benefit’ and ‘pension’ have the same meaning as in the original Act.”

116

Omit “, or of an amount of any other benefit,”

118

Omit “or other benefit under this Act”

Omit “any moneys payable under this Act on the death of a person are”, substitute “any pension payable on the death of a person is”

119

Omit from sub-section (1) “under this Act”

Omit paragraph (4) (a)

Omit from paragraph (4) (b) “other pension or any other part of a pension, as the case may be”, substitute “pension”

Omit from paragraph (4) (b) “or that part of the instalment”

Omit from sub-section (5) “under this Act”

156

Omit sub-sections (1), (2), (3) and (6)

Omit from sub-sections (4) and (5) “under this Act”

158

Omit “under this Act”

164

Omit “Minister, or by the Commissioner,”, substitute “Commissioner”

166

Omit from sub-section (2) “this Act”, substitute “the provisions of this Act and the prescribed regulations”

Omit from sub-section (2) “calculating—”, substitute “calculating any benefit”

Omit paragraphs (2) (a), (b) and (c)

Omit from sub-section (2) “contribution”

Omit from sub-section (3) “this Act” (wherever occurring), substitute “the provisions of this Act or the prescribed regulations”

Omit sub-section (4)

167

Omit from sub-section (1) “under this Act” (wherever occurring)

Omit from paragraph (1) (d) “this Act”, substitute “the provisions of this Act or the prescribed regulations”

Omit from sub-section (2) all words from and including “and includes” Omit sub-section (5)

PART II

Omit all provisions of the Superannuation Act 1976 other than sections 1, 4 and 113 and the provisions of that Act specified in column 1 of Part I.

 

NOTE

1. Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette