{"id":"C2004A00319","name":"Retirement Savings Account Providers Supervisory Levy Imposition Act 1998","slug":"retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"59 of 1998","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":5959,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00319-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"#### 1 Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Retirement Savings Account Providers Supervisory Levy Imposition Act 1998.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  (1) This Act commences on the commencement of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998.\n  (2) If this Act commences during a financial year (but not on 1 July of that financial year), this Act has effect in relation to that financial year subject to the modifications specified in the regulations.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Act binds the Crown","content":"#### 3 Act binds the Crown\n\n  This Act binds the Crown in each of its capacities.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"External Territories","content":"#### 4 External Territories\n\n  This Act extends to each external Territory.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 5 Definitions\n\n  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:\n\n> indexation factor means the indexation factor calculated under section 8.\n\n> index number, in relation to a quarter, means the All Groups Consumer Price Index number, being the weighted average of the 8 capital cities, published by the Australian Statistician in respect of that quarter.\n\n> levy imposition day, in relation to an RSA provider for a financial year, means:\n\n    (a) if the RSA provider is an RSA provider on 1 July of the financial year—that day; or\n    (b) in any other case—the day, during the financial year, on which the RSA provider becomes an RSA provider.\n\n> RSA provider has the same meaning as in the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997.\n\n> statutory upper limit means:\n\n    (a) for the financial year commencing on 1 July 2020—$10,000,000; or\n    (b) for a later financial year—the amount calculated by multiplying the statutory upper limit for the previous financial year by the indexation factor for the later financial year.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of RSA providers supervisory levy","content":"#### 6 Imposition of RSA providers supervisory levy\n\n  Levy payable in accordance with subsection 8(5) of the Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies Collection Act 1998 is imposed.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amount of levy","content":"#### 7 Amount of levy\n\n  (1) Subject to subsection (2), the amount of levy payable by an RSA provider for a financial year is the sum of the restricted levy component and the unrestricted levy component for the financial year.\n\n> Note: For restricted levy component, see subsection (1A). For unrestricted levy component, see subsection (1B).\n\n  (1A) The restricted levy component for the financial year is:\n    (a) unless paragraph (b) or (c) applies—the amount that, for the financial year, is the restricted levy percentage of the RSA provider’s levy base; or\n    (b) if the amount worked out under paragraph (a) exceeds the maximum restricted levy amount for the financial year—the maximum restricted levy amount; or\n    (c) if the amount worked out under paragraph (a) is less than the minimum restricted levy amount for the financial year—the minimum restricted levy amount.\n\n> Note: The restricted levy percentage, maximum restricted levy amount, minimum restricted levy amount and the method of working out the RSA provider’s levy base are as determined under subsection (3).\n\n  (1B) The unrestricted levy component for the financial year is the amount that, for the financial year, is the unrestricted levy percentage of the RSA provider’s levy base.\n\n> Note: The unrestricted levy percentage is as determined under subsection (3).\n\n  (2) If the levy imposition day for the RSA provider for the financial year is later than 1 July in the financial year, the amount of levy payable by the RSA provider for the financial year is the amount worked out using the following formula:\n  ![](image.002.png)\n  (3) The Treasurer is, by legislative instrument, to determine:\n    (a) the maximum restricted levy amount for each financial year; and\n    (b) the minimum restricted levy amount for each financial year; and\n    (c) the restricted levy percentage for each financial year; and\n    (ca) the unrestricted levy percentage for each financial year; and\n    (d) how an RSA provider’s levy base is to be worked out.\n  (4) An amount determined under subsection (3) as the maximum restricted levy amount for a financial year must not exceed the statutory upper limit for the financial year.\n  (5) The Treasurer’s determination under paragraph (3)(d) of how an RSA provider’s levy base is to be worked out is to include, but is not limited to, a determination of the day as at which the RSA provider’s levy base is to be worked out. That day must be:\n    (a) if the RSA provider was an RSA provider at all times from and including 17 March of the previous financial year to and including the following 30 June—a day in the period from and including that 17 March to and including the following 14 April; or\n    (b) if the RSA provider was not an RSA provider at all times from and including 17 March of the previous financial year to and including the following 30 June—the day after that 17 March when the RSA provider became, or becomes, an RSA provider.