Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Act 1948

Current eligible members still contributing to the scheme: those who entered Parliament before 9 October 2004 and remain members.

Former members and their families: Persons already receiving retiring allowances, invalidity benefits, deferred benefits, or who have vested benefits. Their spouses and orphaned children have ongoing entitlements.

Non-member spouses: Family law splitting under Part VAA means former spouses of eligible members may be entitled to an associate annuity following a superannuation splitting order.

The Trust and CSC: Administrative obligations around calculating benefits, reviewing invalidity classifications, processing commutations, and managing the scheme's compliance with superannuation guarantee and tax laws.

The Commonwealth: Taxpayer funds the employer supplement component and all benefit payments are appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Section 13: Member contributions. Members entitled to parliamentary allowances must pay contributions: 11.5% of their fortnightly parliamentary allowance for service periods under 18 years; 5.75% for service of 18 years or more. Ministers of State and office holders pay additional 11.5% contributions on their ministerial salary or official allowance, subject to the cap in subsection 13(4).

Section 5(1)/(3): Trust constitution. The Finance Minister is a mandatory member of the Trust. Two senators and two members of the House must be appointed by their respective Houses. Failure to maintain the full complement does not invalidate proceedings.

Section 15A: Invalidity process. Where applicable, a written application must be made with two medical certificates (one nominated by the Trust after consultation with a Senior Commonwealth Medical Officer, one by the member). The Trust must notify the applicant in writing if it refuses the application.

Section 15C: Invalidity classification review. The Trust may review invalidity classifications periodically or on request. If a person is reclassified as a class 3 invalid, their benefit is reduced by prior payments received as a class 1 or 2 invalid.

Section 29 and Schedule 1 (close-off). No new contributions under section 13 accrue after a member's "new scheme entry time." Schedule 1 modifies how large portions of the Act apply to members who have reached that point.

Trust discretions. The Trust holds most of the key discretions:

• Deciding whether a retirement is an invalidity retirement (section 15A(2));
• Classifying and reclassifying invalids (sections 15B, 15C);
• Determining the marital or couple relationship status of a person (section 4B);
• Determining the surcharge deduction amount (section 4E);
• Making commutation determinations under sections 18A and 18B;
• Varying determinations under section 22S.

Finance Minister's role. The Finance Minister is both a trustee with voting rights and the Minister who administers the PGPA Act for appropriation purposes. The Finance Minister can authorise another Minister to exercise trustee powers (section 5(4)).

Delegation. The Trust may delegate powers (other than the delegation power itself) to any trustee (section 9).

Trust advice. The Trust may advise members contemplating invalidity retirement or commutation of their options (sections 24D, 24E).

Section 25: Review of decisions. Decisions of the Trust are reviewable under section 25. The Act specifies the decision-making framework for this purpose.

Section 26B: Preservation and disclosure. The Trust must preserve benefits and disclose relevant information to members about their entitlements.

The PCSA contains no criminal offence provisions (section 4F applies the Criminal Code, but the Act does not itself create offences). Administrative consequences include: reduction of benefits on reclassification (section 15C(17)); suspension of retiring allowance for failure to comply with medical examination notices (section 15C(10)); and recovery from payments owed where the member has failed to make required payments (section 14(7)).

The Act provides that benefits are not assignable (section 24). Sections 24AA to 24AC provide for recovery of payments made to deceased persons or overpayments, and annual reports on such payments.

Section 22 sets out disqualifications: a member may be disqualified from receiving benefits in specified circumstances.

Invalidity application. Written application with two medical certificates (section 15A(3)). The Trust must notify of any refusal in writing. There is no express statutory time limit on the Trust's decision, but judicial review principles apply.

Invalidity review. On the Trust's initiative or member's written request, with a medical certificate (section 15C). Medical examination notices under section 15C(7) must specify a time and place. Failure to comply can lead to suspension of the retiring allowance (section 15C(10)). The Trust must reimburse reasonable expenses for attendance at the medical examination (section 15C(11)).

Commutation elections. Sections 18A, 18B and 19AAA provide for elections to commute retiring allowances into lump sums for surcharge liability payment or general purposes. These elections have time constraints set out in those sections.

Family law splitting. Splitting orders take effect at the "operative time." Part VAA provides detailed timing rules for "growth phase" (section 22CG-22CI) and "payment phase" (section 22CJ) reductions. Ministerial Orders under section 22CK may supplement Part VAA.

