{"id":"F2019L01262","name":"Superannuation Amendment (PSS Trust Deed) Instrument 2019","slug":"superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440260,"registerId":"F2019L01262-fast-fetch-1775955954082","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Superannuation Amendment (PSS Trust Deed) Instrument 2019","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nSuperannuation Amendment (PSS Trust Deed) Instrument 2019\n\nI, Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann, Minister for Finance, make the following amendment instrument.\n\nDated: 16 September 2019  \n\nMATHIAS HUBERT PAUL CORMANN\n\nMinister for Finance\n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Schedules\n\nSchedule 1—Amendment of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme Trust Deed\n\nAmendments relating to children 2\n\nApplication and Transitional items           2\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Superannuation Amendment (PSS Trust Deed) Instrument 2019.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n1.     Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. Sections 1 to 4 and anything in this instrument not elsewhere covered by this table The day after this instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation\n- 2. Items 1, 2 and 4 in the Schedule to this instrument 1 January 2020\n- 3. Item 3 in the Schedule to this instrument The day after this instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation\n\n\n1.     Any information in column 3 of this instrument is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under section 5 of the Superannuation Act 1990.\n\n4  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in the Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule, and any other item in the Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\nSchedule 1—Amendment of the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme Trust Deed\n\nAmendments relating to children\n\n1  Rule 1.2.1 Definition of eligible child\n\nOmit: \n\n- has not reached age 16; or\n- is age 16 or more but less than age 25 and:\n\n\n-          is receiving full-time education at a school, college or university; and\n\n-          is not ordinarily employed or self-employed;\n\nsubstitute:\n\n- is under the age of 18 years; or\n- has reached the age of 18 years but is under the age of 25 years and is receiving full-time education at a school, college or university;\n\n\n2  Rule 1.2.1 Definition of partially dependent child\n\nOmit:\n\n- is not an eligible child; and\n- is aged less than 16, or is aged 16 or more but less than age 25 and:\n\n\n-          is receiving a full-time education at a school, college or university; and\n\n-          is not ordinarily employed or self-employed;\n\nsubstitute:\n\n- is not an eligible child; and\n\n\n-          is under the age of 18 years; or\n\n-          has reached the age of 18 years but is under the age of 25 years and is receiving full-time education at a school, college or university;\n\nApplication and transitional items\n\n3  Application of amendments\n\n(1) The amendments to the Public Sector Superannuation Trust Deed (the PSS Trust Deed) made by this Schedule apply to a person (the young person), in relation to paying a benefit in accordance with the Rules set out in the PSS Trust Deed (the PSS Rules) to the extent that the benefit is payable for a day occurring on or after:\n\n (a) 1 January 2020, if:\n\n(i) the benefit is payable because of the death of a person that occurred on or after 1 January 2020; or\n\n(ii) on 31 December 2019, a benefit was payable under the PSS Rules to or for the young person, or to or for another person in respect of the young person; or\n\n (b) the later of 1 January 2020 and the day notice is first given as mentioned in subitem (2), if:\n\n(i) subparagraphs (a)(i) and (ii) do not apply; and\n\n (ii)    such notice is given.\n\n(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), a notice can be given on a day occurring on or after the day that this instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation, on which:\n\n(a) an application is made under the PSS Rules for a benefit to be paid to or for the young person, or to or for another person in respect of the young person; or   \n\n(b) either of the following persons requests CSC to apply the amendments to the young person:\n\n(i) the young person;\n\n(ii) a person to whom a benefit is payable (or would be payable, were the amendments to apply) under the PSS Rules for or in respect of the young person.