SUPERANNUATION.

No. 11 of 1954.

An Act to amend the Superannuation Act 1922-1952, and for other purposes.

[Assented to 20th April, 1954.]

BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Short title and citation.

1.—(1.) This Act may be cited as the Superannuation Act 1954.

(2.) The Superannuation Act 1922-1952 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

(3.) The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the Superannuation Act 1922-1954.

Commencement.

2.—(1.) Subject to this section, this Act shall come into operation on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

(2.) Sections eight, nine, ten, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-eight and twenty-nine of this Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the first day of January, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-four.

(3.) Section sixteen of this Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the thirty-first day of October, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-three.

(4.) Section twenty-one of this Act shall be deemed to have come into operation on the thirtieth day of March, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-one.

Interpretation.

3. Section four of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (4.) the words”, by notice published in the Gazette,”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (4.) the words “publication of the notice” and inserting in their stead the word “direction”;

(c) by omitting from sub-section (5.) the words “,by notice published in the Gazette,”;

(d) by omitting from sub-section (5.) the words “publication of the notice” and inserting in their stead the word “direction”;

(e) by omitting from sub-section (6.) the words “by notice published in the Gazette,”; and

(f) by omitting from sub-section (6.) the words “publication of the notice” and inserting in their stead the words “the direction”.

4.—(1.) Section four b of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section inserted in its stead:—

Medical examination of employees.

“4b.—(1.) Notwithstanding anything contained in any Act, a person who becomes an employee on or after the date of commencement of this section shall not contribute to the Fund or the Provident Account unless, before becoming an employee, or within such period after becoming an employee as the Board allows, he has been medically examined by a legally qualified medical practitioner approved by the Board, and a report of the results of the examination has been furnished by the medical practitioner to the Board or to a person or authority specified by the Board.

“(2.) A person referred to in the last preceding sub-section shall not contribute to the Fund under Part III. of this Act unless the Board is satisfied, after considering the report of the medical practitioner, that the health and physical condition of that person are such as to justify his being accepted as a contributor.”.

(2.) Notwithstanding the last preceding sub-section, section four b of the Principal Act continues to apply in relation to a person who became an employee before the date of commencement of this section.

Commencement and cessation of contributions.

5. Section twelve of the Principal Act is amended by omitting paragraph (c) of sub-section (1a.) and inserting in its stead the following paragraph:—

“(c) in the case of a person who is deemed to be an employee within the meaning of section four of this Act by virtue of sub-section (4.), (5.) or (6.) of that section or section nine of the High Commissioner Act 1909-1952—the date as from which he is so deemed to be an employee or, if that date is not a pay-day, the next succeeding pay-day after that date.”.

Scale of units of pension.

6.—(1.) Section thirteen of the Principal Act is amended by omitting the scale contained in sub-section (1.) and inserting in its stead the following scale:—

(2.) Section thirteen of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (3.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(3.) Where, at the time when an employee becomes or became a contributor, he is or was not less than forty years of age, he may elect to reduce the number of initial units in respect of which he shall contribute, or continue to contribute, to a number not being less than two, and any contributions paid by him in respect of initial units in excess of the reduced number of initial units shall be refunded to him.”.

(3.) Where the number of units of pension (not including reserve units of pension) for which a contributor was contributing immediately before the date of commencement of this section exceeds the number of units specified in column two of the scale contained in sub-section (1.) of section thirteen of the Superannuation Act 1922-1954 opposite to the salary-group within which the salary of the contributor fell on that date, the contributor shall, subject to sub-section (3.) of section thirteen, and section fifteen, of that Act, continue to contribute for that first-mentioned number of units as from that date to the date upon which his salary falls within a salary-group which requires him to contribute for a number of units greater than the first-mentioned number of units.

(4.) Whore, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, the time within which a contributor had a right to make an election under paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of sub-section (4.) of section thirteen of the Principal Act had not expired, the right of that contributor to make an election shall, notwithstanding the amendment effected by sub-section (1.) of this section, be deemed to continue until the expiration of that time, and if, before the expiration of that time, the contributor makes an election under any of those paragraphs, the last preceding sub-section applies as if he had made the election before the date of commencement of this section.

7. Section fifteen of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section inserted in its stead:—

Employee reduced in salary.

