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List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees | Nominees and winners
In the following tables, the years correspond to the year in which the films were released; the Academy Award ceremony is held the following year. |
List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees | Production
Best Picture
Best International Feature Film
Note: The Academy Award in this category is awarded to countries, not individuals. This list contains directors of nominated films, who typically accept the award on behalf of their country. |
List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees | Best Documentary Feature Film
Best Documentary Short Film
Best Animated Feature
Best Animated Short Film
Best Live Action Short Film
Performance
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Craft
Best Cinematography
Best Costume Design
Best Director
Best Film Editing
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Music, Original Score
Best Music, Original Song
Best Production Design
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Visual Effects
Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Best Writing, Original Screenplay
Non-competitive awards
Academy Honorary Award
Scientific and Engineering
Records
Art director and costume designer Catherine Martin has won four awards from nine nominations, making her the most decorated Australian. She was nominated for Best Picture, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design, winning the latter two categories. Cate Blanchett is the most nominated individual on this list with eight nominations, which resulted in two wins: for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, making her the only Australian to win both acting categories. Peter Weir has received five competitive nominations in the Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay categories without a win; however, he was awarded the Academy Honorary Award in 2022.
May Robson was the first Australian-born person to be nominated for an Academy Award. She received a Best Actress nomination for Lady for a Day in 1933. In 1942, Ken G. Hall became the first Australian to win an Oscar for his documentary Kokoda Front Line! in the Best Documentary category. Suzanne Baker was the first Australian woman to win an Oscar after winning Best Animated Short for Leisure in 1977. Peter Finch was the first Australian to win an acting Oscar and the first performer ever to be awarded posthumously, winning Best Actor for his performance in 1976 for Network. Fellow Australian Heath Ledger became only the second posthumous acting winner when his performance in The Dark Knight earned him Best Supporting Actor in 2008, about 32 years later. Cate Blanchett was the first Australian actor to win more than once in acting categories. Out of the six total Australian performers who have won acting Oscars, only Blanchett, Ledger and Geoffrey Rush were born in Australia; with Finch, Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe being born outside of Australia, in England, the United States and New Zealand, respectively, and raised in Australia.
Australians have been nominated at least once in all categories. The Oscar for Best Costume Design has been the most successful category for Australians with seven wins from 17 nominations. The Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Score, and the Best Documentary (Short Subject) are the only categories in this list where Australians have been nominated without winning. |
List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees | See also
Cinema of Australia
List of Australian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film |
List of Australian Academy Award winners and nominees | References
External links
The official website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Further reading
Academy Awards® Nominations and Awards for Australian projects and people at Screen Australia
O stands for Oscar and also for Oz at The Age |
Australian federal budget | An Australian federal budget is a document that sets out the estimated revenues and expenditures of the Australian Treasury in the following financial year, proposed conduct of Australian government operations in that period, and its fiscal policy for the forward years. Budgets are called by the year in which they are presented to Parliament and relate to a financial year that commences on the following 1 July and ends on 30 June of the following year, so that the 2024 budget brought down in May 2024 relates to the 2024/25 financial year (1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025, FY2025).
Revenue estimates detailed in the budget are raised through the Australian taxation system, with government spending (including transfers to the states) representing a sizeable proportion of the overall economy. Besides presenting the government's expected revenues and expenditures, the federal budget is also a political statement of the government's intentions and priorities, and has profound macroeconomic implications.
Australia follows, to a great extent, the conventions of the Westminster system. For example, the prime minister must have the support of a majority in the House of Representatives, and must in any case be able to ensure the existence of no absolute majority against the government. In relation to the budget, that requires that if the House fails to pass the government's budget, even by one dollar, then the government must either resign so that a different government can be appointed or seek a parliamentary dissolution so that new general elections may be held in order to re-confirm or deny the government's mandate.
The 2024–25 federal budget was delivered on Tuesday, 14 May 2024 at 7:32pm. |
Australian federal budget | Process
The process of putting together the budget begins in November when the Central Budget Management System (CBMS) is updated with the latest estimates, and the senior ministers' review, where the Prime Minister, Treasurer, and Minister for Finance meet to establish the policy priorities and strategy for the coming financial year.
The outcome of the senior ministers' review determines how the different portfolios will prepare their budget submissions for cabinet. Agencies within each portfolio do not submit a request for new funding, because their potential savings within the agency are unfounded. After Finance has agreed to the costings, the submissions are circulated for coordination comments and lodged with the cabinet office by late February.
The Expenditure Review Committee (ERC), a committee of Cabinet, meets in March to consider all submissions. They decide which proposals will be funded and the level of funding each will receive. At the end of the ERC, the ad hoc revenue committee meets to make decisions on the revenue streams of the budget. A pre-budget review of the estimates is conducted after all decisions have been finalised to ensure that they are reflected in CBMS.
Budget documentation commences at the end of the ERC process. Agencies prepare two components: the portfolio budget statements and the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook.
The portfolio budget statements provide additional details and explanations of the budget and the statement of risks, which is included in Budget Paper No. 1.
The final budget is presented and tabled in Parliament by the Treasurer on budget night as part of the Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill (No. 1), which "appropriates money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for the ordinary annual services of the government". |
Australian federal budget | Charter of Budget Honesty Act
The budget has to be presented within the framework that has been established by the Charter of Budget Honesty Act (1998).
The charter provides for: |
Australian federal budget | sound fiscal management of the Australian economy
open dissemination about the status of public finances
transparency in Australia's fiscal policy |
Australian federal budget | Budget night
Between 1901 and 1993, the practice was for the budget to be brought down in August, on the first Tuesday night of the Spring session.
Since 1994, the Treasurer has presented the budget on the second Tuesday in May, with the exceptions of 1996 (due to an election and a change of government in March, the budget was brought down in August), 2016 (it was held on the first Tuesday in May to allow the government to potentially call a double dissolution election following the presentation of the budget), 2019 (when an election called for 18 May caused the budget to be brought forward to 2 April), 2020 (when it was postponed to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic and 2022 (when an election called for May caused the budget to be brought forward to 29 March).
On budget day, but before the presentation of the budget, the Treasurer spends the day behind locked doors briefing media and interest groups on various aspects of the budget. This is known as the budget lock-up. Because of the market sensitive nature of some of the information which they are being provided, those invited to attend the briefings are not allowed access to the outside world until the budget has been presented in Parliament by the Treasurer, which normally commences at 7.30 pm.
In modern times, the budget has been broadcast live from Parliament House on the ABC and Sky News Australia. It is hosted on the ABC, without interruption from 7:30 pm to 8 pm, normally followed up with a report by a panel assessing the changes, benefits and flaws in the budget. Additional budget documents and materials are available on the government budget website for other interested parties.
A convention in Australian politics is that the Leader of the Opposition is given a "right of reply", which they deliver in Parliament two days after the government's budget speech, and which is also broadcast on television. |
Australian federal budget | Budgetary policy developments
In comparison with similar economies, Australia's government spending is relatively low. For the twenty-year period from 1960 to 1980, the growth in spending roughly matched percentages in the much higher populated nations of Japan and the United States.
In the first half of the 1980s, spending increased by approximately 3% of gross domestic product and the tax rate surpassed that of Ronald Reagan's administration. However, government accountability was a highly contentious issue in the late 1970s, and John Howard maintains that under Fraser "spending went up... at about two per cent per year in real terms... Reagan [didn't do] better than that".
As the debate played out, the free-market politicians turned to attacking the political parties which were in power in the Australian states, and public sector medium enterprises came to be seen as inefficient. The economic term "current account deficit" was in vogue.
Riding on strong economic growth in the latter part of the 1980s, the Hawke government brought forward an agenda for public sector reform that had been pioneered in the US. Declaring a number of debt reduction strategies ranging from tariff rate reductions to privatisation and competitive tendering, Australia's public sector significantly declined in the period of his tenure.
