Social Security Act 1991

Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.

Section 63 — 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)…

Section 74 — Partner allowance for persons born on or before 1 July 1955 (changes made on 1 July 1995)

(1) If: (a) a person was receiving partner allowance immediately before 1 July 1995; and (b) the person was born on or before 1 July 1955; the person need not satisfy paragraph 771HA(1)(h) in order…

Section 82 — Qualification for payments under this Subdivision

(1) If: (a) a person is receiving an age pension; and (b) the person is a member of a couple; and (c) the person’s partner dies; and (d) immediately before the partner died, the partner: (i) was…

Section 83 — Continued payment of deceased partner’s previous entitlement

(1) 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…

Section 84 — 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 85 — Adjustment of person’s age pension rate

If: (a) a person is qualified for payments under this Subdivision; and (b) the person does not elect under subsection 82(2) not to receive payments under this Subdivision; the rate of the person’s…

Section 86 — 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 87 — Matters affecting payment of benefits 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Section 88 — Saving: Determinations under repealed sections 1099E and 1099L

A determination in force under section 1099E or 1099L immediately before the commencement of this clause continues to have effect after that commencement as if: (a) section 1084 of this Act, as in…

Section 91 — Death of recipient

(1) If: (a) a person is receiving age pension; and (b) either: (i) the person is not a member of a couple; or (ii) the person is a member of a couple and the person’s partner: (A) is not receiving a…

Section 92A — Simplified outline

The following is a simplified outline of this Part:  A person who qualifies for an age pension but defers claiming that pension may be able to get a single lump-sum pension bonus.  A person who…

Section 92B — Definitions

In this Part: accruing member of the pension bonus scheme has the meaning given by section 92N. bonus period has the meaning given by section 92T. carer preclusion period has the meaning given by…

Section 92C — Qualification for pension bonus

A person is qualified for a pension bonus if: (a) both: (i) the person starts to receive an age pension at or after the time when the person makes a claim for the pension bonus; and (ii) that age…

Section 92D — Application for registration

(1) A person may apply for registration as a member of the pension bonus scheme. (2) However, a person cannot make an application on or after 1 July 2014.

Section 92E — Form of application

An application must be in writing and must be in accordance with a form approved by the Secretary.

Section 92F — Relevant information

(1) An approved form may require the applicant to provide relevant information (see subsection (4)). (2) The Secretary may, by written notice given to the applicant, require the applicant to give the…

Section 92G — Lodgment of application

(1) An application must be lodged: (a) at an office of the Department; or (b) at a place approved by the Secretary; or (c) with a person approved by the Secretary. (2) A place or person approved…

Section 92H — Timing of application and registration

Age pension qualification date on or after 1 July 1998 (1) If a person’s date of qualification for the age pension occurs on or after 1 July 1998: (a) the person must lodge an application during the…

Section 92J — Registration

(1) If an application is made in accordance with this Subdivision, the Secretary must register the applicant as a member of the pension bonus scheme. (1A) However, the Secretary must not register a…

Section 92K — Duration of membership

A person’s membership of the pension bonus scheme begins on the date on which the registration of that membership takes effect and continues until the membership is cancelled under this Act.

Section 92L — Cancellation of membership

A person’s membership of the pension bonus scheme is cancelled if: (a) the person’s claim for pension bonus is determined; or (b) the person starts to receive: (i) a social security pension (other…

Section 92M — Application for registration is not to be treated as a claim

To avoid doubt, an application for registration as a member of the pension bonus scheme is not to be treated as a claim for the purposes of any law of the Commonwealth.

Section 92N — Accruing membership

For the purposes of this Part, a person’s membership of the pension bonus scheme at a particular time is accruing unless the person’s membership is non-accruing or post-75 at that time.

Section 92P — Non-accruing membership—preclusion periods

Disposal preclusion period (1) For the purposes of this Part, if a person is subject to a disposal preclusion period at a particular time when the person is a member of the pension bonus scheme, the…

Section 92Q — Non-accruing membership—Secretary’s discretion

(1) The Secretary may, by legislative instrument, declare that, for the purposes of this Part, a specified kind of member of the pension bonus scheme is a non-accruing member throughout a period…

Section 92R — Continuity of accruing membership is not broken by a period of non-accruing membership

If: (a) a person has been an accruing member of the pension bonus scheme for a continuous period (the first accruing membership period) (including a period that is applicable because of one or more…

Section 92S — Post-75 membership

A person’s membership of the pension bonus scheme is post-75 at all times after the person reaches age 75.

