{"id":"C2004A04210","name":"Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991","slug":"military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"135 of 1991","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":51387,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A04210-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"Part 1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"## Part 1—Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  (1) Parts 1, 2, 6 and 7 and sections 42, 47 and 50 to 52 commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.\n  (2) Section 61 commences on 1 September 1991.\n  (3) The remaining provisions of this Act commence on 1 October 1991.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 3 Interpretation\n\n  (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> associate benefit means a benefit that is payable under provisions of the Trust Deed that are authorised by section 5A.\n\n> Board means the Military Superannuation and Benefits Board of Trustees No. 1 established by section 18, as in force before its repeal by item 110 of Schedule 1 to the Superannuation Legislation (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Act 2011.\n\n> CSC (short for Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation) has the same meaning as in the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011.\n\n> DFRDB Act means the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973.\n\n> Fund means the fund established, and vested in the Board, by the Trust Deed.\n\n> Note: From 1 July 2011, the fund is vested in CSC.\n\n> member of the Scheme has the meaning given by sections 6 and 7.\n\n> Rules means the Rules for the administration of the Scheme set out in the Schedule to the Trust Deed.\n\n> Scheme means the superannuation scheme established by the Trust Deed.\n\n> Trust Deed means the deed referred to in section 4 and includes that deed as subsequently amended under section 5.\n\n  (2) Unless the contrary intention appears, a word or expression:\n    (a) defined, for the purposes of the Rules, in Schedule 1 to the Rules; and\n    (b) used in a provision of this Act other than the Deed;\n  has in that provision the same meaning as it has in the Rules.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"3A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Application of the Criminal Code","content":"#### 3A Application of the Criminal Code\n\n  Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences against this Act.\n\n> Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"Part 2","sectionType":"part","heading":"The Trust Deed","content":"## Part 2—The Trust Deed","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Deed to establish Superannuation Scheme etc.","content":"#### 4 Deed to establish Superannuation Scheme etc.\n\n  (1) Not later than 30 days after the commencement of this Act, the Minister must, for and on behalf of the Commonwealth, by deed:\n    (a) establish an occupational superannuation scheme for the benefit of persons who, on and after the commencement of Part 3, will be, under that Part, members of the scheme; and\n    (b) establish, and vest in the Board, a fund for the purposes of the superannuation scheme; and\n    (c) set out the functions and powers of the Board.\n  (2) The deed must be in the form set out in the Schedule.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amendment of Trust Deed","content":"#### 5 Amendment of Trust Deed\n\n  (1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument signed by the Minister, amend the Trust Deed.\n  (1AA) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may amend the Trust Deed to:\n    (a) authorise CSC to:\n    (i) accept particular kinds of amounts in respect of particular kinds of people who are not members of the Scheme; and\n    (ii) deal with those amounts under the Deed; and\n    (b) define the functions of CSC in relation to those amounts; and\n    (c) include provisions in the Rules dealing with:\n    (i) the manner in which those amounts will be dealt with; and\n    (ii) the benefits that are to become payable in relation to those amounts; and\n    (iii) the circumstances in which entitlements to receive those benefits will arise; and\n    (iv) any other matter relating to those amounts or those benefits.\n  (1A) The Minister may not amend the Trust Deed unless:\n    (a) CSC has consented to the amendment; or\n    (b) the amendment:\n    (i) relates to a payment of an employer contribution that will, after the making of the amendment, be required or permitted to be made under this Act; or\n    (ii) relates solely to the termination of the Scheme; or\n    (iii) is made in circumstances covered by regulations made for the purposes of subparagraph 60(1)(b)(iii) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.\n  (1B) For the purposes of subparagraph (1A)(b)(i), a payment under the Trust Deed is taken to be a payment of an employer contribution.\n  (2) If compliance with a provision of the Trust Deed as amended under subsection (1) would have the effect that the Scheme:\n    (a) would not be a regulated superannuation fund within the meaning of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993; or\n    (b) would not comply with that Act;\n  that provision is invalid.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"5A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amendments of Trust Deed to implement family law interest splitting","content":"#### 5A Amendments of Trust Deed to implement family law interest splitting\n\n  (1) Without limiting subsection 5(1), amendments under that subsection:\n    (a) may provide that, when a splitting agreement or splitting order is received by CSC in respect of a superannuation interest under this Act:\n    (i) the non‑member spouse is entitled to benefits determined in accordance with the Rules; and\n    (ii) the benefits of the member spouse are reduced in accordance with the Rules; and\n    (b) may provide that, when a splitting agreement or splitting order is received by CSC in respect of a superannuation interest under:\n    (i) section 52 of the Defence Act 1903; or\n    (ii) the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973;\n    the non‑member spouse is entitled to benefits determined in accordance with the Rules; and\n    (c) may make any other provision that is related to, or consequential on, provisions referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).\n  (2) Subparagraph (1)(b)(ii) does not apply in a case covered by subsection 49B(2) of the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973.\n  (3) Subsection 12(2) (retrospective application of legislative instruments) of the Legislation Act 2003 does not apply to amendments referred to in subsection (1) of this section.\n  (4) In this section:\n\n> member spouse means a member spouse within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.\n\n> non‑member spouse means a non‑member spouse within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.\n\n> splitting agreement means:\n\n    (a) a superannuation agreement (within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975); or\n    (b) a flag lifting agreement (within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975) that provides for a payment split (within the meaning of that Part).\n\n> splitting order means a splitting order within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.\n\n> superannuation interest means a superannuation interest within the meaning of Part VIIIB or VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"Part 3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Members of Superannuation Scheme","content":"## Part 3—Members of Superannuation Scheme","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Membership of Superannuation Scheme","content":"#### 6 Membership of Superannuation Scheme\n\n  (1) Each of the following persons is a member of the Scheme:\n    (a) a person who is a member of the Permanent Forces;\n    (b) a member of the Reserves who is rendering a period of continuous full‑time service.\n  (2) This section is subject to section 7.","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Persons excluded from membership of Superannuation Scheme","content":"#### 7 Persons excluded from membership of Superannuation Scheme\n\n  Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits scheme\n  (1) A person is not a member of the Scheme if the person is an eligible member of the Defence Force for the purposes of the DFRDB Act.