“15. Where the salary of a contributor has been reduced and by reason of that reduction falls within a salary-group in column one of the scale contained in sub-section (1.) of section thirteen of this Act lower than the salary-group in which it would fall if it had not been reduced, he may elect to reduce the numb3r of units in respect of which he shall contribute to a numb3r not being less than the number of units appropriate to the salary-group to which his salary has been reduced, and any contributions paid by him in respect of units in excess of the reduced number of units shall be refunded to him.”.

Payments by Commonwealth where contributions are at rate for age.

8. Section eighteen of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1.) the word “The” and inserting in its stead the words “Subject to this section, the”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (1.) the word “two-thirds” and inserting in its stead the word “five-sevenths”; and

(c) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—

“(4.) Subject to sub-section (3.) of section thirty-one, sub-section (3.) of section thirty-two and sub-section (2.) of section thirty-three of this Act, the Commonwealth shall, in respect of each payment of pension payable in respect of a child, where the pensioner or contributor contributed to the Fund on the basis referred to in sub-section (1.) of this section, pay to the Fund a sum equal to three-quarters of the payment so made.”.

Payments by Commonwealth where contributions are not at rate for age.

9. Section nineteen of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (2.) the word “To” and inserting in its stead the words “Subject to sub-sections (2a.) and (2b.) of this section, to”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (2.) the words “three times” (wherever occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “three and one-half times”; and

(c) by inserting after sub-section (2a.) the following sub-section:—

“(2b.) To determine the sum payable by the Commonwealth under this section in respect of each payment of pension made in respect of a child, the rate of contribution actually payable by the employee shall be subtracted from four times the rate prescribed for the age of the employee at the date upon which he commenced to pay the contribution, and the ratio of this difference to four times the rare so prescribed shall be computed. This ratio shall represent the fraction of the pension payment so made to be paid by the Commonwealth to the Fund.”.

Pension units.

10. Section twenty-eight of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (1.) and inserting in its stead the following subsection:—

“(1.) The unit of pension is Forty-five pounds ten shillings per annum.”.

Retirement through invalidity— amount of pension.

11. Section thirty of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting sub-section (2.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(2.) Where a person—

(a) appointed prior to the commencement of the Superannuation Act 1937 as an officer under section twenty-one of the Australian Soldiers’ Repatriation Act 1920, section fifteen of the War Service Homes Act 1918, section fourteen a of the Science and Industry Research Act 1920-1926 or section nine of the High Commissioner Act 1909; or

(b) in respect of whom a notice was published in pursuance of sub-section (4.) of section four of the Superannuation Act 1922-1942 or of that Act as amended by an Act or Acts passed prior to the Superannuation Act 1954 and whose appointment to the statutory office was made prior to the commencement of the Superannuation Act 1942,

became or becomes a contributor and, within seven years after becoming a contributor, was or is retired on the ground of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity to perform his duties, or has died or dies, any pension payable under this Act shall be paid from the Fund and the Commonwealth shall pay to the Fund the amount of pension so paid.”;

(b) by omitting from sub-section (3.) the words “this Act” (first occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “the Superannuation Act 1922-1952 has retired or”; and

(c) by omitting from sub-section (3.) the word “dies” and inserting in its stead the words “has died or dies”.

Pension to widow and children on death of contributor.

12. Section thirty-one of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from paragraph (b) of sub-section (1.) the words “Nineteen pounds ten shillings” and inserting in their stead the words “Twenty-six pounds”.

Pension to widow and children on death of pensioner after retirement.

13. Section thirty-two of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from paragraph (a) of sub-section (1.) the words “Thirty-nine pounds” and inserting in their stead the words “Forty-five pounds ten shillings”; and

(b) by omitting from paragraph (b) of sub-section (1.) the words “Nineteen pounds ten shillings” and inserting in their stead the words “Twenty-six pounds”.

Pension to orphans on death of contributor or pensioner.

14. Section thirty-three of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “Thirty-two pounds ten shillings” and inserting in their stead the words “Thirty-nine pounds”; and

(b) by omitting from sub-section (2.) the word “two-fifths” and inserting in its stead the word “one-third”.

Re-employment of pensioner.