Section 92T — Accrual of bonus periods

Full-year bonus period (1) The first bonus period that accrues to a person is the full-year period of the person’s accruing membership of the pension bonus scheme: (a) that began on whichever of the…

Section 92U — Work test—full-year period

For the purposes of this Part, a person passes the work test for a full-year period of the person’s accruing membership of the pension bonus scheme if: (a) in any case—the person satisfies the…

Section 92V — Work test—part-year period

(1) For the purposes of this Part, a person passes the work test for a part-year period of the person’s accruing membership of the pension bonus scheme if: (a) in any case—the person satisfies the…

Section 92W — Secretary’s discretion to treat gainful work outside Australia as gainful work in Australia

(1) If a person satisfies the Secretary that: (a) the person, or the person’s partner, has carried on gainful work outside Australia; and (b) because of special circumstances, the gainful work should…

Section 92X — Gainful work—basic rule

(1) For the purposes of this Part, gainful work is work for financial gain or reward, whether as an employee, a self-employed person or otherwise, where: (a) the work involves a substantial degree of…

Section 92Y — Secretary’s discretion to treat activity as gainful work

(1) If a person satisfies the Secretary that: (a) the person, or the person’s partner, has engaged in a particular activity; and (b) the activity involves a substantial degree of personal exertion on…

Section 92Z — Irregular, infrequent and minor absences from a workplace count as gainful work

For the purposes of this Part, if a person is engaged in gainful work, the total hours gainfully worked by the person during a period are to be determined as if the person had been engaged in gainful…

Section 93 — Management of family financial investments does not count as gainful work

(1) Unless the Secretary otherwise determines, work undertaken by a person is taken not to be gainful work for the purposes of this Part to the extent to which the work consists of the management or…

Section 93A — Domestic duties in relation to a person’s place of residence do not count as gainful work

(1) Unless the Secretary otherwise determines, work undertaken by a person is taken not to be gainful work for the purposes of this Part if the work consists of carrying out: (a) domestic tasks; or…

Section 93UA — Disposal preclusion period—disposals on or after 1 July 2002

A person is subject to a disposal preclusion period throughout any period for which an amount is included in the value of the person’s assets under section 1126AA, 1126AB, 1126AC, 1126AD or 1126E (so…

Section 93WA — Qualification for pension bonus bereavement payment

A person is qualified for a pension bonus bereavement payment if: (a) the person stopped being a member of a couple because the person’s partner died; and (b) immediately before the partner died, the…

Section 93B — Evidentiary certificate

Hours worked during full-year period (1) The Secretary may, if requested to do so by a member of the pension bonus scheme, issue a written certificate stating that: (a) the member was an accruing…

Section 93WB — Amount of pension bonus bereavement payment

(1) The amount of a person’s pension bonus bereavement payment is worked out: (a) by working out the amount of pension bonus that would have been payable to the legal personal representative of the…

Section 93C — Record-keeping requirements

Record-keeping requirements for person (1) For the purposes of the application of paragraph 92U(a) or 92V(1)(a) or subsection 93B(1) or (3) to a person, the applicable record-keeping requirements…

Section 93WC — Definition of PBBP employment income

(1) PBBP employment income, of a person: (a) means ordinary income that is, or is taken to be, earned, derived or received by the person or the person’s partner from gainful work; and (b) includes…

Section 93D — How to calculate the amount of pension bonus

(1) To calculate the amount of a person’s pension bonus: (a) work out which of the person’s bonus periods count as qualifying bonus periods (see section 93E); (b) work out the person’s overall…

Section 93E — Qualifying bonus periods

(1) For the purposes of this Division, if a person has accrued only one bonus period, that bonus period is the person’s qualifying bonus period. (2) For the purposes of this Division, if a person has…

Section 93F — Overall qualifying period

(1) For the purposes of this Division, if a person has only one qualifying bonus period, that period is the person’s overall qualifying period. (2) For the purposes of this Division, if a person has…

Section 93G — Pension multiple

For the purposes of this Division, a person’s pension multiple is worked out using the formula:

Section 93H — Annual pension rate

Application (1) This section sets a person’s annual pension rate for the purposes of this Division if the start day for the age pension is on or after 20 September 2009. Note: See clause 144 of…

Section 93J — Amount of pension bonus

No change in couple status during overall qualifying period (1) If: (a) a person was a member of a couple throughout the person’s overall qualifying period; or (b) a person was not a member of a…

Section 93K — Top up of pension bonus for increased rate of age pension

(1) The Secretary may determine (a top up determination) that a person’s pension bonus is to be increased if: (a) the Secretary makes a determination (a rate determination) increasing the person’s…