EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1900 NO 142
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE
SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976
SUPERANNUATION (ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The Superannuation Act 1976 (the Act) provides a contributory superannuation scheme for Commonwealth employees and certain other persons. Persons eligible to contribute under the Act are referred to in the Act as “eligible employees”.
Section 168 of the Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters that the Act requires or permits to be prescribed, or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed, for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Subsection 3(1) of the Act defines the term “eligible employee” and includes persons employed in a permanent capacity by a body that is an approved authority for the purposes of the Act. In accordance with paragraph (j) of the definition, the term does not include a person included in a prescribed class of persons. Thus, certain classes of persons may be excluded by regulation from becoming, or remaining, contributors. The classes of persons so excluded are prescribed in the Superannuation (Eligible Employees) Regulations (the Principal Regulations).
The Australian Wheat Board (AWB) is an approved authority for the purposes of the Act. As a consequence all permanent employees of the AWB are eligible employees unless excluded by the Regulations. A report of the Auditor-General dated 19 March 1987 revealed that a number of permanent employees had not been treated as eligible employees by AWB. Five of those employees do not wish to be eligible employees. In accordance with previous practice, it is intended to permit those permanent employees of AWB, who have requested in writing not to be treated as eligible employees, to be excluded from the definition.
The proposed Statutory Rule will insert paragraph 4(zk) in the Principal Regulations to give effect to this intention.
The proposed Statutory Rule will come into operation on the date of its gazettal.
SR No /90