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

by leave—I move Australian Greens requests Nos (1) to (3) on sheet 2455 together:

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) Clause 3, page 2 (after line 11), at the end of the clause, add:

Note: The provisions of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Regulations 2018 amended by this Act, and any other provisions of those Regulations, may be amended or repealed by regulations made under section 80 of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (see subsection 13(5) of the Legislation Act 2003).

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

Schedule 3 — Superannuation for employer-funded parental leave pay

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992

1 Subsection 6(1)

Insert:

child: without limiting who is a child of another person for the purposes of this Act, a person is the child of another person if the person is a child of the other person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975.

medical practitioner means a person registered, or licensed, as a medical practitioner under a law of a State or Territory that provides for the registration or licensing of medical practitioners.

parental leave includes leave that:

(a) is taken by a person who is required or entitled to take the leave under:

(i) a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; or

(ii) an industrial instrument (however described); or

(iii) a contract of employment or any other agreement; and

(b) is associated with:

(i) the birth of a child of the person or the person's partner; or

(ii) the placement of a child with the person or the person's partner for adoption; or

(iii) the permanent placement of a child with the person or the person's partner in accordance with recognised cultural child rearing practices; or

(iv) the delivery of a stillborn child of the person or the person's partner; or

(v) if the person is pregnant—a period before the expected birth of a child of the person during which a medical practitioner considers that the person is not fit for work or that it is inadvisable for the person to continue work in the person's present position.

stillborn, in relation to a child, has the same meaning as in the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010.

2 After paragraph 11(1)(ba)

Insert:

(bb) payments for a period of parental leave; and

3 Section 27

Before "The", insert "(1)".

4 At the end of section 27

Add:

(2) However:

(a) an employee must not be prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (1)(d) only because the employee is paid salary or wages that are payments for a period of parental leave; and

(b) salary or wages that are payments for a period of parental leave must not be prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (1)(e).

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Regulations 2018

5 Section 5 (definition of parental leave )

Repeal the definition.

6 Paragraph 12(1)(a)

Repeal the paragraph.

7 In the appropriate position in Part 8

Insert:

28 Application — repeals made by the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Act 2024

The repeal of the definition of parental leave in section 5 and the repeal of paragraph 12(1)(a), made by Schedule 3 to the Paid Parental Leave Amendment (More Support for Working Families) Act 2024, apply in relation to salary or wages paid for days occurring on or after 1 July 2024.

8 Application of amendments

(1) The amendment of section 11 of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 made by this Schedule applies in relation to salary or wages paid for days occurring on or after 1 July 2024.

(2) Subsection 27(2) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, as added by this Schedule, applies in relation to regulations made on or after the day this item commences.

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

Amendment (3)

Amendment (3) is framed as a request because it would amend the bill to expand the categories of salary or wages used to calculate whether an employer has a superannuation guarantee shortfall under the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SGA Act), to include payments for a period of parental leave.

If an employer does not pay sufficient superannuation on salary or wages in accordance with the SGA Act, then the employer 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 superannuation guarantee shortfall calculated under the SGA Act. This would increase the amount of tax liable to be collected under the Superannuation Guarantee (Charges) Act 1992, and 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.

Amendments (1) and (2)

Amendments (1) and (2) are consequential to amendment (3).

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

Amendment (3)

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.

Amendments (1) and (2)

These amendments are 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.

This amendment relates to the paying of superannuation on the employer funded portion of paid parental leave. Unfortunately the chamber didn't see fit to support my previous amendment which was to ensure that government-paid super on the government portion of PPL would kick in earlier and women would not be made to wait, but this amendment pertains to the employer portion of PPL, where super should also be paid.