This private senator’s bill amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 to treat firefighter and paramedic employees as a distinct category for calculating the SG charge. It inserts tailored definitions of firefighting and paramedic duties and adds a new rule that increases the Act’s charge percentage by 4.4 percentage points where an employer has an individual SG shortfall for these employees.
That change raises the monetary penalty an employer faces when they fail to remit required superannuation for frontline emergency workers. The measure redirects enforcement pressure toward fire and ambulance employers, and will force payroll, HR and finance teams to review role classifications, reporting and systems before the start date for affected quarters (1 July 2025).
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill adds a new paragraph to the statutory definition of the SG 'charge percentage' that increases the rate by 4.4 for employees who are firefighter employees or paramedic employees for any whole or part of a quarter. It also inserts statutory definitions describing firefighter and paramedic duties and creates a specific subsection identifying who counts as a firefighter or paramedic employee.
Who It Affects
State and territory fire and ambulance services, local government and private emergency contractors that employ firefighters or paramedics, superannuation funds that receive recovered contributions, payroll vendors and the ATO’s administration of SG charges. Individual firefighters and paramedics are affected indirectly through stronger enforcement of entitlements.
Why It Matters
By boosting the SG charge percentage for a narrowly defined workforce, the bill increases the financial consequence of underpaying superannuation for frontline emergency workers and changes compliance incentives. Employers must reassess classifications, payroll practices and budgets to avoid larger SG charges from 1 July 2025 quarters onward.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The bill edits two parts of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992. First, it adds short definitions to the Act’s dictionary and creates a new subsection (15AA) that identifies who counts as a firefighter employee or a paramedic employee.
The firefighter definition covers people employed as firefighters and employees whose duties are ‘‘primarily firefighting duties,’’ with firefighting duties listed to include extinguishing fires, preventing spread, protecting life and property, and actions targeted at preventing outbreaks. The paramedic definition covers people employed as paramedics and employees whose duties are primarily paramedic duties, and it specifies that paramedic duties include emergency medical transport and emergency care provided outside permanent healthcare facilities.
Second, the bill amends the statutory definition of the SG ‘charge percentage’ used when the ATO calculates an employer’s individual superannuation guarantee shortfall. It inserts a new paragraph that says if an employee is a firefighter employee or a paramedic employee for the whole or part of a quarter, the number used to calculate the charge percentage for that quarter is increased by 4.4 (subject to an existing exception preserved in the text).
Practically, that raises the additional component of the SG charge an employer pays when the ATO finds a shortfall for those workers.The increase applies only to shortfalls for quarters that begin on or after 1 July 2025. Employers therefore face a clear lead time to adjust payroll and classification practices for upcoming quarters.
The change does not rewrite the broader SG entitlement rules (who is eligible for SG) but changes the penalty calculus when contributions are late or missing for the narrowly defined cohort.Because the amendment rests on whether duties are ‘‘primarily’’ firefighting or paramedic duties, employers who have mixed-role staff (for example, dual-role sevice workers, support staff who sometimes perform operational tasks, or contractors and casuals) will need to document role content and hours to justify their classifications. The ATO and payroll systems will need to incorporate the new category when assessing shortfalls and applying the adjusted charge percentage.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill inserts statutory definitions and a new subsection (15AA) to identify 'firefighter employee' and 'paramedic employee' using both role title and a 'primarily duties' test.
It amends the SG Act’s charge percentage so that if an employee is a firefighter or paramedic for the whole or part of a quarter, the number used to calculate the charge percentage is increased by 4.4.
The added 4.4 points apply only when the employer’s individual superannuation guarantee shortfall relates to those employees and are subject to an existing exception retained in the amended text.
The amendments take effect for employer shortfalls in quarters beginning on or after 1 July 2025 (giving employers a defined implementation window).