Spending in the 1990s saw significant shifts in social policy expenditure as part of a broader scheme of "low inflation targeting". Although outlays for services to industry increased, the budget outcome remained the same throughout the early 1990s recession. The Howard government reduced expenditure by 1.3% of gross domestic product in its first two years, making large cutbacks to outlays for the hospital system and education. Overall the government continued to run down public debt and promote asset trading in the private sector. |
Australian federal budget | See also
Australian Government Future Fund
Australian government debt
Commonwealth Grants Commission
Fiscal imbalance in Australia
Taxation in Australia
International: |
Australian federal budget | Government budget by country |
Australian federal budget | Footnotes
References
External links
Australia Federal Budget
Charter of Budget Honesty Act (1998) at ComLaw |
Template talk:Australia topics | == Sports And Media ==
Australia has been known for it's sport Cricket which is like an Australian version of baseball.
--Vishal 21:48, 6 May 2006 (UTC) |
Superannuation in Australia | Superannuation in Australia, or "super", is a savings system for workplace pensions in retirement. It involves money earned by an employee being placed into an investment fund to be made legally available to members upon retirement. Employers make compulsory payments to these funds at a proportion of their employee's wages. From July 2024, the mandatory minimum "guarantee" contribution is 11.5%, rising to 12% from 2025. The superannuation guarantee was introduced by the Hawke government to promote self-funded retirement savings, reducing reliance on a publicly funded pension system. Legislation to support the introduction of the superannuation guarantee was passed by the Keating Government in 1992.
Contributions to superannuation accounts are subject to a concessional income tax rate of 15%. This means that for most Australians, the tax on their money sent to a superannuation account is less than the tax on money sent to their bank account. Australians can contribute additional superannuation beyond the 11% minimum, subject to limits. The maximum amount that may be contributed per year is $27,500. Contributions higher than this are taxed at the person's ordinary marginal tax rate, meaning there is no tax benefit for contributing beyond that amount. Ultimately, superannuation is a system of mandatory saving coupled with tax concessions.
As of 30 March 2022, Australians have AU$3.5 trillion invested as superannuation assets, making Australia as a nation the 4th largest holder of pension fund assets in the world. The vast majority of this money is in defined contribution funds. |
Superannuation in Australia | History
For many years until 1976, what superannuation arrangements were in place were set up under industrial awards negotiated by the union movement or individual unions.
A change to superannuation arrangements came about in 1983 through an agreement between the government and the trade unions. In the Prices and Incomes Accord, the trade unions agreed to forgo a national 3% pay increase which would be put into the new superannuation system for all employees in Australia. This was matched by employers' contributions. Employers' and employees' contributions were originally set at 3% of the employees' income, and has been gradually increased. Though there is general widespread support for compulsory superannuation today, at the time of its introduction it was met with strong resistance by small business groups who were fearful of the burden associated with its implementation and its ongoing costs.
In 1992, under the Keating Labor government, the compulsory employer contribution scheme became a part of a wider reform package addressing Australia's retirement income dilemma. It had been demonstrated that Australia, along with many other Western nations, would experience a major demographic shift in the coming decades, of the ageing of population, and it was claimed that this would result in increased age pension payments that would place an unaffordable strain on the Australian economy. The proposed solution was a "three pillars" approach to retirement income: |
Superannuation in Australia | compulsory employer contributions to superannuation funds,
further contributions to superannuation funds and other investments, and
if insufficient, a safety net consisting of a means-tested government-funded age pension.
The compulsory employer contributions were branded "Superannuation Guarantee" (SG) contributions.
The Keating Labor government had also intended for a compulsory employee contribution beginning in 1997-98, with employee contributions beginning at 1%, then rising to 2% in 1998-99 and reaching 3% in 1999-2000. However this planned compulsory 3% employee contribution was cancelled by the Howard Liberal government when it took office in 1996. The employer SG contribution was allowed to continue to rise to 9%, which it did in 2002-03. The Howard government also limited employer SG contributions from 1 July 2002 to an employee's ordinary time earnings (OTE), which includes wages and salaries, as well as bonuses, commissions, shift loading and casual loadings, but does not include overtime paid.
The SG rate was 9% from 2002-03 to 2013-14 when the Rudd-Gillard Labor government passed legislation to increase SG contributions slowly to 12% starting on 1 July 2015 and ending on 1 July 2019. However, the succeeding Abbott Liberal government deferred starting this planned increase by six years, to 1 July 2021. The SG rate has been 9.5% of employee earnings since 1 July 2014, and after 30 June 2021 the rate is planned to increase by 0.5% each year until it reaches 12% in 2025.
Initially, superannuation accounts were considered an employer matter but over time have evolved considerably. Superannaution is portable mainly through a system of preservation until a condition of release occurs (typically retirement) but a superannuation account maintains benefits while retired such as concessional tax on earnings. A member may move from fund to fund and can consolidate accounts. The October 2020 budget included a proposal (to become law) to mandate portability to encourage and support each Australian holding one account, which would remain portable. Further proposals are to mandate underperforming funds to be barred from accepting new members. The intention is to encourage performance to benchmarks for returns and fees.
Significant updates were made to the superannuation system in Australia in 2023 and 2024. The Superannuation Guarantee (SG) rate, which had been gradually increasing over the years, reached 10.5% in 2022 and is set to continue rising by 0.5% each year until it hits 12% by 2025. This change aims to enhance retirement savings for Australian workers, ensuring better financial security in retirement. |
Superannuation in Australia | Operation
Accumulation phase
Superannuation is compulsory for all employed people working and residing in Australia. Federal law dictates minimum amounts that employers must contribute to the superannuation accounts of their employees, on top of standard wages or salaries.
Most employees have their superannuation contributed to large funds - either industry funds (not-for-profit mutual funds, managed by boards composed of industry stakeholders), or retail funds (for-profit commercial funds, principally managed by financial institutions). However, some Australians can have their superannuation deposited into self-managed superannuation funds.
The Australian Government outlines a set percentage of employee income that should be paid into a superannuation account. Since July 2002, this rate has increased from 9% to 10% in July 2021, and will stop increasing at 12% in July 2025. Employees are also encouraged to supplement compulsory superannuation contributions with voluntary contributions, including diverting their wages or salary income into superannuation contributions under so-called salary sacrifice arrangements. |
Superannuation in Australia | Retirement phase
There is no standard retirement age in Australia. As of July 2023, members can start to draw some money from their superannuation once they reach age 60 (people born before 1 July 1964 will have already reached their required age under older rules). On reaching age 65, or on ceasing employment after age 60 members have total access to their superannuation balance. In most cases this can be taken as a tax-free lump sum or a tax-free income stream.
Decisions on when to retire are likely to be influenced by the government Age Pension which, as of July 2023, commences at age 67.
At retirement, each member has a lump sum balance. Most superannuation funds offer an account-based (drawdown) product for drawing retirement income. Some funds provide access to lifetime annuities purchased using the member's balance.
An individual can withdraw funds out of a superannuation fund when the person meets one of the conditions of release, such as retirement, terminal medical condition, or permanent incapacity, contained in Schedule 1 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994. As of 1 July 2018, members have also been able to withdraw voluntary contributions made as part of the First Home Super Saver Scheme (FHSS). |
Superannuation in Australia | Employer contributions
Superannuation guarantee contributions
Under Australian federal law, employers must pay superannuation contributions to approved superannuation funds. Called the "superannuation guarantee" (SG), the contribution percentage as of July 2021 is 10 per cent of the employees' ordinary time earnings, generally consisting of salaries/wages, commissions, allowances, but not overtime. SG is only mandated for employees that generally make more than $450 in a calendar month, or when working more than 30 hours a week for minors and domestic workers. The main exception is under the NDIS where an individual manages their own insurance plan, and therefore hires their own carers. SG is not required for non-Australians working for an Australian business overseas, for some foreign executives, for members of the Australian Defence Force working in that role, or for employees covered under bilateral superannuation agreements.