\n  (6) A determination under subsection (3) may make different provision for different classes of RSA providers.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Calculation of indexation factor","content":"#### 8 Calculation of indexation factor\n\n  (1) The indexation factor for a financial year is the number worked out by:\n    (a) ascertaining the index number for the most recent quarter for which the Australian Statistician has published an index number, as at the start of the day on which the Treasurer makes the first determination under subsection 7(3) of an amount or percentage for the financial year; and\n    (b) dividing that index number by the index number for the quarter 12 months before the quarter mentioned in paragraph (a); and\n    (c) adding 0.030 to the number worked out under paragraph (b).\n  (2) The indexation factor is to be calculated to 3 decimal places, but increased by .001 if the 4th decimal place is more than 4.\n  (3) Calculations under subsection (1):\n    (a) are to be made using only the index numbers published in terms of the most recently published index reference period for the Consumer Price Index; and\n    (b) are to be made disregarding index numbers that are published in substitution for previously published index numbers (except where the substituted numbers are published to take account of changes in the index reference period).","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Regulations","content":"#### 9 Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations for the purposes of subsection 2(2).","sortOrder":8}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains focused on its original and narrow purpose: imposing a supervisory levy on RSA providers to fund APRA oversight. The addition of the 'unrestricted levy component' (subsection 1B) and the separate 'restricted' framing appear to be structural refinements consistent with how similar levies operate across the financial sector, rather than a meaningful expansion of scope beyond the original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Two-component levy structure (restricted and unrestricted) with different rules for each","Levy amount depends on external determinations made annually by the Treasurer via legislative instrument, meaning the Act alone does not tell you the actual dollar amounts","Indexation formula referencing CPI with an additional 3% uplift and specific rounding rules adds mathematical complexity","Pro-rata calculation for mid-year entrants references an image (formula not reproduced in text)","Levy base calculation tied to specific dates (17 March window) with different rules for established versus new providers","Cross-references to multiple other Acts (Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies Collection Act 1998, Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998)","Ability to make different determinations for different classes of RSA providers adds variability"],"plain_english_summary":"## What This Law Does\n\nThis Act imposes an annual **supervisory levy** (a fee charged by the government to fund regulatory oversight) on **RSA providers** — that is, financial institutions authorised to offer Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs), which are an alternative to superannuation funds for holding retirement savings.\n\n## Who Pays?\n\nAny bank, credit union, or similar institution that holds an RSA provider licence under the *Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997* must pay this levy each financial year to fund the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the body that supervises them.\n\n## How Much Do They Pay?\n\nThe levy has two parts:\n\n- **Restricted component**: Based on a percentage of the provider's \"levy base\" (essentially how much money they hold in RSAs), but capped at a maximum and floored at a minimum amount set each year by the Treasurer.\n- **Unrestricted component**: Also a percentage of the levy base, but with no cap or floor.\n\nThe Treasurer sets the specific percentages and dollar limits each year via a formal instrument (a type of subordinate law). The maximum cap cannot exceed a **statutory upper limit**, which was $10 million in 2020–21 and is adjusted upward each year using a formula tied to the **Consumer Price Index (CPI)** plus an extra 3% — meaning the cap grows slightly faster than inflation each year.\n\n## Pro-Rata Rule\n\nIf a provider only becomes an RSA provider partway through a financial year, they pay a reduced amount proportional to how many days they were licensed during that year.\n\n## Why Does It Matter?\n\nThis is essentially how APRA funds its supervision of retirement savings account providers. The cost of being regulated is passed back to the institutions being regulated — and ultimately, this can affect the fees and returns experienced by everyday Australians with RSA accounts."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"8(1)(c)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The formula divides the current CPI index number by the prior year's index number, then unconditionally adds 0.030. If CPI were unchanged (ratio = 1.000), the indexation factor becomes 1.030, mandating a 3% cap increase. If CPI fell 5% (ratio = 0.950), the factor becomes 0.980 — still potentially raising or maintaining the cap in real terms contrary to the apparent policy intent of CPI-linking. The 0.030 addition appears to be a ratchet mechanism with no legislative justification or explanation, making it opaque and arguably arbitrary.