Superannuation (PSS) Membership Inclusion Declaration No. 8 1992 No.
318
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1992 No. 318
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Finance
Superannuation Act 1990
Declaration under paragraph 6(1)(j)
The Superannuation Act 1990 (the Act) makes provision for and in relation to an occupational superannuation scheme, the Public Sector Superannuation (PSS) scheme, for persons employed by the Commonwealth, and for certain other persons.
Section 6 of the Act specifies the persons who may be members of the PSS scheme. In accordance with paragraph 6(1)(j), a person declared by the Minister for Finance to be a person to whom section 6 applies is a member of the PSS scheme.
The Declaration contained in the Statutory Rules and cited as "Superannuation (PSS) Membership Inclusion Declaration No. 8" specifies certain directors and employees of the Dairy Research and Development Corporation who may be members of the PSS scheme.
The Dairy Research and Development Corporation was established on 1 April 1990 under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989. The Corporation was declared to be an approved authority for the purposes of the Act with effect from 28 April 1992. As a consequence, persons who are not existing members of the PSS scheme immediately before becoming permanent employees of the Corporation are required to become members of the PSS scheme with effect from 28 April 1992 or their date of employment, whichever is the later. Also with effect from 28 April 1992, persons without existing PSS membership who become temporary employees of the Corporation may elect under section 8 of the Act to join the PSS scheme; such an election has effect from and including the day on which it is made.
Currently the Corporation has no permanent employees. A number of persons who were not existing PSS members became directors under contract or temporary employees of the Corporation before 28 April 1992. These persons wish to be members of the PSS scheme but have not elected to join the PSS scheme under the approved authority provisions because the Corporation had offered them coverage under the PSS scheme from dates earlier than 28 April 1992. In some cases, the Corporation had offered PSS coverage from 1 November 1991.
It is intended that a person who was made such an offer by the Corporation and who elects, before the day this declaration is gazetted, to become a member of the PSS scheme, shall be treated as a member of the PSS scheme with effect from 1 November 1991 or the day on which he or she became a director or an employee of the Corporation, whichever is the later. To achieve this the persons concerned have been declared to be a class of persons to which section 6 of the Act applies.
The Declaration contained in the Statutory Rules provides that directors and employees of the Dairy Research and Development corporation who were directors or employees of the Corporation on 1 November 1991 or who became such directors or employees after that date but before the date of gazettal of the Declaration, and who have elected before that gazettal to become members of the PSS scheme, other than under section 8 of the Superannuation Act 1990, shall be members of that scheme.
The Declaration provides that a person described in the Declaration shall be a member of the PSS scheme with effect from 1 November 1991 or the day on which the person became a director or employee of the Corporation, whichever is the later. This retrospectivity is necessary in order to ensure that the employees are not disadvantaged in their superannuation benefits; they would be disadvantaged if they were not permitted to join the PSS scheme as offered by their employer. Both the Corporation and the employees concerned have indicated that they are prepared to make appropriate retrospective contributions to the PSS scheme.
Furthermore, the retrospectivity of the membership arrangements complies with subsection 48(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 in that the rights of the employees concerned are not affected in a manner prejudicial to then nor are liabilities imposed on them other than the responsibility for superannuation contributions which they have accepted by making elections to join the PSS scheme.
In accordance with section 45 of the Act, a declaration under paragraph 6(1)(j) is a disallowable instrument for the purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 and a Statutory Rule for the purposes of the Statutory Rules Publication Act 1903.
The Declaration operates with effect from the date of gazettal.
Overview
The Superannuation Act 1990 provides for the establishment and regulation of an occupational superannuation scheme known as the Public Sector Superannuation (PSS) scheme, which is designed for individuals employed by the Commonwealth, including specific categories of employees in various statutory authorities. One such authority is the Dairy Research and Development Corporation, which was established under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act 1989. To address the inclusion of certain directors and employees of this Corporation within the PSS scheme, the Superannuation (PSS) Membership Inclusion Declaration No. 8 was issued in 1992 by the Minister for Finance. This Declaration, published as Statutory Rule No. 318, was enacted to ensure that eligible directors and employees of the Corporation, who were either already employed or became so before the Declaration was gazetted, could join the PSS scheme retroactively from the specified dates, thus preventing any disadvantage in their superannuation benefits. The Declaration aligns with the policy objective of providing equitable superannuation coverage for eligible employees of the Corporation, as intended by the Act.
Scope and Application
The Superannuation (PSS) Membership Inclusion Declaration No. 8, issued under the authority of the Minister for Finance, pertains specifically to the inclusion of certain directors and employees of the Dairy Research and Development Corporation within the Public Sector Superannuation (PSS) scheme as outlined in the Superannuation Act 1990. This Act governs the occupational superannuation scheme for persons employed by the Commonwealth and certain other persons. The Declaration extends the membership eligibility of the PSS scheme to directors and employees of the Dairy Research and Development Corporation who were either directors or employees on 1 November 1991 or who became such after that date but before the gazettal of the Declaration. These individuals must elect to join the PSS scheme before the Declaration is gazetted to qualify for membership. Their membership is effective from 1 November 1991 or the date they became directors or employees, whichever is later. This retrospective application ensures that these employees do not suffer a disadvantage in their superannuation benefits and aligns with the provisions of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. The Declaration serves as a Statutory Rule and operates from the date of its gazettal, establishing clear parameters for the inclusion of specified personnel within the PSS scheme.
Key Provisions
The key operative sections of the Superannuation (PSS) Membership Inclusion Declaration No. 8 1992 No. 318 pertain to the inclusion of certain directors and employees of the Dairy Research and Development Corporation into the Public Sector Superannuation (PSS) scheme. Specifically, Section 6 of the Superannuation Act 1990 stipulates the inclusion criteria for the PSS scheme, and the Declaration, under paragraph 6(1)(j), identifies the specific individuals from the Corporation who are eligible to join the scheme. The Declaration provides that directors and employees of the Corporation who were in their positions on or after 1 November 1991 and who have elected to join the PSS scheme before the Declaration was gazetted, will be considered members of the scheme from 1 November 1991 or from the date they became a director or employee, whichever is later. This inclusion is intended to ensure these individuals are not disadvantaged by the change in their employment status or the scheme’s effective date.
The obligations imposed by this Act on the parties involved primarily concern the compliance with the declaration and the making of appropriate contributions. For the Dairy Research and Development Corporation, the obligation is to ensure that any new directors and employees who were offered PSS coverage from 1 November 1991, and who elect to join the scheme, are treated as members from the specified dates. For the employees, the obligation is to elect to join the PSS scheme before the Declaration is gazetted and to make the necessary retrospective contributions to cover the period from 1 November 1991 to their date of employment or election, whichever is later. The Corporation and the employees have agreed to these obligations, ensuring that the employees' rights are not prejudiced, and the scheme's retrospective membership aligns with the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.
The Declaration does not explicitly outline specific offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breaches. However, under Section 45 of the Superannuation Act 1990, the declaration is a disallowable instrument, meaning it can be challenged and disallowed by Parliament. If there are breaches in the obligations outlined by the Declaration, such as failure to make the necessary contributions or non-compliance with the membership criteria, these would likely be addressed through administrative or contractual means rather than through explicit penalties. Any significant breaches could potentially lead to the disallowance of the declaration by Parliament, which would invalidate the inclusion of the specified directors and employees into the PSS scheme.