Section 549CB — Social Security Act 1991: Duration of ordinary waiting period

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), if a person is subject to an ordinary waiting period, the ordinary waiting period is the period of 7 days that starts on the person’s start day (worked out disregarding clauses 4A and 5 of Schedule 2 to the Administration Act). (2) Subject to subsection (4), if: (a) a person is subject to an ordinary waiting period; and (b) apart from this subsection, the ordinary waiting period would be the period of 7 days that starts on the person’s start day (worked out disregarding clauses 4A and 5 of Schedule 2 to the Administration Act); and (c) that start day falls within one or more of the following periods (each of which is an exclusion period) that the person is subject to: (i) a liquid assets test waiting period; (ii) a newly arrived resident’s waiting period; (iii) a seasonal work preclusion period; (iv) a lump sum preclusion period under Part 3.14; (v) an income maintenance period, where the person’s rate of youth allowance on that start day would be nil; then the ordinary waiting period is the period of 7 days that starts on the first day after all the exclusion periods have ended. (3) If: (a) subparagraph (2)(c)(v) applies to a person; and (b) on a day in that income maintenance period, the person’s rate of youth allowance would be greater than nil if youth allowance were payable to the person on that day; then, for the purposes of subsection (2), that income maintenance period is taken to have ended at the end of the day before that day. (4) If: (a) a person qualifies for a social security payment (other than youth allowance); and (b) because the person is subject to an ordinary waiting period relating to that payment, that payment is not payable to the person for a period starting on a particular day (the initial day); and (c) during that period the person: (i) ceases to be qualified for that payment; and (ii) claims youth allowance and is qualified for youth allowance, where neither subparagraph 540(1)(a)(i) (about full-time study) nor section 540AA (about new apprentices) applies; the person’s ordinary waiting period relating to that youth allowance is the period of 7 days that starts on the initial day. Note: Ordinary waiting periods apply to parenting payment, youth allowance and jobseeker payment.