Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited Sale Act 1993

What This Law Does

This Act manages the privatisation (sale to private owners) of the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation Limited (SMEC) — a government-owned engineering company that was built on the legacy of the famous Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. The Act sets the legal rules for transferring SMEC from Commonwealth (federal government) ownership to private hands.

Who Does It Affect?

Most importantly: SMEC employees (past and present). The bulk of this law is about protecting the rights of workers who were employed by SMEC while it was a government body. Specifically:

• Long service leave (paid leave earned after many years of continuous work): Employees who had worked for less than 10 years when SMEC was sold retain credit for their government service time. SMEC must continue to honour long service leave entitlements, payments in lieu (cash instead of leave), and payments to families if an employee dies.
• Workers' compensation: If you were injured or had property damaged while working at SMEC before the sale, you can still make claims under the government's workers' compensation scheme (the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act) even after SMEC becomes a private company.
• Superannuation (retirement savings): Employees with deferred (stored up, not yet paid) superannuation benefits under various government retirement schemes keep those entitlements. However, SMEC itself loses its status as a government-approved authority for future superannuation contributions.