The bill is a private Senator McKim measure that targets calculation of penalties rather than eligibility rules for SG itself.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
New dictionary entries for frontline roles and duties
This item inserts short definitions into the Act’s interpretive dictionary, including 'firefighter employee', 'firefighting duties', 'paramedic duties' and 'paramedic employee'. The firefighting duties list is functional (extinguishing fires, preventing spread, protecting people and property, preventing outbreaks), and paramedic duties explicitly cover emergency transport and care provided outside permanent healthcare facilities. These are purposive, not exhaustive, definitions that the ATO or courts will use when determining whether a particular worker falls into the special category.
Who is a firefighter or paramedic employee
Item 2 creates subsection 15AA, which sets a two‑part test: an employee qualifies if they are employed in the role title (firefighter/paramedic) or if their duties are 'primarily' those firefighting/paramedic duties. That 'primarily' threshold is the operative standard and will determine coverage for staff whose roles mix operational and non-operational tasks. The practical implication is that employers must be able to show the composition of duties and where the bulk of an employee’s work sits.
Adds a 4.4-point uplift to the SG charge percentage for covered employees
These items insert a new paragraph (aa) into the definition of the charge percentage so that, for a quarter in which an employee qualifies as a firefighter or paramedic, the number used to work out the charge percentage is increased by 4.4 (unless an existing exception applies). The statutory text applies the uplift 'for the whole or a part of the quarter', so partial-quarter employment still triggers the higher figure. This is a targeted increase to the penalty side of the SG regime rather than a change to the underlying employer contribution rate.
When the change applies
Item 5 specifies that the amended section 19 applies to an employer’s individual SG shortfall for any quarter that begins on or after 1 July 2025. That dates the practical effect to future quarters only (no earlier quarters are covered), and gives employers and payroll systems a defined lead time to prepare for the new calculation method.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Finance across all five countries.
Explore Finance in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Firefighter and paramedic employees — stronger deterrents to employer non-payment increase the likelihood that missing superannuation will be recovered and that employers prioritise on‑time contributions for this cohort.
- Unions and employee advocates — the measure creates a specific enforcement lever that they can use to press for compliance on behalf of frontline staff.
- Superannuation funds — higher charge percentages produce larger recoveries and administrative recoveries where the ATO enforces shortfalls, improving fund receipts tied to enforcement.
Who Bears the Cost
- Employers of emergency services (state fire services, ambulance services, councils and private contractors) — they face higher potential SG charges for shortfalls and will need to review classifications, payroll rules and budgets.
- Payroll and HR providers — must update classification logic, payslip coding and compliance workflows to track when employees meet the 'primarily duties' test for any part of a quarter.
- Government funders and budgets — public sector employers that underpay or need to rectify past payroll systems may require additional appropriations or face pressure on operating budgets to meet larger SG charge liabilities.
- The ATO and administrative bodies — will incur implementation and compliance-monitoring costs to apply the new category and resolve disputes over classification.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is straightforward: the bill strengthens deterrence and recovery for frontline workers by raising the SG charge percentage, but it does so by relying on a duties‑based test that increases legal and administrative uncertainty and can impose significant fiscal pressure on employers—many of which are public or tightly funded—raising the risk of operational or employment changes to avoid higher penalties.
The bill targets enforcement by increasing the punitive component of the SG charge for a narrowly defined workforce rather than changing who is eligible for SG. That design narrows the policy but creates practical complexity because coverage turns on a duties‑based 'primarily' test.
Determining whether duties are primarily firefighting or paramedic work will depend on evidence about actual hours, shift patterns and task allocation rather than job titles alone, which invites disputes and administrative fact-finding.
The classification rule also creates edge cases: dual-role staff (those who perform both firefighting and administrative tasks), employees who split time between clinical care and broader health-system duties, contractors and volunteers with occasional operational involvement, and part‑time or casual staff. Employers may respond by changing employment arrangements, shifting work to contractors or redesigning roles to avoid the higher penalty, which could produce unintended labour-market effects.
Implementation will demand updates to payroll logic and ATO processes; the bill does not include transitional funding or detailed guidance, leaving the mechanics of enforcement and dispute resolution to later administrative practice and litigation.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.