Social Security Act 1991
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 581 — How to work out a person’s austudy payment rate
Subject to this section, the rate of a person’s austudy payment is to be worked out in accordance with the Austudy Payment Rate Calculator in section 1067L.
Section 592 — Qualification for payments under this Division
Qualification for payment (1) If: (a) a person is receiving an austudy payment; and (b) the person is a long-term social security recipient; and (c) the person is a member of a couple; and (d) the…
Section 592A — Continued payment of partner’s pension or benefit
If a person is qualified for payments under this Division in relation to the death of the person’s partner, there is payable to the person, on each of the partner’s paydays in the bereavement rate…
Section 592B — Lump sum payable in some circumstances
If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Division in relation to the death of the person’s partner; and (b) the first available bereavement adjustment payday occurs before the end of the…
Section 592C — Adjustment of person’s austudy payment rate
If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Division; and (b) the person does not elect under subsection 592(2) not to receive payments under this Division; the rate of the person’s austudy…
Section 592D — Effect of death of person entitled to payments under this Division
If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Division in relation to the death of the person’s partner; and (b) the person dies within the bereavement period; and (c) the Secretary does not…
Section 592E — Matters affecting payments under this Division
Recovery/reduction of amount payable (1) If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Division in relation to the death of the person’s partner; and (b) after the person’s partner died, an…
Section 592J — Qualification for relocation scholarship payment
A person is qualified for a relocation scholarship payment at a time (the qualification time) if: (a) at the qualification time, the person is qualified for youth allowance and youth allowance is…
Section 592K — Circumstances in which person is not qualified for relocation scholarship payment
Previous qualification for, or receipt of, same or similar payment (1) Despite section 592J, a person is not qualified for a relocation scholarship payment if 1 or more of the circumstances listed in…
Section 592L — Amount of relocation scholarship payment
(1) The amount of a relocation scholarship payment to a person is $4,000 if the person has not received a student relocation payment (see subsection (7)) before. Note: The amount of a relocation…
Section 592M — Definition
In this Act: approved scholarship course means: (a) a course of study or instruction approved by the Minister under a determination made for the purposes of section 592N; or (b) if no determination…
Section 592N — Approved scholarship course
(1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that a course of study or instruction is an approved scholarship course for the purposes of this Act. (1A) To avoid doubt, a course of study…
Section 593 — Qualification for jobseeker payment
(1) Subject to sections 596, 596A, 597 and 598, a person is qualified for a jobseeker payment in respect of a period if: (a) the person satisfies the Secretary that: (i) throughout the period the…
Section 595 — Persons may be treated as unemployed
(1) The Secretary may treat a person as being unemployed throughout a period if: (a) during the period, the person undertakes: (i) paid work that, in the Secretary’s opinion, is suitable for the…
Section 596 — Unemployment due to industrial action
(1) A person is not qualified for a jobseeker payment in respect of a period unless the person satisfies the Secretary that the person’s unemployment during the period was not due to the person…
Section 596A — Assurance of support
A person is not qualified for jobseeker payment in respect of a period if the Secretary is satisfied that throughout the period: (a) an assurance of support was in force in respect of the person (in…
Section 598 — Liquid assets test waiting period
(1) Subject to subsections (4A), (5), (6), (7), (8) and (8B), if: (a) the value of a person’s liquid assets exceeds the person’s maximum reserve on: (i) if subparagraph 593(1)(a)(ii) does not apply…
Section 600 — Prospective determinations for some jobseeker payment recipients
(1) A person is qualified for jobseeker payment for a period determined by the Secretary if: (a) the person is receiving jobseeker payment; and (b) the Secretary considers at the start of the period…
Section 608 — Jobseeker payment not payable if payment rate nil
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a jobseeker payment is not payable to a person if the person’s jobseeker payment rate would be nil. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if the person’s rate…
Section 611 — Assets test—jobseeker payment not payable if assets value limit exceeded
(1) Subject to section 654, a jobseeker payment is not payable to a person if the value of the person’s assets is more than the person’s assets value limit. (2) A person’s assets value limit is…
Section 612 — Value of assets of members of couples
(1) If: (a) a person is a member of a couple; and (b) the person’s partner: (i) is not in receipt of a social security or service pension, income support supplement or a veteran payment; and (ii) is…
Section 613 — Full-time students
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a jobseeker payment is not payable to a person who is enrolled in a full-time course of education or of vocational training for the period that: (a) starts when the…
Section 614 — Multiple entitlement exclusion
(1) A jobseeker payment is not payable to a person if the person is already receiving a service pension, income support supplement or a veteran payment. (2) If: (a) a person is receiving a jobseeker…
Section 615 — Jobseeker payment not payable if person fails to attend interview etc. in certain circumstances
(1) A jobseeker payment is not payable to a person if: (a) before or after the person made a claim for a jobseeker payment, the Department is contacted by or on behalf of the person in relation to a…
Section 620 — Ordinary waiting period
(1) Subject to subsections (2), (4) and (5), a person is subject to an ordinary waiting period unless: (a) at some time in the 13 weeks immediately before the person’s start day (worked out…
Section 621 — Duration of ordinary waiting period
(1) Subject to subsections (3) and (5), if a person: (a) is subject to an ordinary waiting period; and (b) is not disqualified for jobseeker payment under section 598 (liquid assets test); the…
Section 623A — Newly arrived resident’s waiting period
(1) Subject to this section, a person who: (a) has entered Australia; and (b) has not been an Australian resident and in Australia for a period of, or periods totalling, 208 weeks; is subject to a…
Section 623B — Duration of newly arrived resident’s waiting period
(1) If a person is subject to a newly arrived resident’s waiting period, the period starts on the day the person first became an Australian resident. (3) The newly arrived resident’s waiting period…
Section 631 — Situations where jobseeker payment not payable for failure to comply with certain requirements
A jobseeker payment is not payable to a person if the person refuses or fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a requirement made of the person under section 67, 68 or 192 of the…
Section 633 — Seasonal workers
(1) This section applies if, at any time during the 6 months immediately before the day on which a person lodges a claim for jobseeker payment, the person, or, if the person is a member of a couple,…
Section 634 — Move to area of lower employment prospects
(1) Subject to subsections (1B) and (2), if, in the opinion of the Secretary, a person has reduced his or her employment prospects by moving to a new place of residence without sufficient reason, a…
Section 643 — How to work out a person’s jobseeker payment rate
Subject to this Division, a person’s jobseeker payment rate is to be worked out using Benefit Rate Calculator B at the end of section 1068.
