Nambucca Valley Council advises the Office of Local Government has released a Discussion Paper on the possible provision of superannuation guarantee payments in addition to councillors' and mayors' annual allowances.
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Nambucca Valley Council Mayor, Councillor Rhonda Hoban OAM, said the paper had been released based on concerns expressed by some mayors and councillors that the non-payment of superannuation is inequitable and that it is a deterrent to more women and young people standing for Council.
"The Commonwealth Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1993 (SG Act) imposes an obligation on an employer to pay the superannuation guarantee of 9.5% of an employee's earnings to a complying superannuation fund nominated by the employee," Mrs Hoban said.
"The obligations under the SG Act do not extend to councils with respect to the fees they pay to mayors and councillors because they are not employees of the council for the purposes of that Act.
"However, an amendment could be made to the Local Government Act to allow an amount equivalent to the superannuation guarantee to be paid to councillors either voluntarily or compulsorily into a nominated superannuation fund. The additional cost for this Council, if introduced, would be approximately $14,000 p.a.
"I encourage community members to download the discussion paper and after consideration make a submission to the Office of Local Government."
The discussion paper can be found at olg@olg.nsw.gov.au Submissions close on the May 8, 2020.