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2022-2023
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SOCIAL SECURITY AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DISASTER
RECOVERY PAYMENT) BILL 2023
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Emergency Management, Senator the
Honourable Murray Watt)
SOCIAL SECURITY AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DISASTER
RECOVERY PAYMENT) BILL 2023
GENERAL OUTLINE
The Social Security Amendment (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Bill
2023 ('the Bill') amends the Social Security Act 1991 ('the Act') to provide greater certainty
in supporting automation processes and ensure the timely payment of claims for the
Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment ('AGDRP') in the 2023/24 High Risk
Weather Season ('HRWS') and beyond.
The AGDRP is a one-off payment to eligible persons who are adversely affected by a major
disaster. Section 1061K of the Act sets out the circumstances in which a person qualifies for
the AGDRP. To qualify for the AGDRP, subsection 1061K(1) of the Act requires that a
person is:
• at least 16 years old, or is receiving a social security payment; and
• adversely affected by a major disaster.
In addition, paragraph 1061K(1)(b) of the Act provides alternative qualification criteria for
the AGDRP. These include where a person is:
• an Australian resident; or
• the holder of a visa that is in a class of visas determined by the Minister for the
purposes of subparagraph 729(2)(f)(v) of the Act; or
• receiving a social security payment; or
• an Australian citizen who is not an Australian resident who is covered by a
determination under subsection 1061K(2) of the Act.
Sections 1061M and 1061N of the Act provide the amount of AGDRP payable to a person in
relation to a major disaster that occurs in or outside of Australia respectively. In particular,
both sections currently determine the rate payable of AGDRP where a person is the "principal
carer" of one or more children.
Automatic assessment of claims for AGDRP based on objective criteria is expected to be
processed in a matter of minutes or days, instead of weeks required to assess claims
manually. The amendments proposed by the Bill provide objective criteria on which to assess
claims for AGDRP, to ensure the timely processing and delivery of disaster payments to
people who are vulnerable and/or at their greatest time of need. The 2023/24 HRWS is likely
to be characterised by severe weather events and delivery of faster payments to those eligible
for the AGDRP is a critical element of Australia's disaster preparedness response.
The purpose of the Bill is to:
• amend section 1061K to insert a new alternative qualification criteria that qualifies a
person for AGDRP if they have spent an amount of time, as specified by the Minister
by way of notifiable instrument, in Australia before a major disaster;
• amend sections 1061M and 1061N to deem a person to be a "carer" of a child for the
purposes of calculating the rate payable for AGDRP;
• provide increased certainty for Australians, at a time of disaster, that their claim for
AGDRP can be assessed and paid more quickly; and
• make minor technical amendments to clarify where the words "declaration" and
"determination" are applied in the Act.
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The amendments in the Bill have nil financial impact.
STATEMENT OF COMPATABILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
The Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011. The Bill is technical in nature and does not engage human rights.
A statement of compatibility with human rights has been prepared in accordance with Part 3
of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, and is at Attachment A.
COMMON ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
Abbreviation or Meaning
acronym
AGDRP Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
Bill The Social Security Amendment (Australian Government
Disaster Recovery Payment) Bill 2023
Department Department of Home Affairs
The Act Social Security Act 1991
SCV Holder Special Category Visa Holder
THE SOCIAL SECURITY AMENDMENT (AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
DISASTER RECOVERY PAYMENT) BILL 2023
NOTES ON INDIVIDUAL CLAUSES
Section 1 Short title
1. This section provides that the short title of this Bill, when enacted, will be the Social
Security Amendment (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Act 2023
(the Act).
Section 2 Commencement
2. This section provides for the commencement of the provisions in the Act.
3. Subsection 2(1) provides that each provision of the Act specified in column 1 of the
table under subsection 2(1) commences or is taken to have commenced, in accordance
with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to
its terms.
4. The effect of this provision is that the whole of this Act will commence the day after
the Act receives the Royal Assent.
5. A note at the foot of the table under subsection 2(1) explains that the table relates only
to the provisions of the Act as originally enacted. The table will not be amended to
deal with any later amendments of the Act.
6. Subsection 2(2) provides that any information in column 3 of the table is not part of
the Act. Information may be inserted in column 3, or information in it may be edited,
in any published version of the Act.
Section 3 Schedules
7. This section provides that legislation specified in a Schedule to the Act is amended or
repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned. This section
also provides that any other item in a Schedule to the Act has effect according to its
terms.
