48ABSpecial grants of pension

#### 48AB Special grants of pension (1) If, at any time after the commencement of the Superannuation Act 1976, a pension is not payable under section 47 or 48 of this Act to or in respect of a person to or in respect of whom pension would be payable at that time under Part VI of the Superannuation Act 1976 if a deceased pensioner (including a pensioner who died before the commencement of the Superannuation Act 1976) would have been in receipt of a pension at the time of his death under section 55 or 66 of that Act if that Act had come into force before he ceased to be an employee, the Commissioner may grant, from such date as the Commissioner specifies, a pension to or in respect of the person under section 47 or 48 of this Act at such rate and on such conditions as the Commissioner, having regard to such matters (if any) as are prescribed and such other matters as he considers relevant, determines. (1A) If, at any time after the commencement of the Superannuation Act 1976, a pension is not payable under section 46 or 48 of this Act in respect of a person in respect of whom pension would be payable at that time under Part VI of the Superannuation Act 1976 if that Act had come into force before the death of a deceased contributor (not being a person who, if that Act had come into force before the deceased contributor had died, would, at the time of the deceased contributor’s death, have been a spouse of the deceased contributor for the purposes of that Act), the Commissioner may grant, from such date as the Commissioner specifies, a pension in respect of the person under section 46 or 48 of this Act at such rate and on such conditions as the Commissioner, having regard to such matters (if any) as are prescribed and such other matters as he considers relevant, determines. (1B) The date specified by the Commissioner under subsection (1) or (1A) in relation to the granting of an entitlement to pension shall not, unless the Commissioner is satisfied that special circumstances exist that justify an earlier date being so specified, be a date earlier than the date of the direction, and shall not, in any event, be a date earlier than 1 July 1976. (1C) A determination by the Commissioner for the purposes of subsection (1) or (1A) shall be in writing. (2) Where, at any time before the commencement of the Superannuation Act 1976, pension has been payable under subsection (1) of section 47 of this Act to the widow or widower of a deceased pensioner, the Commissioner for Superannuation shall not, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, grant a pension under subsection (1) of section 47 of this Act to any other person. (3) Where the deceased pensioner referred to in subsection (1) died before 1 July 1976, the Commissioner shall not grant a pension under subsection (1) of this section to a person who, if the Superannuation Act 1976 had come into force before that deceased pensioner had died, would, at the time of the deceased pensioner’s death, have been a spouse of the deceased pensioner for the purposes of that Act, unless the Commissioner, having regard to such matters (if any) as are prescribed and such other matters as the Commissioner considers relevant, is satisfied that the person is in necessitous circumstances or that the granting of the pension is otherwise warranted. (3AA) If a pensioner or contributor died before 25 June 1993: (a) the amendments of the Superannuation Act 1976 (the 1976 Act) and this Act made by the Commonwealth Superannuation Schemes Amendment Act 1992 do not apply in relation to any pension that may be granted, apart from this subsection, under this section in respect of the deceased pensioner or contributor; and (b) the 1976 Act and this Act, as in force immediately before 25 June 1993, continue to apply in relation to any pension granted or that may be granted under this section in respect of the deceased pensioner or contributor. (3A) The Commissioner shall not grant a pension under subsection (1) in relation to a deceased pensioner if the granting of that pension, or the granting of that pension at the rate that the Commissioner proposes to determine, would result in the aggregate of the rates of pension payable under this Act at that time in relation to the deceased pensioner exceeding the rate of pension to which the deceased pensioner would have been entitled under this Act at that time if he had not died. (3B) The Commissioner shall not grant a pension under subsection (1A) in relation to a deceased contributor if the granting of that pension, or the granting of that pension at the rate that the Commissioner proposes to determine, would result in the aggregate of the rates of pension payable under this Act at that time in relation to the deceased contributor exceeding the rate of pension to which the deceased contributor would have been entitled under this Act at that time if he had not died but had, on the day immediately following the date of his death, become entitled to pension under section 38. (4) If a deceased pensioner died before 25 June 1993, the grant by the Commissioner, by virtue of subsection (1) or (1A), of a pension to or in respect of a person, in relation to that deceased pensioner, does not affect the entitlement of any other person to a pension under this Act that is payable otherwise than by virtue of grant of pension by virtue of subsection (1) or (1A), or the rate of such a pension. (4A) If a pensioner or contributor died before the day on which Schedule 1 to the Same‑Sex Relationships (Equal Treatment in Commonwealth Laws—Superannuation) Act 2008 commenced: (a) the amendments of the Superannuation Act 1976 made by that Schedule do not apply in relation to any pension that, apart from this subsection, may be granted under this section in respect of the deceased pensioner or contributor; and (b) the Superannuation Act 1976 as in force immediately before the commencement of Schedule 1 continues to apply in relation to any pension granted or that may be granted under this section in respect of the deceased pensioner or contributor. (5) In this section, deceased pensioner means a person who at the time of his death was in receipt of a pension under section 43 or 45 or would have been in receipt of such a pension but for its suspension under section 64A or 65.