\n\n4  Transitional provision – amendments do not decrease existing benefits\n\n(1) This item applies if:\n\n (a) apart from this item, the amendments to the PSS Rules would reduce (including to nil) the amount of a benefit (the existing beneficiary’s post‑commencement benefit) payable under the PSS Rules to or for a person (the existing beneficiary):\n\n (i) for a day occurring on or after 1 January 2020 (post-commencement day); and\n\n (ii) because of the death of a person (the deceased person); and\n\n (b) apart from this item, the amendments would increase (including from nil) the amount of a benefit (the new beneficiary’s post‑commencement benefit) payable under the PSS Rules to or for a person (the new beneficiary) other than the existing beneficiary:\n\n (i) for the post‑commencement day; and\n\n (ii) because of the death of the deceased person, or a spouse of the deceased person; and\n\n (c) a benefit was payable under the PSS Rules:\n\n (i) to or for the existing beneficiary; or\n\n (ii) to another person in respect of the existing beneficiary;\n\n  in relation to the death of the deceased person, or a spouse of the deceased person, for the day occurring immediately before that commencement.\n\n(2) The amount of the existing beneficiary’s post‑commencement benefit for the post‑commencement day is increased to what it would have been if this instrument had not been made.\n\n(3) If there is only one new beneficiary, the amount of the new beneficiary’s post‑commencement benefit for the post‑commencement day is reduced by the amount of the increase mentioned in subparagraph (2).\n\n(4) If there is more than one new beneficiary:\n\n (a) the total amount of the new beneficiaries’ post‑commencement benefits for the post‑commencement day is reduced by the amount of the increase mentioned in subitem (2); and\n\n (b) that reduction is applied to each new beneficiary’s post‑commencement benefit in proportion to his or her share of the total.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose: amending the definition of qualifying children for PSS death benefits. The scope has not expanded beyond this specific technical amendment to the superannuation rules."},"complexity_factors":["Multiple commencement dates (three different timing triggers in section 2)","Nested conditional application rules in Item 3 with subparagraphs (a)(i), (a)(ii), and (b) with its own subconditions","Complex transitional arithmetic in Item 4 requiring benefit recalculation and proportional distribution between existing and new beneficiaries","Cross-references to the underlying PSS Trust Deed and Superannuation Act 1990","Technical distinction between 'eligible child' and 'partially dependent child' definitions"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument amends PSS death‑benefit eligibility by raising the automatic child age from under 16 to under 18 and extending student eligibility to 18–25 for full‑time study, while removing the prior employment disqualification for that student group.\n\nIt affects children of deceased PSS members by widening and clarifying access to benefits and includes transitional safeguards to prevent reductions to existing beneficiaries while adjusting any increases accordingly."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument expands the class of children eligible for PSS death benefits by increasing the younger‑age cutoff from 16 to 18 and retains the 18–25 full‑time education category, thereby widening who may receive payments. It also changes when those rules apply (effectively from 1 January 2020, with notice triggers) and includes transitional protections so existing beneficiaries do not receive lower payments (Schedule items 1–4)."},"complexity_factors":["Amendments are primarily definitional (Schedule items 1–2): a simple change of age thresholds which reduces substantive legal complexity.","Transitional/application mechanics (Schedule items 3–4) add drafting and administrative complexity by conditioning application on dates, death timing, existing entitlements and notices.","Interaction with existing PSS Rules requires administrators to compare pre‑ and post‑commencement entitlements and to perform offsetting calculations where beneficiaries change (Schedule item 4).","Operational burden on members and the trustee: members or benefit recipients can trigger application by notice or application under the PSS Rules (Schedule item 3(2)).","Clear statutory authority is stated (made under section 5 of the Superannuation Act 1990), so there is no apparent delegations/threshold ambiguity in this instrument (section 3)."],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument amends the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme Trust Deed to raise the minimum age for a person to be an \"eligible child\" or \"partially dependent child\" from 16 to 18, while retaining dependency status up to age 25 for those in full‑time education. It affects who can receive death benefits under the PSS and who the trustee (CSC) must consider when paying benefits. The changes take effect from 1 January 2020 with transitional rules that preserve existing beneficiaries’ payment amounts and set notice/application triggers for applying the new rules."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019","history":"/api/acts/superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/superannuation-amendment-pss-trust-deed-instrument-2019/documents"}}