SG contributions are paid on top of an employee's pay packet, meaning that they do not form part of wage or salaries. Contributions must be paid at least once every quarter, and can only be paid into approved superannuation funds registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Initially, between 1993-1996, a higher contribution rate applied for employers whose annual national payroll for the base year exceeded $1 million, with the employer's minimum superannuation contribution percentage set out in the adjacent table with an asterisk. The contribution rate increased over time. The SG rate was 9.5% on 1 July 2014, and was supposed to increase to 10% on 1 July 2018; and then increase by 0.5% each year until it reached 12% on 1 July 2022. The 2014 federal budget deferred the proposed 2018 SG rate increases by 3 years, with the 9.5% rate remaining until 30 June 2021, and is set to have five annual increases, where the SG rate will increase to 12% by July 2025. However, there have been lobbying that suggests that the SG rate should remain at the current rate of 9.5% or make superannuation voluntary. |
Superannuation in Australia | “Defined benefit" superannuation schemes
Special rules apply in relation to employers operating "defined benefit" superannuation schemes, which are less common traditional employer funds where benefits are determined by a formula usually based on an employee's final average salary and length of service. Essentially, instead of minimum contributions, employers need to make contributions to provide a minimum level of benefit. |
Superannuation in Australia | Salary sacrifices contributions
An employee may request that their employer makes all or part of future payments of earnings into superannuation in lieu of making payment to the employee. Such an arrangement is known as "salary sacrifice", and for income tax purposes the payments are treated as employer superannuation contributions, which are generally tax deductible to the employer, and are not subject to the superannuation guarantee (SG) rules. The arrangement offers a benefit to the employee because the amount so sacrificed does not form part of the taxable income of the employee.
For some purposes, however, such contributions are called "reportable superannuation contributions", and for those purposes they are counted back as a benefit of the employee, such as for calculation of "income for Medicare levy surcharge purposes".
To be valid, a salary sacrifice arrangement must be agreed between employer and employee before the work is performed. This agreement is usually documented in writing in pro forma form. |
Superannuation in Australia | Personal contributions
People can make additional voluntary contributions to their superannuation and receive tax benefits for doing so, subject to limits. Since the 2021/22 financial year, the concessional contribution cap has been $27,500. This figure is indexed to the Average Weekly Ordinary Times Earnings (AWOTE), but will only increase in increments of $2,500. Any contributions above the limit are called "excess concessional contributions".
Unused concessional contributions cap space can be carried forward from 1 July 2018, if the total superannuation balance is less than $500,000 at the end of 30 June in the previous year. Unused amounts are available for a maximum of five years. |
Superannuation in Australia | Access to superannuation
Employer and personal superannuation contributions are income of the superannuation fund and are invested over the period of the employees' working life and the sum of compulsory and voluntary contributions, plus earnings, less taxes and fees are paid to the person when they retire.
As superannuation is money invested for a person's retirement, strict government rules prevent early access to preserved benefits except in very limited and restricted circumstances. These include major dental, and drug and alcohol addiction recovery. In general people can seek early release superannuation for severe financial hardship or on compassionate grounds, such as for medical treatment not available through Medicare.
Generally, superannuation benefits fall into three categories: |
Superannuation in Australia | Preserved benefits
Restricted non-preserved benefits
Unrestricted non-preserved benefits
Preserved benefits are benefits that must be retained in a superannuation fund until the employee's "preservation age". Currently, all workers must wait until they are at least 55 before they may access these funds. The actual preservation age varies depending on the date of birth of the employee. All contributions made after 1 July 1999 fall into this category.
Restricted non-preserved benefits although not preserved, cannot be accessed until an employee meets a condition of release, such as terminating their employment in an employer superannuation scheme.
Unrestricted non-preserved benefits do not require the fulfilment of a condition of release, and may be accessed upon the request of the worker. For example, where a worker has previously satisfied a condition of release and decided not to access the money in their superannuation fund. |
Superannuation in Australia | Preservation age and conditions of release
Benefit payments may be a lump sum or an income stream (pension) or a combination of both, provided the payment is allowed under superannuation law and the fund's trust deed. Withholding tax applies to payments to members who are under 60 or over 60 and the benefit is from an untaxed source. In either case, eligibility for access to preserved benefits depends on a member's preservation age and meeting one of the conditions of release. Until 1999, any Australian could access their preserved benefits once they reached 55 years of age. In 1997, the Howard Liberal government changed the preservation rules to induce Australians to stay in the workforce for a longer period of time, delaying the effect of population ageing. The new rules progressively increased the preservation age based on a member's date of birth, and came into effect in 1999. The result is that by 2025 all Australian workers would need to be at least 60 years of age to access their superannuation.
To access their super, a member must also meet one of the following "conditions of release". Before age 60, workers must be retired — i.e., cease employment — and sign off that they intend never to work again (not work more than 40 hours in a 30-day period). Those aged 60 to 65 can access superannuation if they cease employment regardless of their future employment intentions, so long as they are not working at the time. Members over 65 years of age can access their superannuation regardless of employment status. Employed individuals who have reached preservation but are under age 65 may access up to 10% of their superannuation under the Transition to Retirement (TRIS) pension rules.
An Australian worker who has transferred funds from their New Zealand KiwiSaver scheme into their Australian superannuation scheme, cannot access the ex-New Zealand portion of their superannuation until they reach the age of 65, regardless of their preservation age. This rule also applies to New Zealand citizens who have transferred funds from their New Zealand Kiwisaver scheme into an Australian superannuation fund. |
Superannuation in Australia | Reasonable benefit limits
Reasonable benefit limits (RBL) were applied to limit the amount of retirement and termination of employment benefits that individuals may receive over their lifetime at concessional tax rates. There were two types of RBLs - a lump sum RBL and a higher pension RBL. For the financial year ending 30 June 2005, the lump sum RBL was $619,223 and the pension RBL was $1,238,440. RBLs were indexed each year in line with movements in Average Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The lump sum RBL applied to most people. Generally, the higher pension RBL applied to people who took 50% or more of their benefits in the form of pensions or annuities that met certain conditions (for example, restrictions on the ability to convert the pension back into a lump sum). RBLs were abolished from 1 July 2007. |
Superannuation in Australia | Superannuation taxes
Contributions
Contributions made to superannuation, either by an individual or on behalf of an individual, are taxed differently depending on whether that contribution was made from "pre-tax" or "post-tax" money. "Pre-tax" contributions are contributions on which no income tax has been paid at time of contribution, and are also known as "before-tax" contributions or as "concessional" contributions. They are mainly compulsory employer SG ("Superannuation Guarantee", see above) contributions and additional salary sacrifice contributions. These contributions are taxed by the superannuation fund at a "contributions tax" rate of 15%, which is regarded as "concessional" rate. For individuals who earn more than $250,000, the contributions tax is levied at 30%.
"Post-tax" contributions are also referred to as "after-tax" contributions, "non-concessional" contributions or as "undeducted" contributions. These contributions are made from money on which income tax or contributions tax has already been paid, and typically no further tax is required to be withheld from that contribution when it is made to a fund.
Both contribution types are subject to annual caps. Where the annual cap is exceeded, additional tax is payable, either at the marginal tax rate for concessional contributions, or an additional 31.5% for non-concessional contributions, which is in addition to the standard tax rate of 15% payable on contributions, making a total of 46.5%.
Over time various measures have allowed other forms of contribution to encourage saving for retirement. These include small business CGT contributions and rollovers and Downsizer superannuation contributions Each contribution type has specific rules and limits. |
Superannuation in Australia | Investments in the fund
Investment earnings of the superannuation fund (i.e. dividends, rental income etc.) are taxed at a flat rate of 15% by the superannuation fund. In addition, where an investment is sold, capital gains tax is payable by the superannuation fund at 15%.
Much like the discount available to individuals and other trusts, a superannuation fund can claim a capital gains tax discount where the investment has been owned for at least 12 months. The discount applicable to superannuation fund is 33%, reducing the effective capital gains tax from 15% to 10%.
Superannuation funds pool the contributions from multiple individuals and invest these funds in a wide range of assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, and more. These investments aim to generate returns and grow the fund over time.
A fund which is paying a pension to a member aged 60+ has exempt pension income and pays no tax on that portion of the earnings of the fund. Its deductions for that same percentage is denied and cannot create a tax loss. An actuarial certificate may be required to support the proportion of exempt pension income based on member balances and numbers of days. Earnings on accumulation (i.e., non pension) balances remain proportionately subject to tax. Asset segregation may be used by some funds so that specific income is attributed to a specific member. A fund with only pension member accounts which pay the minimum complying pension for the whole year have a tax rate of 0%.