Section 13 contributions. Deducted from each payment of parliamentary allowance. Amounts are paid to the Commonwealth. Regulations may prescribe the fortnightly calculation method.

Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017. The definition of "allowance by way of salary" and the calculation of parliamentary allowance for contribution purposes depend on this Act. Section 13(9) allows regulations to make modifications consequent on amendments to the Parliamentary Business Resources Act.

Superannuation Act 1990 and Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Act 2011. CSC (Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation) carries out trust functions in practice. The superannuation guarantee safety-net provisions in section 16A cross-reference the Superannuation Act 1990 and the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992.

Superannuation Contributions Tax (Assessment and Collection) Act 1997. Section 4E and Part VC deal with surcharge obligations. The Trust is the trustee of the scheme for surcharge assessment purposes (section 26C).

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936/1997 (Division 293 and 296 taxes). Part VC (sections 22SA-22SE) provides for the release of benefits to pay Division 293 (high income earner superannuation contribution tax) and Division 296 (tax on earnings) liabilities.

Family Law Act 1975. Part VAA implements the family law superannuation splitting regime. Splitting orders are made under the Family Law Act; Part VAA sets out the mechanics of how those orders affect PCSA benefits.

Freedom of Information Act 1982. Documents of the Trust may be subject to FOI requests in the ordinary way.

Theophanous v Commonwealth of Australia [2006] HCA 18. The High Court considered constitutional aspects of the PCSA scheme and the termination of benefits for persons who accept offices of profit from the Crown.

Scheme closed to new entrants. Schedule 1 modifies much of the operative Act for members who crossed the close-off point. Many sections are disapplied or modified. Anyone advising a younger member must check whether the modified or standard provisions apply to them.

Contribution rates halve after 18 years. The contribution rate drops from 11.5% to 5.75% once a member has served 18 years (section 13(1)(b)). This is a significant concession that also affects the Commonwealth supplement calculation.

Benefits can be reduced or suspended. Reclassification as a class 3 invalid results in a clawback of prior invalidity benefit payments (section 15C(17)). Failure to cooperate with a medical review process leads to suspension of the retiring allowance.

Marital or couple relationship requires 3 years unless the Trust finds otherwise. Section 4B(2) requires at least 3 years of de facto cohabitation for automatic recognition of a spouse. Shorter periods require Trust approval based on evidence of dependency, joint property, children or registered relationship.

Spouse qualification rules for retired members. Section 4C imposes additional requirements for spouses of retired members: the relationship must have begun before retirement, before age 60, or have continued at least 5 years before death if it began after retirement and age 60.

Commutation irreversibility. Section 24C provides for revocation of certain elections or options, but there are time limits. Once a commutation election takes effect, it is difficult to reverse.

Surcharge deduction is a cap, not automatic. Section 4E(3) sets maximum surcharge deduction percentages (15%, 14.5%, 12.5% for different periods). The Trust determines the specific surcharge deduction amount within that cap after considering the factors in section 4E(2).

Retiring minister. A Minister of State with 12 years' service retires at age 60. During that period, contributions at 11.5% of parliamentary allowance were paid plus 11.5% of ministerial salary. The Trust calculates the Commonwealth supplement as two and one-third times the member's total qualifying contributions. The retiring allowance is then calculated based on the period of service and the applicable percentage of parliamentary allowance, subject to any reduction for the superannuation guarantee safety-net amount in section 16A.

Invalidity application. A senator resigns citing serious illness. She applies to the Trust for invalidity retirement (section 15A). The Trust nominates a medical practitioner (after consulting a Senior Commonwealth Medical Officer), and the senator's doctor also provides a certificate. Both must state that she is unlikely ever to perform the duties of a member again. If the Trust accepts the application, it classifies her as a class 1, 2 or 3 invalid based on percentage of incapacity (section 15B). Each classification carries different benefit rates.

Family law splitting. A member's former spouse obtains a superannuation interest splitting order under the Family Law Act. During the growth phase, Part VAA reduces the member's accruing benefit and creates an associate deferred annuity for the former spouse (section 22CE). The former spouse receives the annuity when they reach pension age. Ministerial Orders under section 22CK may specify further calculation details.

Close-off effects. A member who joined in 2001 reaches their new scheme entry time in 2004. From that point, Schedule 1 applies. Sections 15A, 15B and 15C (invalidity) are disapplied (Schedule 1, clause 7). Section 16A (superannuation guarantee safety-net) is modified (clause 8). The member continues to receive the benefits accrued before close-off under modified rules, and future contributions are made to the newer scheme instead.