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2002-2003
SENATE
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(This explanatory memorandum takes account of amendments
made by
the House of Representatives)
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Family and
Community Services, Senator the Hon Amanda
Vanstone)
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES LEGISLATION
AMENDMENT BILL 2002
This Bill contains a range of minor and technical amendments to Family
and Community Services portfolio legislation, and certain other legislation
which relates to this portfolio, which are intended to assist in more effective
and efficient administration of this legislation.
The items contained in
this Bill include amendments to simplify and clarify existing legislative
provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types,
and address some unintended consequences of earlier amendments. Technical
amendments include the repeal of redundant provisions, references and notes, the
renumbering of misdescribed provisions and the correction of various
cross-references and minor drafting errors. The Bill also makes some minor
policy changes.
The amendments to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act
1986 restore the previous legislative position that existed in relation to
the recovery of certain debts, before the introduction of the family assistance
law on 1 July 2000.
The Bill also repeals the First Home Owners
Act 1983 which is now redundant.
The Acts to be amended by the
Bill are:
Social Security Act 1991;
Social Security (Administration)
Act 1999; and
Social Security (International Agreements) Act
1999.
A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999;
A New Tax
System (Family Assistance)(Administration) Act 1999;
A New Tax System
(Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000;
A New Tax System
(Family Assistance)(Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No 1)
1999
A New Tax System (Family Assistance)(Consequential and Related
Measures) Act (No 2) 1999; and
A New Tax System (Taxation
Administration) Act 1999.
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act
2001;
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986; and
Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Social Security Act 1991; and
Social Security
(Administration) Act 1999.
Schedule 1 makes minor amendments to various provisions of the Social
Security Act 1991, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and
Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999, including amendments
which correct various cross-references, simplify and clarify existing
provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types and
address some unintended consequences of earlier amendments, such as those that
occurred unintentionally on the introduction of the Social Security
(Administration) Act 1999. Schedule 1 also makes some minor policy
changes.
Date of Effect: Items 1 to 112 of Schedule 1
commence on Royal Assent.
Item 113 is taken to have commenced on 6 July
2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of the Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 that commenced in accordance with
subsection 2(1) of that Act.
Items 114 to 116 and item 124 are taken to
have commenced on 1 July 2000.
Items 117 to 123 are taken to
have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after the commencement of
those provisions of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 that
commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act.
Financial
Impact: There are no financial implications from these changes.
The amendments made by Schedule 2 to the family assistance law and
certain other New Tax System legislation is primarily minor and technical in
nature. These items include amendments which simplify and clarify existing
provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types,
correct various cross-references and minor drafting errors and address some
unintended consequences of earlier amendments.
Date of
Effect: Items 1 to 51 of Schedule 2 commence on Royal
Assent.
Items 52 to 72 are taken to have commenced on
1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of
the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000
referred to in subsection 2(2) of that Act.
Items 73 to 83 are
taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000.
Items 84 to 86 are
taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the
commencement of Schedule 2 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and
Related Measures) Act 2000.
Item 87 is taken to have commenced on 3
May 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the A New Tax
System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000.
Item 88 is
taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of
Schedule 7 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and
Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999.
Item 89 is taken to have
commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the
Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Item 90 is taken to have
commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions
of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999 that
commenced in accordance with subsection 2(9) of that Act.
Financial
Impact: The costs associated with items 10 and 11 of Schedule 2, to prevent
certain family assistance and Department of Veterans’ Affairs customers
from being disadvantaged by the change to the family assistance law,
are:
2002-03 $0.527m;
2003-04 $0.541m;
2004-05 $0.553m;
2005-06 $0.553m;
Total $2.174m.
There
are no financial implications from any other measures in Schedule 2.
Schedule 3—Amendment of other Acts
Schedule 3 makes minor and technical amendments to various Family and
Community Services portfolio legislation, including repealing redundant
provisions and references, renumbering misdescribed provisions and correcting
various cross-references.
Minor amendments to the Veterans’
Entitlements Act 1986 are also made in Schedule 3 to restore the
equivalent legislative position that previously existed before the introduction
of the family assistance law.
Date of Effect: Items 1, 5, 7 and 9
to 14 commence on Royal Assent.
Item 2 is taken to have commenced
on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Items 3, 4 and 6 are taken to have
commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after the commencement of
Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Administration and International
Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999.
Item 8 is taken to
have commenced on 1 July 2001, immediately after the commencement of the
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act
2001.
Item 15 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 1999, immediately
after the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000.
Item 16 is taken to have commenced on 6 July
2000, immediately after the commencement of item 2 of Schedule 4 to the Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Financial Impact: There are
no financial implications from these changes.
Schedule 4—Formal amendments of the social security law
Schedule 4 makes technical amendments to various provisions of the
Social Security Act and the Social Security (Administration) Act,
including repealing redundant provisions, references and notes, renumbering
misdescribed provisions and correcting various cross-references and minor
drafting errors.
Date of Effect: Schedule 4, other than items 23
and 100, commence on Royal Assent.
Item 23 is taken to have commenced on
1 July 2000.
Item 100 is taken to have commenced on 20 March 1998,
immediately after the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Social
Security Legislation Amendment (Parenting and Other Measures) Act
1997.
Financial Impact: There are no financial implications
from these changes.
Schedule 5 repeals the redundant First Home Owners Act
1983.
Date of Effect: Royal Assent
Financial
Impact: There are no financial implications from the repeal of this
Act.
Abbreviations
In this explanatory memorandum, the following abbreviations are
used:
• Social Security Act 1991 is referred to as the
Social Security Act;
• Social Security (Administration) Act
1999 is referred to as the Social Security (Administration)
Act;
• Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999
is referred to as the Social Security (International Agreements)
Act;
• A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 is
referred to as the Family Assistance Act;
• A New Tax System
(Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 is referred to as the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act;
• A New Tax System
(Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000 is referred to as the
Family Assistance and Related Measures Act;
• family tax benefit
is referred to as FTB;
• child care benefit is referred to as
CCB;
• maternity allowance is referred to as MA;
and
• maternity immunisation allowance is referred to as MIA.
FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SERVICES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2002
Clause 1 of the Family and Community Services Legislation
Amendment Bill 2002 sets out how the Act is to be cited.
Subclause
2(1) sets out a table containing information about the commencement of each
provision of the amending Act. Each provision in column 1 of the table will
commence, or be taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in
column 2.
The items that do not commence on Royal Assent are of a
technical or beneficial nature and the reasons for their particular commencement
date are outlined below in the explanation for each item.
Subclause
2(2) specifies that column 3 of the table contains additional information
about the commencement of specified items. This subclause provides that such
information is not part of the amending Act, but may be included in any
published version of the Act.
Clause 3 provides that each Act that
is specified in a Schedule to the Family and Community Services Legislation
Amendment Bill 2002 is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable
items in those Schedules. Any other item in a Schedule of the amending Act has
effect according to its terms.
1. Summary of proposed changes
Schedule 1 makes minor amendments to various provisions of the Social
Security Act, the Social Security (Administration) Act and the
Social Security (International Agreements) Act, including amendments
which:
• correct various cross-references;
• repeal
redundant references and provisions;
• address some unintended
consequences of earlier amendments, such as those that occurred unintentionally
on the commencement of the Social Security (Administration) Act on 20
March 2000; and
• make some minor policy changes.
Schedule 1 is
divided into 2 parts: amendments commencing on Royal Assent and other
amendments.
2. Background
At times, unintended drafting and other minor errors may occur, which may
need to be corrected by future legislative amendments. Schedule 1 makes minor
amendments to the social security law to correct a variety of unintended errors,
and some minor policy changes, to assist in more effective and efficient
administration of that legislation.
3. Explanation of the changes
Part 1 – Amendments commencing on Royal Assent
Amendments to the Social Security Act 1991
Subsection 9(1D) of the Social Security Act currently appears
after subsection 9(1F).
Item 1 corrects the placement of subsection
9(1D) so that it appears in the appropriate place in section 9, immediately
after subsection 9(1C).
Item 2 is a technical amendment that deals with the period during which
income stream payments must be made to a person under
subparagraph 9B(2)(a)(i).
Item 3 is a technical amendment that repeals subparagraph 9B(2)(h)(iii) and substitutes a new subparagraph 9B(2)(h)(iii) which deals more comprehensively with the transfer of an interest in a payment of a life product, that has been commuted, on the death of a person.
The “maintenance income test” and relevant definitions now
appear in the Family Assistance Act.
Item 4 amends the definitions
relating to maintenance income in section 10 of the Social Security Act
so as to reflect the commencement of the family assistance law.
Item 61
repeals Part 3.11 of the Social Security Act, which provides rules for
the apportionment of capitalised maintenance income. These rules now appear in
the family assistance law and accordingly Part 3.11 is redundant.
Item
6
As a result of the introduction of the Social Security
(Administration) Act, section 1302A of the Social Security Act
was repealed and effectively replaced by section 237 of the Social
Security (Administration) Act. Consequently, a reference in
subsection 23(12) of the Social Security Act to section 1302A should
be a reference to section 237 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
Item 6 replaces the existing reference in subsection 23(12) with
the appropriate one.
Items 7 and 22
The definitions of the
terms “transfer day” and “transferee” were moved from
the Social Security Act to Schedule 1 of the Social Security
(Administration) Act on the commencement of that Act. Item 7 inserts new
subsection 23(19) into the Social Security Act to ensure that these
expressions have the same meaning when used in the Social Security Act as
they have in the Social Security (Administration) Act.
Related
items 122, 123 and 124 of Schedule 1 amend the definitions of “transfer
day” and “transferee” in clause 1 of Schedule 1 of the
Social Security (Administration) Act.
Item 22 repeals note 2 after
subsection 575A(1) of the Social Security Act which refers to a redundant
definition of “transferee”.
For a person to qualify for carer payment or carer allowance in respect
of a person for whom they provide care (the care receiver), the care receiver
must be assessed by a treating health professional. That assessment produces a
professional questionnaire score, which must exceed a designated minimum score
to enable the carer to receive carer payment or carer allowance. Currently, the
professional score requirements are contained in disallowable instruments made
under the Social Security Act (namely the Adult Disability Assessment
Determination 1999 (ADAT) and Child Disability Assessment Determination
2001 (CDAT)). For ease of reference, all rules dealing with minimum scores
are to be expressly provided for in the Social Security Act. To achieve
this result, items 8, 9, 37, 38 and 39 make the necessary amendments to
subparagraphs 198(2)(a)(i), 198(2)(a)(ii) and 198(2)(d)(i) of the Social
Security Act relating to carer payment, and subparagraph 953(1)(c)(ii) and
paragraphs 953(2)(c) and 954(1)(c) of the Social Security Act relating to
carer allowance.
A care receiver’s total ADAT or CDAT score is made
up of their professional questionnaire score and their claimant questionnaire
score, and so a total ADAT or CDAT score effectively includes a professional
questionnaire score. Item 42, for example, which amends paragraph
954(1)(c), makes it clear that in order for a carer to qualify for carer
allowance for a disabled adult, the care receiver must obtain a professional
questionnaire score of at least 12, as well as a total ADAT score of at least
30. If a professional score of at least 12 is obtained, this score will go
towards making up their total ADAT score, which must be at least 30. If a care
receiver obtains a total ADAT score of 35, for example, but their professional
questionnaire score is only 10, their carer would not qualify for carer
allowance in respect of that care receiver under paragraph 954(1)(c). Both of
the minimum score requirements, being the minimum professional score and the
minimum total ADAT (or CDAT) score, must be obtained in order to qualify for
carer payment or carer allowance under these provisions.
Items 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17, 24, 27, 28, 63, 64 and 65
These
amendments concern the Community Development Employment Projects scheme (CDEP).