SCHEDULE 1 - AMENDMENTS
PART 1 - MAIN AMENDMENTS
Social Security Act 1991
Item 1 Subparagraph 1061K(1)(b)(iv)
8. This item replaces the word "and" with "or" to allow for the introduction of
subparagraph 1061K(1)(b)(v) as an additional, alternative qualification criteria for
Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment.
Item 2 At the end of paragraph 1061K(1)(b)
9. This item inserts a new alternative qualification criteria that will qualify a person for
AGDRP if they are a person that is covered by a determination under
subsection 1061K(3A) of the Act.
Item 3 After Subsection 1061K(3)
10. This item inserts new subsection 1061K(3A) that provides a statutory head of power
for the Minister administering this provision of the Act, by notifiable instrument, to
determine a person can qualify for AGDRP if:
• the person has been in Australia for a specified period, or for a period or
periods within a specified period, ending on the day a major disaster is
determined under subsection 36(1) of the Act; and
• the person is either an Australian citizen, the holder of a permanent visa, or a
special category visa holder who is a protected SCV holder.
11. An instrument made under new subsection 1061K(3A) is administrative in nature as it
gives content to the law, rather than prescribes a substantive exemption from the
requirements of the Legislation Act. The instrument made under the new provision
deals with the following matters that declare how the law will operate in relation to:
• the period of time a person must have been in Australia before the major
disaster (for example, X weeks out of Y weeks). This is a start date; and
• the date of the major disaster as specified in a determination by the Minister
under subsection 36(1) of the Act. This is an end date; and
• whether the person is an Australian citizen or holder of a certain visa.
12. In contrast to the discretionary assessment of residency required by s1061K(1)(b)(i),
the new qualification criteria introduced by this provision assesses objective facts
with respect to a person's citizenship or visa status, and a specified time period they
have been in Australia. Use of this objective criteria to determine whether a person
qualifies for AGDRP will support increased use of automatic decision-making of
AGDRP claims to the benefit of those individuals who receive their payments quickly
at a time they have been adversely impacted by major disaster.
13. In the same way the Minister may determine that an event is a major disaster in a
non-legislative instrument at section 36 of the Act, the Minister may also
appropriately determine the specific time period to apply to new qualification criteria
for AGDRP. The determinations made for these purposes are non-legislative in nature
in that they provide operational detail on how the relevant law is to be applied.
Item 4 Paragraph 1061M(1)(b)
14. This item repeals the original subsection and substitutes the paragraph to introduce
objective criterion (see item 7 below) to determine the payable rate that a carer can
receive if they are caring for one or more children on the first day the person is
adversely affected by a major disaster
Item 5 Subsection 1061M(1) (note 1)
15. This item omits the phrase "Note 1" and substitutes the phrase "Note" in
subsection 1061M(1) in response to the changes made by Item 4.
Item 6 Subsection 1061M(1) (note 2)
16. This item repeals Note 2 within subsection 1061M(1) since the amendment proposed
within Item 7 will provide the definition of principal carer.
Item 7 After subsection 1061M(1)
17. This item inserts new subsection 1061M(1A) to identify who is able to claim
AGDRP as a carer of one or more children. If a person meets one of the criteria
outlined below on a day, they are considered the carer of a child:
• the person is the principal carer of the child; or
• the person is receiving another social security payment and is treated as the
principal carer of the child for the purposes of that payment; or
• the person is entitled to be paid family tax benefit by instalment and meets other
relevant conditions.
18. The intention of this provision is to support automation of claims where a person is a
carer of a child in circumstances where certain carer-child relationships have been
previously recognised for the purposes of other payments. The matters in new
paragraphs 1061M(1A)(b) and (c) are objective and non-discretionary. As a result this
will provide greater certainty in supporting automation of the assessment and payment
of AGDRP claims.
Item 8 Paragraph 1061N(b)
19. This item repeals the original paragraph and substitutes it with the following
paragraph "if the person is the carer of one or more children on the first day the
person is adversely affected by a major disaster--the amount worked out by
multiplying the child rate for that financial year by the number of children for whom
the person is the carer on that day".
20. The purpose of this provision is to make clear a person is payable a rate of AGDRP
pursuant to subsection 1061M(1)(b) only if they are a carer at the time they are
adversely affected by a major disaster. This clarity ensures that support is directed to
individuals and the child/children they care for whom are adversely affected by a
major disaster.