\n  Those commencing on or after 1 July 2016\n  (2) A person is not a member of the Scheme if:\n    (a) the person does not have a preserved benefit that includes an amount of employer benefit; and\n    (b) on or after 1 July 2016:\n    (i) the person becomes a member of the Permanent Forces; or\n    (ii) the person, as a member of the Reserves, begins to render continuous full‑time service.\n  Those choosing Australian Defence Force Superannuation\n  (3) A person is not a member of the Scheme if the person has chosen to become an ADF Super member under section 12 of the Australian Defence Force Superannuation Act 2015 (whether or not the person is still an ADF Super member).","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Cases where person taken not to have ceased to be a member","content":"#### 8 Cases where person taken not to have ceased to be a member\n\n  Where a person ceases to be a member and, immediately after so ceasing, again becomes a member, the person is taken, for the purposes of this Act, not to have ceased to be a member.","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"Part 4","sectionType":"part","heading":"Contributions","content":"## Part 4—Contributions","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Contributions of members to Superannuation Scheme etc. to be deducted from salary","content":"#### 9 Contributions of members to Superannuation Scheme etc. to be deducted from salary\n\n  Any contribution payable by a member under the Rules may be deducted from the member’s salary and paid to CSC.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Contributions to Superannuation Scheme etc. by Department","content":"#### 10 Contributions to Superannuation Scheme etc. by Department\n\n  (1) The Department must pay to CSC, in accordance with the Rules, all contributions that under the Rules are payable by the Department in respect of a member.\n  (2) Where any amount payable by the Department under subsection (1) remains unpaid after the day on which payment was due, the Department is liable to pay to CSC interest on that amount at such rate as CSC determines from time to time.","sortOrder":15},{"sectionNumber":"Part 5","sectionType":"part","heading":"Payment of benefits","content":"## Part 5—Payment of benefits","sortOrder":16},{"sectionNumber":"11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 11 Interpretation\n\n  In this Part, a reference, in relation to a person who has ceased to be a member, to a member benefit, or to the part of a member benefit, that is totally funded is a reference to a member benefit, or to that part of a member benefit that consists only of:\n    (a) contributions that have been paid by the person to CSC on or after the day on which the person became, or last became, a member; and\n    (b) the interest on those contributions.","sortOrder":17},{"sectionNumber":"12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Member benefits","content":"#### 12 Member benefits\n\n  Where a member benefit becomes payable under the Rules to a person who has ceased to be a member:\n    (a) if the member benefit is totally funded—the member benefit is payable to the person by CSC; or\n    (b) if paragraph (a) does not apply:\n    (i) an amount equal to the part of the member benefit that is totally funded is payable by CSC to the Commonwealth; and\n    (ii) the member benefit is payable to the person by the Commonwealth.","sortOrder":18},{"sectionNumber":"13","sectionType":"section","heading":"Employer benefits","content":"#### 13 Employer benefits\n\n  Where an employer benefit becomes payable under the Rules to a person who has ceased to be a member:\n    (a) an amount equal to the funded employer benefit in relation to the person is payable by CSC to the Commonwealth; and\n    (b) any benefit to which the person is entitled is payable to the person by the Commonwealth.","sortOrder":19},{"sectionNumber":"14","sectionType":"section","heading":"Preserved benefits","content":"#### 14 Preserved benefits\n\n  (1) Where:\n    (a) a preserved benefit, or part of a preserved benefit, applicable to a person who has ceased to be a member becomes payable; and\n    (b) the preserved benefit, or the part of the preserved benefit, consists only of an amount of member benefit;\n  then:\n    (c) if the preserved benefit consists only of an amount of member benefit that is totally funded—the preserved benefit, or the part of the preserved benefit, is payable to, or in respect of, the person by CSC; or\n    (d) if paragraph (c) does not apply:\n    (i) an amount equal to:\n    (A) if the total amount of preserved benefit is payable—the part of the member benefit that is totally funded; or\n    (B) if a part of a preserved benefit is payable—a corresponding part of the part of the member benefit that is totally funded;\n    is payable by CSC to the Commonwealth; and\n    (ii) the preserved benefit, or the part of the preserved benefit, is payable to, or in respect of, the person by the Commonwealth.\n  (2) Where:\n    (a) a preserved benefit applicable to a person who has ceased to be a member becomes payable; and\n    (b) the preserved benefit includes both an amount of member benefit and an amount of employer benefit;\n  then:\n    (c) an amount equal to the sum of:\n    (i) the part of the member benefit included in the preserved benefit that is totally funded; and\n    (ii) so much of the funded employer benefit in relation to the person as is included in the preserved benefit;\n    is payable by CSC to the Commonwealth; and\n    (d) the preserved benefit is payable to, or in respect of, the person by the Commonwealth.","sortOrder":20},{"sectionNumber":"15","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment by or to the Commonwealth on reclassification of invalidity pensioner","content":"#### 15 Payment by or to the Commonwealth on reclassification of invalidity pensioner\n\n  (1) Where a person who is an invalidity pensioner classified as Class A or Class B is reclassified as Class C, the Commonwealth must pay to CSC an amount equal to the amount of the funded employer benefit in relation to the person at the time when the person was retired on the ground of invalidity.\n  (2) Where:\n    (a) a person who was an invalidity pensioner classified as Class A or Class B was reclassified as Class C; and\n    (b) the person is subsequently reclassified as Class A or Class B;\n  CSC must pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to the funded employer benefit in relation to the person.","sortOrder":21},{"sectionNumber":"16","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment by Commonwealth where an invalidity pensioner again becomes a member","content":"#### 16 Payment by Commonwealth where an invalidity pensioner again becomes a member\n\n  Where a person who is an invalidity pensioner again becomes a member, the Commonwealth must pay to CSC an amount equal to the amount of the funded employer benefit in relation to the person at the time when the person was retired on the ground of invalidity.","sortOrder":22},{"sectionNumber":"16A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payments relating to associate benefits","content":"#### 16A Payments relating to associate benefits\n\n  (1) Where an associate benefit becomes payable under the Rules, the Commonwealth must pay the benefit to such person or persons as are appropriate under the Rules.\n  (2) CSC must pay to the Commonwealth any amount that CSC is required under the Rules to pay to the Commonwealth in respect of an associate benefit.","sortOrder":23},{"sectionNumber":"16B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recoverable payments","content":"#### 16B Recoverable payments\n\n  (1) If, apart from this subsection, the Commonwealth does not have power, under this Act, to pay an amount (the relevant amount) to a person (the recipient) purportedly as a benefit under the Rules, then the Commonwealth may pay the relevant amount to the recipient.\n  Recovery\n  (2) If a payment is made under subsection (1) to the recipient, the relevant amount:\n    (a) is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the recipient; and\n    (b) may be recovered by CSC, on behalf of the Commonwealth, in a court of competent jurisdiction.