The Social Security Act provides that a breach penalty may cease to apply
to a payment when the person starts to participate in an approved program of
work for unemployment payment (newstart allowance) or the person starts to
participate in a specified program, course or activity (youth allowance). It
has been identified that a breach penalty period should also cease to apply to a
person if the person starts to participate in a CDEP Scheme project.
In
relation to youth allowance, items 10 and 11, 13 and 14, and 16 and 17 provide
for a new subsection (4) in sections 550B, 557A and 558A of the Social
Security Act respectively. Section 550B deals with an activity test
non-payment period and section 557A and 558A deal with administrative rate
reduction periods. The new provisions ensure that if such a period applies to a
person and the person starts to participate in a CDEP project the period stops
applying to the person from and including the day on which the person starts to
participate in the CDEP project (whether or not the person completes the
project).
Item 24 updates the relevant multiple entitlement exclusion
provision, section 578 of the Social Security Act, to ensure that
austudy is not payable if a person is a CDEP participant to ensure that a person
does not “double dip”.
In relation to newstart allowance,
item 27 updates a reference to the Social Security Act with a reference
to the social security law in subsection 631B(1). Item 28 inserts a new
subdivision into Division 1 of Part 2.12 of the Social Security Act.
Division 1 deals with qualification and payability of newstart allowance and the
new Subdivision GB deals with participation in a CDEP project. New section
631D provides for relevant definitions. New section 631E provides that in
spite of any provision in the social security law, if a penalty period or a
number of penalty periods apply to a person and the person starts to participate
in a CDEP project, then the penalty period or periods cease to apply to the
person on and after that commencement (whether or not the person completes the
project).
When the Social Security (Administration) Act was
enacted, special benefit was inadvertently treated in the same manner as most
pensions as opposed to being treated in the same manner as most allowances.
Accordingly, item 63 inserts a reference to special benefit into paragraph
1188C(3)(a) to ensure that special benefit is treated in the same manner as most
allowances. Item 65 inserts new subsections 1188C(6) and (7) to ensure that
subsection (5) applies to special benefit in the same way as to other
allowances. Further, item 64 amends subsection 1188C(3) to provide that if a
person’s partner is in receipt of an allowance, the total CDEP scheme
payment payable to the person is included as the income of the person’s
partner.
Related item 110 of Schedule 4 repeals a reference to special
benefit from subsection 1188C(1) of the Social Security Act.
Items 12 and 23
The Commonwealth funded employment program was
effectively replaced with the introduction of the Commonwealth Development
Employment Project (CDEP) Scheme. Items 12 and 23 respectively amend
subsections 552(2) and 578(2) of the Social Security Act to remove any
reference to the “Commonwealth funded employment program” as this
program no longer exists.
Items 15, 25 and 26
Items 15, 25
and 26 update certain provisions dealing with administrative breach rate
reductions for austudy, youth allowance and newstart allowance to ensure they
correctly refer to the provisions relating to the giving of notices in the
Social Security (Administration) Act. Item 15 repeals and replaces
subsection 558(1), deleting a reference to repealed section 551C and insert a
missed cross-reference to section 68 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act. Item 25 repeals and replaces subsection 583(1) in order to delete
references to repealed sections 577C, 586A, 586B and 586C and updating the
reference to repealed section 1304 by referring to the provisions dealing with
notices in the Social Security (Administration) Act i.e.
sections 63, 67, 68, 75 and 192. Item 26 amends section 631 to insert a
missed cross-reference to section 68 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
Items 18 and 67
The Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000 sought to insert Subdivision EA, “Recalculation
of rate of youth allowance”, after Subdivision D of Division 9 of
Part 2.11 of the Social Security Act. This amendment was
misdescribed, as Division 9 of Part 2.11 had been repealed. To remedy this
situation, item 18 inserts Subdivision D, “Recalculation of rate of
youth allowance”, after Subdivision C of Division 5 of Part 2.11 of the
Social Security Act.
Item 67 amends section 1223 of the Social
Security Act to ensure that any debts arising from the recalculation of the
rate of youth allowance can be recovered.
Related items 99, 101 and 113
of Schedule 1 provide for a new date of effect provision for recalculating youth
allowance under the Social Security (Administration) Act. Related item 7
of Schedule 4 updates a reference to repealed section 559A of the Social
Security Act in the definition of “youth allowance payment
period” in subsection 23(1) of the Social Security Act, by
inserting a reference to section 43 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
Items 19, 20, 21, 48, 49, 50 and 56 remove redundant references to the
term “Employment Minister” from section 569B, subsection 569G(5),
subsection 569H(13), section 1061PC, subsection 1061PH(5), subsection
1061PI(13) and paragraph 1067G-F24(b) of the Social Security Act
respectively. This term has been used in the context of specifying courses that
are approved tertiary courses. However, with the redistribution of powers and
functions between Commonwealth departments, the term is no longer
required.
Related item 5 of Schedule 4 repeals the definition of
“Employment Minister” from subsection 23(1) of the Social
Security Act.
Items 29, 30 and 33, and the notes following items 29 and 33 update
references to certain payment types (i.e. sole parent pension, job search
allowance and parenting allowance), which no longer exist. The references to
the repealed payment types are to be replaced with references to their
equivalent current payment types.
Item 31
The amendment
made by item 31 to subparagraph 665U(1)(a)(i) of the Social Security Act
clarifies the policy intention that in order to qualify for an education entry
payment, the person must intend to enrol in a full-time course of education that
is an approved course under the ABSTUDY scheme or an approved course under
either paragraphs 541B(1)(c) or 569A(b) of the Social Security Act (which
all refer to courses determined under section 5D of the Student Assistance
Act 1973).
Item 32
The reference to
“AUSTUDY” in section 665U of the Social Security Act was
repealed by the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth Allowance
Consequential and Related Measures) Act 1998, which also introduced the
terms “youth allowance” and “austudy” payments into the
social security law. Section 665U sets out the qualification requirements for
education entry payment.
Item 32 inserts references to “youth
allowance” and “austudy” into subparagraph 665U(1)(c)(ii)
to reflect the intention that this subparagraph will apply to all study-related
payments under the social security law.
Item 32 also repeals subparagraph
665U(1)(c)(iii) to remove an obsolete reference to Case Management Activity
Agreements under the Employment Services Act 1994.
Item
34
The Social Security Act referred to a person’s
provisional commencement day. This reference was replaced upon the introduction
of the Social Security (Administration) Act with a reference to a
person’s start day. Item 34 replaces the reference to “provisional
commencement day” in paragraph 729B(2)(b) of the Social Security Act
with a reference to “start day”.
Items 3, 20, 21, 22, 47,
49, 51, 71, 73, 75 and 80 of Schedule 4 make corresponding amendments to other
provisions in the Social Security Act.
Section 608(1)(j) of the Social Security Act was repealed by the
Social Security (Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential
Amendments) Act 1999 with effect from 20 March 2000. However, references to
the repealed section 608(1)(j) in various provisions were not consequently
amended.
Items 35 and 36 remove the references to repealed section
608(1)(j) in subsection 771HA(1B) and paragraph 771HA(3)(b) respectively,
and substitute a reference to equivalent provisions.
Item 41 is a technical amendment to section 1003 of the Social
Security Act to remove the reference to a “family allowance instalment
period” and replace it with a reference to “an instalment period for
family tax benefit”. Item 42 inserts a new subsection 1003(2) to
clarify that “an instalment period for family tax benefit” refers to
an instalment period determined in accordance with section 23 of the Family
Assistance (Administration) Act.
These amendments were inadvertently
omitted when family allowance was abolished and replaced with FTB under the
family assistance law.
Items 43, 45 and 47
Item 43 repeals
and replaces section 1035 of the Social Security Act, which deals with
qualification for mobility allowance.
Currently, section 1035 of the
Social Security Act provides that a person is qualified for mobility
allowance if they are undertaking an approved activity for at least 8 hours a
week. However, the preferred policy is that approved activities be undertaken
for 32 hours every four weeks rather than 8 hours every week. Further, approved
activities currently include gainful employment, vocational training, a
combination of gainful employment and training or voluntary work. It is
anomalous that the legislation recognises a combination of gainful employment
and training but not voluntary work and vocational training, or voluntary work
and gainful employment. Accordingly, item 43 amends section 1035 to provide
that a person is qualified for mobility allowance if they undertake any
combination of gainful employment, voluntary work and vocational training for at
least 32 hours every four weeks.
Item 45 makes a corresponding change to
paragraph 1046(1)(b) which deals with continuation of mobility allowance at the
discretion of the Secretary in certain circumstances where a person would
otherwise cease to be qualified.
Currently, paragraph 1035(1)(ba) of the
Social Security Act does not require a person receiving newstart
allowance, youth allowance or austudy payment to be engaged in gainful
employment, job search activities, or voluntary work to be qualified for
mobility allowance. This is because customers are already required to be
undertaking job search activities or voluntary work to comply with the activity
test. However, a significant number of newstart allowance and youth allowance
customers are not subject to the activity test. Accordingly, item 43 also
amends section 1035 to require a person on newstart allowance, youth allowance
or austudy payment to be subject to the activity test to be qualified for
mobility allowance.
Item 43 also amends section 1035 to remove redundant
references to “training component from the Employment Department” as
this has been abolished.
Item 47 applies the same definitions of
“vocational training” and “voluntary work” to section
1046 that apply to section 1035 for consistency.
Item
44
Currently, section 1045 of the Social Security Act provides
that a person is qualified for a mobility allowance advance if an advance has
not been paid to the person in the 52 weeks before the day on which the request
is made.
Item 44 amends section 1045 to enable customers to apply for an
advance 11 months after their last advance while ensuring that there is a
minimum of 12 months between advance payments.
Item 46
Item 46 repeals and replaces paragraph 1046(2)(b) of
the Social Security Act, which deals with continuation of mobility
allowance at the discretion of the Secretary in certain circumstances where a
person would otherwise cease to be qualified, to take account of the new wording
of section 1035 which is inserted by item 43 of Schedule 1 above.
This amendment is also required to replace references to “the Health
Department” with references to “the Department”, ie. the
Department of Family and Community Services, to reflect the redistribution of
powers and functions between Commonwealth departments.
Item 59 omits the reference to “FA child” and substitutes a
reference to “FTB child” in point 1068A-F2 of the Social Security
Act. This amendment is required to reflect the introduction of the family
assistance law, which abolished family allowance and introduced
FTB.
Related items 19, 24, 97 and 98 of Schedule 4 make similar
amendments.
Item 62
Currently, the Social Security Act
does not expressly preclude a person who is in gaol or undergoing
psychiatric confinement from being paid mobility allowance. Item 62 amends
section 1158 of the Social Security Act to provide that mobility
allowance is not payable to a person in such a situation.
Item
66
Subsection 1217(2) of the Social Security Act defines
the term “allowable absence” by reference to column 5 of the table
at the end of that section. However, a reference to column 4 of the table,
which provides for the type of absence allowed for a particular payment, is also
necessary in order to determine whether a person’s absence is an allowable
absence.
Item 66 repeals and substitutes subsection 1217(2), so as
to clarify how an allowable absence is to be determined.
Subsection 1223(7A) provides for recovery of a debt where a parenting
payment recipient is overpaid supplement gap under sections 504G and 504H
of the Social Security Act. However, sections 504G and 504H were
repealed by the Payment Processing Legislation Amendment (Social Security and
Veterans’ Entitlements) Act 1998, making subsection 1223(7A)
redundant.
Item 68 repeals redundant subsection 1223(7A).
Item 69 is a technical amendment that repeals subsection 1223A(3) and substitutes a new subsection (3) which specifies the beginning and the end of the period referred to in subsection (2).