Item 9 Section 1061N (note 2)
21. This item repeals the existing note 2 and replaces it with a new note 2 that reflects the
definition of carer to be introduced by subsection 1061M(1A) in item 7.
PART 2 - TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS
Social Security Act 1991
Item 10 Subsection 23(1) (definition of major disaster)
22. This item replaces the phrase "a declaration is in force under section 36" with "a
determination is in force under subsection 36(1)". These substitutions are required for
internal consistency and to ensure the reference is to the most relevant section, being
subsection 36(1) rather than section 36.
Item 11 Paragraph 36(4)(a)
23. This item replaces the word "declaration" with "determination" for internal
consistency.
Item 12 Paragraph 36(4)(b)
24. This item replaces the word "declaration", wherever it occurs, with "determination"
for internal consistency.
Item 13 Paragraph 1061M(1)(a)
25. This item replaces the phrase "declared under section 36", with "determined under
subsection 36(1)". These substitutions are required for internal consistency and to
ensure the reference is to the most relevant section, being subsection 36(1) rather than
section 36.
SCHEDULE 2 - APPLICATION PROVISION
Social Security Act 1991
Item 1 Application of amendments
26. This item provides that the amendments made by Part 1 of Schedule 1 of this Act
apply in relation to major disasters determined under subsection 36(1) of the Social
Security Act 1991 on or after the commencement of that Part.
27. The effect of this application provision is that it is applicable to all major disaster in
the future and does not apply to major disaster that have already occurred unless the
time period designated to the disasters continue after this amendment has commenced.
Attachment A
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Social Security Amendment (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
Qualification) Bill 2023
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny)
Act 2011.
Overview of the Bill
The Social Security Amendment (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Bill
2023 (the Bill) amends the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act) to provide greater certainty in
supporting automation processes and ensure the timely payment of claims for the Australian
Government Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP) prior to the 2023/24 High Risk Weather
Season (HRWS) and onwards.
The AGDRP is a one-off payment to eligible persons who are adversely affected by a major
disaster. Section 1061K of the Act sets out the circumstances in which a person qualifies for
the AGDRP. The amendments proposed by the bill provide objective criteria on which to
assess claims for AGDRP, to ensure the timely processing and delivery of disaster payments
to people who are vulnerable and/or at their greatest time of need. The 2023/24 HRWS is
likely to be characterised by severe weather events and delivery of faster payments to those
who qualify for the AGDRP is a critical element of Australia's disaster preparedness.
The Bill will amend the Act by inserting an alternative objective criteria, for qualification for
AGDRP to provide greater certainty in supporting the automation of AGDRP claims
assessment.
The criteria inserted by the Bill requires a person to be either an Australian citizen, the holder
of a permanent visa, or a special category visa (SCV) who is a protected SCV holder.
Additionally, the person must be in Australia for a specified period, or for a period or periods
within a specified period, as determined by the Minister in a notifiable instrument. The
specified period ends on the day that the major disaster is determined by the Minister under
subsection 36(1) of the Act.
Applicants for the AGDRP who do not meet the criteria inserted by the Bill will continue to
have their claim for AGDRP assessed manually. The amendments to include the alternative
criteria do not alter the existing criteria for the AGDRP, they merely support an automatic
approach to decision-making.
Subsection 1061M(1) and section 1061N set out the rates payable for AGDRP where a
person is able to receive (as distinct from whether they qualify for the payment) as the
'principal carer' of a child/children. The intention of the amendments to these provisions is to
no longer require separate discretionary assessments of whether an AGDRP applicant is the
'principal carer' (for the purposes of section 5 of the Act) of a child, where certain carer-child
relationships are already recognised for the purposes of other payments.
The matters in new paragraphs 1061M(1A)(b) and (c) are objective and non-discretionary. As
a result this will provide greater certainty in supporting automation of the assessment and
payment of AGDRP claims.
Claims made by applicants not identified as carers under the objective criteria will continue
to be assessed manually under paragraph 1061M(1A)(a). These amendments therefore do not
alter the eligibility of a carer to make an AGDRP claim under the alternative criteria in
subsection 1061K(1).
Human rights implications
This Bill is technical in nature and does not engage human rights.
Conclusion
The Bill is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Senator the Hon Murray Watt
Minister for Emergency Management