\n  (3) If:\n    (a) a payment is made under subsection (1) to the recipient; and\n    (b) the recipient is receiving, or is entitled to receive, a benefit under the Rules;\n  then:\n    (c) the relevant amount; or\n    (d) such part of the relevant amount as the Board of CSC determines;\n  may, if the Board of CSC so directs, be recovered by deduction from that benefit.","sortOrder":24},{"sectionNumber":"16C","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recoverable death payments","content":"#### 16C Recoverable death payments\n\n  (1) If, apart from this subsection, the Commonwealth does not have power under this Act to pay an amount (the relevant amount) in any of the following circumstances:\n    (a) the relevant amount is deposited to an account kept in the name of a deceased person;\n    (b) the relevant amount is deposited to an account kept in the names of a deceased person and another person;\n    (c) the relevant amount is paid by way of a cheque made out to a deceased person;\n  the Commonwealth may pay the relevant amount in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c), so long as:\n    (d) on the last day on which changes could reasonably be made to the payment of the relevant amount, the chief executive officer (however described) of CSC did not know that the deceased person had died; and\n    (e) apart from this subsection, the relevant amount would have been payable as a benefit to the deceased person if the deceased person had not died.\n  (2) If a payment is made under subsection (1), the relevant amount is taken to have been paid to the deceased person’s estate.\n  Recovery\n  (3) If a payment is made under subsection (1), the relevant amount:\n    (a) is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the legal personal representative of the deceased person; and\n    (b) may be recovered by CSC, on behalf of the Commonwealth, in a court of competent jurisdiction.","sortOrder":25},{"sectionNumber":"16D","sectionType":"section","heading":"Reports about recoverable payments and recoverable death payments","content":"#### 16D Reports about recoverable payments and recoverable death payments\n\n  (1) CSC must cause a report of the following information to be published, in such manner as the Board of CSC thinks fit:\n    (a) the number of payments that any employee of CSC was aware of that were made under subsection 16B(1) or 16C(1) during the reporting period (see subsection (2) of this section);\n    (b) the total amount of payments referred to in paragraph (a);\n    (c) the number of payments made under subsection 16B(1) or 16C(1) that any employee of CSC became aware of during the reporting period that were made during an earlier reporting period;\n    (d) the total amount of payments referred to in paragraph (c);\n    (e) for each payment referred to in paragraph (c)—the reporting period in which the payment was made.\n  (2) The reporting period is:\n    (a) a financial year; or\n    (b) if a shorter recurring period is prescribed under paragraph (5)(a)—that period.\n  (3) A report is not required if no employee of CSC is aware of any payments referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or (c).\n  When report must be provided\n  (4) The report must be provided before the end of the following period:\n    (a) 4 months after the end of the reporting period;\n    (b) if a lesser number of months has been prescribed for the reporting period under paragraph (5)(b)—that number of months after the end of the reporting period.\n  Power to make legislative instruments\n  (5) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, prescribe:\n    (a) a period for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b); or\n    (b) a number of months for a reporting period for the purposes of paragraph (4)(b).","sortOrder":26},{"sectionNumber":"17","sectionType":"section","heading":"Appropriation","content":"#### 17 Appropriation\n\n  Any payment by the Commonwealth under this Part is to be made out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.","sortOrder":27},{"sectionNumber":"Part 6","sectionType":"part","heading":"CSC","content":"## Part 6—CSC","sortOrder":28},{"sectionNumber":"18","sectionType":"section","heading":"Functions and powers","content":"#### 18 Functions and powers\n\n  (1) The functions and powers of CSC are those set out in the Trust Deed.\n\n> Note: For other functions of CSC, see section 8 of the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011.\n\n  (2) CSC is also responsible for the general administration of this Act.","sortOrder":29},{"sectionNumber":"Part 9","sectionType":"part","heading":"Miscellaneous","content":"## Part 9—Miscellaneous","sortOrder":30},{"sectionNumber":"42","sectionType":"section","heading":"Cost of administration of Act etc.","content":"#### 42 Cost of administration of Act etc.\n\n  The costs of the administration of this Act and of the Trust Deed, excluding the costs of and incidental to the management of the Fund by CSC and the investment of its money, are to be paid out of money appropriated from time to time by Parliament for the purpose.","sortOrder":31},{"sectionNumber":"42A","sectionType":"section","heading":"CSC liable to pay surcharge under the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997","content":"#### 42A CSC liable to pay surcharge under the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997\n\n  (1) To remove any doubt, it is stated that:\n    (a) for the purposes of the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997, CSC in its capacity as a superannuation provider is an entity distinct from the Commonwealth; and\n    (b) consequently, section 33 of that Act does not affect the liability of CSC under that Act to pay surcharge on the surchargeable contributions of members.\n  (2) Amounts payable by CSC under subsection 16(6) of the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997 are to be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is appropriated accordingly.","sortOrder":32},{"sectionNumber":"43","sectionType":"section","heading":"Recovery of unpaid contributions etc.","content":"#### 43 Recovery of unpaid contributions etc.\n\n  (1) Any amount (including an amount of contributions) that is payable to CSC under this Act or the Rules may be recovered by CSC in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt.\n  (2) Any contribution payable by a person to CSC under the Rules that remains unpaid when the person ceases to be a member may be deducted from any payment or payments of benefit payable under the Rules to, or in respect of, the person.\n  (3) Where for any reason (including the making of, or cancellation of, an election under the Rules), CSC had paid an amount of benefit that is, or has become, not payable:\n    (a) the amount so paid may be recovered by CSC in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt; or\n    (b) where the person to whom that amount was paid is receiving, or is entitled to receive, a benefit under the Rules, the amount so paid, or such part of that amount as CSC determines, may, if CSC in its discretion so directs, be recovered by deduction from that benefit.","sortOrder":33},{"sectionNumber":"44","sectionType":"section","heading":"Payment of fees","content":"#### 44 Payment of fees\n\n  (1) Such fees as are prescribed are payable to the Commonwealth by a person who, under the Rules, requests CSC to reconsider one of its decisions.\n  (2) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to the refund of any fees paid under subsection (1).","sortOrder":34},{"sectionNumber":"45","sectionType":"section","heading":"Assignment of benefits","content":"#### 45 Assignment of benefits\n\n  No pension or other benefit payable under the Rules is capable of being assigned.","sortOrder":35},{"sectionNumber":"46","sectionType":"section","heading":"Member etc. bound by Rules","content":"#### 46 Member etc. bound by Rules\n\n  (1) A person who is, or has ceased to be, a member is subject to the Rules to the extent that they are applicable in relation to the person.\n  (1A) A person who is, or has ceased to be, an associate is subject to the Rules to the extent that they are applicable in relation to the person. For this purpose, associate means a person to whom an associate benefit is payable.\n  (2) The Commonwealth is subject to the Rules to the extent that they are applicable in relation to the Commonwealth.","sortOrder":36},{"sectionNumber":"47","sectionType":"section","heading":"Indemnification","content":"#### 47 Indemnification\n\n  (1) Any matter or thing done, or omitted to be done, in good faith by:\n    (d) a member of an Incapacity Classification Committee established under the Rules; or\n    (e) a member of a Reconsideration Advisory Committee established under the Rules;\n  does not subject him or her personally to any action, liability, claim or demand.\n  (2) Subsection (1) does not preclude CSC from being subject to any action, liability, claim or demand.","sortOrder":37},{"sectionNumber":"48","sectionType":"section","heading":"Bank not liable in respect of certain payments out of account of deceased pensioner","content":"#### 48 Bank not liable in respect of certain payments out of account of deceased pensioner\n\n  (1) In this section:\n\n> bank includes, but is not limited to, a body corporate that is an ADI (authorised deposit‑taking institution) for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959.