Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the House of Representatives be requested to make the following amendments:

(1) Clause 2, page 2 (table item 1), omit the table item, substitute:

(2) Page 14 (after line 18), at the end of the Bill, add:

Schedule 2 — Superannuation for Commonwealth-funded parental leave pay

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992

1 After section 5A

Insert:

5AA Application of Act to Commonwealth for payments of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010

(1) If a payment of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 is made to a person (or to a person's payment nominee within the meaning of that Act):

(a) the person is taken, for the purposes of this Act (including the definition of Commonwealth employee in subsection 6(1) of this Act), to be employed by the Commonwealth as an employee of the Commonwealth in respect of the payment; and

(b) the responsible Department, in relation to the employment of the person as a Commonwealth employee, is taken, for the purposes of this Act (including the definition of responsible Department in subsection 5(5) of this Act), to be the Department of State administered by the Minister administering the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010; and

(c) the payment of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (disregarding any deductions made under Part 3-1 of that Act) made to the person is taken, for the purposes of this Act, to be salary or wages paid by the Commonwealth to the person as an employee of the Commonwealth.

Note: The effect of this subsection and section 5 of this Act is that the Commissioner will be required to pay amounts for the benefit of a person under Part 8 of this Act if the Commonwealth does not pay sufficient superannuation for the person for payments of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 made to the person.

(2) To avoid doubt, subsection (1) applies whether the payment of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 is made to the person in accordance with Part 3-2 or 3-3 of that Act.

2 Application of amendment

Section 5AA of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, as inserted by this Schedule, applies in relation to payments of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 made in relation to days, in an instalment period (within the meaning of the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010), occurring on or after 1 July 2024.

2062-EM

Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Bill 2023

(Requests for amendments to be moved by Senator Waters, on behalf of the Australian Greens, in committee of the whole)

Statement pursuant to the order of   .the Senate of 26 June 2000

Amendment (2)

Amendment (2) is framed as a request because it would expand the categories of salary or wages used to calculate whether the Commonwealth (as an employer) has a superannuation guarantee shortfall under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SGA Act). It does so by providing that payments to a person of parental leave pay under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 are taken, for the purposes of the SGA Act, to be payments of salary or wages to that person as an employee of the Commonwealth.

If the Commonwealth does not pay sufficient superannuation as an employer on salary or wages in accordance with the SGA Act, then the Commonwealth will have a superannuation guarantee shortfall under that Act. As the amendment expands the categories of salary or wages, the amendment will likely increase the amount of the Commonwealth's superannuation guarantee shortfall under the SGA Act, which would increase any superannuation guarantee charge in respect of that shortfall that is taken to have been paid by the Commonwealth under section 5 of the SGA Act. This would have the effect of increasing the amount the Commissioner of Taxation is required to pay under Part 8 of the SGA Act under the standing appropriation in section 71 of that Act.

Amendment (1)

Amendment (1) is consequential to amendment (2).

Statement by the Clerk of the Senate pursuant   .to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000

Amendment (2)

If the effect of the amendment is to increase expenditure under the standing appropriation in section 71 of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, then it is in accordance with the precedents of the Senate that the amendment be moved as a request.

Amendment (1)

This amendment is consequential on the request. It is the practice of the Senate that an amendment that is consequential on an amendment framed as a request may also be framed as a request.

These are the amendments that would say, 'Why are women having to wait for superannuation to be paid on their paid parental leave until 1 July of next year?' We welcome the fact that the government has finally and belatedly announced that superannuation will be added to the government portion of paid parental leave, but there is still no justification for why women are being asked to wait for—what is it?—16 months until that meagre top-up, important though it may be, will be added to their PPL. This amendment says to the government, 'Stop making women wait for the good things.' Paid parental leave is the only entitlement upon which superannuation is not currently paid. It is also the only entitlement that is predominantly taken by women. Ergo, it is gender discrimination.

We're pleased that the government have said that they will fix this, but there is no justification for making women wait. This amendment says that you will be able to get superannuation paid on your paid parental leave from 1 July of this year; you don't have to wait until 1 July of next year. Making women wait until after the next election to receive super on paid parental leave is an outrage. This is a government that said that they were meant to be for women, but they keep making us wait for some small positive improvements. I've got some other amendments that go to the broader reforms that actually women and young parents and all parents deserve, which would extend out the amount and the length of PPL that can be taken, but this particular amendment just says, 'Stop making women wait for next year.' You're not making nuclear submarines wait. You didn't make the wealthy men wait for their tax cut, even though you amended it. Why are women waiting? So I commend these amendments to the chamber.