Part 3Contributors, contribution and contribution points

Part 3—Contributors, contribution and contribution points 22—Entry of contributors to the scheme (1) The Board may, on the application of an employee, accept the employee as a contributor. (2) An application can only be made in a manner approved by the Board. (3) The Board may require an applicant to provide satisfactory evidence of the state of the applicant's health. (4) The cost of any medical examination to which an applicant is required to submit under subsection (3) will be paid by the Board. (5) If it appears to the Board— (a) that an applicant's state of health is such as to create a risk of invalidity or premature death; or (b) that an applicant has in the past engaged in an activity of a prescribed kind that increases the risk of invalidity or premature death; or (c) that the applicant is likely in the future to engage in an activity of a kind referred to in paragraph (b), the Board may accept the application on conditions (being conditions authorised by the regulations) limiting the benefits payable under this Act in the event of the contributor's invalidity or death before the age of 55 years (and such a condition prevails over this Act to the extent of any inconsistency). (5a) Unless conditions referred to in subsection (5) provide otherwise, a contributor whose benefits in the event of invalidity or death are limited by conditions under that subsection or by conditions referred to in clause 7 of Schedule 1 is not entitled to a disability pension under Part 4 or 5 in respect of the illness, condition or disability to which the limitations relate during the period of 5 years from the commencement of this Act or the contributor's acceptance into the Scheme whichever is the later. (6) If an applicant— (a) is a contributor to some other superannuation scheme funded wholly or in part by the applicant's employer; or (b) receives an allowance or salary loading related to superannuation, the Board will, unless there is good reason to the contrary, reject the application. (7) The Board cannot accept an application from a person who is employed on a casual basis. (8) If it appears to the Board that a contributor withheld information required in relation to his or her application for membership of the Scheme, the Board may withhold or reduce a benefit under this Act (other than one that is to be charged against the contributor's contribution account). (9) The contribution period of an employee accepted as a contributor will commence on the date fixed for that purpose by the Board. (10) Subject to this section, an application for acceptance as a contributor under subsection (1) must be made on or before 3 May 1994. (11) A person who commenced employment to which this Act applies on or after 3 February 1994 pursuant to a written offer received by the person on or before 3 May 1994 may make an application for acceptance as a contributor under subsection (1) on or before 3 August 1994 or the expiration of 3 months after the employment commenced whichever is the later. (12) An application under subsection (1) will be taken to have been made on the day on which the application was received by the Board. (13) An employee who is not a person referred to in subsection (11) may apply for acceptance as a contributor under subsection (1) on or after 4 May 1994 and before 1 July 1995 but if accepted the contributor will— (a) be a member of the Triple S scheme on and from 1 July 1995 and will be taken to have elected to contribute to that scheme at the rate of 6 per cent of salary; and (b) will be taken to be under the age of 55 years and to resign from employment for the purposes of this Act on 30 June 1995 and to carry over the employee component of his or her accrued superannuation benefits on 1 July 1995 to his or her member's contribution account under the Triple S scheme and to carry over the employer component of those benefits on 1 July 1995 to his or her employer contribution account under that scheme. (14) An employee may make an application for acceptance as a contributor under subsection (1) on or after 4 May 1994 if he or she— (a) had been a member of the Police superannuation scheme; and (b) had resigned or retired from the employment that entitled him or her to membership of that scheme in order to take up employment to which this Act applies; and (c) had taken up that employment within 3 months after resignation or retirement from the previous employment; and (d) in the case of resignation from the previous employment, had preserved his or her benefits under the Police superannuation scheme. (15) Subject to subsection (16), the application referred to in subsection (14) must be made within 3 months after the employee commences employment to which this Act applies. (16) An employee referred to in subsection (14) who commenced employment to which this Act applies during the period commencing on 3 February 1994 and ending on the commencement of the Superannuation (Employee Mobility) Amendment Act 1997 may make an application for acceptance as a contributor under subsection (1) within 3 months after the commencement of that Act. (17) The Board may not refuse an application by an employee referred to in subsection (14) on medical grounds and the only conditions that the Board may place on its acceptance of such an application are those conditions (if any) to which the employee's membership of the Police superannuation scheme had been subject immediately before his or her retirement or resignation from the previous employment. (18) An employee referred to in subsection (14) who is accepted as a contributor under subsection (1) is only entitled to his or her benefits under the Police superannuation scheme after his or her employment to which this Act applies has terminated. (19) In this section— Police superannuation scheme means the old or new scheme of superannuation established by the Police Superannuation Act 1990. 23—Contribution rates (1) Subject to this section, a contributor will make contributions to the Treasurer at the standard contribution rate until termination of the contributor's employment. (2) Subject to subsection (2a), a contributor may elect— (a) to contribute at any 1 of the following rates: 3.0% 4.5% 6.0% 7.5% 9.0%; (b) to cease contributing; (c) in the case of a contributor whose standard contribution rate is not 6%—to contribute at the contributor's standard contribution rate. (2a) A contributor who is employed pursuant to a TEC contract must contribute at the contributor's standard contribution rate or at a higher rate referred to in subsection (2) unless he or she was contributing at a lower rate during the financial year in which the term of the contract commenced in which event he or she must contribute at that rate or a higher rate referred to in subsection (2). (2b) Subsection (2a) operates in relation to the financial year following the financial year in which section 5A of the Superannuation (Miscellaneous) Amendment Act 2000 comes into operation and in relation to subsequent financial years. (3) Subject to subsection (3a), an election under subsection (2) can only be made in a manner approved by the Board and will operate as from the commencement of a financial year (and only elections received by the Board 2 months or more before the commencement of a particular financial year will operate in relation to that financial year). (3a) If the Board is satisfied that a contributor needs to reduce his or her contributions because of financial hardship, the