\n\n> primary pension means a pension payable to a pensioner.\n\n  (2) Where:\n    (a) after the death of a retirement pensioner, an amount purporting to be an instalment of primary pension payable to the pensioner on a pension pay day not later than the 7th pension pay day after his or her death is paid into an account of the pensioner with a bank; and\n    (b) the bank pays, out of that account, to the spouse of the deceased pensioner an amount not exceeding the amount so paid into the account;\n  then, in spite of any other law, the bank is not liable to the Commonwealth, the personal representative of the deceased pensioner or anyone else for any loss incurred because of the payment of that amount to the spouse of the pensioner.","sortOrder":38},{"sectionNumber":"48A","sectionType":"section","heading":"CSC may rely on information supplied by the Department","content":"#### 48A CSC may rely on information supplied by the Department\n\n  (1) For the purposes of the Trust Deed in its application to or in respect of a person who is or has been a member of the Scheme, CSC may presume that any information provided to CSC by the Department is correct.\n  (2) If a tribunal, authority or person is empowered:\n    (a) to review a decision of CSC under this Act, the regulations or the Trust Deed; and\n    (b) to vary, or make a decision in substitution for, CSC’s decision under this Act, the regulations or the Trust Deed;\n  the tribunal, authority or person is not bound by any presumption made by CSC under subsection (1).","sortOrder":39},{"sectionNumber":"49","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amendments to Trust Deed disallowable under the Legislation Act 2003","content":"#### 49 Amendments to Trust Deed disallowable under the Legislation Act 2003\n\n  Despite regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 44(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003, section 42 (disallowance) of that Act applies to an instrument amending the Trust Deed.","sortOrder":40},{"sectionNumber":"51","sectionType":"section","heading":"Delegation by Minister","content":"#### 51 Delegation by Minister\n\n  The Minister may, by signed instrument, delegate all or any of his or her powers under this Act or the regulations to:\n    (a) CSC or an employee of CSC; or\n    (aa) a director (within the meaning of the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011); or\n    (b) an officer of the Department; or\n    (d) an officer of the Defence Force.","sortOrder":41},{"sectionNumber":"51A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Transitional—MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993 to have retrospective effect","content":"#### 51A Transitional—MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993 to have retrospective effect\n\n  Application\n  (1) This section applies to a member benefit that was or is payable under the Rules to a person because the person ceased to be a member during either of the following periods:\n    (a) the period beginning on 1 October 1991 and ending at the end of 26 May 1992;\n    (b) the period beginning on 9 September 1992 and ending at the end of 21 April 1993.\n  Retrospective effect\n  (2) In calculating the member benefit, the Rules have effect as if MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993 had been made, and had come into force, on 1 October 1991.\n  Repayment of excess\n  (3) If:\n    (a) the member benefit has been paid to the person; and\n    (b) the amount paid exceeds the amount that the person would have been entitled to be paid if MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993 had been made, and had come into force, on 1 October 1991;\n  the person is liable to repay the amount of the excess.\n  Recovery of repayment\n  (4) If a person is liable to repay an amount under subsection (3):\n    (a) the amount may be recovered as a debt due to the Board or the Commonwealth, as the case may be; and\n    (b) the amount may be deducted from any other amount that is payable to the person by the Board or the Commonwealth, as the case may be.\n  Definition\n  (5) In this section:\n\n> MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993 means Instrument No. 3 of 1993 made under subsection 5(1) on 19 April 1993 and notified in the Gazette on 22 April 1993.","sortOrder":42},{"sectionNumber":"51B","sectionType":"section","heading":"Transitional—recoverable payments relating to retention benefit","content":"#### 51B Transitional—recoverable payments relating to retention benefit\n\n  (1) If, apart from this subsection, the Commonwealth does not have power, under repealed Part 8 of this Act as continued in force by item 4 of Schedule 4 to the Defence Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2005, to pay an amount (the relevant amount) to a person (the recipient) purportedly as a retention benefit, then the Commonwealth may pay the relevant amount to the recipient.\n  Recovery\n  (2) If a payment is made under subsection (1) to the recipient, the relevant amount:\n    (a) is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the recipient; and\n    (b) may be recovered by the Secretary of the Department, on behalf of the Commonwealth, in a court of competent jurisdiction.\n  (3) If:\n    (a) a payment is made under subsection (1) to the recipient; and\n    (b) the recipient is receiving, or is entitled to receive, an amount under a determination made under Part IIIA of the Defence Act 1903;\n  then:\n    (c) the relevant amount; or\n    (d) such part of the relevant amount as the Secretary of the Department determines;\n  may, if the Secretary of the Department so directs, be recovered by deduction from the amount mentioned in paragraph (b).\n  Appropriation\n  (4) For the purposes of repealed section 39 of this Act as continued in force by item 4 of Schedule 4 to the Defence Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2005, a payment under subsection (1) of this section is taken to be a retention benefit.\n  Retention benefit\n  (5) For the purposes of this section, retention benefit means retention benefit under repealed Part 8 of this Act as continued in force by item 4 of Schedule 4 to the Defence Legislation Amendment Act (No. 1) 2005.","sortOrder":43},{"sectionNumber":"51C","sectionType":"section","heading":"Transitional—reports about recoverable payments","content":"#### 51C Transitional—reports about recoverable payments\n\n  (1) During the applicable publication period for a reporting period, the Secretary of the Department must cause to be published, in such manner as the Secretary thinks fit, a report that sets out:\n    (a) the number of payments made under subsection 51B(1) during the reporting period; and\n    (b) the total amount of those payments.\n  (2) However, a report is not required if the number mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is zero.\n  Deferred reporting\n  (3) Subsection (1) of this section does not require a report to deal with a payment unless, before the preparation of the report, a Departmental official was aware the payment was made under subsection 51B(1).\n  (4) For the purposes of this section, if:\n    (a) a payment was made under subsection 51B(1) in a reporting period; and\n    (b) because of subsection (3) of this section, subsection (1) of this section did not require a report to deal with the payment; and\n    (c) during a later reporting period, a Departmental official becomes aware that the payment was made under subsection 51B(1);\n  the payment is subject to a deferred reporting obligation in relation to the later reporting period.\n  (5) If one or more payments made under subsection 51B(1) during a reporting period are subject to a deferred reporting obligation in relation to a later reporting period, the Secretary of the Department must, during the applicable publication period for the later reporting period:\n    (a) prepare a report that sets out:\n    (i) the number of those payments; and\n    (ii) the total amount of those payments; and\n    (iii) the reporting period during which the payments were made; and\n    (b) if a report is required under subsection (1) in relation to the later reporting period—include the paragraph (a) report in the subsection (1) report; and\n    (c) if paragraph (b) does not apply—publish, in such manner as the Secretary thinks fit, the paragraph (a) report.\n  Reporting period\n  (6) For the purposes of this section, a reporting period is:\n    (a) a financial year; or\n    (b) if a shorter recurring period is specified in a legislative instrument made by the Minister—that period.