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Employer Obligations
Member Application It is the responsibility of employers to arrange for employees to complete a Member Application prior to joining the Fund. The Member Application is attached to the BUSS(Q) Employer Sponsored Product Disclosure Statement.
An Employee needs to complete only one Member Application. There is no need to complete another Application if the employee changes jobs. However if an employee has previously left the Fund, he/she will need to complete a new Application. Completed Member Applications are to be sent to BUSS(Q). The Trustee will not accept any Member Applications that are not signed by the employee personally. The employee may not be insured for death, total and permanent disablement and total and temporary disablement insurance (if applicable) if the Application is not completed correctly. Employers may be liable for payment of the insurance benefit if they do not arrange for an employee to join the Fund and the employee subsequently dies or becomes disabled. Contributions Superannuation Guarantee
The Superannuation Guarantee Act requires employers to provide a minimum level of superannuation for employees: - Who earn at least $450 in a calendar month
- Who are aged less than 70 years old
- Who are aged over 18 or, if under age 18 age are working at least 30 hours per week.
From 1 July 2002 the minimum level is 9% of the employee's ordinary time earnings. For the purposes of the Superannuation Guarantee Act, Ordinary Time Earnings:
| Include: | DO NOT Include: | | Directors fees | Overtime Payments | | Annual leave, sick leave and long service leave | 'Christmas' bonuses and ex gratia payments | | Allowances | Payments in lieu of notice | | Bonuses relating to work undertaken or sales made during ordinary time work | Redundancy payments | | Casual loadings | Lump sum paid on termination of employment in respect of accrued annual, long service or sick leave | | Government wage subsidies | Payments when on maternity leave or paternity leave | | | Benefits subject to Fringe Benefits Tax | | | Reimbursement of expenses | | | Annual Leave Loading |
Award Based Contributions
The rate of contributions payable by employers under the current applicable industrial provisions are: Building site covered by Enterprise Agreements - the rate specified in the agreement All other employees (including apprentices) - amount contained in the relevant industrial award or Superannuation Guarantee (SG) whichever is the greater.
NB. Many QLD Awards include the requirement to pay superannuation contributions while an employee is being paid Workcover benefits.
Member Voluntary Contributions
Members can contribute to their retirement benefit by making voluntary contributions to BUSS(Q). There is no fee to do this and the contribution can be made as a one-off or an ongoing basis. Personal member contributions can be made by: Unless stated otherwise in an enterprise agreement, members are not obliged to continue making voluntary contributions. Members can cease and recommence making contributions whenever they wish. By law employers must forward all member contributions that are deducted from wages or salaries to BUSS(Q) within 28 days of the end of the month in which the contributions are made. Employers who fail to remit such contributions by the due date may be fined up to $11,000 (or up to $55,000 if the Employer is a body corporate) under the applicable legislation. Please note that member voluntary contributions paid in the month of June must be received by BUSS(Q) before 30 June to be eligible for the Government co-contribution in that financial year. Salary Sacrifice or Additional Employer Contributions
BUSS(Q) is happy to accept additional employer contributions, including salary sacrifice contributions. Tax Files Numbers (TFN's)
Superannuation funds are now required by legislation to collect their member's TFN. From 1 July 2007, employers are also required to pass a new employee's TFN to the superannuation fund of which they are a member. Employee TFN's must be forwarded when you make a contribution to the Fund; or where no contribution is made to the Fund, within 14 days. Tax File Numbers can be provided in the following ways: - Employees who joined you prior to 1 July 2007. You may forward their Tax File Number on the Monthly Contribution Form so long as the employee has given you authorisation. The Employment Declaration Form contains this authorisation.
- Employees who join you after 1 July 2007. You must provide the employees TFN to the superannuation fund within 14 days. You can provide the TFN on the Monthly Contribution Form.
- Members joining BUSS(Q) may provide their Tax File Number on their Member Application form.
BUSS(Q) maintains strict security on its members' Tax File Numbers and uses them only for legally authorised purposes.
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