15. Section fifty a of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “Four hundred and twenty-nine pounds” (wherever occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “Five hundred pounds ten shillings”; and

(b) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—

“(6.) Where, by reason of the operation of sub-section (1.) or (3.) of this section, a payment of pension is reduced, the amount payable by the Commonwealth to the Fund in respect of that payment of pension is the amount that would be payable by the Commonwealth if the reduction had not been made, less the amount by which the payment of pension is so reduced.”.

16. After section fifty-nine of the Principal Act the following section is inserted in Division 4 of Part IV.:—

Further increases in certain pensions.

“59a.—(1.) The rate of a pension payable immediately before the date of commencement of this section to a person under section fifty-seven of this Act as affected by the last preceding section (not being a pension payable to a widow or a pension for which contributions were made to a State Fund as defined by section sixty an of this Act) is increased in accordance with the following table:—

“(2.) The rate of a pension payable immediately before the date of commencement of this section to a widow under section fifty-seven of this Act as affected by the last preceding section (not being a pension for which contributions were made to a State Fund as defined by section sixty an of this Act), and the rate at which, apart from this section, a pension (not being a pension for which contributions were so made) would become payable after that date to a widow under that section as so affected, is increased in accordance with the following table:—

“(3.) The Commonwealth shall pay to the Fund the amount of the increases provided for by this section, and the Consolidated Revenue Fund is, to the necessary extent, appropriated accordingly.

“(4.) This section continues in operation until the thirty-first day of December, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-six, and no longer.”.

17.—(1.) Section sixty v of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section inserted in its stead:—

Contributors to Provident Account.

“60v.—(1.) The following persons shall be contributors to the Provident Account:—

(a) all employees who, by reason of the operation of sub-section (2.) of section four b of this Act, are not eligible to contribute to the Fund under Part III. of this Act; and

(b) all employees who elect under section sixty x of this Act to contribute to the Provident Account.

“(2.) Where, after a person has become a contributor to the Provident Account otherwise than by virtue of section sixty x of this Act, he furnishes evidence to the satisfaction of the Board that his health and physical condition are such as to justify his being accepted as a contributor under Part III. of this Act, the Board may, upon application by that person, allow him to contribute to the Fund under Part III. of this Act.

“(3.) Where, in pursuance of the last preceding sub-section, the Board decides to allow a contributor to the Provident Account to contribute to the Fund under Part III. of this Act—

(a) he shall, as from the date of the decision of the Board, make no further contributions to the Provident Account, and he ceases to be entitled to any benefit (not being a refund of contributions) that would otherwise be payable from the Provident Account;

(b) he is entitled to a refund of the contributions paid to the Provident Account, together with compound interest on those contributions at the rate of Three pounds per centum per annum; and

(c) he shall contribute to the Fund under Part III. of this Act as from the date of the decision of the Board or, if that date is not a pay-day, the next succeeding pay-day.

“(4.) A person who becomes entitled to a refund of contributions, together with interest, under paragraph (b) of the last preceding subsection may, within three months after the decision of the Board by reason of which he becomes so entitled, elect to repay to the Board the amount of the refund (including the interest) in return for fully paid units in accordance with the next succeeding sub-section.

“(5.) Where a person repays an amount to the Board in pursuance of an election under the last preceding sub-section, the Commonwealth Actuary shall certify the number of fully paid units (including, where necessary, a fraction of a unit) which should be credited to that person, and that person shall be deemed to be a contributor for that number of units, but is not required to make contributions in respect of those units.

“(6.) An amount paid by a person to the Board in pursuance of an election under sub-section (4.) of this section—

(a) shall be paid into and form part of the Fund; and

(b) shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be contributions made by that person to the Fund.”.

(2.) Notwithstanding the last preceding sub-section, a person who was a contributor to the Provident Account immediately before the commencement of this section continues to be such a contributor, but may cease to be such a contributor under the provisions of the Principal Act as amended by this Act.

Contributions to Provident Account.

18. Section sixty w of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (5.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(5.) Where a contributor to the Provident Account is on leave of absence without pay otherwise than on the ground of illness—

(a) if the leave is not required, under the conditions of his employment, to be treated as not forming part of the period of his service—he is liable to pay the contributions that he would have been liable to pay if he had not been absent; and

(b) in any other case—he is not liable or entitled to pay contributions during the period of leave.”.

Payments on retirement.