Item 70 adds proposed subsections (6) to (11) to section 1223A to ensure that a person cannot use a series of commutations to avoid the operation of subsection 1223A(1) or minimise the effect of that subsection. A commutation to pay a hardship amount or certain superannuation contributions surcharge will not be caught by proposed subsections 1223A(6) or (8): see proposed subsections 1223A(7) and (9).
Item 71 omits a redundant “a” from paragraph 1223AA(1BA)(b)
of the Social Security Act.
Item 72, 73, 74 and note following
item 74
Item 72 inserts a new subsection 1227A(1A) into section 1227A
of the Social Security Act to allow debts recoverable under section 56 of
the Farm Household Support Act 1992 in respect of amounts of
re-establishment grant (which also includes amounts of the farm help retraining
grant), under the Farm Help Re-establishment Grant Scheme 1997, to also
be debts due to, and recoverable by, the Commonwealth under the Social
Security Act. Item 73 amends subsection 1227A(2) and item 74 inserts a
new subsection 1227A(3) to provide that a re-establishment grant debt will
be recoverable by any of the methods specified in paragraphs 1227A(2)(b) to
1227A(2)(e). A re-establishment grant debt will not be recoverable under
paragraph 1227A(2)(a) because a person who has received a re-establishment
grant is not eligible to receive exceptional circumstances relief payment or
farm help income support under the Farm Household Support Act, and so
deductions could not be made from that payment or support to recover the
debt.
The note following item 74 amends the heading to section 1227A to
include a reference to re-establishment grants.
Item
75
Item 75 replaces an incorrect reference to the “A New Tax
System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999” in subparagraph
1231(2)(b)(ii) of the Social Security Act with the correct reference to
the “A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act
1999”.
Item 76
Article 8 of the “Agreement
between Australia and the Republic of Italy providing for Reciprocity in matters
relating to Social Security” (the 1986 Agreement) provided for the rate of
Australian social security payment payable to a person under the Agreement.
Article 8 was amended shortly after the agreement was finalised to protect the
following groups of people from proportional portability in determining their
rate:
• Where a person was an Australian resident (including an
absent resident) on 8 May 1985 (the day on which the new portability
arrangements were announced) and who started to receive a payment before 1
January 1996;
• Where a person was a resident of Australia (including
an absent resident) on 8 May 1985 and goes to another country with
which Australia does not have a reciprocal agreement;
• In relation to
invalid pension, where the pensioner became permanently incapacitated or blind
while in Australia or during a temporary absence from Australia;
and
• In relation to widows pension, where the pensioner became a widow
in Australia upon the death of her husband in Australia or during temporary
absence from Australia.
The revised agreement with Italy (which came into
force in October 2000) replaces Article 8 with a reference to the Australian
social security law for the provision of rate. Currently, there is no
protection for the saved group of people from proportional portability in the
Australian social security law as was intended.
Item 76 inserts a savings
provision into Schedule 1A of the Social Security Act, as a new clause
128A, to provide that in spite of any other provision of the social
security law, the rate of payment payable to the saved group of people is
continued to be worked out according to Article 8 of the 1986
agreement.
Amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act
1999
Items 77, 83, 84 and 105
The Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 repealed and substituted a new
Part 2.26 of the Social Security Act concerning fares allowance.
Division 2, Division 4 and Division 5 of the new Part 2.26 duplicate a
number of provisions provided for in the Social Security (Administration)
Act. The only provision not duplicated deals with the time limit for claims
and should have been included in the Social Security (Administration) Act
rather than the Social Security Act.
Item 77 inserts new
section 27 into the Social Security (Administration) Act to provide for
the time limit for claims for fares allowance. Item 84 inserts new
subsection 55(4A) to the Social Security (Administration) Act to
provide for the payment of fares allowance into a bank account or in accordance
with a direction given by the Secretary that it be paid another way, and item 83
amends subsection 55(2) to include a reference to the new subsection (4A).
Item 105 amends section 192 of the Social Security (Administration) Act
to ensure that a section 192 notice can be issued to obtain information about
whether a person who has claimed fares allowance was eligible for fares
allowance.
Related item 95 of Schedule 4 below which repeals Division 2,
Division 4 and Division 5 of Part 2.26 of the Social Security Act to
avoid duplication of provisions provided for in the Social Security
(Administration) Act.
Item 78
Section 29 of the
Social Security (Administration) Act provides that a person must be an
Australian resident, and in Australia, in order to make a claim for a social
security payment. Section 31 of the Social Security (Administration) Act
provides exceptions to this rule in the case of mobility allowance, double
orphan pension and a claim from an approved care organisation.
Paragraph
31(1)(a) of the Social Security (Administration) Act provides the
exception for double orphan pension. Subsection 31(3) provides the exception
for a claim from an approved care organisation. In essence, this exemption is
being moved to subsection 31(3), as item 79 is amending subsection 31(3) to
refer to claims for double orphan pension because the only claims from an
approved care organisation are claims for double orphan pension. Therefore, the
exception in paragraph 31(1)(a) is redundant.
Paragraph 31(1)(f) of the
Social Security (Administration) Act provides the exception for mobility
allowance. This exception has little if any practical application, as a person
will only be qualified for mobility allowance for travel undertaken to and from
the person’s home in Australia. In addition, a person must be qualified
for mobility allowance in order for their claim to be granted. Therefore, the
exemption in paragraph 31(1)(f) is redundant as it would not assist a
person who is outside Australia to make a claim for mobility allowance because
it is not possible to be qualified for mobility allowance while outside
Australia.
Item 78 repeals subsection 31(1) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act to remove the exception to section 29 in the case of
mobility allowance and double orphan pension (note that paragraphs 31(1)(b) to
(e) have been repealed previously).
Item 79
Item 79
replaces the reference to “approved care organisation” in
subsection 31(3) of the Social Security (Administration) Act with
“double orphan pension”, as the only claims from approved care
organisations permitted under the social security law are claims for double
orphan pension.
Item 80 and note following item 80
Item 80
and the note following item 80 are technical amendments to the headings to
Subdivision J of Division 1 of Part 3 and section 35 of the Social Security
(Administration) Act respectively, to more accurately reflect the context of
the subdivision and section.
Item 81
Section 1061JB of the
Social Security Act, which provided for claims for advance pharmaceutical
allowance, was repealed by the Social Security (Administration and
International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999. It was
intended that a similar provision be included in the Social Security
(Administration) Act.
Item 81 inserts a new section 35A into the
Social Security (Administration) Act, which provides for claims for
advance pharmaceutical allowance.
Item 82
Section 39 of the
Social Security (Administration) Act provides that if the Secretary does
not make a determination regarding a claim within the period of 13 weeks
after the day on which the claim was made, the Secretary is taken to have made a
determination rejecting the claim. An unintentional consequence of this is that
in certain cases the Secretary may be unable to determine a claim. For example,
if a person contacts the department, and makes a claim at the end of the 13 week
period provided for in subsection 13(2) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act, the deemed date of claim would be the day of contact.
The claim would be deemed to have been rejected under section 39 of the
Social Security (Administration) Act before it could be
processed.
Item 82 corrects this technical deficiency in the operation of
section 39 of the Social Security (Administration) Act by inserting new
subsection 39(5) which provides that if a person would be taken to have made a
claim on a particular date by virtue of either section 13 or 14 (ie. the person
has contacted Centrelink and lodged a claim within the appropriate time limit),
a reference to “the day on which a claim is made” in section 39
will be reference to the day on which the actual claim was lodged. This will
allow the Secretary to determine a claim in all cases because the period of 13
weeks would only start from the actual day the claim was made and not the day
the claim was deemed to have been made under section 13 or 14 of the Social
Security (Administration) Act.
Item 85
Item 85 is a
technical amendment to the heading to Division 6 of Part 3 of the Social
Security (Administration) Act to more accurately reflect the content of the
provisions in that Division.
Item 86
Item 86 amends
paragraph 64(1)(a) of the Social Security (Administration) Act so that
this paragraph may apply to a person who has made a claim for disability support
pension, whether or not that claim has been determined. This ensures
consistency with other provisions in Division 6 of Part 3 of that
Act.
Items 87 and 88
Under the Social Security Act,
the Secretary could require a person receiving mobility allowance to contact the
Department, attend an interview, complete a questionnaire, or attend a medical,
psychiatric or psychological examination. Due to an oversight, under the
Social Security (Administration) Act the Secretary cannot require a
person on mobility allowance to do any of these things.
Items 87 and 88
insert a reference to a person receiving or claiming mobility allowance into
subsection 64(1) and subsection 64(4) of the Social Security (Administration)
Act respectively to restore the Secretary’s power to require a person
on mobility allowance to contact the Department, attend an interview, complete a
questionnaire, or attend a medical, psychiatric or psychological examination.
If a person fails to comply with a notice under subsection 64(1), his or her
pension or benefit may be made not payable by virtue of subsection
64(4).
Item 89
Under the Social Security Act, the
Secretary could exempt a person from the requirement to provide either their own
or their partner’s tax file number. By contrast, under the Social
Security (Administration) Act, the Secretary can only exempt a person from
the requirement to provide their partner’s tax file number.
Item 89
inserts new paragraph 76(1)(c) into the Social Security (Administration) Act
to restore the Secretary’s express power to exempt a person from the
requirement to provide their own tax file number.
Items 90, 91, 96,
note following item 96 and item 99
Items 90, 91, 96 and 99 insert a
missed cross-reference to section 67 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act into subparagraph 81(1)(a)(i), subparagraph 81(2)(b)(i), subsection
110(2) and subsection 118(5) of the Social Security (Administration) Act
respectively.
In addition, the note following item 96 amends the heading
to section 110 of the Social Security (Administration) Act to remove the
inappropriate reference to section 68, as not all subsections in section
110 relate to section 68.
Items 92 and 93
Sections 92 and
102 of the Social Security (Administration) Act refer to a recipient of
parenting payment who is also receiving an ABSTUDY payment which contains a
component of dependent spouse allowance. The ABSTUDY scheme no longer includes
payment of dependent spouse allowance. Items 92 and 93 repeal
section 92 and section 102 of the Social Security (Administration) Act
respectively.
Items 94 and 95
Section 107 deals with
date of effect of decisions relating to granting or rejecting a claim. Item 94
inserts a missed cross-reference to subsection 107(5) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act into subsection 107(1) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act so that the specific date of effect rule in subsection
107(5) can take precedence over the general rule in subsection
107(1).
Subsection 107(5) of the Social Security (Administration) Act
provides the date of effect of a decision where the Secretary instigated the
review of a decision to reject a claim, and makes a decision that the claim is
granted more than 13 weeks after notice of the original decision was given to
the person. It was intended that this rule should also be applicable to a
decision made within 13 weeks after the notice of the original decision was
given to the person.
Item 95 replaces 107(5)(d) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act to extend the application of subsection 107(5) to any
decision where the claim is granted as a result of a review instigated by the
Secretary.
Item 97
Item 97 repeals the redundant reference
to section 113 in subsection 114(1) of the Social Security (Administration)
Act, as section 113 has been repealed.
Items 98, 100 and
112
It was intended with the introduction of the Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000 that the recalculation of the rate of youth allowance
would be effective from the date of the original rate determination based on
estimated income. Item 98 amends subsection 118(1) to allow for the operation
of a new section 119 of the Social Security (Administration) Act.
Item 100 inserts new section 119 which introduces a date of effect rule which
provides that the recalculation of the rate of youth allowance is effective from
the date of the original rate determination based on estimated income. Item 112
is a transitional provision which ensures that section 119 does not operate
retrospectively.
Item 101
Item 101 inserts a missed
cross-reference to section 95 into paragraph 123(1)(d) of the Social
Security (Administration) Act, and omits an incorrect reference to section
92.