Board may permit the contributor to make an election under subsection (2) that will operate before the commencement of the next financial year. (4) A contributor's contributions will be fixed in relation to each financial year, as from a day in that financial year determined by the Board— (a) on the basis of the contributor's salary as at the 31st day of March last preceding the commencement of the financial year or, if the contributor's hours of employment have increased or decreased between that date and the commencement of the financial year, on the basis of the contributor's salary following the last such increase or decrease in the hours of employment; but (i) if the contributor had not then commenced his or her employment, the contributions will be fixed on the basis of the contributor's commencing salary; (ii) if the contributor was then on leave without pay or at a reduced rate of pay, the contributions will be fixed on the basis of the salary that the contributor would then have been receiving if not on leave; (iii) if the contributor's employment is of a casual nature, the contributions will be fixed on the basis of a notional salary fixed by the Board in relation to the contributor; (iv) if after the date on which contributions for a particular financial year are fixed there is a reduction in the contributor's salary resulting from a reduction in hours of work (other than a temporary reduction of less than 2 weeks' duration), there will be a proportionate reduction in the contributor's contributions (but such a contributor may, with the Board's approval, elect to contribute as if there had been no reduction in salary and in that event benefits payable under this Act will be calculated as if there had been no reduction of salary); (v) if the reason for the reduction in hours of work is an illness or injury suffered by the contributor, an election under subparagraph (iv) may, with the Board's approval, operate during subsequent years despite paragraph (a). (5) If over a particular period a contributor receives (while remaining in employment) weekly workers compensation payments for total or partial incapacity for work, contributions will be payable as if the weekly payments were salary or a component of salary (as the case requires) but if the aggregate of the weekly payments and the salary (if any) of the contributor is less than the salary that the contributor would have received if not incapacitated, the Board may allow a proportionate reduction in the amount of the contributions for that period. (6) The following provisions apply to leave without pay— (a) any period of leave without pay of 2 weeks or less will be treated as a period of employment in respect of which contributions are payable; (b) if leave without pay is taken for a continuous period exceeding 2 weeks, no contribution is payable in respect of that period unless the contributor elects to contribute and the election is approved by the Board (but such an election in respect of more than 12 months' leave without pay can only be made— (i) if the Board is satisfied with arrangements that have been made for reimbursement of the cost of benefits attributable to that period; and (ii) in circumstances in which the approval is authorised by the regulations). (6a) If a contributor has been, or will be, on leave for more than 12 months and the period of leave is, or will be, made up of 2 or more components of leave without pay connected by 1 or more components of paid leave, an election under subsection (6)(b) in relation to a component of that period that will extend it beyond 12 months or that commences after the first 12 months of the period has passed must comply with the requirements of that subsection even though the component itself is less than 12 months in duration. (7) An old scheme contributor will cease to contribute if— (a) before termination of the contributor's employment the following conditions are satisfied: (i) in the case of a person who was accepted as a contributor under the repealed Act—the contributor is of or above the age of retirement and has— (A) an aggregate of 360 contribution points; or (B) an aggregate number of contribution points equal to the number of months between the date on which he or she became a contributor and the date on which he or she reached the age of retirement, whichever is the greater number; (ii) in the case of a person who was accepted as a contributor before the commencement of the repealed Act—the contributor is of or above the age of retirement and has an aggregate of 360 contribution points; or (b) on retirement he or she would be entitled to the maximum pension prescribed by section 34(5). 24—Contribution points (1) A contributor conforms to the theoretical standard if the contributor— (a) is employed on a full-time basis; and (b) contributes at the standard rate of contribution. (2) Contribution points accrue to a contributor who conforms to the theoretical standard at the rate of 1 point for each contribution month. (3) Subject to subsection (5), if a contributor does not conform to the theoretical standard, a proportion of 1 contribution point (which may exceed unity) accrues to the contributor in respect of a contribution month equal to the proportion that the amount actually contributed in respect of that month bears to the amount that would have been contributed if the contributor had conformed to the theoretical standard. (4) A contributor's extrapolated contribution points as at an entitlement day are calculated as follows: (a) if the contributor has then reached the age of retirement—the number is, subject to subsection (5), the aggregate of the accrued contribution points; (b) in any other case— (i) if the contributor has been in full-time employment throughout the contribution period—the number is, subject to subsection (5), the aggregate of the accrued contribution points plus a number equal to the number of months' difference between the contributor's age as at the entitlement day and the age of retirement (an incomplete month being counted as a whole month); (ii) if the contributor has not been in full-time employment throughout the contribution period—the number is, subject to subsection (5), the aggregate of the accrued contribution points plus the relevant proportion of the number of months' difference between the contributor's age as at the entitlement day and the age of retirement (an incomplete month being counted as a whole month). (5) When the aggregate of a contributor's accrued contribution points are to be calculated as at an entitlement day, the aggregate cannot exceed— (a) in the case of a contributor who was in full-time employment throughout the contribution period—the number of months of the contribution period; (b) in any other case—the relevant proportion of the number of months of the contribution period. (6) The reference in subsections (4) and (5) to the relevant proportion is a reference to a proportion arrived at by expressing the contributor's employment while an active contributor as a proportion of full-time employment. 25—Attribution of additional contribution points and contribution months (1) The Minister may, in appropriate cases— (a) attribute additional contribution points to a contributor; (b) attribute additional contribution months to a contributor. (2) The Minister must provide the Board with details of the attribution of contribution points or months under subsection (1) and the Board must include those details in its report to the Minister under Division 4 of Part 2.