{"id":"F2009B00081","name":"Superannuation Act 1976 - Designated Employers Determination No. 3 (15/09/1995)","slug":"superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":121334,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2009B00081-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-03","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Superannuation Act 1976 - Designated Employers Determination No. 3 (15/09/1995)","content":"DETERMINATION UNDER THE SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976\n\nI, DAVID LINDSAY, Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth Employees' Superannuation Branch, a delegate of the Minister for Finance, hereby make the following determination under paragraph (1)(d) in section 3C, \"designated employers\", of the Superannuation Act 1976.\n\n![](image.001.png)Dated 15 September 1995\n\n![](image.002.png)\n\nAssistant Secretary\n\nCommonwealth Employees' Superannuation Branch\n\n![](image.003.png)DETERMINATION UNDER PARAGRAPH (1)(d) OF SECTION 3C, \"DESIGNATED\n\nEMPLOYERS\", OF THE SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976\n\nCitation\n\n1\\. This Declaration may be cited as \"Designated Employers Determination No. 3\".\n\nDesignated Employers\n\n![](image.003.png)2\\. The designated employer referred to in paragraph (1)(d) of section 3C, \"designated employers\", of the Superannuation Act 1976 is the person who pays the salary of that eligible employee referred to in the definition of \"eligible employee\" in subsection 3(1) of that Act.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination does not expand or narrow the substantive reach of the Superannuation Act 1976; it supplies a definitional clarification for the phrase \"designated employer\" used in section 3C by declaring that the designated employer is the person who pays the salary of the eligible employee (section 2). The instrument therefore clarifies scope rather than changing it; full legal effects remain dependent on the Act's definitions and provisions (see opening paragraph and section 2)."},"complexity_factors":["Single, short instrument consisting essentially of one definitional clause (section 2).","Direct cross‑reference to the Act's definition of \"eligible employee\" (subsection 3(1))—requires consulting the Act to see full effect.","Potential factual ambiguity over who is the \"person who pays the salary\" in complex payroll arrangements (outsourcing, group structures).","Delegation recorded in opening paragraph (decision made by Assistant Secretary as delegate), implicating administrative law formality but not substantive complexity."],"plain_english_summary":"### What this determination does (mechanics)\n\nThis short determination, made under paragraph (1)(d) of section 3C of the Superannuation Act 1976, declares who counts as a \"designated employer\" for the purposes of that section. The instrument states that the designated employer is the person who pays the salary of the relevant \"eligible employee\" (see section 2 of the determination). The determination was made by an Assistant Secretary of the Commonwealth Employees' Superannuation Branch as a delegate of the Minister for Finance (opening paragraph).\n\n### Who it affects\n\n- People and organisations that pay salaries to employees who meet the Act's definition of \"eligible employee\" (it cross‑references subsection 3(1) of the Act). (See section 2.)\n- Those employees themselves, because the identity of the designated employer is relevant to whatever duties or rights attach to that status under the Superannuation Act 1976.\n- Any third parties involved in payroll arrangements where payment comes from an entity different from the operational employer (for example, an external payroll provider or group holding company).\n\n### Why it matters (official claim and practical implications)\n\n- Officially, the determination supplies the meaning of the phrase \"designated employer\" used in section 3C of the Superannuation Act 1976 by specifying that it means the person who pays the salary of the eligible employee (section 2).  The opening paragraph records who made the designation (Assistant Secretary as delegate), which establishes the delegated decision‑maker.\n\n- Practically, this allocates legal and administrative weight to the party that actually pays wages. That changes how duties or entitlements that attach to a \"designated employer\" will be located in practice: they will be located with the salary payer (section 2). This can simplify administration by tying superannuation responsibilities to a single, observable action (salary payment), but it also shifts obligations onto whoever is the payor on the payroll records, whether or not that entity is the employing organisation in other respects.\n\n### Costs, incentives and trade-offs (mechanisms, not judgments)\n\n- Who pays: The instrument makes the salary payer the legal reference point for the \"designated employer\" role (section 2). That means entities that process and effect salary payments bear the legal connection to the employee under section 3C.\n\n- Incentives and behaviour: Tying designation to the salary payer creates an incentive to structure payroll and payment flows to ensure the desired entity appears as the payer on records. Employers can adjust who is recorded as paying salaries to change which entity is treated as the designated employer for Act purposes.\n\n- Compliance burden and discretion: The determination is a single definitional rule that reduces interpretive discretion about who is a designated employer (section 2). However, it may increase compliance burdens for entities that act as payroll payors (for example, requiring them to confirm whether the employees they pay fall within the Act's definition of \"eligible employee\" in subsection 3(1)).\n\n- Implementation risk and substitution effects: Where payroll is outsourced or payment is routed through group companies, the rule can produce substitution effects: the legal responsibilities associated with the designated employer may rest with the payor even if operational employer functions are performed by another entity. This is a mechanical consequence of the wording in section 2.\n\n- Concentrated benefits and diffuse costs: Any administrative clarity benefits accrue to administrators and parties seeking a clear rule on employer identity. Costs (for example, compliance checks or altered contract arrangements) may be dispersed across multiple payroll payors depending on how organisations structure payments.\n\n### What to look up next in the Act\n\nTo see the full legal consequences of being the \"designated employer\" under this determination, a reader must consult the definitions of \"eligible employee\" in subsection 3(1) of the Superannuation Act 1976 and the obligations and rights linked to \"designated employers\" in section 3C of that Act. The determination operates solely as a definitional statement (section 2) and does not itself set out duties or rights beyond that definition."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This determination performs exactly the function intended by section 3C of the Superannuation Act 1976 - to specify who constitutes a 'designated employer'. It has not expanded beyond this narrow administrative purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short instrument (only 2 operative provisions)","No defined terms within the instrument itself (relies entirely on definitions in the parent Act)","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the enabling provision (section 3C of the Superannuation Act 1976)","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Single, straightforward operative clause with no sub-paragraphs or alternatives"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short legal instrument made under the Superannuation Act 1976. It identifies who counts as a 'designated employer' for the purposes of that Act.\n\n**What it does:**\n- It declares that the 'designated employer' is simply **the person who pays the salary** of an eligible employee (as defined in the Superannuation Act 1976).\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Commonwealth government employees who are members of the Commonwealth Employees' Superannuation Scheme (CES), which was the main public sector superannuation scheme before the introduction of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme (PSS) and later schemes.\n- The employers (government departments and agencies) who pay these employees.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Under the Superannuation Act 1976, 'designated employers' had specific obligations regarding superannuation contributions and reporting. This determination clarifies that the entity actually paying the salary is the one responsible for these obligations.\n- This prevents confusion about which organisation bears responsibility when employees might work for one agency but be paid by another (for example, during secondments or shared arrangements).\n\n**Key point:** The determination creates a simple, practical rule: whoever pays the salary is the designated employer."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995","history":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995/history","analysis":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/superannuation-act-1976-designated-employers-determination-no-3-15-09-1995/documents"}}