Item 102
Item 102 replaces incorrect cross-references
to subsection 126(4) in subsections 128(1) and (2) of the Social
Security (Administration) Act with the correct cross-references to
subsection 126(3).
Item 103
Prior to the commencement
of the Social Security (Administration) Act, a person could not make an
application for review of a decision made under Part 2.2A of the Social
Security Act, which deals with the pension bonus scheme, more than
13 weeks after being given a notice of that decision. Currently,
paragraph 129(3)(a) of the Social Security (Administration) Act
provides that a person cannot make an application for review more than 13
weeks after being given notice of a pension bonus decision in relation to those
pension bonus decisions made under Part 3 of the Social Security
(Administration) Act.
Item 103 replaces a reference to “a
decision under Part 3” in paragraph 129(3)(a) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act with a reference to “a decision under the social
security law” to restore the 13 week limitation for review of any pension
bonus decisions made under the social security law, including those made under
Part 2.2A of the Social Security Act.
Item
104
Section 175 of the Social Security (Administration) Act
provides for the issuing of directions about procedures for hearings of the
Social Security Appeals Tribunal in connection with the review of
decisions.
Subsection 175(2) provides that a direction under
subsection (1) must not be inconsistent with any provision of the social
security law.
Item 104 amends subsection 175(2) to provide that any
direction so issued must also be consistent with the Farm Household Support
Act 1992.
Item 106
Item 106 inserts a reference to the
family assistance law into paragraph 204(1)(b) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act. This amendment is required to give effect to a
misdescribed amendment in A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential
and Related Measures) Act (No. 2) 1999.
Item 107
Item
107 replaces the incorrect reference to subparagraph 208(1)(b)(ii) in
subparagraph 209(1)(a)(ii) of the Social Security (Administration) Act
and substitutes a correct reference to the Secretary’s power in
subsection 208(1) to disclose information to a person referred to in
subparagraph 208(1)(b)(i).
Item 108
Item 108 replaces the
incorrect reference to paragraph 1314(1)(b) of the Social Security Act in
subsections 234(3) and (4) of the Social Security (Administration) Act
with a correct reference to the appropriate Social Security
(Administration) Act provision, ie. the Secretary’s power in
subsection 208(1) to disclose information to a person referred to in
subparagraph 208(1)(b)(i).
Item 109
Item 109 inserts new
subsections 240(3) and (4), which deal with evidentiary certificates for the
financial supplement scheme, into the Social Security (Administration)
Act. These provisions allow the Secretary to issue a certificate stating
certain specified information about a financial supplement contract. A court is
required to treat such a certificate as prima facie evidence of the matters
stated in it. This provision was to be inserted by the Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000 but the amendment failed due to a drafting
error.
Item 110
Item 110 omits the redundant words
“of social security payments” from section 242 of the Social
Security (Administration) Act.
Item 111
Item 111
repeals and replaces paragraph 15(b) of Schedule 2 to the Social Security
(Administration) Act to delete superseded cross-references to specific
provisions in the Social Security Act dealing with administrative
exclusions and replace them with references to the relevant provisions in the
Social Security (Administration) Act.
Part 2 – Other amendments
Amendments to the Social Security Act 1991
Item
113
The Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 inserted
section 19AA, dealing with fares allowance definitions after section 19A of the
Social Security Act. This amendment was misdescribed, as section 19A was
already repealed. Item 113 inserts the fares allowance definitions after
section 19 of the Social Security Act.
This item is taken
to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions of the
Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 that commenced in accordance with
subsection 2(1) of that Act, ie. 6 July 2000, to ensure that the
operation of these definitions is not interrupted (see table item 3 of
subclause 2(1)).
Subsection 236A(3) of the Social Security Act currently provides
that the maximum basic rate of pension is used to calculate the amount of a lump
sum bereavement payment for carer payment.
With the introduction of the
New Tax System, the rate of social security payments increased by 4 percent with
effect from 1 July 2000 to compensate for the effect of the Goods and
Services Tax. For pensions, this increase took the form of the creation of a
pension supplement (rather than an increase in the maximum basic rate of
payment).
As section 236A refers only to the maximum basic rate, it
follows that the 4 percent increase was not incorporated in the lump sum
bereavement payment for carer payment.
Item 114 amends subsection 236A(3)
to ensure that the pension supplement (4 percent increase) is also taken into
account in this calculation process.
This beneficial measure is
retrospective to 1 July 2000 (see table item 4 of
subclause 2(1)).
Item 57 of Schedule 3 to the Family Assistance and Related Measures
Act inserted section 14A into the Social Security (International
Agreements) Act 1999.
Section 14A defines the term
“additional child amounts” for the purposes of working out a
person’s international portability rate.
The amendments made by
items 115 and 116 ensure that these “additional child amounts” are
indexed in line with CPI movements on 1 January of each year. These items
make amendments in accordance with the original intention of section
14A.
This beneficial measure is retrospective to 1 July 2000
(see table item 4 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to the Social
Security (Administration) Act 1999
Items 117 and
118
The Social Security (Administration) Act introduced a
deemed date of claim for both social security payments and concession cards as
the day a customer contacted Centrelink, provided that the claim was lodged
within 14 days (or 13 weeks in the case of illness, or caring for someone
who was ill). It was intended to provide the Secretary with the authority to
extend the lodgement period of 14 days to a maximum of 13 weeks in special
circumstances. This may include living in a remote area, being involved in a
natural disaster or any other circumstance where it is not considered reasonable
for a customer to lodge a claim within 14 days.
Items 117 and 118 insert
new subsection 13(3A) and new subsection 14(3A) into the Social Security
(Administration) Act respectively to provide the Secretary with the
authority to extend the lodgement period of 14 days to a maximum of 13
weeks in special circumstances where the Secretary is satisfied that it was not
reasonably practicable for the customer to have lodged the claim within 14 days.
This means that in these circumstances these claims will be taken to have been
made on the day on which the person contacted Centrelink.
These
beneficial items are taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after
the commencement of those provisions of the Social Security (Administration)
Act that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act (see
table item 5 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 119
Subsection 15(1)
of the Social Security (Administration) Act provides for the deemed date
of claim where a person makes an incorrect claim for a social security payment
followed at a later date by a subsequent claim for a social security payment for
which the person is qualified. As the definition of “incorrect
claim” in subsection 15(4) includes payments other than a social security
payment, the intention of subsection 15(1) could be frustrated if the
reference to “incorrect claim” in subsection 15(1) subsection
was read as being limited to an incorrect claim for a social security
payment.
Item 119 removes any doubt about the correct interpretation by
repealing and replacing subsection 15(1) to remove the current paragraph
15(1)(a) and make other minor drafting changes.
This technical amendment
is taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after the commencement
of those provisions of the Social Security (Administration) Act that
commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act (see table item 5
of subclause 2(1)).
Item 120 and note following item
120
Previously, the Social Security Act provided that when a
person lodged a claim that was incorrect (that is, for a payment the customer
was not entitled to) or inappropriate (that is, for a payment the customer was
entitled to but which was not the most appropriate payment the customer could
claim) a subsequent claim could be backdated to the date of the incorrect or
inappropriate claim.
The Social Security (Administration) Act only
provides that when a person lodged a claim that was incorrect a subsequent claim
could be backdated to the date of the incorrect claim. However, no express
provision was made to backdate inappropriate claims, and this change was
unintentional.
Item 120 amends subsection 15(4) and adds new subsections
15(4A) and (4B) to the Social Security (Administration) Act to restore
the coverage of inappropriate claims.
Item 120 is taken to have commenced
on 20 March 2000, immediately after the commencement of those provisions of the
Social Security (Administration) Act that commenced in accordance with
subsection 2(1) of that Act, to ensure that the position in relation to
inappropriate claims is maintained without disruption (see table item 5 of
subclause 2(1)).
Related items 17, 28, 30 and 55 of Schedule 4 correct
cross-references to section 15 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
The note following item 120 also amends the heading to
section 15 to reflect coverage of both incorrect and inappropriate
claims.
Items 121, 122 and 123
Under the Social Security
Act, the definition of the term “transferee” included a person
who becomes qualified for an income support payment and whose partner is
receiving a social security benefit. By contrast, the definition of the term
“transferee” under the Social Security (Administration) Act
does not include a person who becomes qualified for an income support
payment and whose partner is receiving a social security benefit.
Items
121, 122 and 123 provide for amendment to the definitions of the terms
“transfer day” and “transferee” in clause 1 of Schedule
1 of the Social Security (Administration) Act to include a person who
becomes qualified for an income support payment and whose partner is receiving a
social security benefit.
Related item 7 of Schedule 1 ensures that these
definitions have the same meaning in the Social Security Act as they have
in the Social Security (Administration) Act.
Items 121, 122 and
123 are taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after
the commencement of those provisions of the Social Security (Administration)
Act that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act, to
ensure that the definitions of the terms “transfer day” and
“transferee” are maintained without disruption (see table item 5 of
subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the Social Security (International
Agreements) Act 1999
Item 124 corrects an inaccurate cross-reference in subsection 14A(1) of
the Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999.
This
technical amendment is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000 (see table
item 6 of subclause 2(1)).
4. Commencement
The commencement of each provision of Schedule 1 is set out in the table
in subclause 2(1).
The items in Part 1 of Schedule 1 (items 1 to 112)
commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
Item 113
is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions
of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 that commenced in
accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act, on 6 July 2000 (see table
item 3 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 114 to 116 are taken to have
commenced on 1 July 2000 (see table item 4 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 117
to 123 are taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after
the commencement of those provisions of the Social Security (Administration)
Act that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act (see
table item 5 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 124 is taken to have commenced on 1
July 2000 (see table item 6 of subclause 2(1)).
1. Summary of proposed changes
Schedule 2 amends the family assistance law and certain other New Tax
System legislation by:
• making various minor amendments to some New Tax System legislation, primarily the Family Assistance Act and the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, to simplify and clarify existing provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types, and make some minor policy changes;
• making a number of technical amendments, consisting of the repeal of
redundant provisions and the correction of various cross-references and minor
drafting errors; and
• addressing some unintended consequences of
earlier amendments.
Schedule 2 is divided into 4 parts: amendments
commencing on Royal Assent, amendments related to the A New Tax System
(Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000, other amendments of the
family assistance law and the amendment of related Acts.
2. Background
The New Tax System legislation commenced on 1 July 2000 as part of the
Government’s tax reform package. The amendments made by Schedule 2 to
this Bill simplify, clarify and correct some New Tax System
legislation.
3. Explanation of the changes
Part 1 – Amendments commencing on Royal Assent
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act
1999
Currently, the definitions of “non-standard hours family day
care”, “standard hours family day care”, “non-standard
hours in-home care” and “standard hours in-home care” in
subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act all refer to hours of care
provided by a relevant child care service at times that are identified in the
“service’s conditions of approval” as being standard or
non-standard hours of the service. It may be regarded as unclear exactly what
conditions of approval are actually being referred to in these definitions and
where these conditions can be found. Items 1, 2, 3 and 4 clarify these
definitions so that they refer to eligibility rules applicable to the service
under subsection 205(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
This is also consistent with other references to these eligibility rules in the
family assistance law.
Because the eligibility rules require that the
service must identify their own standard and non-standard hours of care within
certain limits, the amended definitions will clarify that the hours of care
provided by the service are actually those identified by the service in
accordance with the eligibility rules.
The definitions of
“non-standard hours in-home care” and “standard hours in-home
care” in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act refer to
hours of care provided by an in-home care service. However, this is
inconsistent with other references to in-home care services in the family
assistance law and the similar family day care definitions in subsection 3(1),
which refer to an approved in-home care or family day care service. For
consistency, items 2 and 4 also amend these definitions so that they expressly
refer to hours of care provided by an approved in-home care
service.
