{"id":"F2009B00086","name":"Superannuation Act 1976 - Designated Employer Determination No. 2 (16/10/1990)","slug":"superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":121345,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2009B00086-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Superannuation Act 1976 - Designated Employer Determination No. 2 (16/10/1990)","content":"Determination under the Superannuation Act 1976\n\nI, DAVID LINDSAY, Assistant Secretary Commonwealth Superannuation Branch, a delegate of the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following determination under subparagraph (b)(ii) of the definition of \"designated employer\" in section 110A of the Superannuation Act 1976\n\nDated 16 October 1990\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nAssistant Secretary\n\nCommonwealth Superannuation Branch\n\n![](image.002.png)DETERMINATION UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH (b)(ii)\n\nOF DEFINITION OF \"DESIGNATED EMPLOYER\"\n\nIN SECTION 110A OF THE SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976\n\nCitation\n\n1\\. This Declaration may be cited as \"Designated Employer Determination No 2\".\n\nDesignated Employer\n\n2\\. The designated employer in relation to a productivity employee referred to in paragraph (b) (ii) of the definition of \"designated employer\" in section 110A of the Superannuation Act 1976 is the Department or person which pays the salary of that employee.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination performs exactly the narrow function it was intended for: specifying which entity counts as the 'designated employer' for productivity employees under section 110A. It has not expanded beyond this specific interpretive task."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short document (2 operative paragraphs)","No defined terms beyond those already in the parent Act","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the single section being interpreted","Simple, unqualified directive with no exceptions or conditions","Single operative provision determining one factual matter (who pays the salary)"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short official decision made in 1990 under the Superannuation Act 1976. It decides who counts as the \"designated employer\" for certain Commonwealth employees (called \"productivity employees\"). \n\n**What it does:**\n- It names the **Department or person who pays the salary** as the \"designated employer\" for these specific employees.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Commonwealth \"productivity employees\" — a specific category of Australian Public Service workers covered by productivity arrangements.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- The \"designated employer\" is important because this entity has legal responsibilities for superannuation (retirement savings) contributions and administration. This determination makes clear that whoever actually pays the employee's salary is the one responsible, rather than some other department that might technically employ them.\n\n**Key takeaway:** Money talks — whoever pays the salary is the designated employer for superannuation purposes."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Determination clarifies how to identify the \"designated employer\" for the class of employees covered by paragraph (b)(ii) of section 110A by tying that status to the department or person who pays the salary (section 2). It does not expand or remove categories of persons covered by the Act in the text provided; it specifies the mechanism for identifying the employer rather than changing substantive coverage."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-rule instrument: one operative provision (section 2) that defines employer status by salary payer.","Cross-reference to a defined term in primary legislation (paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of \"designated employer\" in section 110A), requiring readers to consult the Act for full scope.","Potential factual complexity in applying the rule where payment chains, payroll agents, or inter-agency funding arrangements are used.","Administrative discretion: the instrument is a delegated determination, so identical future cases could involve further administrative interpretation though the text is literal and narrow."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this instrument does\n\nThis Determination (Designated Employer Determination No. 2), dated 16 October 1990 and made by David Lindsay as Assistant Secretary of the Commonwealth Superannuation Branch (a delegate of the Minister for Finance), spells out who counts as the \"designated employer\" for a particular class of employees covered by paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of \"designated employer\" in section 110A of the Superannuation Act 1976. Mechanically, section 2 of the Determination says: the designated employer for a \"productivity employee\" is the department or person that pays that employee's salary.\n\n### Who is affected and who decides\n\n- Who pays: The department or person that actually pays the employee's salary is identified as the designated employer (section 2).  \n- Who decides: The Determination was made by the Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth Superannuation Branch, as a delegate of the Minister for Finance (instrument heading and signature block, dated 16 October 1990).\n\n### Why this matters (official claim and practical effects)\n\n- Official claim (source): The Determination gives a concrete rule for identifying the designated employer under the Act (instrument heading and section 2).  \n- Practical effect: Identifying the designated employer determines which entity carries the statutory role and associated obligations tied to that status (for example, those connected to superannuation entitlements under the Act). By fixing employer status to the payer of salary (section 2), the rule assigns administrative and compliance responsibilities to whoever remits payroll.\n\n### Incentives, costs and trade-offs (mechanics, not judgement)\n\n- Who pays and bears obligations: Because the designated employer is defined by who pays the salary, the payroll-paying entity will be the one that must meet duties attached to being the designated employer (section 2). This concentrates compliance costs (record-keeping, reporting, payments) on the salary payer rather than, for example, an operational manager or a funding agency that does not remit pay.\n\n- Incentives to structure payments: The rule creates an incentive to structure who issues salary payments. Entities might change contractual or payroll arrangements (use of third-party payroll providers, creditor/debtor payment structures, or reallocation of payment responsibility) to shift which organisation is treated as the designated employer and thus which organisation bears the statutory obligations (section 2). That is a foreseeable substitution effect because the legal label depends on the payment flow.\n\n- Compliance burden and administrative clarity: The rule simplifies identification by linking the legal status to a clear observable fact—the payer of salary—reducing ambiguity about which organisation is liable under the Act. At the same time, it requires employers and payroll agents to know and document who is the payer and to recognise the legal consequences of that label (section 2).\n\n- Bureaucratic discretion and delegated decision-making: The Determination itself was made under delegated authority (instrument heading and signature). The delegate exercised a statutory power to define the term for the purposes of the Act; the form of the Determination is narrow and textual, but the exercise of delegation is a point where administrative choice is applied to statutory language.\n\n### Potential unintended consequences and implementation risks (mechanical description)\n\n- Risk of recharacterisation: Parties can change payment arrangements to alter which entity is the legal employer for superannuation purposes; this is a mechanical consequence of tying status to the payer of salary (section 2).  \n- Interaction with contractual arrangements: Where multiple organisations share roles (funding body, operational manager, payroll agent), the rule requires clear documentary allocation of who pays salary; otherwise disputes about employer status could arise and create administrative or legal costs (section 2).\n\n### Net description in one sentence\n\nThe Determination legally fixes the identity of the \"designated employer\" (for the employees covered by paragraph (b)(ii) of section 110A) as the department or person that pays the employee's salary (section 2), thereby directing which payer bears the statutory responsibilities tied to that employer label; it was issued by the Assistant Secretary under delegated authority on 16 October 1990 (instrument heading and signature)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990","history":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990/history","analysis":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employer-determination-no-2-16-10-1990/documents"}}