19. Section sixty y of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “two and two-thirds” and inserting in their stead the word “three”.

Payments on death of contributor with dependants.

20. Section sixty z of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “two and two-thirds” and inserting in their stead the word “three”.

21. After section sixty ac of the Principal Act the following section is inserted:—

Rights of contributors who have been candidates at elections.

“60aca. Notwithstanding anything contained in any Act, where a contributor to the Provident Account—

(a) resigned from the Public Service of the Commonwealth in order to become a candidate for election as a member of any House of the Parliament of the Commonwealth or of a State;

(b) was a candidate at the election;

(c) failed to be elected; and

(d) is re-appointed to the Public Service of the Commonwealth on application made within two months after the declaration of the result of the election or dies before the expiration of that period,

he shall, for the purposes of this Part, be deemed to have continued in his previous employment in the Public Service of the Commonwealth up to the date of his re-appointment or death, as the case may be, and to have received salary accordingly.”.

Payments by Commonwealth.

22. Section sixty ae of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (1.) the word “five-eighths” and inserting in its stead the word “two-thirds”.

Provisions relating to former contributors to Public Service Superannuation Funds.

23. Section sixty av of the Principal Act is amended by omitting sub-section (3.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(3.) Where an amount referred to in sub-section (1.) of this section is paid to the Board, the Commonwealth Actuary shall certify the number of fully paid units (including, where necessary, a fraction of a unit) which should be credited to the contributor, and the contributor shall be deemed to be a contributor for that number of units, but is not required to make contributions in respect of those units.”.

Extraordinary vacancies— appointments to fill.

24. Section sixty-three of the Principal Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following sub-sections:—

“(2.) A person appointed under the last preceding sub-section to fill a vacancy in the office of a member of the Board elected by contributors shall be a contributor elected by contributors in the manner specified by the Minister by the notice published in pursuance of subsection (1.) of section sixty-one of this Act.

“(3.) Where there is a vacancy to which the last preceding subsection applies, the Governor-General may, pending the holding of an election, appoint a contributor to hold the vacant office temporarily and a member so appointed shall hold office until the appointment of a member in accordance with that sub-section or until the expiration of a period of twelve months after the occurrence of the vacancy, whichever first happens.”.

Delegation of power of Board.

25. Section seventy-two of the Principal Act is amended by inserting after the word “secretary” the words “or a member of the staff of the Board”.

Provisions with respect to contributors not contributing for maximum number of units.

26.—(1.) Where, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, a contributor (not being a contributor to whom the next succeeding section applies) was a contributor in respect of units of pension less than the number of units of pension specified in column

two of the scale contained in sub-section (1.) of section thirteen of the Principal Act opposite to the salary-group within which the salary of the contributor fell immediately before that date, the contributor may, within twelve months after that date, elect to increase the amount of his contribution so as to entitle him to units of pension not exceeding the number specified in column two of the scale contained in sub-section (1.) of section thirteen of the Principal Act, as amended by this Act, opposite to the salary-group in which his salary fell at the date of commencement of this section.

(2.) An election under the last preceding sub-section shall not have effect unless, within six months after the date of the election, the contributor satisfies the Board that he is not suffering from any physical or mental defect (not being a defect which, in the opinion of the Board, is the result of the service of the contributor as a member of the Forces as defined by sub-section (2.) of section eighty C of the Superannuation Act 1922-1954) likely to render him incapable of performing his duties before attaining the maximum age for retirement.

(3.) Any increased contribution payable in pursuance of sub-section (1.) of this section is payable as from the date of the election, but where that date is not a pay-day the increased contribution is payable as from the next following pay-day.

Provisions with respect to contributors whose salaries exceed £2,210 per annum.

27.—(1.) Where, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, a contributor’s salary exceeded Two thousand two hundred and ten pounds per annum—

(a) if the contributor had attained the age of forty years before the date of commencement of this section—he may, within twelve months after that date, elect to increase the amount of his contribution so as to entitle him to units of pension not exceeding the number specified in column two of the scale contained in sub-section (1.) of section thirteen of the Principal Act, as amended by this Act, opposite to the salary-group within which his salary fell on that date; or

(b) if the contributor had not attained the age of forty years before the date of commencement of this section—he shall increase the amount of his contribution so as to entitle him to units of pension to the number specified in column two of the scale contained in sub-section (1.) of section thirteen of the Principal Act, as amended by this Act, opposite to the salary-group within which his salary fell on that date.

