Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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SUPERANNUATION (PRODUCTIVITY BENEFIT) ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS (SHORT-TERM AND HIGHLY CASUAL EMPLOYMENT) DECLARATION NO. 1 1995 NO. 75

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 75

SUPERANNUATION (PRODUCTIVITY BENEFIT) ACT 1988 (THE ACT)

ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE

DECLARATION UNDER SECTION 4A OF THE ACT

The Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Act 1988 (the Act) provides the mechanism by which the minimum level of employer superannuation contribution is made available to Commonwealth sector employees who have no other employer-sponsored superannuation coverage. The Act also provides superannuation arrangements for the Senior Executive Service and senior officers of the APS who elect to participate in the performance based pay superannuation arrangements.

Subsection 4A(1) of the Act allows the Minister to declare that a group of employees who come within the ambit of the Act (qualified employees) is a specified class of employees who are neither fund employees nor interim arrangement employees.

Subsection 4A(2) of the Act allows the Minister to specify that particular superannuation arrangements apply to declared classes of qualified employees.

Currently, the Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Alternative Arrangements Declaration No. 3 allows shortterm and highly casual employees earning less than $113 per week, or whose expected period of employment was less than 3 months, to elect not to have their minimum employer-sponsored superannuation contributions paid directly into a fund on their behalf. (Contributions are required under the Act even where the earnings of the employee are below the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) contribution threshold of $450 per month because of "award" obligations that pre-date the SG.) Such employees could instead elect to receive the accumulated contributions direct from the employer as a cash lump sum on completing their relevant Commonwealth employment. The short term and highly casual arrangements were first implemented in 1990, also before the introduction of the SG from 1 July 1992.

This declaration, the Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Alternative Arrangements (Short-Term and Highly Casual Employment) Declaration No. 1, revokes the Superannuation (Productivity Benefit) Alternative Arrangements Declaration No. 3. This declaration alters the current threshold ($113 per week), above which contributions must be paid directly to an approved fund in accordance with the SG, to align the threshold with the SG requirements ($450 per month). The declaration also removes the current ability of employees who are employed for a period of less than 3 months to access the notional unfunded arrangement. This is because the SG requires contributions to be made to a fund where the salary exceeds $450 in any month irrespective of the period of employment.

The declaration commences with the introduction of the SG on 1 July 1992. The retrospective effect of this declaration does not affect in a prejudicial manner the rights of any person other than the Commonwealth.