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FAMILY ASSISTANCE LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (BUILDING ON THE CHILD CARE PACKAGE) BILL 2019

                               2019




  THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA




                HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES




  Family Assistance Legislation Amendment
(Building on the Child Care Package) Bill 2019



      SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM




    Amendments to be Moved on Behalf of the Government




  (Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Education, the
                   Honourable Dan Tehan MP)
    Family Assistance Legislation Amendment
  (Building on the Child Care Package) Bill 2019
                                  OUTLINE

The Government amendments to the Family Assistance Legislation
Amendment (Building on the Child Care Package) Bill 2019 (the Bill) are in
response to submissions made to the Senate Education and Employment
Legislation Committee's (Committee) inquiry and report tabled on 11 October
2019 into the Bill, and include beneficial provisions for individuals making
claims for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

The amendments to the Bill include an exemption provision that will enable
individuals to make an effective CCS claim without their or their current
partner's tax file number (TFN), but require it to be given within 28 days.
Amendments will also allow an individual to be indefinitely exempt from
providing their partner's TFN as part of their CCS claim in limited
circumstances. The Secretary of the Department of Education, or her
delegate, will be able to make these determinations on a case by case basis.

There are also consequential amendments to the information requirements
that must be met when determining entitlement to CCS in A New Tax System
(Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 (Family Assistance
Administration Act). These amendments will allow individuals who were
exempt from providing their own or their partner's TFN when making a claim
to also meet information requirements and continue to be entitled to receive
CCS. They will also allow an individual to be exempt from providing the TFN
of any future partners in situations where the Secretary is satisfied that it is
unreasonable to require this information.

Financial Impact

The amendments to the Bill do not have a financial impact on the
Commonwealth.




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            PROPOSED GOVERNMENT AMENDMENTS
The Government proposes the following amendments to the Bill.

Amendments (1), (2), (3) and (4)

Increasing flexibility in making CCS claims
Under the Family Assistance Administration Act, an individual is able to make
an effective CCS claim without providing their (or their partner's) TFN details.
These details must generally be provided within 28 days of the claim. If the
individual does not provide these details within 28 days, the claim is taken
never to have been made, with the consequence that any payments during
this timeframe can result in a debt.
The Bill amends various provisions in the Family Assistance Administration
Act to simplify and make clear the CCS claim requirements. One result of
these amendments is that the TFN details of the individual and their partner
must be provided at the time the claim is made, removing the 28 day period to
provide a TFN.
A number of public submissions to the Committee raised concerns that
removing this 28 day period would be detrimental for families, particularly
those in difficult or vulnerable circumstances, such as individuals experiencing
domestic violence. The Government amendments address these concerns.
Amendment (1) updates section 67BE of the Family Assistance
Administration Act to include new subsection (1) to reflect the changes made
through Amendment (2).
Amendment (2) will insert a new item 35A in the Bill to amend section 67BE
of the Family Assistance Administration Act by inserting new subsections (2)
and (3) to give the Secretary power to determine that a claim is effective
despite it not containing the individual's or their partner's TFN at the time the
claim is made, where the Secretary considers it appropriate to do so in the
circumstances.
Under new subsection 67BE(2), the Secretary may exempt a claim from the
requirement to include the individual's and their partner's TFN for a period of
28 days.
Under new subsection 67BE(3), the Secretary may exempt a claim from the
requirement for the individual to provide their partner's TFN indefinitely in
exceptional circumstances. For example, where an individual is in a violent or
abusive relationship and cannot reasonably obtain their partner's TFN.
Amendment (3) amends item 36 of the Bill to amend subsection 67BF(2) of
the Family Assistance Administration Act. Under new subsection 67BF(2), if
the Secretary has made a determination under new subsection 67BE(2), and
the individual does not provide their TFN and/or their partner's TFN within
28 days of that determination being made, their CCS claim is taken never to
have been made. Consequently, any payments made following the claim and
the expiry of the 28 days becomes a debt. The obligation for an individual to
provide their partner's TFN in order to make an effective claim is further
subject to the Secretary granting an exemption under new subsection

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67BE(3). New subsection 67BF(3) provides that the Secretary's rules may
prescribe other circumstances in which a claim is taken not to have been
made.
Consequential amendment to information requirements for CCS
entitlement determinations
Following an effective CCS claim, the Secretary must determine whether the
individual is eligible for CCS, and if so, may make determinations of the
individual's entitlements to be paid CCS for a week. To make a determination
of an individual's entitlement to CCS, the Secretary must be satisfied, among
other things, that the individual meets the information requirements in
subsection 67CD(10) of the Family Assistance Administration Act. The Bill
amends the existing information requirements so that the Secretary has the
TFN of both the individual and their partner (if applicable) at the time a
determination on entitlement is made.
Amendment (4) amends item 41 of the Bill to substitute paragraph
67CD(10)(b). An individual has to meet the information requirements specified
at paragraph 67CD(10)(b) to be entitled to be paid CCS or Additional Child
Care Subsidy (ACCS). An individual meets the information requirements at
paragraph 67CD(10)(b) so long as they meet any of the requirements listed at
new subparagraphs 67CD(10)(b)(i) to (iv).
New subparagraph 67CD(10)(b)(i) provides that where the Secretary has the
TFN of each TFN determination person, the individual has met the
requirement at paragraph 67CD(10)(b).
New subparagraph 67CD(10)(b)(ii) provides that where the Secretary made a
determination under subsection 67BE(2) or (3) of the Family Assistance
Administration Act in relation to the individual's claim no more than 28 days
ago, the information requirements are taken to have been met. This means
that an individual may receive CCS or ACCS where they have not provided
their (or their partner's) TFN.
In addition, the Secretary has an existing power to request the individual's
partner's TFN by making a request under section 67FG of the Family
Assistance Administration Act. Under new subparagraph 67CD(10)(b)(iii), an
individual meets the information requirements if the Secretary made a request
of the individual under section 67FG no more than 28 days ago.
New subparagraph 67CD(10)(b)(iv) provides that the information
requirements are met where the individual has provided their own TFN and
the Secretary is satisfied on a case by case basis that it is unreasonable in
the circumstances for the individual to provide the TFN of the individual's
current partner. This may include where the Secretary has made a
determination under new subsection 67BE(3).




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