{"id":"nsw:act-1993-019","name":"Constitution (Legislative Council Reconstitution) Savings Act 1993","slug":"constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"nsw","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"19 of 1993","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":106068,"registerId":"nsw-act-1993-019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Act","content":"#### 1 Name of Act\n\n1 Name of Act\n\n> This Act may be cited as the [Constitution (Legislative Council Reconstitution) Savings Act 1993](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1993-019).","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n2 Commencement\n\n> This Act is taken to have commenced on 1 July 1991, being the date on which the 1991 reconstitution Act commenced.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Object of Act","content":"#### 3 Object of Act\n\n3 Object of Act\n\n> The object of this Act is to ensure equality of treatment of the 3 former members of the Legislative Council who ceased to be members as a consequence of the reconstitution of the Legislative Council in 1991 and, in particular, equality of treatment under the [Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1971-053).","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 4 Definitions\n\n4 Definitions\n\n> In this Act:\n> \n> former member means a person to whom this Act applies.\n> \n> the 1991 reconstitution Act means the [Constitution (Legislative Council) Amendment Act 1991](/view/pdf/asmade/act-1991-20).","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Former members to whom Act applies","content":"#### 5 Former members to whom Act applies\n\n5 Former members to whom Act applies\n\n> This Act applies to a person who ceased to be a member of the Legislative Council because of the operation of section 17 (3) of the [Constitution Act 1902](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1902-032), as inserted by the 1991 reconstitution Act.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Saving in respect of former members","content":"#### 6 Saving in respect of former members\n\n6 Saving in respect of former members\n\n> > (1) For the purposes of the [Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1971-053), each former member is, on the commencement of the 1991 reconstitution Act, taken to have been entitled to salary in respect of an aggregate period of 7 years.\n> \n> > (2) Section 20 of the [Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1971-053) applies to a former member whose entitlement to a pension under that Act depends on the operation of this Act as if the period of three months referred to in section 20 (2) (a) of that Act commenced on the date of assent to this Act.\n> \n> > (3) This section does not apply to or affect:\n> > \n> > > (a) a former member who was, on the commencement of the 1991 reconstitution Act, entitled to salary in respect of an aggregate period of more than 7 years, or\n> > \n> > > (b) a former member who has accepted a refund of contributions or a supplementary benefit after ceasing to be a member.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Other entitlements to compensation etc not affected","content":"#### 7 Other entitlements to compensation etc not affected\n\n7 Other entitlements to compensation etc not affected\n\n> This Act does not affect any entitlement of a former member (except an entitlement under the [Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1971-053)) that is in the nature of compensation or otherwise for ceasing to be a member because of the operation of section 17 (3) of the [Constitution Act 1902](/view/html/inforce/current/act-1902-032), as inserted by the 1991 reconstitution Act.","sortOrder":6}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the available information, the Act appears to have remained exactly as originally enacted in 1993 with no amendments. It was always intended as a narrow transitional/savings instrument tied to a specific historical event (the 1993 Legislative Council reconstitution), and there is no indication its scope was ever broadened or narrowed from that original purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Limited legislative text is available in the provided excerpt — the substantive provisions are not shown, making full analysis impossible","Constitutional and transitional law concepts (savings clauses, reconstitution of parliamentary chambers) require some background knowledge to understand","Intersects with NSW constitutional law and parliamentary procedure, which adds a layer of specialist context","However, the Act appears narrow in scope and purpose — a one-time transitional instrument — which keeps complexity relatively low","No amendments have ever been made, suggesting straightforward and stable content"],"plain_english_summary":"The Act is a short 1993 NSW law that preserved existing legal rights, terms and entitlements when the Legislative Council was reconstituted, ensuring sitting members (and potentially staff) were not left in legal limbo during the change. It is a transitional, unamended instrument still in force but chiefly of historical effect."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Yes. The Act alters how existing pension law treats those specific former members by deeming a seven‑year salary entitlement for superannuation purposes and by adjusting the three‑month pension timing rule (s2, s6). Its scope is tightly limited to persons who ceased under s17(3) of the Constitution Act 1902 and excludes persons already entitled to more than seven years or who accepted refunds; it expressly does not disturb other compensation entitlements (s6(3), s7)."},"complexity_factors":["Very narrow beneficiary class — applies only to persons who ceased under s17(3) of the Constitution Act 1902 (defined by s5).","Single operative saving provision (s6) with two specific exclusions (s6(3)), keeping legislative text short.","Direct interaction with the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971 — administrators must apply existing pension rules to a deemed salary period (s6(1)–(2)).","Retroactive commencement to 1 July 1991 (s2) requires historical records and retrospective application.","Administrators must verify prior service length and whether a former member accepted a refund, creating factual determinations.","Imposes a contingent cost on the public superannuation scheme (liability shift) but creates no new regulatory regime.","Low policy discretion in operation (mechanical deeming), but operational discretion in processing claims and applying s20 of the Superannuation Act."],"plain_english_summary":"Mechanically, the Act treats each of three former Legislative Council members who ceased office because of the 1991 reconstitution as if they had been paid salary for an aggregate period of seven years for the purposes of the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971, and it advances a three‑month timing rule for pension claims (s6). It excludes anyone already entitled to more than seven years or who accepted a refund. The change affects those members’ pension entitlements and the public superannuation fund’s liabilities; scheme administrators apply the Superannuation Act to process claims."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: ensuring three specific former Legislative Council members receive equitable superannuation treatment following the 1991 reconstitution. There is no evidence of scope creep; the Act contains no amendment provisions, no broadening definitions, and no expansion of beneficiaries beyond the original three members."},"complexity_factors":["Very short statute: only 7 sections spanning approximately 2 pages","Minimal defined terms: only 2 definitions ('former member' and 'the 1991 reconstitution Act')","Single purpose legislation with no cross-references beyond pointing to the 1971 Superannuation Act and 1991 Amendment Act","Simple conditional logic: one exclusion clause (section 6(3)) with two straightforward exceptions","No delegated legislation or regulation-making powers","No temporal complexity beyond the retrospective commencement date (1 July 1991)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis law fixes a superannuation (retirement pension) problem for three politicians who lost their jobs in 1991.\n\nIn 1991, the NSW Legislative Council (the upper house of the NSW Parliament) was restructured. This change forced three sitting members out of their positions earlier than expected. Under the normal rules of the *Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1971*, these three politicians didn't qualify for a parliamentary pension because they hadn't served long enough.\n\nThis 1993 law steps in to say: **for superannuation purposes only, these three former members are treated as if they had served 7 years** — the threshold needed to qualify for a pension under the 1971 Act.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Exactly three former members of the NSW Legislative Council who were removed in 1991 due to the reconstitution\n- It does **not** help them if they already had 7+ years of service (they were already covered)\n- It does **not** help them if they had already taken a refund of their superannuation contributions\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis is a \"savings provision\" — a legal patch to ensure fair treatment for a small group caught by a structural change to Parliament. Without this law, three people would have lost their jobs *and* been denied a pension they would have earned if they'd served their full terms. The law backdates to 1991 (when the reconstitution happened) to make sure there's no gap in their entitlements.\n\nThe law also makes clear it doesn't affect any other compensation these three might receive for losing their seats — it only fixes the superannuation problem."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993","history":"/api/acts/constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993/history","analysis":"/api/acts/constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/constitution-legislative-council-reconstitution-savings-act-1993/documents"}}