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The indexation factor formula adds a fixed 0.030 to the CPI ratio, meaning the statutory upper limit can never decrease even if CPI falls dramatically. The floor is always a 3% increase regardless of actual inflation or deflation."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"7(2)","severity":"high","reasoning":"Section 7(2) purports to impose a mathematically determined levy amount on RSA providers whose levy imposition day falls after 1 July, but the formula is replaced by a broken image reference. The Act as published contains no operative calculation for this class of taxpayer, rendering compliance literally impossible without resort to extrinsic materials. This is not merely a drafting inconvenience — it means the charging provision for a defined subset of liable entities is legally void on its face.","confidence":0.95,"description":"The pro-rata formula for RSA providers who join mid-year references an image file ('image.002.png') rather than an actual formula in the legislative text. The operative calculation is therefore unknowable on the face of the Act."},{"type":"circular_definition","section":"5 (definition of 'statutory upper limit')","severity":"high","reasoning":"For financial years 1998–99 through 2019–20, the definition of 'statutory upper limit' provides no value. Paragraph (a) anchors the amount only for the year commencing 1 July 2020; paragraph (b) recursively applies to 'a later financial year'. There is no provision for any earlier year. Since section 7(4) requires that the maximum restricted levy amount must not exceed the statutory upper limit, the Treasurer's determination power for financial years prior to 2020 was either unconstrained (no upper limit existed) or the constraint was simply undefined — a 22-year gap in the operative constraint mechanism.","confidence":0.88,"description":"The statutory upper limit definition is self-referential and depends on a prior year's statutory upper limit multiplied by an indexation factor, but the chain only has a hard anchor at 1 July 2020. Financial years before 2020 have no defined statutory upper limit, yet the Act commenced in 1998."},{"type":"other","section":"7(5)(b)","severity":"low","reasoning":"The phrase 'became, or becomes' suggests the drafters contemplated both providers who already became RSA providers before the determination is made and those who will become RSA providers in the future. However, the levy base day for a future RSA provider cannot be known at the time of the Treasurer's determination under s7(3), creating a situation where the determination must somehow anticipate a future unknown date. This is practically unworkable for forward-looking determinations.","confidence":0.65,"description":"The levy base calculation day rule for new RSA providers is potentially retroactive or prospective in an incoherent way: it refers to 'the day after that 17 March when the RSA provider became, or becomes, an RSA provider,' using mixed past/present tense that creates temporal ambiguity about when the base is assessed."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"2(2) and 9","severity":"medium","reasoning":"If the Act commenced mid-year (which it did, given the APRA Act 1998 commenced on 1 July 1998 — technically the start of a financial year, so s2(2) may not have been triggered in practice), the Act's application would be subject to modifications in regulations. If no regulations were made, the Act would apply in its unmodified form to a partial year for which it was not designed. The levy imposition and base calculation provisions are premised on full financial year operation, creating potential over-charging for the first partial year without regulatory correction.","confidence":0.58,"description":"Section 2(2) provides that if the Act commences mid-financial year, it has effect subject to 'modifications specified in the regulations,' but section 9 only empowers the Governor-General to make regulations 'for the purposes of subsection 2(2).' This creates a situation where the Act's own operative effect at commencement is entirely contingent on regulations that may not exist."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"medium","section_a":"7(1A) (minimum restricted levy amount)","section_b":"7(4) (maximum restricted levy amount must not exceed statutory upper limit)","confidence":0.78,"description":"There is no legislative requirement that the minimum restricted levy amount be less than or equal to the maximum restricted levy amount. If the Treasurer determined a minimum that exceeded the maximum, sections 7(1A)(b) and 7(1A)(c) would simultaneously apply and contradict each other."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"7(1) (levy is sum of restricted and unrestricted components)","section_b":"7(4) (maximum restricted levy amount must not exceed statutory upper limit)","confidence":0.85,"description":"The statutory upper limit constrains only the maximum restricted levy amount, not the total levy. The unrestricted levy component under s7(1B) is wholly uncapped. The total levy (restricted + unrestricted) can therefore lawfully exceed the statutory upper limit, rendering the cap on the restricted component largely meaningless as a ceiling on total liability."