Retirement Savings Accounts Regulations 1997

PART 3 - BENEFIT PROTECTION STANDARDS  

Division 3.2 - Treatment of benefits  

REGULATION 3.06   MANDATED EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS  

3.06(1)   [Contributions deemed mandated employer contributions]  

Subject to this regulation, contributions to an RSA are taken to be mandated employer contributions.

3.06(2)   [Contributions received after one year]  

If:

(a) at least 1 year has elapsed since the RSA provider received the contributions in respect of the RSA; and

(b) the RSA provider:

(i) is satisfied that the contributions are not in fact mandated employer contributions; and

(ii) decides not to continue to treat the contributions as mandated employer contributions;

subregulation (1) ceases to apply to the contributions.

3.06(3)   [Contributions received before one year]  

If:

(a) less than 1 year has elapsed since the RSA provider received the contributions in respect of the RSA; and

(b) the RSA provider is satisfied that the contributions are not in fact mandated employer contributions;

subregulation (1) ceases to apply to the contributions.

3.06(4)   [Power of RSA provider]  

The RSA provider has power to make a decision of the kind mentioned in subparagraph 2(b)(ii) despite anything in the terms and conditions of the RSA.

[ EXAMPLE OF THE APPLICATION OF THIS REGULATION:

An RSA provider may receive a non-mandated employer contribution from an employer that the RSA provider does not know is a non-mandated employer contribution (ie, a contribution not made in satisfaction of the employer's superannuation guarantee or award obligation).

On acceptance, the contribution will be taken to be a mandated employer contribution.

From this point, one of three circumstances may apply:

(a) the RSA provider may become aware in the first year after the contribution was received that the contribution is a non-mandated employer contribution, and, if this is the case, the RSA provider must treat the contribution as a non-mandated employer contribution; or

(b) the RSA provider may become aware more than a year after the contribution was received that the contribution is a non-mandated employer contribution, and, if this is the case, the RSA provider may continue to treat the contribution as a mandated employer contribution instead of making corrections to reflect the change; or

(c) the RSA provider may never become aware that the contribution is a non-mandated employer contribution, and, if this is the case, the contribution will always be taken to be a mandated employer contribution.]