\n  Applicable publication period\n  (7) For the purposes of this section, the applicable publication period for a reporting period is the period of:\n    (a) 4 months; or\n    (b) if a lesser number of months is specified, in relation to the reporting period, in a legislative instrument made by the Minister—that number of months;\n  beginning immediately after the end of the reporting period.\n  Departmental official\n  (8) For the purposes of this section, Departmental official means an official (within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013) of the Department.","sortOrder":44},{"sectionNumber":"52","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 52 Regulations\n\n  (1) The Governor‑General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, prescribing all matters that:\n    (a) are required or permitted to be prescribed by this Act; or\n    (b) are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n  (2) Regulations may not be made after the commencement of this subsection unless:\n    (a) CSC has consented to the making of the regulations; or\n    (b) the regulations:\n    (i) relate to a payment of an employer contribution that will, after the making of the regulations, be required or permitted to be made under this Act; or\n    (ii) relate solely to the termination of the Scheme; or\n    (iii) are made in circumstances covered by regulations made for the purposes of subparagraph 60(1)(b)(iii) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.\n  (3) For the purposes of subparagraph (2)(b)(i), a payment under the Trust Deed is taken to be a payment of an employer contribution.","sortOrder":45}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"source":"grok-batch-everything"},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":8,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Originally enacted to establish the MSBS in 1991 as the replacement occupational superannuation arrangement for post-1991 ADF members (via the mandatory Trust Deed under s.4), the legislation's scope has broadened significantly through amendments to authorise family law superannuation interest splitting for both MSBS and linked DFRDB interests (s.5A), introduce recoverable payment and death payment mechanisms with mandatory reporting (ss.16B–16D), add exclusions for post-2016 joiners and ADF Super choosers (s.7(2)–(3)), and incorporate compliance with evolving SIS Act and Governance Act requirements."},"complexity_factors":["Heavy reliance on an external Trust Deed and Schedule Rules for all substantive benefit calculations and administration","Intricate conditional payment flows between CSC and the Commonwealth across 10+ sections (ss.12–16D) depending on whether benefits are 'totally funded', preserved, or employer-funded","Multiple layers of exclusions from membership (s.7) and 'taken not to have ceased' deeming rules (s.8)","Cross-references to at least six other Acts including the DFRDB Act, SIS Act 1993, Family Law Act 1975, Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011, and Criminal Code","Transitional and retrospective provisions (ss.51A–51C) plus specific family law interest splitting machinery (s.5A) that override normal legislative instrument rules"],"plain_english_summary":"**The Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991** establishes and governs a superannuation (retirement savings) scheme for eligible Australian Defence Force members. It requires the Minister to create a Trust Deed that sets up the scheme, a fund to hold the money, and detailed Rules for how it works. \n\n**Key features include:**\n- Automatic membership for permanent force members and reservists on full-time service (but not those already in the older 1973 scheme, or people joining after 1 July 2016 without prior employer benefits, or those who choose the newer ADF Super scheme).\n- Members contribute a portion of their salary; the Department pays employer contributions.\n- When a person leaves service, the scheme pays 'member benefits' (from their own contributions plus interest) and 'employer benefits' (from the Department), with special rules for preserved benefits, invalidity pensions that can be reclassified, and family law splits in divorce.\n- The Commonwealth and the administrator (now CSC) exchange specific payments for different types of benefits, with strict rules on what each pays.\n- It allows the Minister to amend the Trust Deed (with CSC consent in most cases) and includes safeguards so the scheme stays compliant with superannuation industry laws.\n\nThis law matters because it provides structured retirement, invalidity, and death benefits tailored to the unique demands of military service, while protecting the fund through clear contribution, payment, and recovery rules. It also links to family law so super can be split fairly on relationship breakdown."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The statutory text as provided shows that the original trustee structure and vesting arrangements have been altered: the Board referenced in the Act was repealed and a note states that from 1 July 2011 the Fund is vested in CSC (section 3 note). The Act also contains provisions expanding trustee/administrator functions via the Trust Deed (allowing CSC to accept amounts for non‑members and to define benefits in respect of those amounts — section 5(1AA)), and adds reporting and recoverable payment mechanics (sections 16B–16D, 51B–51C). Those changes shift operational control and payment responsibility toward CSC and the Commonwealth and impose new reporting and recovery obligations, indicating a scope shift from the original Board‑centric trustee model to CSC administration and related compliance arrangements (sections 3, 5, 16B–16D, 51B–51C)."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple institutional actors with overlapping roles: Minister, CSC, Department, (former) Board, Commonwealth — responsibilities and delegations across sections 4, 5, 10, 18, 51.","Interaction with external statutes and regimes (Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993; DFRDB Act 1973; Superannuation Contributions Tax Act) requiring cross‑compliance and external consent constraints (sections 5(2), 7(1), 42A).","Trust Deed and Rules as central, internally detailed instruments with amendment rules and disallowance mechanics — substantial lawfulness depends on interpretation of those instruments (sections 3, 4, 5, 49).","Distinct treatment of funded vs unfunded portions of benefits creates contingent public liabilities and allocation rules for payment and recovery (sections 11–14, 16B, 16C).","Recovery powers that create debtor relationships and permit deductions from ongoing benefits, with court enforcement — practical complexity for administration and recipients (sections 16B(2)–(3), 43).","Reporting and publication obligations for recoverable payments and transitional reporting rules, including deferred reporting requirements, add operational reporting complexity (sections 16D, 51C).","Constraints on ministerial/regulatory power (need for CSC consent in many cases) combined with delegation provisions that permit operational decentralisation (sections 5(1A), 52(2), 51).","Transitional provisions and historical amendments (e.g., vesting note and repeal of Board) embedded in text create interpretive layers for timeline and trustee changes (section 3 notes; sections 51A–51C)."],"plain_english_summary":"What this law does, mechanically\n\n- Establishes an occupational superannuation (pension) scheme for members of the Permanent Forces and certain Reservists by requiring the Minister to execute a Trust Deed and to vest a Fund in the trustee arrangement (section 4). The Trust Deed and its Rules set out the scheme’s structure, benefits, contributions and administration (sections 3, 4, 5).\n- Gives the Commonwealth (through the Minister and, ultimately, the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) under later governance arrangements) responsibilities for administering the scheme and paying benefits that are not fully funded in the Fund (sections 4, 12–14, 18, 17).\n- Sets who is a member and who is excluded (members: Permanent Forces and Reservists on continuous full‑time service; exclusions include eligible DFRDB members, people who choose ADF Super, and people who begin service on or after 1 July 2016 without preserved employer benefit) (sections 6–7).\n- Requires member contributions to be deducted from salary and paid to CSC, and requires the Department to pay employer contributions and interest on late payments (sections 9–10).\n- Specifies how benefits are paid depending on what is “funded” in the Fund: if a member benefit is entirely funded CSC pays it; if not, CSC transfers funded amounts to the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth pays the benefit (sections 11–14). Similar rules apply for employer benefits, associate benefits and certain reclassification cases (sections 13, 15–16A).