Paragraph (b) of the third column of table item 1 in subsection 22A(1) of
the Family Assistance Act currently specifies that an individual cannot
be an FTB child of an adult if the adult is the individual’s partner. Due
to the interaction of the definitions of “partner” in
subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act and
“partnered” in subsection 4(11) of the Social Security
Act with the definition of “member of a couple” in subsection
4(2) of the Social Security Act, a person in a relationship with someone
who is under the age of consent is not regarded as being
“partnered”. This means that, contrary to the intention of section
22A of the Family Assistance Act, there is nothing that would prevent the
payment of FTB to an adult in respect of an under-age individual who is living
with the adult in a relationship.
Item 5 amends paragraph (b) of the
table in subsection 22A(1) to rectify this situation, so that it provides that
an individual cannot be an FTB child of an adult if the adult is the
individual’s partner, or they would be if the individual was over the age
of consent applicable in the State or Territory in which the individual
lives.
Items 6, 7, 8 and 9
Item 7 amends section 38 of the
Family Assistance Act to insert a 26-week time limit within which claims
for maternity allowance must be made by another individual after the death of an
individual who was eligible for that payment in respect of a child.
Alternatively, the Secretary may allow a further period in special
circumstances. This requirement previously existed for maternity allowance
under the Social Security Act, but was inadvertently omitted when
provisions dealing with maternity allowance became part of the family assistance
law.
Item 9 makes a corresponding amendment to section 40 of the
Family Assistance Act in relation to maternity immunisation
allowance.
Items 6 and 8 amend paragraphs 38(d) and 40(d) of the
Family Assistance Act respectively to clarify that the deceased person
referred to in these paragraphs is actually “the first-mentioned
individual”, that is, the same individual as the one referred to in
paragraphs 38(a) and 40(a). This amendment will also distinguish them from the
other individual who makes a claim for maternity allowance or maternity
immunisation allowance after the death of that first-mentioned
individual.
The note following item 9 is a consequential amendment to the heading to
subclause 24(3) of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act which
takes into account amendments to the Family Law Act 1975. Because these
amendments adjust the orders and agreements that can be made under that Act, it
is necessary to remove the reference to “registered or approved
maintenance agreement” in the heading to subclause 24(3) and replace it
with the word “agreement”.
Items 10 and 11
Items 10 and 11 provide savings provisions to
restore the position of certain Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)
customers, who also receive FTB or CCB, as at 30 June 2000. Before 1 July
2000, family allowance, family tax payment, family tax assistance and childcare
assistance were calculated by reference to a family’s taxable income. A
DVA disability or war widow/widower pension under the Veterans’
Entitlements Act 1986 was not treated as part of that income because they
are non-taxable pensions. Therefore, these DVA pensions were previously
disregarded. However, FTB and CCB are calculated with reference to a
claimant’s “adjusted taxable income”, which includes DVA
disability and war widow/widower pensions. In relation to people who were
previously receiving family allowance, family tax payment, family tax assistance
or childcare assistance and one of these DVA pensions, and who after 1 July 2000
became entitled to FTB or CCB, the inclusion of the DVA pensions in the current
definition of income resulted in a decrease in the amount of their
entitlements.
Items 10 and 11 remedy the situation for the group of people involved by
inserting specific formulas into Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Family
Assistance Act for calculating the rate of FTB and CCB respectively. These
formulas prevent those people from being disadvantaged by the change in the
legislation.
Item 12 amends clause 1 of Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance Act to
provide that an estimate of an individual’s adjusted taxable income can be
used for the purposes of determining both their eligibility for, or rate of,
FTB. This wording more accurately reflects current practice.
Also see
items 16, 18 and 19 of Schedule 2 below which similarly amend
subsections 20(1) and 20(2), paragraph 28A(1)(b) and subparagraph
28A(3)(b)(ii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act
respectively.
Item 13 substitutes a new subclause 5(4) into Schedule 3 of the Family
Assistance Act to provide alternative methods of converting foreign income,
to allow for countries for which it is not possible to obtain the on-demand
airmail buying rate for that currency available at the Commonwealth Bank. This
amendment reflects the equivalent provision in the social security law relating
to currency conversions for foreign income.
Amendments to the A New
Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
Items 14 and 15 and 20 to 26 insert tax file number (TFN) provisions into
the Family Assistance (Administration) Act for the purposes of MA and
MIA. TFN provisions existed in relation to MA and MIA qualification under the
former Social Security Act, which applied prior to 20 March 2000, and
also in relation to a person who had made a claim for MA or MIA under the
Social Security (Administration) Act, which applied between 20 March
2000 and 30 June 2000. However, these requirements were inadvertently omitted
from the family assistance law when it was introduced with effect from 1 July
2000.
Item 21 inserts a new subsection 38(2) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act for the purposes of MA and MIA claims. The new
paragraph 38(2)(b), which is consistent with subsection 7(2) relating to FTB
claims, provides that the TFN requirement in the new section 38A (see
item 22) must be satisfied for a claim for MA or MIA in normal
circumstances to be effective. The new paragraph 38(2)(c), which is consistent
with paragraph 7(2)(c) relating to FTB claims, provides that the TFN requirement
in the new section 38B (see item 22) must be satisfied for a claim for MA or MIA
because of the death of another individual to be effective.
Item 22
inserts a new section 38A into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act
which sets out the details of the TFN requirement that is required by the new
paragraph 38(2)(b), which relates to claims for MA and MIA in normal
circumstances. This new section 38A is similar to section 8, which relates to
FTB.
Each TFN claim person is subject to the TFN requirement in section
38A. Item 14 amends the definition of “TFN claim person” in
subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to include
MA and MIA claims in normal circumstances. “TFN claim person” is
defined for these purposes as meaning the claimant and any partner that the
claimant had at the time of the claim.
The TFN requirement in section 38A
can be satisfied in several ways.
Firstly, subsection 38A(3) provides
that the claimant, and only the claimant, can make a statement of the TFN claim
person’s TFN. The TFN claim person’s TFN is the claimant’s
own TFN and the TFN of any partner that the claimant may have had at the time of
the claim.
Secondly, subsection 38A(4) states that the TFN claim person
can provide a statement to the effect that they have a TFN but do not know what
it is, that they have asked the Commissioner of Taxation to tell them their TFN,
and that they authorise the Commissioner to tell the Secretary whether they have
a TFN and, if so, the number.
Thirdly, subsection 38A(5) allows the
TFN claim person to provide a statement to the effect that they have applied for
a TFN and authorises the Commissioner for Taxation to tell the Secretary whether
the application is refused or withdrawn or, if a TFN is issued to the TFN claim
person, that number.
Subsection 38A(6) provides that if the claimant is
making a statement under section 38A, that statement must be in their
claim. However, if any other TFN claim person is making a statement, that
statement must be in a document which is in a form approved by the Secretary,
and the claimant must give it to the Secretary with their claim.
There
may be situations where a claimant cannot satisfy the TFN requirement because
the claimant cannot obtain a relevant statement from their partner who is a TFN
claim person (ie. their current or former partner). In these circumstances,
subsection 38A(7) gives the Secretary discretion to exempt the claimant from the
TFN requirement in section 38A.
An example where the Secretary might use
the discretion would be where the claimant has a well based reason to believe
that that he or she would be subject to violence from the partner or there are
other concerns for the safety of the claimant or a child of the claimant if the
partner were approached for a relevant statement.
Item 22 also inserts a
new section 38B into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act which
sets out the details of the TFN requirement that is required by the new
paragraph 38(2)(c), which relates to claims for MA and MIA because of the death
of another individual.
Each TFN substitution person is subject to the TFN
requirement in section 38B. Item 15 amends subsection 3(1) of the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act to include a definition of
“TFN substitution person” for the purposes of a claim made by an
individual for MA and MIA in substitution because of the death of another
individual. Under this amended definition a TFN substitution person for MA and
MIA purposes is the deceased individual and any partner of the deceased
individual during the period in respect of which the payment is
claimed.
New section 38B is similar to section 8A, which relates to FTB.
New subsections 38B(1) to 38B(6) provide the same TFN requirements as the
new subsections 38A(1) to 38A(6) provide for MA and MIA claims in normal
circumstances as stated above, but they apply in relation to TFN substitution
persons. While the statement in subsection 38B(3) can only be made by the
claimant, the statement in subsections 38B(4) and 38B(5) are made by a TFN
substitution person who was the deceased individual’s partner during the
period in respect of which the MA or MIA is claimed.
Subsections 38B(7)
and 38B(8) contain discretions which allow the Secretary to exempt a TFN
substitution person from the TFN requirement in section 38B, if the
claimant does not know the TFN substitution person’s TFN, or in relation
to the partner of the deceased individual, where the claimant cannot obtain a
statement by the partner under subsection 38B(4) or 38B(5).
Item 24
inserts a new section 41A into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act
which is similar to section 15 relating to FTB. The effect of the new
subsection 41A(1) is that if a statement under subsection 38A(4) or 38B(4)
is provided, the claim can only be determined if, within 28 days after the claim
is made, the Commissioner of Taxation tells the Secretary the individual’s
TFN or 28 days pass after the claim is made without the Commissioner telling the
Secretary that the person does not have a TFN. Subsection 41A(2) provides that
if a statement under subsection 38A(5) or 38B(5) is provided, the claim can only
be determined if, within 28 days after the claim is made, the Commissioner of
Taxation tells the Secretary the person’s TFN or 28 days pass after the
claim is made without the Commissioner telling the Secretary that the person has
not applied for a TFN or that the application has been refused or
withdrawn.
Subsection 41A(3) provides that if the Secretary cannot
determine a person’s claim after the 28 days mentioned in subsection
41A(1) or 41A(2) have passed, the claim is taken never to have been
made.
The consequences which apply to particular TFN claim persons who
fail to meet certain TFN requirements are outlined in the new section 47A, which
is inserted by item 26. Section 47A is similar to subsections 27(4A), 27(4B),
27(5) and 27(6) relating to FTB. Under subsection 47A(1), the Secretary may
vary a determination of entitlement to MA or MIA if a TFN claim person has made
a statement under subsection 38A(4) that they do not know what their TFN is
etc., and the Secretary is later told by the Commissioner of Taxation that the
TFN claim person has no TFN. Subsection 47A(2) provides that the Secretary may
also vary a determination of entitlement to MA or MIA if a TFN claim person has
made a statement under subsection 38A(5) that their application for a TFN is
pending, and the Secretary is later told by the Commissioner of Taxation that
that TFN claim person has not applied for a TFN, or their application for a TFN
has been refused or withdrawn. Subsection 47A(3) provides that if either
subsection 47A(1) or 47A(2) applies, the Secretary may vary the determination so
that it has the effect that the claimant is not entitled to be paid MA or MIA,
as the case may be. This is the consequence specified in subsections 47A(1) and
47A(2). This means that because MA and MIA are one-off payments, and that
payment (or payments) have already been made to the claimant, a debt will arise
against the claimant to recover the full amount of that payment (or payments),
because the Secretary has determined that the claimant is not entitled to MA or
MIA. If the Secretary later becomes aware of the TFN claim person’s TFN
at any time after having varied the determination under subsection 47A(3),
subsection 47A(4) provides that the Secretary must vary the determination
again to undo the effect of the determination made under subsection 47A(3), so
that the claimant is entitled to be paid MA or MIA, as the case may be. This
will cancel any debt that may still be owing by the claimant as a result of the
determination made under subsection 47A(3).
