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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This very short Act makes a timing and effect clarification about regulations connected to occupational superannuation.
What the Act does, mechanically: it says that certain regulations made under the Occupational Superannuation Standards Act 1987 on 30 June 1992 (Statutory Rules 1992 No. 223) "have the same effect" and are "taken always to have had the same effect" as they would have had if the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 had already received Royal Assent before those regulations were made (see section 3). The Act itself takes effect on the day it received Royal Assent (section 2) and is titled in section 1.
Who decides: Parliament passed this Act to change the legal timing and operation of those specific regulations (s1–s3). The original regulations were made on 30 June 1992; this Act determines how those regulations are to be treated as to legal effect and timing (s3).
Who pays / who bears effects: the Act does not itself create new payments, but by deeming the regulations to have had a particular effect from an earlier point in time it can change who is legally liable under those regulations. That means employers, trustees and other parties subject to the regulations may bear compliance costs, liabilities or obligations measured as if the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 had received Royal Assent before the regulations were made (s3).
How behaviour and incentives change: affected entities must treat those regulations as having been effective in line with the timing stated in section 3. Practically, that can require retroactive adjustments to records, payments or compliance processes where the regulations impose obligations or entitlements that depend on the timing of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (s3).
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Direct links to the current provisions in Occupational Superannuation Standards Regulations Application Act 1992.
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View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Compliance burden and administrative discretion: the Act is a deeming/validation provision rather than a rule-setting provision. It does not itself grant new administrative discretion. Its practical effect is to remove any argument that the regulations lacked effect because the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 had not yet received Royal Assent when the regulations were made; that can increase or clarify enforcement and compliance obligations for regulated parties (s3).
Trade-offs and implementation risks: the Act prioritises legal continuity by treating the regulations as if a separate Act had been in force earlier. The trade-off is reduced temporal legal uncertainty in favour of retroactive legal effect. That can create costs for regulated parties who must meet obligations or face liabilities with retrospective effect. The mechanism creating that trade-off is the deeming language in section 3.
Effects on markets and contracts (concise): the Act itself does not directly alter market rules, prices, competition or ownership. Its retrospective clarification can, however, affect private contractual relationships and cash flows where those depend on whether the regulations were effective at a given time (s3).