These taxes contribute over $6 billion in annual government revenue. Superannuation is a tax-advantaged method of saving as the 15% tax rate on contributions is lower than the rate an employee would have paid if they received the money as income. The federal government announced in its 2006/07 budget that from 1 July 2007, Australians over the age of 60 will face no taxes on withdrawing monies out of their superannuation fund if it is from a taxed source. |
Superannuation in Australia | Discontinued superannuation surcharge
In 1996, the federal government imposed a "superannuation surcharge" on higher income earners as a temporary revenue measure. During the 2001 election campaign, the Howard government proposed to reduce the surcharge from 15% to 10.5% over three years. The superannuation surcharge was abolished by the Howard government from 1 July 2005. |
Superannuation in Australia | Superannuation co-contribution scheme
From 1 July 2003, the Howard Liberal government made available incentives of a Government co-contribution with a maximum value of $1,000.
From the 2012-2013 financial year to the 2016-2017 financial year, superannuation contributions are available for individuals with income not in excess of $37,000. The Government offsets a maximum of $500 and a minimum of $20, calculated at 15% of a low income earners total superannuation contributions.
As at 1 July 2017, The Low Income Superannuation Contribution (LISC) scheme will be replaced with the renamed Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO). Under this new scheme, the minimum amount of Government contributions for low income earners with income not in excess of $37,000 is lowered to $10 but the $500 maximum remains. |
Superannuation in Australia | Effect on income tax
One of the reasons that people contribute to superannuation is to reduce their income tax liability, and possibly to be able to receive an age pension while still receiving supplementary income.
The following is a general summary of the tax rules relating to superannuation. The full details are extremely complex. |
Superannuation in Australia | Employer superannuation contributions
Employer superannuation contributions are generally tax deductible if paid to a "complying superannuation fund". This includes compulsory employer contributions as well as "salary sacrifice" contributions. Employees may choose to make additional contributions at the same rate as a "salary sacrifice", but only if their employer agrees to do so. |
Superannuation in Australia | Taxation of superannuation fund (contributions)
Employer contributions received by a superannuation fund and income earned in the fund are taxed at the concessional rate of 15%, or more for higher income earners. Additional contributions made without the cooperation of an employer or paid to a non-complying superannuation fund are taxed at the top marginal tax rates and are subject to different rules. |
Superannuation in Australia | Taxation of superannuation in the US
Under the U.S.-Australia Income Tax Treaty, there is an opportunity to lawfully avoid U.S. taxation on gains within Australian superannuation funds. By taking this legal position, Australia would have exclusive taxing rights over Australian superannuation funds, which effectively allows Australian nationals residing in the U.S. to lawfully exclude from their U.S federal income tax returns any gain from their Australian Superannuation Fund or even future distributions. |
Superannuation in Australia | Benefits paid
Income retrieved from the fund by a member after preservation age is generally tax free.[1] |
Superannuation in Australia | Exceeding the concessional contributions cap
The concessional contribution cap for the 2017-2018 financial year is $25,000. For later financial years, the cap is worked out by indexing annually this amount. From 1 July 2019 a taxpayer who meets a maximum balance condition who does not use their cap in full may carry forward the unused cap for a limited time period. The tax laws and rules concerning concessional contributions are complex and not automatic entitlement. In the 2021 year a theoretical concessional contribution (tax deductible) of three years could be permitted ($75,000) representing unused caps from 2019 and 2020 in addition to the 2021 cap.
Excess concessional contribution (ECC) is included in the assessable income for corresponding income year, and the taxpayer is entitled to a tax offset for that income year equal to 15% of the excess concessional contributions (S 291-15 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997). This offset cannot be refunded, transferred, or carried forward. Excess Contributions Tax can be paid by the member by release of funds from the superannuation account. |
Superannuation in Australia | Excess concessional contribution charge
ECC charge is applied to the additional income tax liability arising due to excess concessional contributions included in the income tax return- Division 95 in Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953. The ECC charge period is calculated from the start of the income year in which the excess concessional contributions were made and ends the day before the tax is due to be paid under the first income tax assessment for that year. The compounding interest formula is applied against the base amount (the additional income tax liability) for each day of the ECC charge period. The ECC charge rates are updated quarterly and for January - March 2019 it is 4.94% per annum. |
Superannuation in Australia | Concessional contributions and taxable income, exceeding the threshold - Division 293 tax
Division 293 tax (additional tax on concessional contributions) is payable if income for surcharge purposes (other than reportable superannuation contributions), plus concessionally taxed superannuation contributions (also known as low tax contributions) are greater than $250,000. Division 293 tax levies 15% tax on either the earner's total concessional contributions, or the amount (Concessional Contributions + Gross Income) that is over the $250,000 threshold – whichever amount is lower. Div 293 tax can be paid by the member by a release from the superannuation fund account. |
Superannuation in Australia | Non-concessional contributions
Non-concessional contributions include excess concessional contributions for the financial year. Non-concessional contributions are amounts contributed which an employer or taxpayer has not claimed a tax deduction. They do not include superannuation co-contributions, structured settlements and orders for personal injury or capital gains tax (CGT) related payments that the member has validly elected to exclude from their non-concessional contributions.
Non-concessional contributions are made into the superannuation fund from after-tax income. These contributions are not taxed in the superannuation fund.
As of 1 July 2021, the non-concessional contributions cap is $110,000 per annum. Members 66 years or younger have the option of utilizing the "bring-forward" rule which allows an eligible person to contribute 3 years' worth of contributions in the one year. If a member's non-concessional contributions exceed the cap, they are taxed at the top marginal tax rate. |
Superannuation in Australia | Effect on age pensions
Australian resident citizens over 67 years of age are entitled to an age pension if their income and assets are below specified levels. The full pension, as at March 2022, is $882.20 per fortnight for singles, and $665 each for couples.
Pension recipients are assessed under an Asset test and an Income test and their pension is reduced by whichever test lowers their pension amount the most. As at March 2022, to be eligible for the full pension single homeowners must have assets less than $270,500 and single non-homeowners assets less than $487,000. Couple homeowners must have assets less than $405,000 and non-homeowners $621,500. The Income test will apply to singles who earn more than $180 per fortnight and couples who earn more than $320 per fortnight. Pension payments will by reduced by 50 cents for each dollar over these limits. |
Superannuation in Australia | Superannuation funds
Trustee structure
Superannuation funds operate as trusts with trustees being responsible for the prudential operation of their funds and in formulating and implementing an investment strategy. Some specific duties and obligations are codified in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 - other obligations are the subject of general trust law. Trustees are liable under law for breaches of obligations. Superannuation trustees have, inter alia, an obligation to ensure that superannuation monies are invested prudently with consideration given to diversification and liquidity. |
Superannuation in Australia | Investments
Other than a few very specific provisions in the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (largely related to investments in assets related to the employer or impacting a self-managed superannuation fund) funds are not subject to specific asset requirements or investment rules. A fund must maintain an investment strategy and comply with specific covenants contained in law at all times. A fund must not lend to a related party and must not acquire investments from a related party unless permitted. There are no minimum rate of return requirements, nor a government guarantee of benefits. There are some restrictions on borrowing and the use of derivatives and investments in the shares and property of employer sponsors of funds.
As a result, superannuation funds tend to invest in a wide variety of assets with a mix of duration and risk/return characteristics. The recent investment performance of superannuation funds compares favourably with alternative assets such as ten year bonds. |
Superannuation in Australia | Types of superannuation funds
There are about 500 superannuation funds operating in Australia. Of those, 362 have assets totalling greater than $50 million. Superannuation assets totalled $2.7 trillion at the end of the June 2018 quarter, a new record according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.
There are different types of superannuation funds: |
Superannuation in Australia | Industry Funds are multiemployer funds run by employer associations and/or unions. Unlike Retail/Wholesale funds they are run solely for the benefit of members, as there are no shareholders.
Wholesale Master Trusts are multiemployer funds run by financial institutions for groups of employees. These are also classified as Retail funds by APRA.
Retail Master Trusts/Wrap platforms are funds run by financial institutions for individuals.
Employer Funds are funds established by employers for their employees. Each fund has its own trust structure that is not necessarily shared by other employers. APRA has been encouraging employer funds to windup and are less popular in recent years. The cost of compliance and maintaining services at a competitive cost is the key driver.
Public Sector Funds are largely funds establish by Governments. Some are unfunded and the Future Fund was specifically established to set aside savings to meet this future liability. Many but not all schemes are defined benefit funds which give a life pension rather than a balance that is paid down as a pension. Newer employees in Public Sector jobs are typically members of a modern accumulation scheme.
Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs) are funds established under a specific portion of the same laws that govern larger funds. A SMSF allows a small number of individuals (limited to 6) and is regulated by the Australian Taxation Office, not APRA. Generally the Trustees (OR Trustee Directors) of the fund are the fund members and the members are all trustees (or Trustee Directors). Where there is a Corporate Trustee, the members are the directors of that company). SMSFs are the most numerous funds in the Australian superannuation industry, with 99% of the number of funds and 25% of the $2.7 trillion total superannuation assets as of 30 June 2013. SMSFs may be specially structured so that they are an accepted QROPS fund capable of receiving a transfer of a UK pension benefit.
2015 changes to the SIS act has allowed SMSFs to borrow under limited recourse borrowing rules. Lenders have developed SMSF loans to enable SMSF's to borrow for residential property, commercial property and industrial property, however funds cannot acquire vacant land or change the asset eg develop, improve or construct using borrowed money. Trustees are also require to value the assets in their funds on a regular basis to ensure accurate reporting. SMSF Property Valuation services are required from independent parties to ensure arms length valuations. There are restrictions placed upon the fund that the trustees of the fund cannot gain a personal advantage from asset acquired by the fund, or purchase from what's known as a "related party". For example, earners would not be able to live in the home that is owned by their SMSF. SMSF loans are generally available up to 80% of the purchase price and attract a high margin to the interest rate in comparison to standard occupier home loans. Major Banks have withdrawn from the SMSF loan market and loans are costly versus traditional loans as the loan must be a limited recourse loan product that also uses a bare trust to hold the property until the loan is repaid. |
Superannuation in Australia | SMSF property investment has gained considerable momentum since the amendment of borrowing provisions to allow for the purchase of residential real estate. The ability to obtain a limited recourse loan to buy income-producing property in a favourably low tax environment has influenced a rapidly emerging incidence of direct property investment within SMSF structures in recent times.
Small APRA Funds (SAFs) are funds established for a small number of individuals (fewer than 5) but unlike SMSFs the Trustee is an Approved Trustee, not the member/s, and the funds are regulated by APRA. This structure is often used for members who want control of their superannuation investments but are unable or unwilling to meet the requirements of Trusteeship of an SMSF.
Public Sector Employees Funds are funds established by governments for their employees.
Industry, Retail and Wholesale Master Trusts are the largest sectors of the Australian Superannuation Market by net asset with 217 funds.
SMSFs are the largest number of funds with 596,225 funds (2019) representing 32.8% of the $2.7 trillion market. |
Superannuation in Australia | Choice of superannuation funds
From 1 July 2005, many Australian employees have been able to choose the fund their employer's future superannuation guarantee contributions are paid into. Employees may change a superannuation fund. They may choose to change funds, for example, because: |
Superannuation in Australia | one when their current fund is not available with a new employer,
consolidate superannuation accounts to cut costs and paperwork,
a lower-fee and/or better service superannuation fund,
a better performing superannuation fund, or
a fund invests in assets and companies that align with their personal beliefs.
Where an employee has not elected to choose their own fund, employers must since 1 January 2014 make "default contributions" only into an authorised MySuper product, which is designed to be a simple, low-cost superannuation fund with few, standardised fees and a single balanced investment option. |
Superannuation in Australia | List of superannuation entities by funds under management
Below is a list of superannuation trustees by funds under management. Most figures are derived from entity's 2022 annual report. |
Superannuation in Australia | Superannuation industry
Legislation
Superannuation funds are principally regulated under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and the Financial Services Reform Act 2002. Compulsory employer contributions are regulated via the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 |
Superannuation in Australia | Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (SIS)
The Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act sets all the rules that a complying superannuation fund must obey (adherence to these rules is called compliance). The rules cover general areas relating to the trustee, investments, management, fund accounts and administration, enquiries and complaints.
SIS also: |
Superannuation in Australia | regulates the operation of superannuation funds; and
sets penalties for trustees when the rules of operation are not met.
In June 2004 the SIS Act and Regulations were amended to require all superannuation trustees to apply to become a Registrable Superannuation Entity Licensee (RSE Licensee) in addition each of the superannuation funds the trustee operates is also required to be registered. The transition period is intended to end 30 June 2006. The new licensing regime requires trustees of superannuation funds to demonstrate to APRA that they have adequate resources (human, technology and financial), risk management systems and appropriate skills and expertise to manage the superannuation fund. The licensing regime has lifted the bar for superannuation trustees with a significant number of small to medium size superannuation funds exiting the industry due to the increasing risk and compliance demands. |
Superannuation in Australia | MySuper
MySuper is part of the Stronger Super reforms announced in 2011 by the Julia Gillard Government for the Australian superannuation industry. From 1 January 2014, employers must only pay default superannuation contributions to an authorised MySuper product. Superannuation funds have until July 2017 to transfer accrued default balances to MySuper.
A MySuper default is one which complies to a regulated set of features, including: |
Superannuation in Australia | a single investment option (although lifecycle strategies are permitted),
a minimum level of insurance cover,
an easily comparable fee structure, with a short prescribed list of allowable fee types,
restrictions on how advice is provided and paid for, and
rules governing fund governance and transparency. |
Superannuation in Australia | The Financial Services Reform Act 2002 (FSR)
The Financial Services Reform Act covers a very broad area of finance and is designed to provide standardisation within the financial services industry. Under the FSR, to operate a superannuation fund, the trustee must have a licence to run a fund and the individuals within the funds require a licence to perform their job.
With regard to superannuation, FSR: |
Superannuation in Australia | provides licensing of "dealers" (providers of financial products and services);
oversees the training of agents representing dealers;
sets out the requirements regarding what information must be provided on any financial product to members and prospective members; and
sets out the requirements that determine good-conduct and misconduct rules for superannuation funds. |
Superannuation in Australia | Regulatory bodies
Four main regulatory bodies keep watch over superannuation funds to ensure they comply with the legislation: |
Superannuation in Australia | The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is responsible for ensuring that superannuation funds behave in a prudent manner. APRA also reviews a fund's annual accounts to assess their compliance with the SIS.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) ensures that trustees of superannuation funds comply with their obligations regarding the provision of information to fund members during their membership. ASIC is also responsible for consumer protection in the financial services area (including superannuation). It also monitors funds' compliance with the FSR. MoneySmart is a website run by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to help people make smart choices about their personal finances. They provide a number of tools such as the Superannuation Calculator.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) ensures that self-managed superannuation funds adhere to the rules and regulations. It also makes sure that the right amount of tax is taken from the superannuation savings of all Australians.
The Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) administers the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act. This Act provides the formal process for the resolution of complaints. The SCT will try to resolve any complaints between a member and the superannuation fund by negotiation or conciliation. The SCT only deals with complaints when no satisfactory resolution has been reached. The SCT ceased handling new complaints from 31 October 2018.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) now manages superannuation complaints from November 2018. AFCA manages complaints concerning financial products. |
Superannuation in Australia | Similar schemes in other countries
Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Account (TSFA) (Canada)
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and 401K (United States)
Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Stakeholder Pension (United Kingdom)
Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) - (Ireland)
KiwiSaver (New Zealand) – Australia and New Zealand have a reciprocal agreement allowing Australians moving to New Zealand to transfer their KiwiSaver funds to an approved Australian superannuation scheme, and vice versa.
Nippon individual savings account (NISA) (Japan)
Mandatory Provident Fund (Hong Kong)
Vanuatu National Provident Fund (Vanuatu) - The Vanuatu National Provident Fund is a compulsory savings scheme for Employees who receive a salary of Vt3, 000 or more a month, to help them financially at retirement.
Central Provident Fund (Singapore)
Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia)
Pensions in Chile |
Superannuation in Australia | Criticism and issues
The interaction between superannuation, tax and pension eligibility is complex, meaning that many Australians struggle to engage with their superannuation accounts and utilise them effectively.
The Australian superannuation industry has been criticised for pursuing self-interested re-investment strategies, and some funds have been accused of choosing investments that benefit related parties ahead of the investor.
Some superannuation providers provide minimal information to account holders about how their money has been invested. Usually, only vague categories are provided, such as "Australian Shares", with no indication of which shares were purchased.