\n- Authorises the Commonwealth to make certain payments it would not otherwise be empowered to make and to recover those payments as a debt (recoverable payments and recoverable death payments), with specified reporting obligations about such payments (sections 16B–16D, 51B, 51C).\n- Confirms administrative cost and appropriation arrangements: administration costs (other than investment/management costs) are to be paid from parliamentary appropriations; payments by the Commonwealth under the Part are to come from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (sections 17, 42). CSC is treated as an entity distinct from the Commonwealth for surcharge liability under superannuation tax law (section 42A).\n- Provides general miscellaneous governance and operational rules: recovery powers for unpaid contributions and overpaid benefits, prohibition on assignment of pensions, members and associates being bound by the Rules, indemnification for specified committee members, ability for CSC to rely on Department information, delegation of ministerial powers, and regulation‑making powers (sections 43–51, 48A, 45, 47, 51, 52).\n\nStated purpose and how the Act implements it\n\n- The statutory text requires establishment of a Trust Deed and Fund “for the benefit of persons who…will be members of the scheme” (section 4). The instrument implements that by: creating membership rules (sections 6–7); prescribing contribution flows (sections 9–10); allocating administration and trustee functions to the body set out in the Trust Deed / CSC (section 18); and specifying payment and recovery mechanics when benefits are funded or are not funded in the Fund (sections 11–16A).\n\nWho pays, who decides, and what behaviour changes\n\n- Who pays:\n  - Members fund part of their benefit via payroll deductions (section 9).\n  - The Department (employer) pays employer contributions and interest on late payments (section 10).\n  - If benefits are not fully funded in the Fund, the Commonwealth pays the benefit from Consolidated Revenue (sections 12–14, 17).\n  - Administration costs (other than CSC’s fund management/investment costs) come from Parliamentary appropriation (section 42).\n\n- Who decides:\n  - The Minister establishes and may amend the Trust Deed by legislative instrument, but many amendments require CSC consent (sections 4–5, 52(2)).\n  - CSC performs the general administration and trusteeship functions set out in the Trust Deed and may exercise discretion in recoveries, interest rates for late Department payments, and in publications under reporting rules (sections 18, 10(2), 16B(3), 16D).\n  - The Minister may delegate powers to CSC, CSC employees, departmental officers or Defence officers (section 51).\n\n- Behaviour changes the law creates:\n  - Requires payroll deductions and employer payments to flow into CSC (sections 9–10).\n  - Treats some funded entitlements as assets of the Fund/CSC and unfunded portions as Commonwealth liabilities, thereby directing who actually pays beneficiaries (sections 11–14).\n  - Enables recovery of mistaken or unauthorized payments by making them debts due to the Commonwealth or CSC (sections 16B(2), 16C(3), 43).\n  - Limits private transferability of benefits by prohibiting assignment (section 45).\n\nCompliance burden, discretion and implementation risks (source‑grounded)\n\n- Compliance burdens and enforcement:\n  - Employers must make contributions and pay interest on late payment — a cashflow and administrative obligation (section 10).\n  - Members are subject to the Rules and can have unpaid contributions recovered from benefits or as a debt (sections 9, 43(2)).\n  - CSC and the Department must publish reports on recoverable payments (sections 16D, 51C), creating an ongoing reporting obligation and procedures for internal awareness and deferred reporting (51C(3)–(5)).\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion and decision points:\n  - Ministerial power to amend the Trust Deed exists but is constrained by required CSC consent in many cases (section 5(1A)) and by invalidity if an amendment would make the Scheme non‑compliant with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (section 5(2)).\n  - CSC has discretion to set the interest rate charged by it for late Department payments (section 10(2)), to determine amounts recoverable from ongoing benefits (16B(3), 43(3)), and to decide reporting formats and publication manner (16D(1)).\n  - CSC may presume Department‑supplied information is correct (48A(1)), but decision‑review bodies are not bound by that presumption (48A(2)), creating a risk of inconsistent outcomes when data is incorrect.\n\n- Implementation risks and trade‑offs:\n  - The split between funded and unfunded parts of benefits shifts cashflow risk between CSC/the Fund and the Commonwealth (sections 11–14). When benefits are not fully funded, the Commonwealth becomes the payer, which creates contingent public expenditure obligations (sections 12–14, 17).\n  - Allowing the Commonwealth to make payments it otherwise lacks power to make (and to recover them later) speeds payment to recipients but creates debtor relationships and collection needs (sections 16B, 16C). Recovery depends on CSC/Department processes and courts (16B(2), 16C(3)).\n  - The Act places several constraints on ministerial regulation‑making by requiring CSC consent for many regulations and Trust Deed amendments (sections 5(1A), 52(2)). That reduces unilateral ministerial flexibility and concentrates a gatekeeping role in CSC.\n\nEffects on private choice, markets and contract freedom (source‑grounded)\n\n- The scheme is a statutory public superannuation arrangement focused on Defence personnel; it does not create broad private market entries. It does, however, affect private choices and contracts of members:\n  - Members cannot assign pensions or benefits (section 45), which limits their ability to use those entitlements in private contracts (for example as collateral).\n  - The Act allows the Trust Deed/Rules to provide for family law splitting arrangements and associate benefits (section 5A, 16A), thereby changing how courts/parties can convert or split superannuation interests on separation.\n  - CSC is expressly a separate entity for surcharge tax purposes (section 42A), which affects tax compliance obligations distinct from Commonwealth status.\n\nConcentrated benefits, diffuse costs and accountability mechanisms (source‑grounded)\n\n- Concentrated benefits: direct monetary benefits (pensions, preserved benefits, associate benefits) flow to scheme members, associates and (in family law cases) non‑member spouses under rules implemented by the Trust Deed and CSC (sections 3, 5A, 16A).\n- Diffuse costs: where benefits are not fully funded, costs fall to the Commonwealth/Consolidated Revenue Fund and therefore to taxpayers (sections 12–14, 17, 42). Administration costs (except investment management) are also appropriated (section 42).\n- Accountability mechanisms: reporting obligations for recoverable payments (section 16D, 51C), legislative disallowance of Trust Deed amendments (section 49), and requirement for CSC consent for many amendments/regulations (sections 5(1A), 52(2)) create checks on unilateral changes.\n\nKey cross‑references and interaction risks\n\n- The Act expressly interacts with other Commonwealth superannuation and tax laws: it preserves compliance with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 as a constraint on Trust Deed amendments (section 5(2)), refers to the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973 for membership exclusions (section 7(1)), and treats CSC as distinct for surcharge liability under the Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997 (section 42A). These cross‑references mean operational changes in those external statutes or in the Trust Deed/Rules affect scheme operation.