145Payments to the Commonwealth by approved authorities

#### 145 Payments to the Commonwealth by approved authorities (1) Where any pension or other benefit is payable on or after 1 July 1976 under this Act to or in respect of any person who was employed by an approved authority, the authority shall pay to the Commonwealth, in respect of the payment of that pension or other benefit: (a) such amount as the Minister determines; or (b) an amount calculated in accordance with a method determined by the Minister in respect of the authority or in respect of authorities included in a class of authorities to which the authority belongs; and the authority may apply for that purpose any moneys under its control. (2) A determination under subsection (1) may be made at any time before or after the pension or other benefit becomes payable. (3) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be taken to imply that 2 or more authorities cannot, under that subsection, be liable to pay amounts to the Commonwealth in respect of the same amount, being an amount that has been paid to or in respect of a person who has been employed by each of those authorities. (4) An authority may, and, if the Minister so directs, shall, enter into an arrangement with the Minister for the making of payments to the Commonwealth by the authority, in lieu of payments that, but for the arrangement, the authority would be required to make under subsection (1), being an arrangement that the Minister is satisfied will provide a fair basis of payment to the Commonwealth in respect of amounts paid, payable or likely to become payable out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to or in respect of persons who have been employed by the authority and the authority may apply for the purposes of the arrangement any moneys under its control. (5) Where: (a) but for this subsection, an authority would be liable to pay to the Commonwealth an amount or amounts in respect of any pension or other benefit that was paid before 1 July 1976 under this Act; and (b) the Minister determines that the authority should be relieved of that liability; the authority ceases, upon the making of the determination, to be liable for that amount or those amounts. (6) The reference in subsection (1) to an amount determined by the Minister, or to an amount calculated in accordance with a method determined by the Minister, shall be read as including a reference to a nil amount.