Section 5 — Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986: 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 service pension; and (ii) the person’s pension included an amount by way of rent assistance; and (b) immediately before the commencement of this clause, section 111 of the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1992 applied to the person; and (c) this subclause continues to apply to the person. (2) If: (a) a decision was made on or after 20 March 1993 under this Act that a person was entitled to rent assistance in respect of a period; and (b) the period started 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 the Social Security Act; and (b) on or after that date, the person became or becomes entitled to be paid a pension; and (c) either of the following subparagraphs applies to the person: (i) if the person became entitled to be paid the pension before the commencement of this clause—section 111 of the Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2) 1992 applied to the person immediately before that commencement; (ii) if the person becomes entitled to be paid the pension after that commencement—that section would have applied to the person immediately before he or she became so entitled if it had not been repealed; and (d) this subclause continues to apply to the person. (4) Subject to subclauses (7), (8), (9), (10) and (11), if subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person, the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension rate is the amount (the floor amount) by way of rent assistance that would be included in the person’s pension rate if: (a) the person’s pension rate were neither income reduced nor assets reduced; and (b) the amount of rent assistance were calculated under this Act as in force immediately before 20 March 1993. (5) Subclause (1) or (3) ceases to apply to a person if: (a) the person no longer receives a service pension, an income support supplement, or a social security pension under the Social Security Act; or (b) the person ceases to be eligible for rent assistance; or (c) the pension rate that is applicable to the person because of that subclause is equal to or less than the rate that would be the person’s pension rate if that subclause did not apply to the person; or (d) the Commission 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. (6) If: (a) subclause (1) or (3) ceases to apply to a person because of subclause (5); and (b) within 42 days, or any longer period that the Commission determines, after the day on which that subclause ceases to apply to the person, there is a change in the person’s circumstances; and (c) the Commission considers that the change in the person’s circumstances is so significant that subclause (1) or (3) should apply to the person; the Commission may determine in writing that subclause (1) or (3) is to apply to the person from a stated date. (7) Subject to subclauses (11) and (13), if: (a) subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person; and (b) the person has become or becomes a member of a couple; and (c) the person’s partner is receiving a pension, or a social security payment under the Social Security Act, but: (i) is not a person to whom subclause (1) or (3) applies; and (ii) is not a person to whom clause 63 of Schedule 1A to the Social Security Act applies; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension rate or the person’s partner’s pension rate is not to fall below one-half of the person’s floor amount. (8) Subject to subclause (11), if: (a) subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person; and (b) the person has become or 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 rate or the person’s partner’s pension 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) Subject to subclause (11), if: (a) subclause (1) or (3) applies to a person; and (b) the person has become or becomes a member of a couple; and (c) the person’s partner is a person to whom clause 63 of Schedule 1A to the Social Security Act applies; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension rate is not to fall below one-half of the person’s floor amount or one-half of the amount that would be the person’s partner’s floor amount if subsection (1) or (3) applied to the partner, whichever is the greater. (10) Subject to subclause (11), if: (a) a person is receiving a pension; 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 social security payment under the Social Security Act and is a person to whom clause 63 of Schedule 1A to the Social Security Act applies; the amount by way of rent assistance to be used to calculate the person’s pension rate 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. (11) Despite anything in the preceding provisions of this clause, the rate of rent assistance payable to a person to whom this clause applies is reduced by the sum of any indexation or adjustment increases occurring after the commencement of this clause to the person’s pension rate. (12) Subject to subclause (6), if subclause (1) or (3) ceases to apply to a person because of subclause (5), it does not again apply to the person. (13) Subclause (7) ceases to apply to the partner of a person to whom subclause (1) or (3) applies if the pension rate that is applicable to the partner because of subclause (7) is equal to or less than the rate that would be the partner’s pension rate if subclause (7) did not apply to the partner. (14) If subclause (7) ceases to apply to the partner of a person to whom subclause (1) or (3) applies, subclause (7) does not again apply to the partner. (16) In this clause: floor amount has the meaning given by subsection (4). indexation or adjustment increase means an increase resulting from the operation of Division 18 of Part IIIB.