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"7(5)(a) (levy base day for established RSA providers: 17 March to 14 April of previous financial year)","section_b":"5 (definition of 'levy imposition day': 1 July of the financial year)","confidence":0.62,"description":"The levy base is calculated as at a day in the previous financial year (17 March to 14 April), but the levy is imposed as at 1 July of the current financial year. An RSA provider's financial position on the base date may bear no relationship to its position on the levy imposition day, and a provider could cease to be an RSA provider between the base date and 1 July yet still be assessed on the earlier base — or conversely exist on 1 July but have no operations on the base date."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"8(1) (indexation factor determined at time Treasurer makes first determination for financial year)","section_b":"5 (statutory upper limit for a financial year defined by multiplying prior year limit by indexation factor for the later financial year)","confidence":0.8,"description":"The statutory upper limit for a financial year depends on the indexation factor for that same financial year, which is itself only calculated when the Treasurer makes the first determination under s7(3) for that financial year. This creates a sequencing problem: the statutory upper limit constraining the Treasurer's determination (s7(4)) is not fixed until the moment the Treasurer acts, meaning the constraint and the constrained act are logically simultaneous and mutually dependent."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing a supervisory levy on RSA providers to fund APRA. The 2020 amendment updating the statutory upper limit from the original $2 million to $10 million and adding the unrestricted levy component represents an evolution of the funding model rather than scope creep — the target (RSA providers) and purpose (supervisory funding) remain unchanged."},"complexity_factors":["Nested conditional logic in section 7 with multiple tiers: restricted vs unrestricted components, with min/max caps, plus pro-rata calculations for mid-year entrants","Delegated legislative power: Treasurer determines 5 key variables (max/min amounts, two percentages, and levy base methodology) via legislative instrument, meaning the actual dollar amounts aren't in the Act itself","Complex indexation formula in section 8 requiring CPI calculations with specific rounding rules (3 decimal places, rounding up at 0.0005) and reference period adjustments","Cross-references to three other Acts: Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies Collection Act 1998, and Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997","Specific date-based triggers for levy base calculation (17 March to 14 April window) creating temporal complexity","7 defined terms in interpretation section, some with nested definitions (e.g., statutory upper limit refers to indexation factor)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis law creates a **tax** (called a \"levy\") that Retirement Savings Account (RSA) providers must pay to the government each year. The money funds the **Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)** — the government body that supervises banks, insurers, and superannuation funds to make sure they remain financially stable.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\n- **RSA providers** — financial institutions that offer Retirement Savings Accounts (a type of superannuation product, similar to a bank account for retirement savings).\n- The **Treasurer**, who sets the specific dollar amounts and percentages each year.\n\n**How the levy works:**\n\nThe annual levy has **two parts**:\n1. **Restricted levy component** — calculated as a percentage of the provider's \"levy base\" (essentially, the size of their business), but capped at a maximum amount and guaranteed to be at least a minimum amount.\n2. **Unrestricted levy component** — calculated as a percentage of the levy base with no cap.\n\nIf a provider starts operating part-way through a financial year, they pay a **pro-rata** (reduced) amount based on how many days they were actually operating.\n\n**Key features:**\n\n- The **statutory upper limit** for the maximum restricted levy started at **$10 million** in 2020-21 and increases each year with inflation (CPI + 3%).\n- The **Treasurer determines** the specific percentages and amounts each year through a legislative instrument (a formal government decision).\n- The law **automatically adjusts** for inflation using a specific formula based on the Consumer Price Index.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThis ensures RSA providers contribute to the cost of their own regulation. Without this funding mechanism, taxpayers would bear the full cost of supervising these financial institutions, or APRA would lack resources to monitor whether RSA providers are managing Australians' retirement savings responsibly."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998","history":"/api/acts/retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998/history","analysis":"/api/acts/retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/retirement-savings-account-providers-supervisory-levy-imposition-act-1998/documents"}}