(1) Notwithstanding any rule of law, nothing in section 22 or section 44 or section 70 of the principal Act shall prevent, or be taken ever to have prevented, the provisions of a superannuation scheme, or the trustees, the supervisor, or the manager of the scheme, from providing, on the death of a member of the scheme, a benefit for either—

• (a) The spouse of that member; or

• (b) the civil union partner or de facto partner of that member,—

without providing a similar or corresponding or equivalent benefit on the death of other members of the scheme.

(2) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, this section applies in respect of superannuation schemes established before or after the commencement of this Act.

(3) This section applies notwithstanding any judgment, decision, or order of any Court or tribunal given or made before or after the commencement of this Act in proceedings commenced before the commencement of this Act.

(4) Nothing in section 153(1) of the principal Act limits or affects this section.

(5) Nothing in this section applies to the provision of benefits under a superannuation scheme or by the trustees, the supervisor, or the manager of a scheme in respect of any person who, at any time on or after the 1st day of January 1996, becomes a member of the scheme unless,—

• (a) Immediately before becoming a member, that person was a member of another superannuation scheme that provides or provided, or the trustees, the supervisor, or the manager of which provide or provided, benefits of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section; and

• (b) That person became a member of the first-mentioned scheme as a result of a requirement, or the exercise of a right, to leave that other scheme by reason of any merger, takeover, or restructuring of, or reorganisation of the business of, that person's employer.

(6) Nothing in this section affects the validity of any amendment to the instrument or conditions governing a superannuation scheme made pursuant to section 72 of the principal Act before the commencement of this Act.

(1) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that nothing in section 22 or section 44 or section 70 of the principal Act shall prevent, or be taken ever to have prevented, the provisions of a superannuation scheme, or the trustees of the scheme, from providing, on the death of a member of the scheme, a benefit for a child or dependant of that member's family, including a child or dependant belonging to a particular class determined by reference to age, disability, or employment status without providing a similar or corresponding or equivalent benefit on the death of other members of the scheme.

(2) This section applies in respect of superannuation schemes established before or after the commencement of this Act.

(3) This section applies notwithstanding any judgment, decision, or order of any Court or tribunal given or made before or after the commencement of this Act in proceedings commenced before the commencement of this Act.

(1) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that nothing in section 22 or section 44 of the principal Act relating to different treatment on the ground of sex or marital status shall apply, or be taken ever to have applied, to—

• (a) A superannuation scheme to which subsection (2) of section 88 of the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 applied, except in respect of a person who became a member of the scheme on or after the 1st day of April 1980 or to whom amendments to the scheme were applied pursuant to subsection (4) of that section; or

• (b) A superannuation scheme established as an alternative to making amendments of the kind referred to in subsection (4) of section 88 of the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 to an existing scheme, except in respect of a person who became a member of the scheme by virtue of subsections (4) and (5) of that section.

(2) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby further declared that where any superannuation scheme was amended for the purpose of ensuring that its operation did not involve a breach of section 15(1) or section 24(1) of the Human Rights Commission Act 1977, nothing in the principal Act, and nothing in those amendments, shall deprive, or be taken ever to have deprived, any person who joined the scheme before the date on which those amendments came into force of any right or option to retire at a particular age or on a particular date or to become entitled under the scheme to a pension or other benefit, unless that person relinquishes that right or option.

(1) Notwithstanding any rule of law, nothing in section 15(1) or section 24(1) or section 88 of the Human Rights Commission Act 1977 shall be taken ever to have prevented the provisions of a superannuation scheme, or the trustees of the scheme, from providing, on the death of a member of the scheme, a benefit for either—

• (a) The spouse of that member; or

• (b) the civil union partner or de facto partner of that member,—

without providing a similar or corresponding or equivalent benefit on the death of other members of the scheme.

(2) This section applies notwithstanding any judgment, decision, or order of any Court or tribunal given or made before or after the commencement of this Act in proceedings commenced before the commencement of this Act.

(3) Nothing in section 153(1) of the principal Act limits or affects this section.

(4) Nothing in this section affects the validity of any amendment to the instrument or conditions governing a superannuation scheme made pursuant to section 90 of the Human Rights Commission Act 1977.

This section amended s 70(1) of the principal Act

This section substituted s 72 of the principal Act