\n\nBottom line (mechanical effects):\n\n- The Act creates a statutory framework that determines who is a member, how contributions are collected, how benefits are funded and paid, and how administration and recovery operate. The Department, the Minister and CSC each have specified payment or decision responsibilities, with the Commonwealth carrying residual payment obligations from consolidated revenue where benefits are not fully funded. The Act builds in administrative discretion (CSC and Minister), recovery and reporting mechanisms, and constraints intended to ensure compliance with broader superannuation law (sections 4–5, 9–18, 16B–16D, 42–52)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":7,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The Act originally established a straightforward military superannuation scheme for ADF members, with a Board of Trustees managing a dedicated fund. Over time, its scope expanded significantly: the governing body was absorbed into the broader CSC under the 2011 Governance Act; family law interest-splitting provisions were added to address relationship breakdowns; associate benefit provisions were introduced for non-members; recoverable payments and death payment recovery mechanisms were added; and exclusion provisions were layered in to manage the transition to the newer ADF Super scheme from 2016. The scheme no longer covers all ADF members as it once did, with newer entrants directed to a separate scheme."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple interacting legislative frameworks: references to at least 8 other Acts (DFRDB Act, Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, Family Law Act 1975, Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011, ADF Superannuation Act 2015, Banking Act 1959, Legislation Act 2003, Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013)","Three-tier benefit payment system distinguishing between 'totally funded', 'employer benefit' and 'preserved benefit' portions with different payment pathways to/from the Commonwealth and CSC","Historical layering: transitional provisions referencing repealed sections, superseded instruments (MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993), and earlier schemes (DFRDB), creating a patchwork of overlapping entitlements","Governance complexity: shift from an original Board structure to CSC as trustee (from 1 July 2011), requiring readers to understand both historical and current administrative arrangements","Exclusion rules for membership are intricate, with three separate carve-outs based on scheme history, date of enlistment, and personal choice","Family law splitting provisions cross-reference multiple Parts of the Family Law Act 1975 and two other separate ADF legislation schemes","Recoverable payments regime has nuanced rules distinguishing between general overpayments and post-death payments, each with separate recovery mechanisms","Substantive rules are contained in a Trust Deed and attached Rules (not in the Act itself), meaning the Act alone is incomplete without reference to those external documents"],"plain_english_summary":"## Military Superannuation and Benefits Act 1991\n\n### What is this law?\nThis Act creates and governs the **Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme (MSBS)** — the retirement savings scheme for Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel. Think of it as the legal rulebook for how ADF members' super is set up, managed, and paid out.\n\n### Who does it affect?\n- **ADF permanent force members** (full-time serving military)\n- **Reservists** on continuous full-time service\n- **Spouses/partners** in family law separation situations (who may receive a split portion of a member's super)\n- **Deceased members' families** (regarding death benefit payments)\n- **The Commonwealth government** (which funds the employer contribution side)\n\n### Key things it does:\n\n**1. Establishes the Scheme via a Trust Deed**\nThe Minister creates a formal legal document (a \"Trust Deed\") that sets up the super fund and its rules. The Minister can amend it, but generally needs consent from the **Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC)** — the body that manages the fund.\n\n**2. Who is (and isn't) a member**\nMost permanent ADF members and full-time reservists are automatically enrolled. However, people are *excluded* if:\n- They're already in the older **DFRDB scheme** (Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits — an earlier ADF super scheme)\n- They joined on or after 1 July 2016 without pre-existing entitlements (they go into the newer **ADF Super** scheme instead)\n- They actively chose to join ADF Super\n\n**3. How contributions work**\n- Members have their contributions automatically deducted from their pay\n- The Defence Department (as the employer) also makes contributions on their behalf\n- If the Department pays late, it owes interest\n\n**4. How benefits are paid**\nWhen a member leaves the ADF, their super benefits are paid — but the mechanics are complex:\n- Some money comes directly from the fund (what members contributed plus interest)\n- The rest (the government's employer contributions) comes from the government's general budget (the \"Consolidated Revenue Fund\" — the government's main bank account)\n- The CSC handles the administration and payments\n\n**5. Family law (divorce/separation) provisions**\nIf a couple separates, a court or agreement can **split** the ADF member's super between them. The non-member spouse (the partner who isn't in the ADF) can receive their share as a separate entitlement under the Rules.\n\n**6. Recovering overpayments and wrong payments**\nIf the Commonwealth accidentally pays money it wasn't entitled to pay (including payments continuing after someone's death), it can recover that money as a debt — either through courts or by deducting it from future benefit payments.\n\n**7. Protections for members**\n- Super benefits **cannot be assigned** (sold or signed over) to someone else\n- Committee members acting in good faith are protected from personal legal liability\n- Banks aren't held responsible for paying pension instalments into a deceased pensioner's account shortly after death (up to 7 pay days)\n\n### Why does this matter to you?\nIf you **serve or have served in the ADF** and joined before 1 July 2016 (without switching to ADF Super), this scheme likely governs your retirement savings. It determines how much you get, when you get it, and what happens to your super if you separate from a partner or pass away."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"3(1) - Definition of 'Board'","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Defining a central institutional term exclusively by reference to its own repeal creates a definitional ghost — the term is live in the Act but the referent is legally dead. Section 51A(4) still refers to 'the Board or the Commonwealth' as a recovery entity, meaning the Act contemplates recovery by an institution it simultaneously acknowledges no longer exists.","confidence":0.82,"description":"The Act defines 'Board' as a body that was abolished by a 2011 amendment. The definition exists solely to refer to an entity that no longer exists, yet the Act continues to use the term 'Board' in operative provisions such as section 51A(4)."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"16B(1) - Recoverable payments","severity":"low","reasoning":"While this is a common drafting technique to enable error recovery, the literal construction is self-defeating: the power to pay under subsection (1) is triggered by the absence of power to pay under the Act, yet subsection (1) itself is part of the Act. Once subsection (1) is read, the Commonwealth always has power to make the payment, meaning the triggering condition (no power) is never satisfied.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The section authorises the Commonwealth to make payments it expressly lacks the power to make. The provision grants power specifically because no power exists, creating a logical paradox: the authority to pay is contingent on having no authority to pay."},{"type":"retroactive_impossibility","section":"51A(2)-(3) - Retrospective effect and repayment","severity":"high","reasoning":"Members who ceased service between 1 October 1991 and 26 May 1992, or between 9 September 1992 and 21 April 1993, received benefits correctly calculated under the law as it stood at the time. Retrospectively applying a 1993 instrument to reduce those entitlements and then demanding repayment of the 'excess' makes members financially responsible for a regulatory gap they had no ability to foresee or avoid. The instrument did not exist when the benefits accrued; compliance with its terms was literally impossible at the relevant time.","confidence":0.88,"description":"The section retrospectively deems an instrument (MSB Instrument No. 3 of 1993) to have been in force from 1 October 1991 — over 18 months before it was actually made on 19 April 1993 — and then requires persons to repay benefits calculated under the pre-retrospection rules if the retrospective amount is lower. This imposes liability on individuals for overpayments caused entirely by legislative inaction."