47Decreases in salary

#### 47 Decreases in salary (1) If, on an anniversary of an eligible employee’s birth (in this subsection referred to as the relevant anniversary), his or her annual rate of salary is less than the highest annual rate of salary that was payable (or is deemed by a previous application of this subsection, or by subsection (3), to have been payable) to him or her on any day during the period commencing on the anniversary of his or her birth last preceding the relevant anniversary and ending on the day immediately preceding the relevant anniversary, his or her annual rate of salary on the relevant anniversary shall, unless he or she has made or makes an election under subsection (2) by virtue of a decrease in his or her annual rate of salary that occurred during that period, be deemed, for the purposes of section 46, and any subsequent application of this subsection, to be such rate as is relevant to the eligible employee under the regulations or if there is no such rate: (a) where paragraph (b) does not apply—that highest annual rate of salary; or (b) where, if: (i) there had not been any decrease in his or her annual rate of salary during the period beginning immediately after the last day on which that highest annual rate of salary was payable to him or her and ending on the relevant anniversary; and (ii) his or her annual rate of salary had been increased during the period by the same percentage as any overall percentage increase in AWOTE that occurred over the period (being an overall percentage increase worked out from estimates of changes in AWOTE in respect of the period published by the Australian Statistician, other than estimates published in substitution for earlier estimates); the annual rate of salary of the eligible employee on the relevant anniversary (in this paragraph called the imputed annual rate of salary) would be higher than that highest annual rate of salary—that imputed annual rate of salary. (2) If the annual rate of salary payable to an eligible employee decreases, the employee may, not later than 3 months after the anniversary of his or her birth next following the date of the decrease, elect, by notice in writing to CSC, that subsection (1) shall not apply in relation to his or her annual salary on that anniversary of his or her birth. (3) Where: (a) an eligible employee makes an election under subsection (2) by virtue of a decrease in his or her annual rate of salary; and (b) the annual rate of his or her salary on the anniversary of his or her birth next following the date of the decrease is less than the highest annual rate of salary that was payable to him or her on any day during the period commencing on the date of the decrease and ending on the day immediately preceding that anniversary; the annual rate of his or her salary on that anniversary shall, for the purposes of section 46 and subsection (1) of this section, be deemed to be such rate as is relevant to the eligible employee under the regulations or if there is no such rate: (c) where paragraph (d) does not apply—that highest annual rate of salary; or (d) where, if: (i) there had not been any decrease in his or her annual rate of salary during the period beginning immediately after the last day on which that highest annual rate of salary was payable to him or her and ending on the relevant anniversary; and (ii) his or her annual rate of salary had been increased during the period by the same percentage as any overall percentage increase in AWOTE that occurred over the period (being an overall percentage increase worked out from estimates of changes in AWOTE in respect of the period published by the Australian Statistician, other than estimates published in substitution for earlier estimates); the annual rate of salary of the eligible employee on the relevant anniversary (in this paragraph called the imputed annual rate of salary) would be higher than that highest annual rate of salary—that imputed annual rate of salary. (4) Where: (a) an eligible employee makes an election under subsection (2) by virtue of a decrease in his or her annual rate of salary; (b) the annual rate of salary payable to him or her immediately after the decrease is less than the rate of salary that was payable (or is deemed by subsection (1) or (3) to have been payable) to him or her on the anniversary of his or her birth last preceding the date of the decrease; and (c) the election is made before the anniversary of his or her birth next following the date of the decrease; the annual rate of his or her salary on the anniversary of his or her birth last preceding the date of the decrease shall, for the purpose of calculating the amount of the basic contribution payable by him or her on each contribution day occurring after the date of the election and before the anniversary of his or her birth next following that date, be deemed to be the annual rate of his or her salary immediately after the decrease.