Purpose of the Bill The Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Bill 2010 seeks to give effect to the Government’s announcement in October 2008 to merge the Australian Reward Investment Alliance (ARIA), the Military Superannuation and Benefits Board (MSB Board) and the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Authority (DFRDB Authority) to form a single trustee body from 1 July 2010. The Bill is part of a package of three purporting to modernise Australian Government superannuation and establish governance arrangements for the Commonwealth superannuation schemes that are effective and more consistent with the broader superannuation industry. The other two Bills in the package are: • the ComSuper Bill 2010 , which makes changes to the governance framework for superannuation administration arrangements for the main civilian and military superannuation schemes; and • the Superannuation Legislation (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2010 , which contains the consequential and transitional provisions necessary to facilitate the merger, the changes to superannuation administration and the modernisation of specific aspects of Australian Government superannuation to better align with the broader superannuation industry. Following the merger of ARIA, the MSB Board and the DFRDB Authority, the single trustee will be responsible for managing the main Commonwealth civilian and military superannuation schemes. These schemes are: • the Commonwealth Superannuation Scheme; • the Public Sector Superannuation Scheme; • the Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan; • the Military Superannuation and Benefits Scheme; • the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Scheme; and • the Defence Forces Retirement Benefits Scheme . The single trustee will also be responsible for the superannuation scheme established by the 1922 scheme and the Papua New Guinea scheme. These schemes were previously the responsibility of the Commissioner for Superannuation. The position of Commissioner for Superannuation is being replaced with a Chief Executive Officer position, and ComSuper will be established as a Commonwealth agency, from 1 July 2010 by virtue of the ComSuper Bill 2010. Consolidation of the trustee arrangements will bring more than 650,000 members and pensioners under a single trustee board with funds under management of nearly $19 billion (based on figures as at 30 June 2009).