{"id":"C2007A00012","name":"Superannuation (Excess Untaxed Roll-over Amounts Tax) Act 2007","slug":"superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"12 of 2007","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":7957,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2007A00012-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 Superannuation (Excess Untaxed Roll‑over Amounts Tax) Act 2007.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Act commences on 1 July 2007.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"#### 3 Definitions\n\n  In this Act:\n\n> excess untaxed roll‑over amount has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.\n\n> income year has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Imposition of tax","content":"#### 4 Imposition of tax\n\n  Tax payable on an excess untaxed roll‑over amount under section 306‑15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 is imposed.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Amount of tax","content":"#### 5 Amount of tax\n\n  (1) The amount of the tax is the percentage mentioned in subsection (2) of the excess untaxed roll‑over amount.\n  (2) Work out the percentage in the following way:\n    (a) first, work out the maximum rate specified in column 3 of the table in Part I of Schedule 7 to the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 that applies for the income year;\n    (b) next, add 2%.","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Temporary budget repair levy","content":"#### 6 Temporary budget repair levy\n\n  (1) This section applies if the roll‑over superannuation benefit that consists of, or includes, the excess untaxed roll‑over amount is taken to be received in a temporary budget repair levy year.\n  (2) Increase the percentage worked out under subsection 5(2) by 2 percentage points for the purpose of working out the amount of the tax.\n  (3) In this section:\n\n> roll‑over superannuation benefit has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.\n\n> temporary budget repair levy year has the same meaning as in section 4‑11 of the Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997.","sortOrder":5}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":5,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act appears to remain tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing a tax on excess untaxed roll-over amounts to prevent untaxed superannuation from escaping taxation. The temporary budget repair levy provision (Section 6) was a time-limited addition consistent with broader fiscal policy of that era and does not represent a fundamental expansion of the Act's core scope."},"complexity_factors":["Relies heavily on definitions and operative provisions in external legislation (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and Income Tax Rates Act 1986), meaning you cannot understand the full effect from this Act alone","The concept of 'excess untaxed roll-over amounts' is technical and requires understanding of the superannuation tax framework to grasp","The tax rate calculation is indirect — it references a specific table in another Act (Schedule 7 of the Income Tax Rates Act 1986) rather than stating a fixed rate","The 'temporary budget repair levy' section adds a conditional, time-bound modification requiring knowledge of yet another Act (Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997) to apply correctly","The distinction between taxed and untaxed superannuation funds is a nuanced concept that many laypeople are unfamiliar with"],"plain_english_summary":"## Superannuation (Excess Untaxed Roll-over Amounts Tax) Act 2007\n\n### What is this about?\n\nThis law imposes a **special tax** on certain superannuation (retirement savings) money that gets rolled over (transferred) between funds — specifically on amounts that have **never been taxed before**.\n\n### Who does this affect?\n\nThis primarily affects people who receive superannuation benefits from **untaxed funds** — most commonly **public sector employees** (like some government workers, police, and defence personnel) whose super was never taxed going in. When they roll over (transfer) more than a certain threshold of this money into a taxed fund, the excess amount gets hit with this special tax.\n\n### What does it actually do?\n\n- It **formally imposes the tax** on \"excess untaxed roll-over amounts\" — the legal mechanics of *how much* you're taxed is set out in a separate law (the *Income Tax Assessment Act 1997*), but this Act is the one that actually says \"yes, this tax exists and applies.\"\n- The **tax rate** is calculated by taking the **top personal income tax rate** (found in the *Income Tax Rates Act 1986*) and adding **2% on top** — making it a deliberately steep penalty to discourage untaxed super from slipping through without paying its fair share.\n- There was a **temporary extra 2% slug** added during the \"budget repair levy\" years (2014–2017), meaning the tax rate was even higher for a short period.\n\n### Why does it matter?\n\nWithout this tax, wealthy public sector retirees could transfer large amounts of untaxed super into a taxed fund and potentially access it with little or no tax ever being paid. This Act closes that gap by ensuring the Australian Tax Office can collect tax on those amounts, keeping the system fair.\n\n### Bottom line\n\nIf you're rolling over a large lump sum from an **untaxed government super fund**, be aware that amounts above a certain threshold will be taxed at a **high rate (top tax rate + 2%)**. This is not everyday super — it mainly concerns long-serving public servants with defined benefit schemes."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"other","section":"3 (Definitions)","severity":"low","reasoning":"While cross-referencing is legislatively common, an Act whose sole operative purpose is to impose a specific tax contains zero self-sufficient definitions. If the ITAA 1997 definitions change, the tax base of this Act changes silently without any amendment to this Act, raising questions about parliamentary intent and transparency.","confidence":0.55,"description":"All substantive definitions are entirely outsourced to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, leaving this Act definitionally hollow. The Act imposes a tax without independently defining its own tax base."