Items 20, 23 and 25 amend
paragraph 38(1)(b), subsection 39(5) and paragraph 43(a) of the Family
Assistance (Administration) Act, to refer to the death of another
“individual” instead of “person”. This will ensure
consistency with other provisions of the family assistance law, including the
definition of “TFN substitution person” in subsection 3(1) of the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Item 16, 18 and 19 amend subsections 20(1) and 20(2), paragraph 28A(1)(b)
and subparagraph 28A(3)(b)(ii) of the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act respectively to provide that an estimate of an individual’s
adjusted taxable income can be used for the purposes of determining both their
eligibility for, or rate of, FTB. This wording more accurately reflects current
practice.
Related item 12 of Schedule 2 amends clause 1 of Schedule 3 of
the Family Assistance Act in a similar way.
In addition,
paragraphs 20(1)(a) and 20(1)(c) of the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act are amended by item 16 to refer to Division 3 as well as Division 1
of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. This is because the
payment of MA and MIA to a person under Division 3 is linked to their
eligibility for FTB and their rate of FTB under Division 1. An estimate of the
person’s adjusted taxable income may be required to determine their
eligibility or rate of FTB, which is then used in determining their eligibility
for MA or MIA.
Subsection 20(2) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act is also amended by item 16 so that the
individual’s eligibility or rate of FTB cannot be determined if the
individual has not given the Secretary an estimate of adjusted taxable income
that the Secretary considers reasonable. Section 19 of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act will apply if the individual’s eligibility or
rate of FTB cannot be determined on the basis of this estimate. The effect of
this is that, in these circumstances, the Secretary must determine that the
individual is not entitled to be paid FTB, in accordance with section 19 of the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Currently, section 26 of the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act provides that the Secretary may request an FTB claimant to give the
Secretary a TFN statement, but it does not state the form in which such a
statement is to be provided. Item 17 makes a minor amendment to section 26 to
expressly provide that the Secretary may request a written statement from an FTB
claimant, in order to clarify exactly how a TFN statement must be given to the
Secretary. This item gives effect to the Department’s current
practice.
Advance amounts of CCB are generally paid directly to the bank account of
an approved child care service. However, it is possible that an advance CCB
payment may inadvertently be made to someone else’s bank account by
mistake. Item 27 adds a new subsection 71B(2) to the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act to provide that amounts of CCB advances paid to the
wrong bank account will become, subject to subsection 93A(5), a debt due to
the Commonwealth by the person or persons in whose name the account is kept.
This amendment will provide an additional method which the Commonwealth may use
to create a debt (and then recover under section 82) in respect of amounts
of CCB advance paid to the wrong bank account, in case the full amount of the
incorrect payment cannot be recovered from the relevant financial institution
under subsection 93A(1) (with the amendment proposed in item 39).
This will provide the Commonwealth with another avenue for correcting unintended
errors occurring in these circumstances.
The note after item 27 amends
the heading to section 71B to take into account the new subsection
71B(2).
Item 28 amends subsections 71F(1) and 71F(2) of the Family
Assistance (Administration) Act to make it clear that the new subsection
71B(2) does not relate to section 71F.
Section 82 of Family Assistance (Administration) Act provides an
exhaustive list of the means by which a debt is recoverable. At present, it
provides that the Secretary may authorise repayment by instalments under section
91 in relation to a person who is not a service. It was intended that a service
would also be allowed to pay a debt in one or more instalments.
Item 33 also amends subsection 91(1) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act to simplify the existing provision and remove the
reference to section 82. This is to prevent a possible circular argument
arising (ie. a debt is not recoverable under section 82 unless an arrangement
exists under section 91, but an arrangement cannot exist under section 91 unless
the debt is recoverable under section 82). Instead, the amendment clarifies
that a debt may be recovered under section 82 by repayment by instalments under
an arrangement entered into under section 91.
Prior to the introduction of the family assistance law on 1 July 2000, it
was possible to recover overpayments of family allowance, MA, MIA and family tax
payment paid under the Social Security Act by deductions from a pension
or allowance paid under Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986. It was
also possible to recover an overpayment of a pension or allowance paid under the
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 by deductions from these social
security payments.
After 1 July 2000, family allowance, MA, MIA and
family tax payment were repealed from the Social Security Act and
replaced with family assistance, which includes family tax benefit, MA, MIA and
child care benefit, on the introduction of the New Tax System. It was intended
that the same recovery action would be available in respect of these payments as
existed prior to 1 July 2000. However, at present it is not possible to
recover overpayments of family assistance from a pension or allowance paid under
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986. Nor is it possible to recover
overpayment of a pension or allowance paid under the Veterans’
Entitlements Act 1986 by deductions from family assistance.
Items 30,
31, 32, 37 and 38 insert references to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act
1986 into sections 84, 84A, 92 and 92A of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act, to ensure that the same action for the reciprocal
recovery of debts that was available for family allowance, MA, MIA and family
tax payment between the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 and the
Social Security Act prior to 1 July 2000, is now available for
family assistance under the family assistance law.
See discussion on
items 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Schedule 3 below which make equivalent
amendments to section 205 of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act
1986.
Currently, sections 84 and 84A of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act provide for deductions from a debtor’s family tax
benefit and the setting off of arrears of family assistance against a debt owed.
Sections 92 and 92A provide for deductions by consent from a person’s
family tax benefit to meet another person’s debt and the setting off of a
person’s arrears of family assistance against another person’s debt
by consent.
Items 30 and 32 also insert references to debts under the
Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990, the Farm
Household Support Act 1992, the Social Security Act 1947, the
Student Assistance Act 1973 and Part 8 of the Student and Youth
Assistance Act 1973 as in force before 1 July 1998 into subsection 84(1) and
paragraph 84A(1)(b) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to
ensure consistency with the debts that can be recovered under these provisions
and sections 92 and 92A of the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act.
Section 93A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act provides
for the recovery of amounts of family assistance payments from financial
institutions in certain situations, such as where an amount was intended to be
paid to the bank account of a child care service, but was inadvertently paid to
the wrong account. The term “family assistance”, which is currently
used in section 93A, and is defined in subsection 3(1) of the Family
Assistance Act, does not include advance amounts of CCB that are paid to
child care services under Division 2 of Part 8A of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act. Item 39 inserts a new definition of “family
assistance payment”, for the purposes of section 93A of the Family
Assistance (Administration) Act, which encompasses advance amounts of CCB
determined under section 219Q of the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act, including instalments of such amounts, so that these amounts can also
be recovered from financial institutions under section 93A in certain
circumstances.
Item 40 is a technical amendment to correct cross-references in
subsections 106(2) and 106(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act. These subsections should refer to section 105 instead of section
50K.
Item 41 is a technical amendment to correct a cross-reference in
paragraph 144(1)(p) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
This paragraph should refer to subsection 57(1) of the Family Assistance
Act instead of subsection 53(3).
Currently, subparagraph 158(2)(b)(iii) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act provides that a written notice of a requirement given
to a person under Division 1 of Part 6 of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act must specify “the officer”, ie. a
particular officer to whom the information or document requested in the notice
must be given. Item 48 amends subparagraph 158(2)(b)(iii) to provide that
such a notice does not necessarily have to specify a particular officer, but if
desired, it may specify that the information or document requested must be given
to an agency. The option of specifying a particular officer in such a notice is
still available. This amendment will ensure consistency with the equivalent
provision in the social security law.
Once it is no longer necessary to
specify a particular officer in a notice given to a person under Division 1,
references to “an officer” in subsections 154(1), 154(2), 154(3) and
154(4), paragraphs 155(a), 155(b) and 155(c), section 156,
subsection 157(1), subparagraph 158(2)(b)(ii) and section 160 of the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act are no longer appropriate. Items
42, 44, 45, 46, 47 and 49 omit these references and replace them with the term
“a specified agency”, which allows the Secretary to specify whether
the person to whom the notice is given should provide the required information
or document to the Department, the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency (ie.
Centrelink), the Australian Taxation Office or the Health Insurance Commission.
This will enable that information or documents to be given by the person to the
Family Assistance Office, for example, if so requested.
Item 43 inserts new subsections 154(5) and 154(6) into the Family
Assistance (Administration) Act. New subsection 154(5) gives the Secretary
power to require the provision of information or a document from a person if it
is relevant to certain matters relating to the approval or continued approval of
a child care service or applicant for approval as a registered carer. New
subsection 154(6) also gives the Secretary the same power where information or a
document held by a person is relevant to whether a service is the sole provider
of a certain kind of care in an area for the purposes of subsection 57(1)
of the Family Assistance Act. These powers are similar to the powers
that currently exist in section 154: for example, in subsection 154(3), the
Secretary may request information or a document from a person if relevant to
whether an individual who has claimed CCB by fee reduction is conditionally
eligible for that payment. It was intended that the powers inserted by the new
subsections 154(5) and 154(6) would be included in the family assistance law
when it was introduced, but this intention was not reflected in the current
legislation.
Item 50 amends subsection 195(1) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act to make it expressly subject to subsection 195(2).
This clarifies that the Secretary has the discretion to refuse to approve a
child care service in the circumstances set out in subsection 195(2), even
if the Secretary might be satisfied of the circumstances specified in subsection
195(1).
Currently, if a child care service does not continue to be operated by
the person who made the application for approval of the service under
section 194 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, such as
if the business is sold to another operator, this is a breach of a condition of
continued approval under section 18 of the Child Care Benefit (Eligibility of
Child Care Services for Approval and Continued Approval) Determination 2000.
It is then open to the Secretary to impose one or more of the sanctions in
subsection 200(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act on
the service, such as cancelling the service’s approval, but only after the
procedure for imposing a sanction in section 201 is undertaken. Part of this
procedure requires the Secretary to invite the service to make written
submissions, within 28 days, as to why the sanction should not be imposed. This
process currently causes delays in finalising accounts and other matters between
the operator and the Department where the operator of a service
changes.
Item 51 clarifies the situation by inserting a new subsection
202(4A) into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act which requires
that the Secretary must cancel the approval of an approved child care service if
the service ceases to be operated by the person who made the original
application for approval (for example, if the operator of that service changes).
This gives effect to current practice, and achieves the same result as the
current provisions but in a clear, straightforward manner. This amendment will
also ensure that a new operator of a service will take over the service with a
“clean slate”, and will not be responsible for any possible family
assistance debts that may be owed by the service under the previous operator.
This amendment does not affect the existing requirement in section 219M of
the Family Assistance (Administration) Act that an operator of an
approved child care service must notify the Secretary at least 30 days before
they intend to cease operating the service.
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act
1999
Item 53 inserts the definition of “CPC rate” (combined
pensioner couple rate) as a new subsection 3(7) of the Family Assistance
Act. Item 52 amends the definition of “CPC rate” in subsection
3(1) of the Family Assistance Act to refer to the new subsection 3(7).
The term “CPC rate” was originally intended to be in the Family
Assistance Act when the family assistance law was introduced, but was
inadvertently placed in the Family Assistance (Administration)
Act.
Also see item 72 of Schedule 2 below which repeals the
definition of “CPC rate” from subsection 3(3) of the Family
Assistance (Administration) Act and item 4 of Schedule 4 below which
repeals the redundant definition of “CPC rate” from subsection 20(1)
of the Social Security Act.
Item 53 also amends the definition of
“CPC rate” to take into account changes made by the A New Tax
System (Compensation Measures Legislation Amendment) Act 1999, which makes
provision for an amount of pension supplement that may be paid to a person with
their pension. Module BA in section 1064 of the Social Security Act now
provides that there is a pension supplement amount for each maximum basic rate
of pension listed in the table in point 1064-B1 of the Social Security
Act. Item 53 amends the definition of “CPC rate” to take
account of the pension supplement, so that the CPC rate is twice the sum of the
maximum basic rate of age pension in item 2 of Table B in point 1064-B1 and the
amount of the person’s pension supplement (which is worked out in
accordance with Module BA of Pension Rate Calculator A in
section 1064).
