{"id":"F2008B00265","name":"Superannuation (CSS) Temporary Employee Approval No. 1","slug":"superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":73021,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2008B00265-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Superannuation (CSS) Temporary Employee Approval No. 1","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\nmeta-generator: Aspose.Words for .NET 20.2\ntitle: SUPERANNUATION ACT 1976\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\nSUPERANNUATION ACT 1976\n\n \n\nI, ERIC LAIDLAW ROBINSON, Minister for Finance, in pursuance of section 3 of the Superannuation Act 1976, declare that the following class of persons engaged and appointed for employment outside Australia only, came within the definition of “temporary employee” (for the purposes of section 3 of the Superannuation Act 1976):-\n\n \n\nPersons engaged for service in the United Kingdom who commenced to make contributions under the Superannuation Act 1976 by virtue of a direction made on or before 15 November 1977 under section 11 of the Superannuation Act 1976 by the Counsellor, Australian High Commission, London, as delegate of the Commissioner for Superannuation.\n\n \n\n \n\nDated this twenty-ninth day of December, 1977.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nERIC L. ROBINSON\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument expands the statutory reach of the term \"temporary employee\" (for the purposes of section 3) to include a defined class of persons: those engaged for service in the United Kingdom who commenced contributions under the Act by virtue of a direction made on or before 15 November 1977 by the Counsellor at the Australian High Commission, London (delegated under section 11). In other words, the declaration brings that specific cohort within section 3’s definition where they were not previously described as such in the instrument itself; the source text identifies the change (declaration under section 3) but does not spell out the downstream legal consequences of that reclassification."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, specific subject matter: single, tightly defined cohort (UK-based employees who began contributions following a delegate’s direction).","Cross-references to two statutory powers: ministerial declaration under section 3 and a delegated direction under section 11.","Temporal cutoff: the instrument depends on a specific date (on or before 15 November 1977), which requires factual verification of individual cases.","Administrative discretion: relies on prior delegated action (Counsellor) and ministerial discretion, creating dependence on records and delegation histories.","Limited statutory detail: the instrument changes classification but does not set out downstream legal or administrative consequences, so implementers must consult section 3 itself to determine precise effects."],"plain_english_summary":"What this instrument does (mechanics)\n\n- The Minister for Finance, acting under section 3 of the Superannuation Act 1976, declared a specific group of people to be within the statutory definition of “temporary employee” for the purposes of section 3 (see instrument text).\n- The group declared is narrowly defined: persons engaged for service in the United Kingdom who began making contributions under the Superannuation Act 1976 because of a direction given on or before 15 November 1977 by the Counsellor at the Australian High Commission in London, acting as a delegate of the Commissioner for Superannuation (see instrument). The declaration is dated 29 December 1977.\n\nWho this affects\n\n- Directly affected are those UK-based employees who both (a) were engaged for service in the United Kingdom and (b) commenced contributions under the Act as a result of a Counsellor’s direction on or before 15 November 1977. The instrument brings that specific group within the statutory label “temporary employee” for the purposes of section 3.\n\nWhy it matters (claimed purpose and mechanical consequence)\n\n- The instrument’s explicit legal effect is to change the statutory classification of that described cohort by treating them as “temporary employees” under section 3. The source text does not set out further consequences of that classification; those consequences flow from how section 3 operates elsewhere in the Act.\n\nDecision-makers, incentives and who pays\n\n- Who decides: the Minister for Finance made the declaration under section 3, and the original directions that triggered contributions were made by the Counsellor at the Australian High Commission, London, acting as a delegate under section 11 (instrument references section 3 and section 11).\n- Who pays: the instrument records that the named persons “commenced to make contributions” under the Act by virtue of the Counsellor’s direction. The declaration therefore deals with persons who were already contributing; the instrument itself does not create new contribution obligations.\n\nCompliance burden, discretion and administrative implications\n\n- Discretion: the measure rests on two administrative decisions: (1) a delegated direction by the Counsellor (section 11) that brought individuals into the contribution regime; and (2) a ministerial declaration under section 3 classifying that cohort as temporary employees. Both steps are administrative acts recorded in the instrument.\n- Administrative impact: classifying a narrow cohort as “temporary employees” for section 3 will change how the Act applies to that cohort. The instrument does not describe the operational steps required, but implementing agencies may need to update records or apply section 3’s rules to that cohort going forward.\n\nTrade-offs, costs and likely scope of effects (source-grounded)\n\n- Concentrated benefit: the legal classification benefits the defined cohort directly by changing their statutory label; the instrument names only that limited group.\n- Diffuse or unspecified costs: the instrument does not identify any financial cost, nor does it describe broader effects on employers, markets, competition, prices, productivity, ownership, contract freedom, speech or independent businesses. Any such effects are not stated in the source text.\n- Implementation risk and opportunity cost: the source does not explicitly address administrative workload or retroactivity, but the measure links to a prior administrative direction (on or before 15 November 1977) and was itself issued 29 December 1977; that timing may mean agencies must reconcile prior contributions with the changed classification.\n\nWhat the source does not say\n\n- The instrument does not set out the concrete consequences of being a “temporary employee” under section 3 (for example, eligibility rules, entitlements or employer contribution requirements). It does not state whether the declaration has retrospective legal effect beyond noting the date cutoff for the delegating direction.\n\nKey citations from the instrument: the declaration is made under section 3 and relies on a direction under section 11; the cutoff date for the delegating direction is 15 November 1977; the declaration date is 29 December 1977."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument performs exactly the function intended by section 3 of the Superannuation Act 1976 — declaring specific classes of temporary employees as eligible for the CSS. It has not expanded beyond its original purpose; it is a standard, narrow administrative declaration under existing delegated authority."},"complexity_factors":["Single operative provision with no subsections or conditional branches","Only one defined term referenced ('temporary employee' from the parent Act)","No cross-references beyond the enabling section (section 3 of the Superannuation Act 1976)","Extremely narrow scope — applies only to a specific cohort of UK-based employees with a historical cut-off date","Document length: approximately 150 words","No exceptions, exemptions, or nested logic"],"plain_english_summary":"This is a short ministerial declaration from 1977 that expands who can join the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme (CSS) — a government pension fund for Australian public servants.\n\n**What it does:**\nNormally, the CSS only covers permanent Australian government employees. However, the Superannuation Act 1976 allows the Finance Minister to declare certain \"temporary employees\" as eligible for the scheme.\n\nThis declaration says that **Australian public servants working in the United Kingdom** who started contributing to the CSS before 15 November 1977 — specifically those who were directed to join by the Australian High Commission in London — are officially classified as \"temporary employees\" for superannuation purposes.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Australian government staff working in the UK who were already contributing to the CSS under a specific delegation arrangement\n- These individuals would otherwise fall outside the normal eligibility rules\n\n**Why it matters:**\nThis ensures these UK-based staff could continue building their Commonwealth superannuation entitlements despite being physically located overseas and not fitting the standard employment categories. It's a technical fix to protect the retirement benefits of a small, specific group of diplomatic and administrative staff posted to London."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1","history":"/api/acts/superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1/history","analysis":"/api/acts/superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/superannuation-css-temporary-employee-approval-no-1/documents"}}