Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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SUPERANNUATION (CSS) TRANSFER ARRANGEMENTS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1996 NO.100

STATUTORY RULES 1996 No. 100

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Finance

Superannuation Act 1976

Superannuation (CSS) Transfer Arrangements Regulations (Amendment)

The Superannuation Act 1976 (the 1976 Act) makes provision for and in relation to an occupational superannuation scheme for Commonwealth employees and for certain other persons. That scheme is known as the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS).

Section 168 of the 1976 Act provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of that Act.

Part IX of the 1976 Act provides for preservation of superannuation rights and benefits for certain CSS members. Division 2 of Part IX of the Act provides for certain eligible employees with preserved rights from previous employment.

Section 126 of the 1976 Act enables that Act to be modified by regulation in relation to persons who, before becoming members of the CSS, were members of another superannuation scheme.

Section 127 of the 1976 Act describes amounts including certain payments from superannuation schemes that are regarded as transfer values for the purposes of the Act. Section 128 of the 1976 Act provides for various arrangements where a transfer value is paid to the Board.

Regulations for the purposes of section 126 are contained in the Superannuation (Transfer Arrangements) Regulations (the Principal Regulations). The Principal Regulations modify the 1976 Act in respect of specified CSS members and the modifications are contained in a series of Schedules to those Regulations,

The Superannuation Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 1995 (the amending Act) amended the 1976 Act in certain ways that necessitated amendments to the Principal Regulations. Subsection 168(12A) was inserted to provide that regulations arising from the amendments to the Act may be made with retrospective effect within one year after the amending Act received Royal Assent. The amending Regulations amend the Principal Regulations as a consequence of the amendments to the 1976 Act contained in the amending Act.

Item 4 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act amended the definition of "period of contributory service" included in subsection 3(1) of the 1976 Act as a consequence of the amendments included in items 9 and 72. These two items create additional periods that should be excluded from contributory service, ie, periods between employments that arise from subsection 3(3) and periods during which section 55A would not allow the accrual of benefits because of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and regulations under that Act (SIS).

Item 80 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act amended section 62 of the 1976 Act, which provides for the payment of a lump sum benefit in the case of involuntary retirement, to introduce the concept of "notional contributions" where a person has been in receipt of partial invalidity pension under section 77 or 78 of that Act prior to becoming entitled to the benefit. The amendment is intended to ensure that the person is not disadvantaged when the employer component of their benefit is a lump sum calculated from their accumulated basic contributions rather than a pension expressed as a percentage of their final annual rate of salary. The item omitted subsections 62(2) and (2A) and inserted subsections 62(2), (2A), (2B), (2C) and (2D).

Item 113 of Schedule 2 of the amending Act inserted subsection 128(4AA) to clarify the part of the transfer value that is available to be paid to a person in certain circumstances.

THE AMENDMENTS

Regulation 1

This regulation provides that regulations 3 and 5 are taken to have commenced on 23 June 1996.

Regulation 2

This regulation provides that the Principal Regulations are amended by the amending Regulations.

Regulation 3

This regulation amends Schedule 2 of the Principal Regulations which relates to certain employees of the Commonwealth Accommodation and Catering Services Limited.

Subregulation 3.1

This subregulation inserts a modification which omits subsection 128(4AA), which was inserted by the amending Act but which does not have application to the class of employees to whom Schedule 2 applies.

Regulation 4

Regulation 11 of the Principal Regulations provides for modification of the 1976 Act in accordance with Schedule 8 for certain TAFE teachers who were members of a superannuation scheme constituted by the Superannuation Act 1916 of the State of New South Wales. Section 130B inserted by Schedule 8 was not annotated correctly.

This regulation corrects the annotations of section 130B.

Regulation 5

This regulation amends the substituted definition of "period of contributory service" included in Schedule 10 to the Principal Regulations as a consequence of the amendments to the "period of contributory service" in the 1976 Act made by item 4 of Schedule 2 to the amending Act.