Losses to the superannuation funds from the 2007–2008 financial crisis have also been a cause for concern, said to be around $75 billion.
An avoidable issue with Australia's superannuation system is employees failing to consolidate multiple accounts, thus being charged multiple account fees. In 2018, of Australia's 15 million superannuation fund members, 40% had multiple accounts, which collectively cost them $2.6 billion in additional fees per year. Government initiatives to make consolidating accounts easier have reduced the percentage to 24% in 2022. |
Superannuation in Australia | See also
Industry superannuation fund
Australian Government Future Fund
German pensions
Pension system
Social Security (Australia)
UK pensions
US pensions |
Superannuation in Australia | Notes
References
External links
ASIC's consumer and investor website MoneySmart - Superannuation and Retirement
Australian Taxation Office - Superannuation
Super bailout of $59m - excludes DIY investors
Government compensates most trio capital losses
Business Spectator - Legality and Constitutional grounds for Mandatory Superannuation in Australia
Road Map Release My Super
Proactive superannuation planning |
Censorship in Australia | Certain subject-matter in Australia is subject to various forms of government censorship. These include matters of national security, judicial non-publication or suppression orders, defamation law, the federal Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth), film and literature (including video game) classification, and advertising restrictions.
Some forms of censorship are not administered directly by the government or courts. For example, some foreign websites have on occasion been blocked by Australian internet service providers. More recently, concerns have been raised as to the level of academic freedom enjoyed at Australia's public universities. Outside of these matters, standards for television, radio, recorded music, the press and most commercial advertising are enforced, in the first instance, by means of industry self-regulation. |
Censorship in Australia | Legal protections
Australia does not have explicit freedom of speech in any constitutional or statutory declaration of rights, with the exception of political speech which is protected from criminal prosecution at common law per Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth. There is however an "implied freedom of political communication" that was recognised in Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
In 1992 the High Court of Australia judged in the case of Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v Commonwealth that the Australian Constitution, by providing for a system of representative and responsible government, implied the protection of political communication as an essential element of that system. This freedom of political communication is not a broad freedom of speech as in other countries, but rather a freedom that only protects political free speech. This freedom of political free speech is a shield against government prosecution, not a shield against private prosecution (civil law). It is also less a causal mechanism in itself, rather than simply a boundary which can be adjudged to be breached. Despite the court's ruling, however, not all political speech appears to be protected in Australia and several laws criminalise forms of speech that would be protected in republic countries such as the United States.
In 1996, Albert Langer was imprisoned for advocating that voters fill out their ballot papers in a way that was invalid. Amnesty International declared Langer to be a prisoner of conscience. The section which outlawed Langer from encouraging people to vote this way has since been repealed and the law now says only that it is an offence to print or publish material which may deceive or mislead a voter.
The Howard government expanded sedition law as part of the war on terror. Media Watch ran a series on the amendments on ABC television.
In 2003, CSIRO senior scientist Graeme Pearman was reprimanded and encouraged to resign after he spoke out on global warming. The Howard government was accused of limiting the speech of Pearman and other scientists.
In 2010, journalist Andrew Bolt was sued in the Federal Court over two posts on his Herald Sun blog in 2009. Bolt was found to have contravened the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA) in 2011 following comments regarded to be representative of a "eugenic" approach to aboriginal identity. This prompted the federal government to propose changes to the Racial Discrimination Act but this has been met with stiff resistance.
In 2014 the Supreme Court of Victoria issued a blanket media gag order on the reporting of a high-profile international corruption case. The gag order prevented the publishing of articles regarding bribes presented to high-ranking officials of Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam by senior executives of the Reserve Bank of Australia in order to secure the adoption of the Australian invented and produced polymer banknote technology. |
Censorship in Australia | Australian Classification Board
Certain films, books and video games have, in effect, been banned from sale in Australia because they have been “refused classification” by the Australian Classification Board which was founded in 1970. Materials are generally refused classification because of explicit violent or sexual content.
Although the Australian Classification Board Guidelines state that "adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want", many books are apparently banned or given a restricted classification simply because they may offend certain segments of the population. Under particularly frequent attacks are books containing erotica, those concerning illegal drugs, and those discussing end-of-life issues (particularly those discussing or condoning assisted suicide). For example, in December 2006 the voluntary euthanasia book The Peaceful Pill Handbook was classified by the OFLC as X18+ and approved for publication. A month later, on appeal from the Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock and Right to Life NSW, the book's classification was reviewed by the Literature Classification Board and rated RC (refused classification).
In 2000, Liberal Party of Australia Prime Minister John Howard had the Australian Classification Board prohibit depictions of certain sexual fetishes including candle wax, bondage, spanking, fisting, and golden showers. Sexually explicit depictions of adults who appeared to look under 18 years of age were also prohibited by the Board. The Australian Sex Party accused these actions of censoring depictions of female ejaculation and censoring adult women with small breasts. |
Censorship in Australia | Banned publications
Imports
Publications, films, computer games and any other goods that describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence, terrorist acts or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults are not allowed.
In Australia, the importation of certain books, video games, and media are prohibited based on its non-fictional or fictional contents. It was reported on in 2021, that the Australian Border Force stated that any depictions of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime cruelty, violence, terrorist acts, or revolting content that offends moral standards and decency, are prohibited. |
Censorship in Australia | Book censorship until 1970
Book censorship has existed in Australia since the 19th century. Each state had its own legislation, including: |
Censorship in Australia | Obscene and Indecent Publications Act 1901 (later Indecent Articles and Publications Act 1975)
Police Offences Act 1958 (Victoria)
Indecent Publications and Articles Act 1902-1983 (Western Australia)
Norman Lindsay's Redheap was the first book to be banned from import into Australia, in May 1930, under the Commonwealth Customs Act 1901. This was before the establishment of the Commonwealth Book Censorship Board in 1933 by Prime Minister Joseph Lyons' United Australia Party, which was renamed the Literature Censorship Board in 1937. The novel Upsurge, written by J. M. Harcourt and published in 1934, became the first Australian book to be officially banned under the guidelines of the Commonwealth Book Censorship Board It was initially banned as seditious, later reviewed and the ban confirmed, ostensibly on grounds of indecency and explicit depictions of sex under the Indecent Publications Act. However the main cause of its ban was its socialist tone and subversive agenda which criticised capitalism, featuring Communist characters in its portrayal of life in the relief camps of the Depression.
In the 1960s, censorship laws came under pressure when "three intrepid Sydney activists," Alexander William Sheppard, Leon Fink and Ken Buckley, locally published D. H. Lawrence's The Trial of Lady Chatterley (Sydney, 1965), which was at that time banned in Australia, and Sheppard then published James Baldwin's Another Country (1966). In 1970, Penguin Books had three copies of Portnoy's Complaint smuggled into Australia and then secretly printed 75,000 copies of the book. In the early 1970s Don Chipp, the federal Minister of Customs and Excise, largely ended censorship of printed material in the country, with Australians being able to read such books as Portnoy’s Complaint and Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. |
Censorship in Australia | Press freedom
Freedom House reported in 2021 that although Australia's "constitution does not explicitly protect press freedom, journalists scrutinise lawmakers and the government, covering controversial topics generally without serious obstacles or risk of harassment or violence." However, it expressed concern about two police raids conducted in 2019, and the widespread use of judicial suppression orders. Press freedom may also be affected by the provisions of defamation law and the Commonwealth RDA, which are discussed in the following sections.
Australia has been on a decline on the Press Freedom Index curated by the Reporters Without Borders, in reflection of rising media censorship and intimidation of journalists in the country, including media companies maintaining close ties to political leaders, fueling doubts about editorial independence. Two giant firms dominate mass media in Australia – Nine Entertainment and News Corp Australia, a subsidiary of American-based News Corp. The country was ranked 19th out of 180 countries in 2018, before subsequently dropping to 26th out of 180 countries for 2020 and 39th in 2022. |
Censorship in Australia | National security
The Australian Government has occasionally acted against media outlets for reasons of national security. In June 2019, federal police raided the Sydney offices of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the home of Sunday Telegraph political editor Annika Smethurst, seeking evidence against officials who may have leaked sensitive government information to journalists. Both raids were widely condemned in media and legal circles, and led to a review. |
Censorship in Australia | Suppression and non-publication orders
Commonwealth, State and territory law provides for the suppression or non-publication of certain information regarding legal proceedings. This can be to avoid contaminating the jury pool, or to protect the identities of children and sexual assault victims. While these orders are generally targeted at journalists, in the past the transmission of television crime dramas has been delayed as a result.