Items 52 and 53 are taken to have commenced
immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection
2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on
1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 54 and 56 are technical amendments which correct cross references
in section 12 of the Family Assistance Act. Section 12 should refer
to Subdivision C of Division 4 of Part 3, and Subdivision D of Division 4 of
Part 4.
These technical amendments are taken to have commenced
immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection
2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000
(see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 56 to 65 and 67 to 70 contain technical amendments to correct minor drafting errors in subsections 52(3), 52(5), 52(6), 57(3), 76(1) and 76(2), paragraph 76(3)(a), subsections 76(4) and 80(1), paragraph 80(2)(a) and subsections 81(2), 81(3), 81(4) and 81(6) of the Family Assistance Act. These errors arose through amendments made to these provisions by the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act.
These items are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 66 corrects a cross-reference in paragraph 81(1)(a) of the Family
Assistance Act. This paragraph is intended to refer to section 50F of the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act, not the Family Assistance
Act.
This technical measure is taken to have commenced immediately
after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the
Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see
table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Subparagraphs (a)(i), (b)(i), (c)(i), (d)(i) and (e)(i) of the definition
of “part-time %” in subclause 2(2) of Schedule 2 of the Family
Assistance Act correctly refer to care provided by approved centre based
long day care services. However, subparagraphs (a)(iii), (b)(iii),
(c)(iii), (d)(iii) and (e)(iii) merely refer to “approved child care
services”.
Item 71 amends subparagraphs (a)(iii), (b)(iii),
(c)(iii), (d)(iii) and (e)(iii) of the definition of “part-time %”
to clarify that the type of services being referred to in these subparagraphs
are actually the same as the approved centre based long day care services
referred to in subparagraphs (a)(i), (b)(i), (c)(i), (d)(i) and
(e)(i).
These technical amendments are taken to have commenced
immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection
2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on
1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of
subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family
Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
Item 72
Item
72 repeals subsection 3(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act,
which defines the term “CPC rate” (combined pensioner couple rate).
This definition was inadvertently inserted into that Act instead of the
Family Assistance Act.
See discussion on item 53 of Schedule 2
above which reinserts the definition of “CPC rate” as a new
subsection 3(7) of the Family Assistance Act.
This technical
amendment is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the
provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and
Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of
subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act
1999
Items 73, 74, 75 and 76
Currently, due to the
interaction of the definition of “undertaking full-time study” in
subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act and subsections 541B(1)
and 541B(5) of the Social Security Act, only people enrolled in, or
intending to enrol in, approved secondary or tertiary courses will satisfy this
definition. This means that children attending primary school, who are within
the age group specified in table item 1 in subsection 22A(1) of the Family
Assistance Act, must be income tested to determine whether they are an FTB
child of an adult. If the child has adjusted taxable income equal to or greater
than the cut-out amount for an income year, they cannot be an FTB child of
another individual, and so that other individual cannot qualify for FTB. This
is an inequitable outcome for children attending primary school, because it is
impossible for them to satisfy the definition of “undertaking full-time
study”.
Item 73 substitutes new paragraph (a) in the third column
of table item 1 in subsection 22A(1) of the Family Assistance Act to
exclude primary school children from the requirement to satisfy the income test.
Item 74 inserts a new subsection 22A(1A) to define when an individual is
taken to be undertaking primary education, that is, when they are actually
participating in a course of primary education, or enrolled to participate in
such a course.
Item 75 amends paragraph (a) of the third column of table
item 1 in subsection 35(1) of the Family Assistance Act in the same way
as item 9, so that it negates the need to income test a primary school student
in determining whether an approved care organisation is eligible for FTB in
respect of that student. Item 76 inserts the same definition of
“undertaking primary education” after subsection 35(2) as the one
inserted by item 10.
Items 73 to 76 are taken to have commenced on 1 July
2000, so that some primary school students are not disadvantaged by the
application of the income test (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 77 is a technical amendment to column 1 of table items 2 and 3 of
clause 22 of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act to include the
concept of “an annualised amount of maintenance income”. This
concept was introduced into the family assistance law by the Family
Assistance and Related Measures Act, but clause 22 was not amended to
reflect this.
This technical measure is taken to have commenced on the
introduction of the family assistance law on 1 July 2000 (see table item 9 of
subclause 2(1)).
Items 78 and 79 amend the definition of “tax free pension or
benefit” in clause 7 of Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance
Act to include pensions payable to a member of the Forces or Peacekeeping
Force, or to a widow or widower of a deceased member of the Forces or
Peacekeeping Force, under Part IV of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act
1986. These pensions were originally intended to be included in this
definition but were inadvertently omitted when the family assistance law was
introduced.
This beneficial measure is retrospective to 1 July 2000 (see
table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Paragraphs 8(2)(a), 8(2)(b) and 8(2)(c) of Schedule 3 of the Family
Assistance Act currently result in double-counting of child maintenance
expenditure because they contain references to payments and benefits paid or
provided by both the “payer” and the “payer’s
partner”. Items 80, 81 and 82 contain technical amendments to avoid
this double-counting, so that only payments and benefits paid or provided by the
payer to another individual other than the payer’s partner (if any), will
be included as “child maintenance expenditure” for the purposes of
clause 8.
This technical measure is taken to have commenced on 1 July
2000, so that child maintenance expenditure is not double-counted from the
introduction of the family assistance law (see table item 9 of subclause
2(1)).
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance)
(Administration) Act 1999
The definition of “FTB advance rate” in subsection 3(1) of
the Family Assistance Act is used in determining an individual’s
entitlement to an FTB advance under subsection 33(1) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act. If an individual’s FTB advance rate is worked
out in accordance with paragraph (a) of the definition of “FTB advance
rate” in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act, and this
figure is not a multiple of $3.65, paragraph (b) of that definition will apply
so that the figure obtained under paragraph (a) is to be rounded up to the next
highest multiple of $3.65. However, in certain situations, when this FTB
advance rate is used in subsection 33(1) of the Family Assistance
(Administration) Act, the rounding may prevent subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii)
from being satisfied. This is because, in certain circumstances, the
individual’s Part A rate will not be equal to or exceed twice their FTB
advance rate, because the FTB advance rate has been rounded up in accordance
with the definition in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance
Act.
This unintended consequence will arise in any income year in
which the rounding base of $3.65 increases what would otherwise be an
individual’s FTB advance rate, ie. when paragraph (b) of the definition of
“FTB advance rate” in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance
Act applies. This is because the individual could not satisfy subparagraph
33(1)(a)(iii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act in such a
year. This occurred for the 2000/2001 income year, but not for the 2001/2002
income year due to the indexation of the 0 to 17 base FTB child rate in
paragraph 26(2)(a) on 1 July 2001 (This indexation occurs on 1 July
every year).
For example, in the 2000/2001 income year, if an individual
with one FTB child who had not turned 18 had a Part A rate (Method 1) that
equalled the 0 to 17 base FTB child rate (as stated in paragraph 26(2)(a)
of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act – see also the
definition of “base FTB child rate” in clause 8 of Schedule 1),
their FTB child rate would have been $974.55. This means their FTB advance rate
would have been half that amount. This would have been $487.275, which is not a
multiple of $3.65. Therefore, paragraph (b) of the definition of
“FTB advance rate” would have applied so that this figure was
rounded up to the next highest multiple of $3.65, which was $489.10. This FTB
advance rate would then have been applied into subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii)
of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. If the individual’s
Part A rate also equalled $974.55, due to their level of income, for example,
subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) provides that this amount must be equal to or greater
than twice the individual’s FTB advance rate. Twice the
individual’s FTB advance rate would be two times $489.10, which is
$978.20. Therefore, the individual’s Part A rate would actually be less
than two times the individual’s FTB advance rate. This means that the
individual would not have been entitled to be paid an FTB advance because
subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) was not satisfied in this
situation.
While it was intended that the rounding base of $3.65 could
increase the amount of an individual’s FTB advance, it was not intended
that some customers would be excluded from actually being entitled to receive an
advance as a result of this rounding base. To correct this unintended
consequence, item 83 amends paragraph 33(1)(a) to exclude the effect of the
rounding rule that exists in the current definition of “FTB advance
rate” in determining an individual’s entitlement to an FTB advance.
Item 83 provides that to be entitled to a FTB advance, the individual’s
Part A rate must equal or exceed the amount that would be the FTB child
rate for an FTB child who had not turned 18 under clause 26 of Schedule 1 of the
Family Assistance Act, if the individual’s Part A rate were
required to be calculated under Part 3 of Schedule 1, and clause 27 of that
Schedule did not apply.
This beneficial measure is retrospective to 1
July 2000 (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 84, 85 and
86
Items 84, 85 and 86 contain technical amendments to correct minor drafting errors in subsection 107(2), paragraph 108(2)(f) and subsection 109(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act respectively. These errors arose through amendments made to these provisions by the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act.
Items 84 to 86 are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2 to the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 10 of subclause 2(1)).
Part 4 – Amendment of related Acts
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related
Measures) Act 2000
Item 87
Item 87 corrects an
inaccurate cross-reference in subsection 2(11) of the Family Assistance
and Related Measures Act.
This technical amendment is taken to have
commenced on 3 May 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of
the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act (see table item 11 of
subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Family
Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1)
1999
Item 88
Item 88 corrects a minor drafting
error in item 78 of Schedule 7 of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance)
(Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999.
This technical
amendment is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of
Schedule 7 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and
Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 12 of
subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Family
Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 2)
1999
Item 89 corrects an inaccurate cross-reference in paragraph 2(4)(a) of
the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures)
Act (No. 2) 1999, so that the Act referred to in that paragraph is correctly
referred to as the “Youth Allowance Consolidation Act
2000”.
Item 89 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000,
immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000, to ensure that that Act is referred to by its
correct title (see table item 13 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 90 corrects a misdescription in items 67 and 68 of Schedule 5 to the
A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999, in relation to amendments
made to section 75 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
Items 67 and 68 of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax
Administration) Act 1999 both attempted to amend section 75 of the Social
Security (Administration) Act. However, those items should have amended
section 76, rather than section 75.
Item 90 makes the amendments in
accordance with the original intention.
This technical amendment is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(9) of that Act (see table item 14 of subclause 2(1)).
4. Commencement
The commencement of each provision of Schedule 2 is set out in the table in
subclause 2(1).
Part 1 of Schedule 2 (items 1 to 51) contains items which
commence on the day on which this Act receives Royal Assent (see table item 7 of
subclause 2(1)).
Part 2 of Schedule 2 (items 52 to 72) contains
amendments related to the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, and
these will be taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the
provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of that Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table
item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Part 3 of Schedule 2 (items 73 to 86) contains
other amendments of the family assistance law. Items 73 to 83 are taken to have
commenced on 1 July 2000 (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)). Items 84 to 86
are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2 of
the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see
table item 10 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 87 of Schedule 2 is taken to have commenced on 3 May 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act (see table item 11 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 88 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the
commencement of Schedule 7 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance)
(Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999 (see table item 12 of
subclause 2(1)).
Item 89 is taken to have commenced immediately after the
commencement of section 2 of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act
2000, on 6 July 2000 (see table item 13 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 90 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the
commencement of the provisions of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax
Administration) Act 1999 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(9)
of that Act (see table item 14 of subclause 2(1)).
SCHEDULE 3 — AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS
1. Summary of proposed changes
Schedule 3 makes minor and technical amendments to various Family and
Community Services portfolio legislation, including repealing redundant
provisions and references, renumbering misdescribed provisions and correcting
various cross-references.
The amendments to the Veterans’
Entitlements Act 1986 restore the equivalent legislative position that
previously existed in relation to the reciprocal recovery of debts between that
Act and the former Social Security Act, to take account of the
introduction of the family assistance law.
