EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1987 NO. 306
ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE
SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976
SUPERANNUATION (ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 168 of the Superannuation Act 1976 (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.
The Act provides a contributory superannuation scheme for employees of the Commonwealth and of bodies that are approved authorities for the purposes of the Act. Persons eligible to contribute under the Act are referred to in the Act as “eligible employees”.
Subsection 3(1) of the Act defines the term “eligible employee”. 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 regulations from becoming, or remaining, contributors. The classes of persons so excluded are prescribed in the Superannuation (Eligible Employees) Regulations (the Principal Regulations).
Prior to 1 October 1986, Northern Territory employees, including members of the Northern Territory Police Force, were eligible employees because the Northern Territory of Australia and other Northern Territory employing authorities are approved authorities for the purposes of the Act. On 1 October 1986 the Northern Territory Government introduced a superannuation scheme for certain of its employees, established under the Superannuation Act 1986 of the Northern Territory.
Membership of the Northern Territory superannuation scheme is not available to:
• members of the Northern Territory Police Force;
• persons employed by the Northern Territory while on leave without pay from employment by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority; and
• persons who are entitled to an invalidity pension under the Act or the Superannuation Act 1922.
Those Northern Territory employees who were eligible employees for the purposes of the Act on 30 September 1986 had the option of remaining eligible employees or of ceasing to be eligible employees and becoming members of the Northern Territory superannuation scheme. Those persons who were Northern Territory employees but who were not eligible employees on 30 September 1986 and persons becoming Northern Territory employees on or after 1 October 1986 are excluded from being eligible employees while employed by the Northern Territory. These arrangements do not apply to the persons referred to in the preceding paragraph and to whom membership of the Northern Territory scheme is not available. The arrangements were given effect from the Commonwealth side by the already existing paragraph 4(a) of the Principal Regulations and the new paragraphs 4(t) and 4(u) inserted by Statutory Rule No 265 of 1986.
The Northern Territory superannuation scheme is now to apply to members of the Northern Territory Police Force with effect from 1 January 1988 and the Superannuation Act 1986 of the Northern Territory has been amended accordingly. Arrangements along the lines of those that applied to the other Northern Territory employees are to apply to the Northern Territory Police. The arrangements are that:
(a) persons who are members of the Northern Territory Police Force and eligible employees for the purposes of the Act on 31 December 1987 are to have the option of:
(i) remaining eligible employees for the purposes of the Act; or
(ii) ceasing to be eligible employees for the purposes of the Act and becoming members of the Northern Territory superannuation scheme;
(This option is to be exercised before 1 July 1988; it is also to be available to Northern Territory employees who join the Northern Territory Police Force during the period 1 January 1988 to 30 June 1988 and who, immediately before joining, were eligible employees for the purposes of the Act.)
(b) persons who on 31 December 1987 are members of the Northern Territory Police Force but who are not eligible employees for the purposes of the Act are to be excluded from becoming eligible employees while employed by the Northern Territory;
(c) persons who become, on or after 1 January 1988, members of the Northern Territory Police Force are to be excluded from becoming, or remaining, eligible employees for the purposes of the Act while employed by the Northern Territory; and
(d) persons who, on or after 1 July 1988, become members of the Northern Territory Police Force and who, immediately before becoming such members were Northern Territory employees and eligible employees for the purposes of the Act are to remain eligible employees.
The option available to those in group (a) will not apply to, and groups (b) and (c) will not include, persons who:
(i) are or become members of the Police Force while on leave without pay from employment by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority; or
(ii) are entitled to an invalidity pension under the Act or the Superannuation Act 1922.
The existing paragraph 4(a) of the Principal Regulations will operate to exclude from remaining eligible employees for the purposes of the Act those in group (a) above who elect to become members of the Northern Territory superannuation scheme. Amendment of the Principal Regulations is, however, necessary to exclude those in groups (b) and (c) above from becoming or remaining eligible employees for the purposes of the Act.
The Regulations will achieve the intended result in respect of groups (b), (c) and (d) above. They will also amend paragraphs 4(t) and (u) of the Principal Regulations to correct certain omissions that have come to notice since the paragraphs were included. Paragraph 4(t) is amended to ensure that that paragraph operates to include the persons described only while they remain employed by the Northern Territory or a Northern Territory authority. Also, subparagraphs 4(t)(iii) and 4(u)(ii) are amended to clarify that paragraphs 4(t) and (u) do not apply to a person who is the holder of a statutory office while on leave without pay from employment by the Commonwealth or a Commonwealth authority.
The amendments in respect of members of the Northern Territory Force come into operation on 1 January 1988. The remaining amendments came into operation on the date of gazettal.