2013-2014-2015 

 

The Parliament of the 

Commonwealth of Australia 

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

 

 

 

 

Presented and read a first time 

 

 

 

 

Social Services Legislation Amendment 

Bill 2015 

 

No.      , 2015 

 

(Social Services) 

 

 

 

A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to social 

security, and for related purposes 

   

   

 

 

No.      , 2015 

Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 

i 

 

Contents 

1 

Short title ........................................................................................... 1

 

2 

Commencement ................................................................................. 1

 

3 

Schedules ........................................................................................... 1

 

Schedule 1--Amendments

 

3

 

Social Security Act 1991

 

3

 

 

 

 

No.      , 2015 

Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 

1 

 

A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to social 

1 

security, and for related purposes 

2 

The Parliament of Australia enacts: 

3 

1  Short title 

4 

 

  This Act may be cited as the Social Services Legislation 

5 

Amendment Act 2015. 

6 

2  Commencement 

7 

 

  This Act commences on 1 July 2015. 

8 

3  Schedules 

9 

 

  Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or 

10 

repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule 

11 

   

   

 

 

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Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 

No.      , 2015 

 

concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect 

1 

according to its terms. 

2 

Amendments  Schedule 1 

   

 

 

No.      , 2015 

Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 

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Schedule 1

--Amendments 

1 

   

2 

Social Security Act 1991 

3 

1  Subsection 4(11) (note 3) 

4 

Omit "and (9)", substitute "to (9D)". 

5 

2  Subsection 23(1) (definition of psychiatric confinement) 

6 

Omit "and (9)", substitute "to (9D)". 

7 

3  Subsection 23(1) 

8 

Insert: 

9 

serious offence: see subsections (9E) and (9F). 

10 

4  Subsection 23(8) 

11 

Omit "subsection (9)", substitute "subsections (9) and (9B)". 

12 

5  Subsection 23(9) 

13 

Omit "The", substitute "Subject to subsection (9A), the". 

14 

6  After subsection 23(9) 

15 

Insert: 

16 

 

(9A)  Subsection (9) does not apply in relation to a person whose 

17 

confinement in a psychiatric institution is because the person has 

18 

been charged with a serious offence. 

19 

Note: 

For serious offence see subsections (9E) and (9F). 

20 

 

(9B)  The confinement of a person in a psychiatric institution, because 

21 

the person has been charged with a serious offence, during a period 

22 

that is a period of integration back into the community for the 

23 

person is not to be taken to be psychiatric confinement. 

24 

 

(9C)  For the purposes of subsection (9B), the question whether a period 

25 

is a period of integration back into the community for a person is to 

26 

be worked out in accordance with a legislative instrument made by 

27 

the Minister for the purposes of this subsection. 

28 

 

(9D)  If: 

29 

Schedule 1  Amendments 

   

 

 

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Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 

No.      , 2015 

 

 

(a)  on one or more days, but not all days, in what the Secretary is 

1 

satisfied would be an instalment period of a person if the 

2 

person were receiving a social security periodic payment, the 

3 

person is undergoing psychiatric confinement because the 

4 

person has been charged with a serious offence; and 

5 

 

(b)  the remaining days in that period would, apart from this 

6 

subsection, not be days on which the person is undergoing 

7 

psychiatric confinement; 

8 

then the remaining days in that period are taken to be days on 

9 

which the person is undergoing psychiatric confinement because 

10 

the person has been charged with a serious offence. 

11 

Serious offence 

12 

 

(9E)  An offence is a serious offence if it is: 

13 

 

(a)  murder or attempted murder; or 

14 

 

(b)  manslaughter; or 

15 

 

(c)  rape or attempted rape. 

16 

 

(9F)  An offence is also a serious offence if: 

17 

 

(a)  it is an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, or a 

18 

State or Territory, punishable by imprisonment for life or for 

19 

a period, or maximum period, of at least 7 years; and 

20 

 

(b)  the particular conduct constituting the offence involves: 

21 

 

(i)  loss of a person's life or serious risk of loss of a 

22 

person's life; or 

23 

 

(ii)  serious personal injury or serious risk of serious 

24 

personal injury; or 

25 

 

(iii)  serious damage to property in circumstances 

26 

endangering the safety of a person. 

27 

7  Paragraph 92Q(2)(c) 

28 

Omit "and (9)", substitute "to (9D)". 

29 

8  Section 1158 (note 2) 

30 

Omit "and (9)", substitute "to (9D)". 

31 

9  Subsection 1159A(1) (note 2) 

32 

Omit "and (9)", substitute "to (9D)". 

33 

Amendments  Schedule 1 

   

 

 

No.      , 2015 

Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 

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10  Application provisions 

1 

(1) 

Subsections 23(9A) to (9C) of the Social Security Act 1991, as inserted 

2 

by this Schedule, apply on and after the commencement of this item in 

3 

relation to a person's confinement in a psychiatric institution on or after 

4 

that commencement (whether that confinement began, and whether the 

5 

person was charged with a serious offence, before, on or after that 

6 

commencement). 

7 

(2) 

Subsection 23(9D) of the Social Security Act 1991, as inserted by this 

8 

Schedule, applies in relation to a period beginning on or after the 

9 

commencement of this item (whether the person's psychiatric 

10 

confinement began, and whether the person was charged with a serious 

11 

offence, before, on or after that commencement). 

12