2. Background
At times during the drafting and passage of legislation, unintended
drafting and other minor errors may occur, which may need to be corrected by
future legislative amendments. Schedule 3 largely makes minor technical
amendments to portfolio legislation to correct a variety of unintended errors,
to assist in more effective and efficient administration of that
legislation.
The introduction of the family assistance law on 1 July 2000
inadvertently resulted in a change to the legislative position regarding the
reciprocal recovery of debts between the former Social Security Act and
the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, when family allowance was
repealed and replaced with family assistance under the family assistance law.
Items 9 to 14 of Schedule 3 make the necessary amendments to the
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 to restore the equivalent position
with the family assistance law.
3. Explanation of the changes
Amendment to the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act
1997
Item 1
Item 1 is a technical amendment to the
definition of “employee” in section 3 of the Commonwealth
Services Delivery Agency Act 1997 to remove the reference to staff employed
under subsection 35(3) of that Act. Subsection 35(3) was omitted from the
Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Bill by the Senate Committee during debate
and a consequential amendment to remove the reference to this subsection from
the definition of “employee” was inadvertently not
made.
Amendment to the Family and Community Services Legislation
Amendment (1999 Budget and Other Measures) Act 1999
Item
2
Paragraph 2(3)(b) of the Family and Community Services
Legislation Amendment (1999 Budget and Other Measures) Act 1999 refers to
the “Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 1999”. Passage of
this Act was delayed until 2000, so the correct title of that Act became the
“Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000”.
Item 2
corrects this cross-referencing inaccuracy in
paragraph 2(3)(b).
This technical amendment is taken to have
commenced immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000, to ensure that that Act is referred to by
its correct title (see table item 16 of
subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to the Social Security
(Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act
1999
Items 3 and 7(1)
Subdivision F of Division 2
of Part 2.11 of the Social Security Act was incorrectly repealed by item
67 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Administration and International
Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999. The intention was to
repeal Subdivision F of Division 2 of Part 2.11A.
Item 3 corrects this
drafting error.
Item 3 is taken to have commenced immediately after the
commencement of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Administration and
International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999, so that the
incorrect subdivision is taken not to have been repealed (see table item 17 of
subclause 2(1)). Item 7(1) is a savings provision which states that Subdivision
F of Division 2 of Part 2.11, as in force immediately before 20 March 2000,
continues in force and is taken always to have continued in force, as if its
unintended repeal had not occurred.
Items 4 and 7(2)
This
item restores Division 9 of Part 2.12 of the Social Security Act as it
was incorrectly repealed by item 77 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security
(Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act
1999.
Item 4 is taken to have commenced immediately after the
commencement of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Administration and
International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999, so that the
division is taken not to have been repealed (see table item 17 of subclause
2(1)). Item 7(2) is a savings provision which states that Division 9 of
Part 2.12, as in force immediately before 20 March 2000, continues in force
and is taken always to have continued in force, as if its unintended repeal had
not occurred.
Item 5
This item repeals misdescribed
amendments (items 168, 169, 178 and 179) from Schedule 1 of the Social
Security (Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential
Amendments) Act 1999.
Item 6
Item 188 of the Social
Security (Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential
Amendments) Act 1999 failed because it did not replicate the exact phrase
sought to be omitted.
This item inserts an effective amendment in
accordance with the original intention.
Item 6 is taken to have commenced
immediately after the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Social Security
(Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act
1999, so that the correct phrase is taken to have been omitted from this
date (see table item 19 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the Social
Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act 2001
Item 8 is a technical amendment which repeals item 9 of Schedule 1 to the
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act 2001 and
substitutes this provision again at the end of Part 3.19 of the Social
Security Act as a new section 1210A. This renumbering is required as a
result of amendments made by the Social Security and Veterans’
Entitlements Legislation Amendment (Private Trusts and Private
Companies—Integrity of Means Testing) Act 2000, which commenced before
the Concession Cards Act.
Item 8 is taken to have commenced
immediately after the commencement of the Social Security Legislation
Amendment (Concession Cards) Act 2001, to ensure that this provision is
taken to have been inserted into the Social Security Act in the
appropriate place (see table item 21 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to
the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
Items 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 insert references to family assistance
into section 205 of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act to ensure that
the same action for the reciprocal recovery of debts between this Act and the
former Social Security Act (prior to 1 July 2000) is now
available for family assistance under the family assistance law.
See
discussion on items 30, 31, 32, 37 and 38 of Schedule 2 above which insert
equivalent references to the Veterans’ Entitlements Act into the
Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Amendments to the
Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000
Items 15 and
16
Items 15 and 16 correct cross-referencing errors made by the
Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000. Item 11 of Schedule 2 was
intended to refer to subsection 1061ZZAO(1) and item 2 of Schedule 4 was
intended to refer to paragraph 552(2)(b).
Item 15 is taken to have
commenced on 1 July 1999, immediately after the commencement of Part 2 of
Schedule 2 to the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000, to ensure that
the correct provision is referred to in that Schedule (see table item 23 of
subclause 2(1)).
Item 16 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000,
immediately after the commencement of item 2 of Schedule 4 to the Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000, to ensure that the correct provision is
referred to in that Schedule (see table item 24 of subclause 2(1)).
4. Commencement
The commencement of each provision of Schedule 3 is set out in the table
in subclause 2(1).
Items 1, 5 and 7 and items 9 to 14 of Schedule 3
commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent (see table items
15, 18, 20 and 22 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 2 is taken to have commenced
on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth
Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 (see table item 16 of subclause
2(1)).
Items 3, 4 and 6 are taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000,
immediately after the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Social Security
(Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act
1999 (see table items 17 and 19 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 8 is taken
to have commenced on 1 July 2001, immediately after the commencement of the
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act 2001 (see
table item 21 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 15 is taken to have commenced on 1
July 1999, immediately after the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the
Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 (see table item 23 of subclause
2(1)).
Item 16 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately
after the commencement of item 2 of Schedule 4 to the Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000 (see table item 24 of subclause 2(1)).
1. Summary of proposed changes
Schedule 4 makes technical amendments to various provisions of the
Social Security Act and the Social Security (Administration) Act,
including repealing redundant provisions, references and notes, renumbering
misdescribed provisions and correcting various cross-references and minor
drafting errors.
2. Background
At times, unintended drafting and other minor errors occur, which may
need to be corrected by future legislative amendments. Schedule 4 makes minor
technical amendments to the social security law to correct a variety of
unintended errors, to assist in more effective and efficient administration of
that legislation.
3. Explanation of the changes
Amendments to the Social Security Act 1991
Repeal
of redundant provisions, references and notes
Item 1, note
following item 1, items 2, 4, 5, 15, 33, 35, 38, 42, 46, 58, 61, 83, 84, 95, 96,
100, 108, 110, 111, 114 and 116
These items repeal redundant
provisions, references and notes in the Social Security Act as well as
Division 11 of Part 2.3, Divisions 2, 4 and 5 of Part 2.26, Schedule 1 and
Schedules 2 to 12 of the Social Security Act.
Item 100 repeals
paragraph 1100(3)(aa), which was inserted by the Social Security Legislation
Amendment (Parenting and Other Measures) Act 1997. Between the drafting and
passage of this Act, section 1100 was repealed and substituted by the Social
Security and Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Family and Other
Measures) Act 1997, with the result that paragraph 1100(3)(aa) is misplaced
and completely redundant.
Item 100 is taken to have commenced immediately
after the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security
Legislation Amendment (Parenting and Other Measures) Act 1997, on 20 March
1998 (see table item 28 of subclause 2(1)). This retrospectivity ensures that
paragraph 1100(3)(aa) is taken never to have been enacted.
Items 11,
12, 14, 18, 26, 27, 31, 32, 34, 37, 48, 50, 56, 57, 59, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 79,
81, 90, 91, 92, 94, 109 and 113
These items repeal various notes that
have become redundant as a result of the introduction of the Social Security
(Administration) Act.
Other minor corrections and
simplification/clarification of existing provisions
Items 3, 20,
21, 22, 47, 49, 51, 71, 73, 75 and 80
These items replace references
to the term “provisional commencement day” with references to the
new term “start day” in various provisions of the Social Security
Act.
Also see the discussion above relating to item 34 of Schedule
1.
Items 19, 24, 97, 98
These items correct outdated
references to “FA child” and “FA children” and replaces
them with the current terms, “FTB child” and “FTB
children”, that are used under the family assistance law.
Also see
item 59 of Schedule 1 above which makes a similar amendment.
Item 23 is a technical amendment to subsection 198N(6) of the Social
Security Act to insert a dollar sign and amend the dollar amount referred to
in this subsection to compensate for changes associated with the introduction of
the New Tax System. This figure was inadvertently not increased with amendments
to the other income and assets test free areas made by the A New Tax System
(Compensation Measures Legislation Amendment) Act 1999.
This
beneficial measure is retrospective to 1 July 2000 (see table item 26 of
subclause 2(1)).
Items 6, 7, 13, 16, 25, 29, 39, 44, 54, 63, 68, 77, 78, 82, 85, 86,
87, 88, 89 and 99
These items replace redundant references to the
Social Security Act with references to the Social Security
(Administration) Act.
Items 17, 28, 30 and 55
Items 17
and 28 provide that a woman is taken to have made her claim for wife pension and
widow B pension respectively on the day on which she lodged her incorrect or
initial claim. Items 17 and 30 ensure that the terms “incorrect
claim” and “initial claim” in section 146V and section 362A of
the Social Security Act respectively have the same meaning as in section
15 of the Social Security (Administration) Act. Item 55 updates a
cross-reference to section 15 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
Also see discussion above on items 120 and 121 of Schedule 1,
which amend section 15 of the Social Security (Administration)
Act.
Items 36, 43, 53, 60, 62, 76, 93, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105,
106 and 107
These items correct various cross-referencing errors in
the Social Security Act.
Items 8, 9, 10 and 115
Items 8, 9, 10 and 115 renumber
subsections 23(14) (second occurring), 23(15) (second occurring) and 23(16), and
paragraph 101(c) of Schedule 1A (second occurring) respectively, which were
incorrectly numbered when they were inserted by the Social Security
(Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act
1999.
Items 40 and 41
Items 40 and 41 renumber
paragraphs 552A(1)(da) and 578A(1)(da) respectively because these paragraphs
were misdescribed when they were inserted by the Youth Allowance
Consolidation Act 2000.
Items 45, 52, 64, 65, 66 and 112
These items correct minor
grammatical errors that occurred in the drafting process.
Amendment to
the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
Correction of
cross-reference
Item 117
This amendment replaces an
incorrect cross-reference in subsection 135(3) of the Social Security
(Administration) Act to section 1285 of the Social Security Act
with the correct cross-reference to section 182 of the Social Security
(Administration) Act.
4. Commencement
The commencement of each provision of Schedule 4 is set out in the table
in subclause 2(1).
Items 1 to 22, items 24 to 99 and items 101 to 117 of
Schedule 4 commence on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent (see
table items 25, 27 and 29 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 23 is taken to have
commenced on 1 July 2000 (see table item 26 of subclause 2(1)).
Item
100 is taken to have commenced on 20 March 1998, immediately after the
commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Legislation
Amendment (Parenting and Other Measures) Act 1997 (see table item 28 of
subclause 2(1)).
1. Summary of proposed changes
Schedule 5 repeals the redundant First Home Owners Act
1983.
2. Background
Section 17A of the First Home Owners Act 1983 provides that no new
claims are permitted under that Act after 30 June 1991. This means
that the Act is now redundant.
Existing obligations, such as debts, are
saved by force of section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act
1901.
3. Explanation of the changes
Repeal of the First Home Owners Act 1983
Item 1 repeals the whole of the First Home Owners Act
1983.
4. Commencement
Item 1 commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent
(see table item 30 of subclause 2(1)).