Section 63 — Social Security Act 1991: Rent assistance (changes introduced on 20 March 1993)

(1) This clause applies to a person if: (a) immediately before 20 March 1993: (i) the person was receiving a social security pension, a social security benefit or additional family payment; and (ii) the person’s pension, benefit or payment rate included an amount by way of rent assistance; and (b) this subclause has continued to apply to the person. (2) If: (a) a decision is made on or after 20 March 1993 that a person is entitled to rent assistance in respect of a period; and (b) the period starts before 20 March 1993; and (c) the period continued until at least 19 March 1993; the person is taken, for the purposes of this clause, to have been receiving rent assistance under this Act immediately before 20 March 1993. (3) This clause applies to a person if: (a) immediately before 20 March 1993, the person was receiving rent assistance under or because of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act; and (b) after that date, the person becomes entitled to be paid a social security pension, a social security benefit or additional family payment; and (c) this subclause has continued to apply to the person. (3A) Subject to subclauses (7), (8) and (9), if this clause applies to a person, the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension, benefit or payment rate is the amount (the floor amount) worked out using the formula: where: preserved rent assistance is the amount worked out under subclause (4). post-1995 increase is the sum of the increases in the amount of the maximum fortnightly rate of any of the following payments to the person after 19 March 1996 or the later day (the application day) this clause first applied to the person (whether or not the type or amount of payment payable to the person varies after 19 March 1996 or the application day because the person’s circumstances change): (a) a social security benefit; (b) a social security pension; (c) family payment under this Act as previously in force; (ca) family allowance; (d) non-benefit parenting allowance; (e) child disability allowance; (ea) carer allowance; (f) double orphan pension; (g) mobility allowance; (h) youth training allowance. (4) For the purposes of subclause (3A), the preserved rent assistance is the amount by way of rent assistance that would be included in the person’s pension, benefit or payment rate if: (a) the person’s pension, benefit or payment rate were neither income reduced nor assets reduced; and (b) the amount by way of rent assistance were calculated under this Act as in force immediately before 20 March 1993. (5) Subject to subclause (6), subclause (1) or (3) ceases to apply to a person if: (a) the person ceases to receive a social security pension, social security benefit or additional family payment; or (b) the person ceases to be qualified for rent assistance; or (c) the Secretary considers that there is a significant change in the person’s circumstances that would affect the amount of rent assistance that is payable to the person apart from this clause; or (d) the amount of rent assistance that would be payable to the person if this clause applied is less than (or equal to) the amount of rent assistance that would otherwise be payable. (6) If: (a) subclause (1) or (3) ceases to apply to a person; and (b) within 42 days, or such longer period as the Secretary determines, of that subclause ceasing to apply to the person, there is a change in the person’s circumstances; and (c) the Secretary considers that the change in the person’s circumstances is so significant that subclause (1) or (3) should apply to the person; the Secretary may determine that subclause (1) or (3) is to apply to the person from a specified date. (7) If: (a) subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person; and (b) the person becomes a member of a couple; and (c) the person’s partner is a person to whom subclause (1) or (3) applies; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension, benefit or payment rate and the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s partner’s pension, benefit or payment rate is not to fall below one-half of the person’s floor amount or one-half of the person’s partner’s floor amount, whichever is the greater. (8) If: (a) subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person; and (b) the person becomes a member of a couple; and (c) the person’s partner is a person to whom section 111 of the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1992 applies or would apply if it had not been repealed; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension, benefit or payment rate is not to fall below one-half of the person’s floor amount or one-half of the person’s partner’s floor amount, whichever is the greater. (9) If: (a) subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person; and (b) the person becomes a member of a couple; and (c) the person’s partner is not a person to whom subclause (1) or (3) applies; and (d) the person’s partner is not a person to whom section 111 of the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1992 applies or would apply if it had not been repealed; and (e) the person’s partner is a person who is receiving a pension, benefit or additional family payment or a pension under Part III of the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension, benefit or additional family payment rate and the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the rate of the person’s partner’s pension, benefit or additional family payment is not to fall below the person’s floor amount. (10) If: (a) a person is receiving a social security pension or a social security benefit; and (b) neither subclause (1) nor (3) applies to the person; and (c) the person has become or becomes a member of a couple; and (d) the person’s partner is receiving a pension under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 and is a person to whom clause 5 of Schedule 5 to that Act applies; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the rate of the person’s social security pension or social security benefit is not to fall below one-half of the amount that would be the person’s partner’s floor amount if subclause (1) or (3) applied to the partner.