The case of Cardinal George Pell is one cited by Freedom House. The conviction of one of the Vatican's most senior officials made headlines around the world, yet a suppression order banned all Australian media outlets from reporting the story. The order was intended to avoid the verdict influencing a future trial involving separate charges (these were later dropped). Australians could, however, readily find the news on foreign websites. Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper posted on its front page "CENSORED" in large print in protest of the ban, noting that international sources were reporting on a "very important story that is relevant to Victorians". Victorian authorities later charged 36 individual journalists and news organisations with breaching suppression orders related to the verdict. |
Censorship in Australia | Defamation
Australian law of defamation developed primarily out of the English law of defamation and its cases, though now there are differences introduced by statute and by the implied constitutional limitation on governmental powers to limit speech of a political nature established in Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997).
On 10 December 2002, the High Court of Australia delivered judgment in the Internet defamation case of Dow Jones v Gutnick. The judgment established that internet-published foreign publications that defamed an Australian in their Australian reputation could be held accountable under Australian defamation law. The case gained worldwide attention and is often said, inaccurately, to be the first of its kind. A similar case that predates Dow Jones v Gutnick is Berezovsky v Forbes in England.
Among the various common law jurisdictions, some Americans have presented a visceral and vocal reaction to the Gutnick decision. On the other hand, the decision mirrors similar decisions in many other jurisdictions such as England, Scotland, France, Canada and Italy.
In 2006, uniform defamation laws came into effect across Australia. In addition to fixing the problematic inconsistencies in law between individual States and Territories, the laws made a number of changes to the common law position, including: |
Censorship in Australia | Abolishing the distinction between libel and slander.
Providing new defenses including that of triviality, where it is a defense to the publication of a defamatory matter if the defendant proves that the circumstances of publication were such that the plaintiff was unlikely to sustain any harm.
The defenses against defamation may be negated if there is proof the publication was actuated by malice.
Greatly restricting the right of corporations to sue for defamation (see e.g. Defamation Act 2005 (Vic), s 9). Corporations may, however, still sue for the tort of injurious falsehood, where the burden of proof is greater than in defamation, because the plaintiff must show that the defamation was made with malice and resulted in economic loss.
The 2006 reforms also established across all Australian states the availability of truth as an unqualified defense; previously a number of states only allowed a defense of truth with the condition that a public interest or benefit existed. The defendant however still needs to prove that the defamatory imputations are substantially true. |
Censorship in Australia | Racial Discrimination Act
Advertising bans
Commonwealth and State governments ban or restrict certain types of advertising in order to maintain the integrity of elections, personal injury law and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. |
Censorship in Australia | Personal injury lawyers
Lawyers in most Australian states are censored in respect of public statements they are allowed to publish concerning personal injury compensation law. Non-lawyers are also prohibited from publishing statements on the subject in some states. The laws are described as a ban on advertising of personal injury compensation but go much further.
The censorship must be self-administered, and breaches render a lawyer liable to prosecution, disbarment and, potentially, even jail. These laws coincided with the Insurance Crisis, the Ipp report and Civil Liability laws.
In New South Wales all lawyer public statements concerning personal injury compensation are prohibited. |
Censorship in Australia | Queensland
In Queensland television and radio advertising is banned and lawyer statements concerning personal injury compensation law must be censored so as to contain only: |
Censorship in Australia | The lawyer's name, contact details and area of speciality (print and other "allowed publications" only);
The operation of the law of negligence and a person's rights under that law (lawyers' websites only);
The lawyer's terms of service (lawyers' websites only).
The Queensland censorship provisions were originally intended to ban distasteful advertisements by some personal injury law firms that promoted "cash for injuries". The Queensland Attorney-General stated in his Second Reading speech when introducing the legislation in 2002 as follows: |
Censorship in Australia | The bill also better regulates provocative advertising by lawyers in relation to personal injury services ... the sort of advertising currently broadcast on radio and television does not enhance clients' rights or portray the profession in a particularly positive light.
Section 4 (2) (f) of the Queensland Act refers to "regulating inappropriate advertising..."
However the Queensland government has since given the censorship provisions the strictest possible interpretation and threatened hundreds of lawyers with prosecution.
One of the many outcomes that impact on freedom of expression and free speech is that concerning lawyers' web sites. A lawyer must not even list "personal injury" even merely as a link on a webpage that has no relation to the prohibited subject matter.
In practice, lawyers are prohibited from listing even on their website homepage some of the areas of law they practise in. Photos, images, slogans are prohibited. All references to personal injury compensation law must be censored out of website staff profiles containing anything more than the person's name, contact details and area of expertise.
Some other subject matter that must be censored out of web sites and other publications includes: winning verdicts and settlements; mention of the law firms reputation, expertise and history; testimonials; case histories; the standard of service and many other things that would allow consumers to differentiate among competitors.
The Queensland censorship provisions have not yet been judicially interpreted. It is unknown whether the ultra-strict interpretation contended for by the Queensland government will be upheld by a court. |
Censorship in Australia | New South Wales
In New South Wales, all statements by lawyers concerning personal injury compensation including on websites are banned and strict penalties apply. One lawyer has already been professionally punished and fined $20,000 for making a website statement.
The New South Wales version of the censorship law which is stricter than that of Queensland was considered by the High Court of Australia in 2005. The plaintiffs argued that the law was invalid because it infringed the implied constitutional freedom of political communication and secondly that it infringed Chapter III of the Constitution and the rule of law.
In a majority decision the court held that the New South Wales censorship law was valid. It did not accept that statements merely about personal injury compensation law were of a political nature. It implied however that any statements criticising the censorship itself and tort "reform" would be in the nature of political communication that was protected. The majority also ruled against the plaintiffs on the second argument (but the minority were strongly of the view) that the law unreasonably interfered with lawyers going about their constitutionally protected vocation.
On 20 June 2008, Justice Adams of the Supreme Court of NSW held that clause 34 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2005 which bans personal injury advertising in NSW by non-lawyers, was void because it was Ultra Vires the Legal Profession Act 2004. |
Censorship in Australia | Victoria
No censorship applies in Victoria. |
Censorship in Australia | Western Australia
The Western Australian censorship rules are similar to those in Queensland. However, television advertising is permitted by ACMA. |
Censorship in Australia | Consumer opposition
The Australian Lawyers Alliance opposes the censorship and believes that "content-rich statements" concerning the availability of all legal services are in the public interest.
Consumer groups (e.g. Tort Reform Institute, Insurance Reform) argue that any restriction on lawyer communication is adverse to the public interest. They argue that the public should be fully informed about their rights particularly under consumer protection laws that generate compensation payments, and that censorship that keeps the public under-informed cannot be justified. In their view, the protection of insurance company profits is not a sufficient "public purpose" to warrant the interference in personal freedoms by way of censorship. The ultimate aim of the government and insurers, according to such consumer groups, is to eliminate the expression "personal injury compensation" from the Australian vocabulary and to dissuade citizens from exercising compensation rights by making it "distasteful" to do so.
Exceptions to the censorship provision apply to: |
Censorship in Australia | Insurance companies, who are permitted to advertise that personal injury claims can be made directly with them; or
Statements concerning the defence of personal injury claims as opposed to the pursuit of those claims (except in New South Wales) |
Censorship in Australia | Internet censorship
Some activists consider Australia's laws on Internet censorship to be amongst the most restrictive in the western world. However, the restrictive nature of the laws has been combined with almost complete lack of interest in enforcement from the agencies responsible.
Some of the interesting exceptions include an attempt by then NSW Police Minister Michael Costa to shut down Melbourne Indymedia, a case in 2001 involving the US Secret Service that was eventually pleaded out, and an attempt by the FBI using the Australian Federal Police to censor a Victorian they alleged was posting threats to the US.
A collection of both federal and state laws apply, but the most important is the federal legislation which came into effect on 1 January 2000.
