Everyone can see that superannuation for NSW police officers needs to be fixed. Everyone except Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones. Fix our Super.
Police officers are currently punished by a bureaucratic mess that counts mandatory death and disability insurance as superannuation contributions.
Because policing is so dangerous, police officers in NSW are covered by a mandatory Death and Disability insurance policy. That insurance premium is washed through the officers' superannuation account but then taken straight out and paid to the insurance company – the officer does not see a cent; this is simply an arrangement to pay the insurance company.
Despite this, the Federal Government counts that insurance payment as a contribution to the officer's superannuation, preventing them from making any savings for their retirement, falsely inflating their income and tax bills, and denying them means-based support entitlements like parental leave, childcare rebates, child support, and health rebates.
The impact on the financial security of police officers and their families, in particular women with children, is severe and means many will have inadequate superannuation to retire.
PANSW Secretary Pat Gooley said: “The Labor Party promised to fix this for ten years in opposition. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has been fully briefed on the issue and had the legislative fix in his hands for months, but refuses to step up and fix it.
As result, Stephen Jones has left us no choice but to take industrial action if this is not fixed by 30 June. The Government will quickly learn how much they rely on NSW police officers, and yet they will not even ensure they can save their own money for retirement and access family support.
There is widespread support across party lines throughout Parliament.
It’s not too late to fix this and avoid industrial action.”
Senator Jacqui Lambie
Senator Jacqui Lambie supported NSW police officers by writing to Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers and the Minister for Finance, urging them to pass legislation to fix the Concessional Cap issue.
“NSW Police Officers are being taxed for an insurance product that is essential to keep them safe at work,” Senator Lambie said.
“The scheme impacts 17,100 of 17,500 NSW police officers and disproportionately affects female police officers as they cannot contribute to their superannuation and miss out on family assistance designed to maximise participation in the workforce. The death and disability insurance policy inflates assessable income and therefore denies the Police Officer’s access to means tested benefits such as parental leave, childcare rebates and health rebates.”
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus
Sally McManus is the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Ms McManus and the ACTU publicly support police officers in the Fix our Super campaign.
Ms McManus wrote to the Treasurer, The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, reminding the Federal Government of it’s “responsibility to find a pathway through which ends the penalisation of Police Officers in New South Wales while retaining insuring these essential workers.
While Police Officers are protecting our community, of paramount importance is the retention of a fair insurance policy. But there must be relief for Police Officers facing tax debts, losing retirement savings, or other benefits through no fault of their own.
For more than a decade, the Police Association of New South Wales has raised concerns about the impact this has on thousands of its members. The union has sought and received promises from State and Federal Governments that this would be rectified. Every Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer from David Bradbury to Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have committed to, but failed, to rectify the issue.”
Click here to read the letter.
Senator David Shoebridge
Senator David Shoebridge publicly supports police officers in the Fix our Super campaign.
Watch him speak with PANSW Secretary Pat Gooley.