(2.) Where a contributor who makes an election under paragraph (a) of the last preceding sub-section was, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, a contributor for less than the maximum number of units of pension for which he could have been a contributor, the election, in so far as it relates to units of pension

up to a number not exceeding the excess of that maximum number over the number of units for which he was a contributor, shall not have effect unless, within six months after the date of the election, the contributor satisfies the Board that he is not suffering from any physical or mental defect (not being a defect which, in the opinion of the Board, is the result of the service of the contributor as a member of the Forces as defined by sub-section (2.) of section eighty c of the Superannuation Act 1922-1954) likely to render him incapable of performing his duties before attaining the maximum age for retirement.

(3.) Where a contributor who makes an election under paragraph (a) of sub-section (1.) of this section is retired before the first day of July, One thousand nine hundred and fifty-nine, on the ground of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity to perform his duties, or dies before that date, the Commonwealth shall pay to the Fund the amount of any pension becoming payable in respect of the additional units for which he was contributing by virtue of this section, being units in respect of which he was not required to satisfy the Board in accordance with the last preceding sub-section, less so much of the pension in respect of those units as is equivalent to the contributions made by him in respect of those units, and the Consolidated Revenue Fund is, to the necessary extent, appropriated accordingly.

(4.) Any increased contribution payable in pursuance of paragraph (a) of sub-section (1.) of this section is payable as from the date of the election, but where that date is not a pay-day the increased contribution is payable as from the next following pay-day, and any increased contribution payable in pursuance of paragraph (b) of sub-section (1.) of this section is payable as from the pay-day next following the date of commencement of this section.

Increases in existing pensions.

28.—(1.) The amount of pension payable to a person who was, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, in receipt of, or entitled to, a pension under the Principal Act, not being a pension payable—

(a) in respect of a child;

(b) under section twenty-nine a or twenty-nine b of the Principal Act; or

(c) under section fifty-seven of the Principal Act, other than a pension for which contributions were made to a State Fund as defined in section sixty an of the Principal Act,

is increased by one-sixth.

(2.) The amount of pension payable to a person who was, immediately before the date of commencement of this section, in receipt of, or entitled to, a pension under the Principal Act in respect of a child shall be increased by Six pounds ten shillings per annum.

(3.) The Commonwealth shall pay to the Fund the amounts by which pensions are increased by virtue of this section, and the Consolidated Revenue Fund is, to the necessary extent, appropriated accordingly.

(4.) Where an amount is paid by the Commonwealth under this section to the Fund in respect of a person who was employed by an approved authority, the approved authority shall pay to the Commonwealth the amount so paid and may apply for that purpose any moneys under the control of the approved authority.

Pensions payable to persons whose names are specified in the Schedule to this Act.

29.—(1.) A person whose name is specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act shall be paid out of the Fund, in lieu of the pension to which, but for this section, that person would be entitled under the Superannuation Act 1922-1954, a pension at the rate specified in the second column of that Schedule opposite to the name of that person.

(2.) Where male person whose name is specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act dies and is survived by a widow (being his wife at the date of his retirement), the provisions of section thirty-two of the Superannuation Act 1922-1954 apply.

(3.) Payment of a pension to a female person whose name is specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act is subject to the same conditions as apply in the case of a pension payable to the widow of a pensioner under the Superannuation Act 1922-1954.

(4.) The Commonwealth shall pay to the Fund—

(a) in respect of each payment of pension made from the Fund to a person whose name is specified in the first column of the Schedule to this Act—an amount at the rate specified in the third column of that Schedule opposite to the name of that person; and

(b) in respect of each payment of pension made from the Fund to the widow of any of those persons—an amount at a rate equal to one-half of the rate specified in the third column of that Schedule opposite to the name of that person,

and the Consolidated Revenue Fund is, to the necessary extent, appropriated accordingly.

(5.) The provisions of section fifty a of the Superannuation Act 1922-1954 apply in relation to pensions payable under this section.

(6.) Section twenty-eight of the Superannuation Act 1951 and the Schedule to that Act are repealed.

THE SCHEDULE. Section 29.