If a complaint is issued about material on the Internet, the ACMA is empowered to examine the material under the guidelines for film and video. If it is found that a) the material would be classified X18+, or b) the material would classified R18+ and the site does not have an adult verification system, or c) the material would be refused classification: |
Censorship in Australia | If the site is hosted in Australia, the ACMA is empowered to issue a "takedown notice" under which the material must be removed from the site.
If the site is hosted outside Australia, the site is added to a list of banned sites.
This list of banned sites is then added to filtering software, which must be offered to all consumers by Internet Service Providers and the Australian Government.
On 31 December 2007 the Telecommunications Minister of the newly elected Labor government, Stephen Conroy, announced that Australia would introduce mandatory internet filtering. Once more the reason given is that mandatory filtering is required to "provide greater protection to children from online pornography and violent websites".
As of November 2008, the plan includes two blacklists, one of which will filter illegal content according to internet content laws as well as other "unwanted" content, and the other will also filter content unsuitable for children. Internet users will be able to opt out of the secondary blacklist for children, but will not be able to opt out of the primary filter, sparking free speech concerns. No statement has been made about what content will be considered "illegal", or what Stephen Conroy means by "unwanted".
Slated for blocking, should the "Clean Feed" Act be passed by Australia's Federal Parliament, is the website of Dr Philip Nitschke's banned book, The Peaceful Pill Handbook. The inclusion of Nitschke's euthanasia book's website came to light after the Government's list of would-be banned websites was leaked to wikileaks.org. The Peaceful Pill Handbook was listed on the leaked internet website blacklist, wedged in alphabetical order between the porn sites panty-ass.com and pickyourperversion.com.
This produced a huge backlash from the community, including the Get Up advertisement Censordyne. Conroy eventually abandoned the proposal, saying that the relevant authority was already invested in ACMA, which didn't take any action in accordance.
Since the election of the Coalition government in 2013, there has been one act passed, that allows the blocking of websites that host pirated content, if the content provider has contacted the Australian government about it and they've gone through the procedures set out through the act, then the website will be blocked under s.115a of the Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015.
There has been two applications to Section.115a, one by Foxtel and another by Village Roadshow, which would prohibit an Australian pirate site from functioning and block The Pirate Bay respectively. The Federal Court has recently ruled that ISP's must block a range of Torrent sites including The Pirate Bay using either DNS Hijacking, URL blocking or some other mutually agreed method by ISPs and rights holders.
There are some reports said Australia has also been collaborating with Chinese Great Firewall security officials and other officials from Cyberspace Administration of China in implementing its data retention and filtering infrastructure and possibly obtained surveillance technology from China.
On 20 March 2019 Australian telecom company Telstra denied access to millions of Australians to the websites 4chan, 8chan, Zero Hedge, Voat, Archive.today, and Liveleak as a reaction to the Christchurch mosque shootings. |
Censorship in Australia | Non-government forms of censorship
Universities
Concerns have been expressed by Freedom House and others about protections for freedom of speech and academic freedom at Australia's universities. In 2018, the Australian Government asked former Chief Justice Robert French to conduct an independent review of freedom of speech and academic freedom in Australian higher education. While French disagreed that there was a "freedom of speech crisis" on campuses, he nonetheless noted the risks to freedom posed by the various and vaguely-worded protections then in place. Concerns include the influence of the People's Republic of China on university administrations; 'deplatforming' of controversial speakers and viewpoints; and demands that academics refrain from contesting one another's conclusions. |
Censorship in Australia | Deplatforming
Many Australian university campuses have seen protests by students and faculty against unorthodox or controversial viewpoints. Several universities refused to host Copenhagen Consensus or Ramsay research centres following left-wing protests. |
Censorship in Australia | Internal criticism
Another threat is action by universities to silence internal criticism. In 2016, James Cook University sacked marine scientist Peter Ridd for publishing an article questioning the reproducibility of his colleagues' work on the Great Barrier Reef. The Federal Court later ruled the University had acted unlawfully, awarding Ridd more than $1 million in damages. |
Censorship in Australia | Advertising boycotts
Campaigners including the anonymous American group Sleeping Giants have attempted to force certain conservative and libertarian commentators off Australian radio and television by threatening to boycott broadcasters' advertisers. Targets of this approach have included both hosts, such as radio presenter Alan Jones and former Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles, and guests, such as former senator David Leyonhjelm. |
Censorship in Australia | Advertising standards
Standards for commercial advertising in Australia are enforced via industry self-regulation. |
Censorship in Australia | See also
Laws governing public demonstrations in Australia
2024 Cumberland book ban |
Censorship in Australia | References
Further reading
Patrick Mullins, The Trials of Portnoy: How Penguin Brought Down Australia’s Censorship System, Scribe, 2020. |
Censorship in Australia | External links
Office of Film and Literature Classification
Australia extending censorship to Mobile platforms Archived 12 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
Amir Butler: Why I have changed my mind on anti-vilification laws (An article originally published in The Age newspaper)
Refused Classification – an online database of media either censored or banned in Australia
Internet Censorship in Australia by Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), a group that opposes government attempts to censor the Internet.
Libertus Australia, a website maintained by Irene Graham, the executive director of EFA.
Polyester books, stockists of banned and controversial material.
Chronology of censorship in Australia and New Zealand
Porn Banned from Mobile Phones 30 June 2005. The Age.
Intense Hammer Rage News Clippings that describe their legal troubles.
Banned Magazine the Online Journal of Censorship and Secrecy
Philip Nitschke, aka Dr. Death, talks about the banning of his euthanasia book, The Peaceful Pill Handbook
Media Censorship in Australia, Facebook news page. |
Department of Home Affairs (Australia) | The Department of Home Affairs is the Australian Government interior ministry with responsibilities for national security, protective services, emergency management, border control, immigration, refugees, citizenship, transport security and multicultural affairs. The Home Affairs portfolio reports to the Minister for Home Affairs, currently held by Tony Burke, and was led by the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs, Mike Pezzullo, until his sacking in November 2023 for breaching the code of conduct.
The Department was officially established on 20 December 2017, building on the former Department of Immigration and Border Protection and bringing policy responsibilities and agencies from the Attorney-General's Department, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Department of Social Services. The Department of Home Affairs was seen at the time as the Australian version of the United Kingdom's Home Office or the United States Department of Homeland Security.
In 2022, the Australian Federal Police, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Australian Transaction and Analysis Center were de-merged from the department and moved to the Attorney General portfolio, and in July 2024 the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was also moved to the Attorney General portfolio. |
Department of Home Affairs (Australia) | History
One of the seven inaugural Australian Public Service departments at the federation of Australia was the Department of Home Affairs (1901–16) with wide-ranging responsibilities for public works, elections, census, the public service, pensions, and inter-state relations. This department was followed by the Department of Home and Territories (1916–1928), the Department of Home Affairs (1928–32), the Department of the Interior (1932–39), the Department of the Interior (1939–72), the Department of Home Affairs (1977–80), and the Department of Home Affairs and Environment (1980–84). Prior to the formation of the current Department of Home Affairs, the Attorney-General's Department had responsibility for national security, law enforcement, emergency management as well as border protection alongside the various forms of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The proposed establishment of the Department of Home Affairs was announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 18 July 2017 to be headed by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton as the designated Minister for Home Affairs to bring together all national security, border control and law enforcement agencies of the government. The Department was officially stood up on the 20 December 2017 through an Administrative Arrangements Order. |
Department of Home Affairs (Australia) | Ministers
The following are the ministers of the Home Affairs portfolio: |
Department of Home Affairs (Australia) | Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security: Tony Burke
Minister for Emergency Management: Jenny McAllister |
Department of Home Affairs (Australia) | Portfolio responsibilities
The Department is responsible for the following functions: |
Department of Home Affairs (Australia) | Immigration and migration, including
border security
entry, stay and departure arrangements for non-citizens
customs and border control other than quarantine and inspection
Citizenship
Ethnic affairs
National security policy and operations
Multicultural affairs
Transport Security
Cyber policy coordination
Protective security policy
Protective Services at Commonwealth establishments and diplomatic and consular premises in Australia
Critical infrastructure protection co-ordination
Commonwealth emergency management
Arrangements for the settlement of migrants and humanitarian entrants
Adult migrant education
Natural disaster relief, recovery and mitigation policy and financial assistance including payments to the States and Territories and the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment |