Social Security Act 1991
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 19B — Financial hardship (Carer payment) liquid assets test definition
In section 198N (exemption from care receiver assets test): liquid assets, in relation to a person, means: (a) the person’s cash; and (b) the person’s shares and debentures in a public company within…
Section 19C — Severe financial hardship definitions
Application of definitions in this section (1) The definitions in this section relate to: (a) ordinary waiting periods; and (b) liquid assets test waiting periods; and (c) seasonal work preclusion…
Section 19D — Severe financial hardship—crisis payment definition
(1) The definition in this section relates to one of the qualifications for crisis payment (see sections 1061JG, 1061JH, 1061JHA and 1061JI). (2) A person who is not a member of a couple is in severe…
Section 19E — Exempt funeral investments
(1) Work out whether a funeral investment that relates to a particular funeral is an exempt funeral investment by applying these rules: (a) the expenses for the funeral must not be prepaid; and (b)…
Section 20 — Indexation and rate adjustment definitions
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: current figure, as at a particular time and in relation to an amount that is to be indexed or adjusted under Part 3.16, means: (a) if the…
Section 20A — Pension supplement rate definitions
(1) The combined couple rate of pension supplement is the sum of the following: (a) 4 times the annual rate of utilities allowance for a person who is a member of a couple (other than an illness…
Section 21 — Bereavement definitions
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: partner bereavement payment means a payment under section 83, 146G, 238, 514B or 823. (2) For the purposes of this Act, if a person dies: (a)…
Section 23 — Dictionary
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: 1947 Act means the Social Security Act 1947. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child means a child who is a descendant of: (a) an Indigenous…
Section 24 — Person may be treated as not being a member of a couple (subsection 4(2))
(1) Where: (a) a person is legally married to another person; and (b) the person is not living separately and apart from the other person on a permanent or indefinite basis; and (c) the Secretary is…
Section 24A — Approved scholarship
(1) The Minister may determine in writing that a scholarship, or a class of scholarships: (a) awarded outside Australia; and (b) not intended to be used wholly or partly to assist recipients to meet…
Section 25 — Refugee visas
If: (a) after the commencement of this section, a class of permanent visas (other than a class referred to in the Table in subsection 7(6B)) is prescribed by regulations made for the purposes of…
Section 26 — Impairment Tables and rules for applying them
Impairment Tables (1) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine tables relating to the assessment of work-related impairment for disability support pension. (2) An instrument under…
Section 27 — Application of Impairment Tables
Claims for disability support pension (1) If a person makes a claim, or is taken to have made a claim, for disability support pension, the Secretary, in determining the claim, must apply the…
Section 28 — Rent assistance—retirement village residents (changes introduced on 13 June 1989)
(1) If: (a) immediately before 3 November 1988: (i) a person was receiving a social security pension, social security benefit or family allowance supplement; and (ii) the person’s pension, benefit or…
Section 28A — Approval of programs of assistance
The Secretary may, by writing, approve: (a) a course of vocational training; or (b) a labour market program; or (c) another course or program; (other than a rehabilitation program) as a program of…
Section 28C — Declared program participants
(1) The Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make a determination for the purposes of the definition of declared program participant in subsection 23(1). (2) The determination may provide for…
Section 29 — Approval of friendly societies
The Secretary may determine that: (a) a friendly society; or (b) a person or body that, in the Secretary’s opinion: (i) is similar in character to a friendly society; and (ii) provides benefits…
Section 30 — Approval of mental hospitals
If the Secretary is satisfied that accommodation for persons with a mental disability is provided at particular premises, he or she may declare the premises to be a mental hospital for the purposes…
Section 31 — Approval of follow-up rehabilitation programs
The Secretary may determine that: (a) a follow-up program under Part III of the former Disability Services Act 1986; or (b) each of the programs included in a class of follow-up programs under that…
Section 32 — Approval of sheltered employment—non-profit organisation
(1) If the Secretary is satisfied that: (a) one of the following provides paid employment for disabled persons at certain premises: (i) an entity registered under the Australian Charities and…
Section 33 — Approval of sheltered employment—supported employment
(1) If: (a) the Minister administering the former Disability Services Act 1986 has approved a grant of financial assistance to a non-profit organisation under subsection 10(1) of that Act; and (b)…
Section 35 — Approval of care organisation
(1) The Secretary may approve: (a) an organisation registered under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission Act 2012; and (b) an organisation that is not an ACNC type of entity; that…
Section 35A — Personal Care Support
The Minister may, in writing, determine that a scheme for the provision of personal care support is an approved scheme for the purposes of this Act.
Section 35B — Declared overseas terrorist act
(1) The Prime Minister may, by legislative instrument, declare that a terrorist act that occurs outside Australia is a declared overseas terrorist act. (2) If the Prime Minister makes a declaration…
Section 36 — Incentive allowance (changes introduced on 12 November 1991)
(1) If: (a) a person is qualified for incentive allowance immediately before 12 November 1991; and (b) the person is receiving disability support pension on 12 November 1991 because of a…
Section 36A — Part 2.23B major disaster
(1) The Minister may determine in writing that an event is a Part 2.23B major disaster if the Minister is satisfied that: (a) the event is a disaster that has such a significant impact on one or more…
Section 37 — Dependent child—inmate of a mental hospital
A young person is taken to be a dependent child of a member of a couple (the adult) for the purposes of Part 2.10 (parenting payment) if: (a) the young person is an inmate of a mental hospital; and…
Section 38MA — Benefit restriction notice from AFP Minister
(1) The AFP Minister may give the Minister a written notice requiring that this Part apply in relation to a specified person if: (a) the person is the subject of an arrest warrant issued in Australia…
Section 38SA — Annual review of benefit restriction notice
Before the end of the following periods, the Minister who gave a benefit restriction notice must consider whether to revoke the benefit restriction notice (if it has not already been revoked): (a) 12…
Section 38B — Notional continuous period of receipt of income support payments
(1) The object of this section is to treat a person in certain circumstances as having received an income support payment in respect of a continuous period even though the person did not actually…
Section 38C — Adult Disability Assessment Tool
(1) The Secretary may, by legislative instrument (the determination): (a) devise a test for assessing the disability, emotional state, behaviour and special care needs of a person aged 16 or more;…
Section 38E — Disability Care Load Assessment (Child) Determination
(1) The Secretary may, by legislative instrument (the Disability Care Load Assessment (Child) Determination): (a) devise a test for assessing the functional ability, behaviour and special care needs…
Section 38F — Treating health professional
The Secretary may, by legislative instrument, determine that a person, or any person included in a class of persons, is a treating health professional for the purposes of this Act (other than for the…
Section 38L — Simplified outline of this Part
Persons may lose social security payments or concession cards if they: (a) are the subject of an arrest warrant in respect of a serious violent or sexual offence; or (b) might prejudice the security…
Section 38M — Loss of social security payments and concessions for persons
(1) If a benefit restriction notice is given to the Minister in relation to a person, then while the notice is in force: (a) no social security payment is to be paid to the person; and (b) the person…
Section 38N — Benefit restriction notice from ASIO Minister
(1) The ASIO Minister may give the Minister a written notice requiring that this Part apply in relation to a specified person if: (a) the Foreign Affairs Minister gives the ASIO Minister a notice…
Section 38P — Notice from Foreign Affairs Minister
If: (a) either: (i) under subsection 14(2) of the Australian Passports Act 2005, the Foreign Affairs Minister refuses to issue a person an Australian travel document; or (ii) under section 22 of that…
Section 38R — Copy of benefit restriction notice to be given to Secretaries
The Minister must give a copy of a benefit restriction notice to: (a) the Secretary of the Department; and (b) the Human Services Secretary.
Section 38S — Period benefit restriction notice is in force
A benefit restriction notice comes into force on the day it is given to the Minister, and remains in force until it is revoked.
Section 38T — Revoking a benefit restriction notice
(1) If the AFP Minister or the ASIO Minister has given a benefit restriction notice, that Minister may, by written notice given to the Minister, revoke the benefit restriction notice. (2) The…
Section 38U — Notices may contain personal information
A notice under this Part in relation to a person may contain personal information (within the meaning of the Privacy Act 1988) about the person.
Section 38V — Decisions under Part not decisions of officers
For the purposes of Part 4 of the Administration Act, a decision under this Part is taken not to be a decision of an officer under the social security law.
Section 38W — Notices not legislative instruments
A notice under this Part is not a legislative instrument.
Section 39 — Tables, calculators etc. form part of section
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a Table and a Key to a Table are to be taken to be part of: (a) if the Table occurs in a section containing subsections—the subsection immediately preceding the…
Section 40 — Activities that do not give rise to employment under certain industrial relations legislation
(1) If a person: (a) participates in an approved program of work for income support payment or in an employment program; or (b) undertakes an activity (other than paid work) in accordance with a…
Section 43 — Qualification for age pension
(1) A person is qualified for an age pension if the person has reached pension age and any of the following applies: (a) the person has 10 years qualifying Australian residence; (b) the person has a…
Section 44 — Age pension not payable if pension rate nil
(1) Subject to subsection (2), an age pension is not payable to a person if the person’s age pension rate would be nil. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if the person’s rate would be nil…
Section 47 — Multiple entitlement exclusion
(1) An age pension is not payable to a person if the person is already receiving a service pension or a veteran payment. (2) If: (a) a person is receiving an age pension; and (b) another social…
Section 47A — Exclusion of certain participants in ABSTUDY Scheme
(1) If: (a) a payment is made in respect of a person under the ABSTUDY Scheme; and (b) the payment is made on the basis that the person is a full-time student; and (c) in the calculation of the…
Section 55 — How to work out a person’s age pension rate
A person’s age pension rate is worked out: (a) if the person is not permanently blind—using Pension Rate Calculator A at the end of section 1064 (see Part 3.2); or (b) if the person is permanently…