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"5(2) and Income Tax Rates Act 1986 Schedule 7 Part I","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 5(2)(a) directs the reader to 'the maximum rate specified in column 3 of the table in Part I of Schedule 7 to the Income Tax Rates Act 1986'. The Act provides no mechanism for what happens if that table is restructured, column 3 is renumbered, or Schedule 7 Part I is repealed. The ATO and taxpayers would face genuine compliance impossibility with no legislative resolution.","confidence":0.72,"description":"The tax rate calculation mechanism depends entirely on a table in a separate Act (Income Tax Rates Act 1986, Schedule 7, Part I). If that table is repealed, amended, or the relevant column structure changes, section 5 becomes inoperable without any fallback or savings provision."},{"type":"other","section":"6 (Temporary budget repair levy)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The Temporary Budget Repair Levy applied from 2014-15 to 2016-17. Section 6 remains on the face of this 2007 Act permanently, but the years it references have passed. The section is now effectively spent but not repealed, creating interpretive confusion about whether it could ever apply again and legislative clutter that could mislead future readers.","confidence":0.78,"description":"Section 6 imposes a 2 percentage point increase for 'temporary budget repair levy years', but the temporal scope of the levy is entirely defined by reference to a transitional provisions Act (Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997, section 4-11). If that definition has expired or been repealed, section 6 either applies to no years at all or creates ambiguity about its ongoing operation."},{"type":"other","section":"4 and 5","severity":"low","reasoning":"While the 2% uplift in s5(2)(b) reflects the policy intent to impose a penalty rate above the top marginal rate, no rationale or cap is provided within the Act itself. A taxpayer or court cannot determine the tax solely from this Act, making the legislation non-self-executing in a meaningful sense.","confidence":0.5,"description":"Section 4 imposes tax but contains no quantum whatsoever. Section 5 sets the amount but only by reference to an external Act's table plus an arbitrary 2% addition. The combination means this Act, read in isolation, imposes a tax of an entirely indeterminate amount."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"5(2)","section_b":"6(2)","confidence":0.45,"description":"Section 5(2) establishes a definitive method for calculating the tax percentage (top marginal rate + 2%). Section 6(2) then directs an increase of a further 2 percentage points 'for the purpose of working out the amount of the tax', but the interaction between these two subsections is ambiguous as to whether the s6(2) uplift applies before or after the s5(2) calculation is finalised, and whether it overrides or supplements the method in s5(2)."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"2 (Commencement)","section_b":"6 (Temporary budget repair levy)","confidence":0.82,"description":"The Act commences on 1 July 2007 per section 2, but section 6 applies to 'temporary budget repair levy years' which did not begin until the 2014-15 income year. This means section 6 was inoperative from commencement until 2014-15, raising the question of why it was included in the original 2007 Act rather than introduced by amendment when the levy was enacted, and creating a 7-year period where the section existed but could never be triggered."}]},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: imposing tax on excess untaxed roll-over amounts. It has not expanded beyond this narrow remit. The addition of section 6 (temporary budget repair levy) in 2014 was a temporary measure consistent with the original taxing purpose, not a scope expansion."},"complexity_factors":["Only 6 sections total, with 2 being purely mechanical (short title, commencement)","Minimal defined terms (only 3: 'excess untaxed roll-over amount', 'income year', 'roll-over superannuation benefit', 'temporary budget repair levy year') — all imported by reference from other Acts rather than defined locally","Simple mathematical formula in section 5: top marginal rate + 2%","Single conditional addition in section 6 for temporary budget repair levy years","Heavy reliance on external references (Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Income Tax Rates Act 1986, Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997) — but this is standard for Australian tax imposition Acts which are deliberately lean"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a special tax that kicks in when someone moves ('rolls over') too much untaxed money into their superannuation fund. \n\n**What it does:**\n- **Targets a specific problem:** Sometimes people transfer large amounts of money into super that hasn't been taxed yet (called an 'excess untaxed roll-over amount'). This law puts a special tax on those transfers to stop people from using super to dodge normal income tax.\n- **Sets the tax rate:** The tax is calculated by taking the highest personal income tax rate for that year and adding 2 percentage points. So if the top tax rate is 45%, this tax would be 47%.\n- **Includes a temporary extra charge:** During 'temporary budget repair levy years' (a special period when the government was trying to fix the budget), an extra 2% gets added on top.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- People receiving large superannuation rollovers with untaxed components — typically this affects public sector employees with defined benefit schemes or people with certain types of untaxed super funds.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Superannuation normally gets favourable tax treatment to encourage retirement savings. This law closes a loophole where people could shift large untaxed sums into super and get that favourable treatment, effectively avoiding higher personal income tax rates."},"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/superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007","history":"/api/acts/superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007/history","analysis":"/api/acts/superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/superannuation-excess-untaxed-roll-over-amounts-tax-act-2007/documents"}}