Section 644AAA — Approved program of work supplement
If a person: (a) is receiving jobseeker payment; and (b) is participating in an approved program of work for income support payment; the rate of the person’s jobseeker payment is increased by an…
Section 654 — Rate of jobseeker payment for former recipients of wife pension
(1) This section applies if: (a) a woman was receiving wife pension under Part 2.4 immediately before 20 March 2020; and (b) the Secretary makes a determination under section 12 of the Administration…
Section 655 — Wife pension transition rate—method 1
(1) A woman’s wife pension transition rate on a day is worked out in accordance with this section if: (a) on 19 March 2020, there was no reduction under step 5 of the method statement in point…
Section 656 — Wife pension transition rate—method 2
(1) A woman’s wife pension transition rate on a day is worked out in accordance with this section if: (a) on 19 March 2020, there was a reduction under either or both of steps 5 and 9 of the method…
Section 660LA — Qualification for payments under this Subdivision
(1) If: (a) a person is receiving a jobseeker payment; and (b) the person is a long-term social security recipient; and (c) the person is a member of a couple; and (d) the person’s partner dies; and…
Section 660LB — Continued payment of partner’s pension or benefit
If a person is qualified for payments under this Subdivision in relation to the death of the person’s partner, there is payable to the person, on each of the partner’s paydays in the bereavement rate…
Section 660LC — Lump sum payable in some circumstances
If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Subdivision in relation to the death of the person’s partner; and (b) the first available bereavement adjustment payday occurs before the end of…
Section 660LD — Adjustment of a person’s jobseeker payment rate
If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Subdivision; and (b) the person does not elect under subsection 660LA(2) not to receive payments under this Subdivision; the rate of the person’s…
Section 660LE — Effect of death of person entitled to payments under this Subdivision
If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Subdivision in relation to the death of the person’s partner; and (b) the person dies within the bereavement period; and (c) the Secretary does…
Section 660LF — Matters affecting payments under this Subdivision
(1) If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Subdivision in relation to the death of the person’s partner; and (b) after the person’s partner died, an amount to which the partner would…
Section 660LH — Qualification for payment under this Subdivision
A person is qualified for a lump sum payment under this Subdivision if: (a) the person is qualified for jobseeker payment on a day (the relevant day); and (b) jobseeker payment is payable to the…
Section 660LI — Amount of payment
(1) The amount of the person’s payment is worked out using the following formula (except if paragraph 660LH(g) applies in relation to the person): (2) If subparagraph 660LH(g)(i) applies in relation…
Section 660M — Death of child—continuation of jobseeker payment rate for 14 weeks
If: (a) a person is receiving jobseeker payment; and (b) the person is the principal carer of a child who dies; and (c) apart from this section, the person’s rate of jobseeker payment would be…
Section 661A — Qualification for remote engagement program payment
(1) A person qualifies for a remote engagement program payment for a period if, throughout the period: (a) the person is receiving a qualifying remote income support payment; and (b) the person is…
Section 661B — Definition of qualifying remote income support payment
(1) A qualifying remote income support payment is an income support payment: (a) of a kind set out in column 2 of an item in the following table; and (b) for which a person qualifies in the…
Section 661C — Remote engagement program payment not payable in specified circumstances
(1) A remote engagement program payment is not payable to a person in the circumstances (if any) specified by a legislative instrument made under subsection (2). (2) The Minister may, by legislative…
Section 661D — Time limits on payability of remote engagement program payment
(1) A remote engagement program payment is not payable to a person who has received a remote engagement program payment for a continuous period of 104 weeks starting at the start time. (2) A remote…
Section 661E — Remote engagement program payment—determination of rate
(1) Subject to subsection (3), the rate of a person’s remote engagement program payment is the rate determined in accordance with a legislative instrument (if any) made under subsection (2). (2) The…