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"8 - Cases where person taken not to have ceased to be a member","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 8 operates to preserve unbroken membership through instantaneous cessation-and-resumption. Section 7(3) creates a permanent, irrevocable exclusion based on a historic choice regardless of current ADF Super membership. For a person who chose ADF Super, later left ADF Super, and then seamlessly re-enlisted, section 8 would seek to maintain continuous MSB membership while section 7(3) categorically bars it. The Act provides no resolution mechanism for this conflict.","confidence":0.75,"description":"The deeming provision in section 8 creates a continuous membership fiction, but section 7(3) excludes from membership persons who have chosen ADF Super 'whether or not the person is still an ADF Super member'. If such a person briefly ceased ADF Super membership and immediately re-enlisted, section 8 would deem continuous MSB membership, yet section 7(3) would simultaneously exclude them because they previously made the choice — irrespective of current status."},{"type":"other","section":"47(1) - Indemnification (missing paragraphs (a)-(c))","severity":"medium","reasoning":"A provision that begins its list at paragraph (d) without any preceding paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) is facially incomplete. It is impossible to determine from the text alone whether the omission is intentional (following repeals) or a drafting error. If repealed, the Act should not suggest a continuing list structure. If inadvertent, the scope of indemnification is uncertain.","confidence":0.9,"description":"Section 47(1) provides indemnification for persons described in paragraphs (d) and (e) only, with no paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) present in the text. The legislative enumeration begins at (d), implying prior paragraphs were deleted or never inserted, leaving the indemnification provision with a structural gap that raises questions about who else was intended to be indemnified."},{"type":"other","section":"52(2) - Regulations requiring CSC consent","severity":"medium","reasoning":"While Parliament can lawfully impose procedural constraints on delegated legislative power, requiring the affirmative consent of a body that is itself a creature of statute (and subject to the regulations it must consent to) creates a circularity: CSC's own constituting framework could be amended by regulations only if CSC agrees. This is structurally inverted from normal administrative hierarchy and raises questions about whether a refusal of consent could be judicially reviewed or overridden.","confidence":0.7,"description":"The regulation-making power of the Governor-General — a constitutional executive power — is made contingent on the consent of CSC, a statutory corporation. This effectively gives a subordinate statutory body a veto over the exercise of executive legislative power."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"16C(1)(d) - Recoverable death payments","severity":"low","reasoning":"The provision ties a legal power to a subjective mental state of a specific individual at a specific historical moment. Establishing or disproving this condition in litigation would be extremely difficult, and the condition provides no objective proxy or deeming rule. A CEO who deliberately avoided information could satisfy the condition; one who had constructive notice through staff knowledge might not, given the provision specifies the CEO personally.","confidence":0.68,"description":"The condition for making a recoverable death payment is that the chief executive officer of CSC did not know of the death 'on the last day on which changes could reasonably be made'. This creates an unfalsifiable subjective threshold: what constitutes 'reasonably' is undefined, and the CEO's personal knowledge state on a specific historical day may be practically unverifiable or unprovable."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"4(1)(b) - Fund vested in the Board","section_b":"3(1) Note - Fund vested in CSC from 1 July 2011","confidence":0.85,"description":"Section 4(1)(b) requires the Trust Deed to establish and vest the fund in 'the Board', but the Board was abolished in 2011 and the Note to the definition of 'Fund' in section 3(1) states the fund is now vested in CSC. Section 4 has not been amended to reflect this change, meaning the operative establishing provision still mandates vesting in a non-existent body."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"5(1A) - Minister may not amend Trust Deed without CSC consent","section_b":"5(2) - Invalid provisions in amended Trust Deed","confidence":0.62,"description":"Section 5(1A) requires CSC consent before the Minister amends the Trust Deed (subject to exceptions). Section 5(2) provides that a provision of an amended Trust Deed is invalid if it would cause the Scheme to cease being a regulated superannuation fund. If CSC consents to an amendment that inadvertently causes non-compliance, the provision is void under subsection (2), but the consent-based amendment process in subsection (1A) provides no mechanism to withdraw or re-validate. CSC's consent to an ultimately void amendment creates a legal limbo."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"12(a) - Totally funded member benefit payable by CSC to person","section_b":"12(b)(i) - Totally funded portion payable by CSC to Commonwealth","confidence":0.72,"description":"Where a member benefit is totally funded, section 12(a) makes it payable by CSC directly to the person. Where it is not totally funded, section 12(b)(i) requires CSC to pay the totally funded portion to the Commonwealth (not the person), with the Commonwealth then paying the full benefit under 12(b)(ii). This means the routing of the totally funded portion depends on whether any unfunded portion also exists — creating different payment pathways for identical funded amounts based solely on the existence of an additional unfunded component."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"45 - No assignment of benefits","section_b":"5A(1)(a)(ii) - Benefits reduced pursuant to splitting order","confidence":0.73,"description":"Section 45 provides that no pension or benefit is capable of being assigned. Section 5A permits Trust Deed amendments that allow splitting orders and agreements under the Family Law Act to redirect portions of a member's benefit to a non-member spouse. While family law splitting is legally distinct from voluntary assignment, the functional effect — compelled diversion of a member's benefit entitlement to a third party — is in direct tension with the absolute prohibition in section 45. The Act does not expressly carve out family law splitting from the section 45 prohibition."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"16D(1) - CSC must publish report of recoverable payments","section_b":"51C(1) - Secretary of Department must publish report of retention benefit recoverable payments","confidence":0.6,"description":"Two parallel but structurally inconsistent reporting regimes exist. Section 16D requires CSC to publish reports about recoverable payments under sections 16B and 16C. Section 51C requires the Secretary of the Department to publish reports about recoverable payments under section 51B. The reporting periods and publication periods are defined identically in structure but governed by different legislative instruments from different ministers (section 16D(5) — the Minister; section 51C(6) and (7) — also the Minister, but potentially with different instruments). There is no coordination mechanism, raising the risk of inconsistent period definitions applying to cognate reporting obligations."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"7(2) - Exclusion of persons commencing on or after 1 July 2016","section_b":"7(2)(a) - Exception for those with preserved benefit including employer benefit","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 7(2) excludes from the Scheme persons who commence service on or after 1 July 2016 unless they have a preserved benefit that includes an amount of employer benefit. This creates a re-entry pathway for previously excluded persons — but section 7(3) separately and permanently excludes anyone who has chosen ADF Super, regardless of preserved benefit status. A person could theoretically have a preserved employer benefit (satisfying the section 7(2) exception) but also have made an ADF Super choice (triggering section 7(3) exclusion). The Act provides no explicit hierarchy between these two exclusion provisions."}]}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991","history":"/api/acts/military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991/history","analysis":"/api/acts/military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/military-superannuation-and-benefits-act-1991/documents"}}