Social Security Act 1991
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 540A — Qualification for youth allowance—claimants for disability support pension
General rule (1) Subject to this Subdivision, a person is qualified for a youth allowance in respect of a period if: (b) throughout the period, the person is of youth allowance age (see Subdivision…
Section 540AA — Qualification for youth allowance—new apprentices
Subject to this Subdivision, a person is qualified for a youth allowance in respect of a period if, throughout the period: (a) the person is a new apprentice; and (b) the person is of youth allowance…
Section 540BA — Qualification for youth allowance—coronavirus
A person is qualified for a youth allowance in respect of a period that occurs between 1 April 2021 and 30 June 2021 if: (a) the Secretary is satisfied that the person is in quarantine or…
Section 540AB — Qualification for youth allowance—claimants with medical conditions affecting their capacity to work
General rule (1) Subject to this Subdivision, a person is qualified for a youth allowance in respect of the period starting in accordance with subsection (2) and ending in accordance with subsection…
Section 540B — Qualification for youth allowance—transferee from social security pension
If: (a) a person was receiving a social security pension; and (b) the person claims a youth allowance within 14 days after the day on which the last instalment of the person’s pension was paid; and…
Section 540C — Qualification for youth allowance may continue to end of payment period
If: (a) a person is receiving a youth allowance; and (b) apart from this section, the person would cease on a particular day to be qualified for the allowance because the person has attained the…
Section 541B — Undertaking full-time study
General (1) For the purposes of this Act, a person is undertaking full-time study if: (a) the person: (i) is enrolled in a course of education at an educational institution; or (ii) was enrolled in…
Section 541C — One course of education
(1) Whether subparagraph 541B(1)(a)(i) or (ii) and paragraphs 541B(1)(b), (c) and (d) are satisfied in relation to a person is to be determined in relation to only one course of education. (2)…
Section 542 — Situations in which a person is exempt from undertaking full-time study
For the purposes of this Part, a person is exempt from undertaking full-time study in respect of a period if, throughout the period: (a) the person has a temporary incapacity exemption under section…
Section 542A — Temporary incapacity exemption
General (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section and sections 542B and 542C, a person has a temporary incapacity exemption if: (a) throughout the period the person does not have the capacity to…
Section 542EA — Exemption from undertaking full-time study—death of person’s partner
Claimants (1) If: (a) a person makes a claim for youth allowance on or after the commencement of this section; and (b) the person makes the claim after the death of the person’s partner on or after…
Section 542FA — Disabled children or other family circumstances exemption
General (1) A person has a disabled children or other family circumstances exemption in respect of a period that the Secretary determines under this section in relation to the person. Circumstances…
Section 542B — Failure to attend interview etc. may result in cessation of temporary incapacity exemption
General (1) A person ceases to have a temporary incapacity exemption if: (a) the Secretary is of the opinion that the person should: (i) contact a particular officer of the Department; or (ii) attend…
Section 542C — Time limit for temporary incapacity exemptions—maximum exemption period
General (1) A person ceases to have a temporary incapacity exemption if the person’s maximum exemption period ends. Maximum exemption period (2) Subject to this section, a person’s maximum exemption…
Section 542D — Pre-natal and post-natal exemptions
Pre-natal exemption (1) A pregnant woman has a pre-natal exemption for the period that starts 6 weeks before the woman’s expected date of confinement and ends on the day on which the woman gives…
Section 542F — Domestic violence or other special family circumstances exemption
General (1) A person has a domestic violence or other special family circumstances exemption in respect of a period that the Secretary determines under this section in relation to the person.…
Section 542G — Training camp exemption
A person has a training camp exemption if the person is attending a training camp as a member of: (a) the Naval Reserve; or (b) the Army Reserve; or (c) the Air Force Reserve.
Section 542H — Special circumstances exemption
General (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a person has a special circumstances exemption in respect of a period if: (a) the Secretary is satisfied that special circumstances, beyond the…
Section 543 — Youth allowance age
For the purposes of this Part, a person is of youth allowance age if the person: (a) has attained the minimum age for youth allowance (see section 543A); and (b) has not yet attained the maximum age…
Section 543A — Minimum age for youth allowance
General (1) Subject to this section, the person has attained the minimum age for youth allowance if the person: (a) is at least 16 years old; or (b) is 15 years old and is independent. Note: For…
Section 543B — Maximum age for youth allowance
General (1) Subject to subsection (2), the person has attained the maximum age for youth allowance if: (a) the person is not undertaking full-time study and is at least 22 years old; or (b) the…
Section 546 — Prospective determinations for some allowance recipients
Recipients may qualify in advance in some cases (1) A person is qualified for youth allowance for a period determined by the Secretary if: (a) the person is receiving youth allowance; and (b) the…
Section 547 — Youth allowance not payable if allowance rate nil
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a youth allowance is not payable to a person if the person’s youth allowance rate would be nil. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person if the person’s rate would…
Section 547A — Allowance not payable if assets value limit exceeded
A youth allowance is not payable to a person if: (a) the person is not excluded from the application of the youth allowance assets test; and (b) the value of the person’s assets is more than the…
Section 547AA — Youth allowance not payable if person fails to attend interview etc. in certain circumstances
General (1) A youth allowance is not payable to a person if: (a) before or after the person made a claim for a youth allowance, the Department is contacted by or on behalf of the person in relation…
Section 547AB — Situations where allowance not payable for failure to comply with certain requirements
A youth allowance 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 547B — Who is excluded from application of assets test?
A person is excluded from the application of the youth allowance assets test if the person is not independent.
Section 547C — Assets value limit
A person’s assets value limit is: (b) $250,000 if the person: (ii) is not a member of a couple (see section 4); and (iii) is a homeowner; or (c) $450,000 if the person: (ii) is not a member of a…
Section 547D — Value of person’s assets to include value of assets of partner in certain circumstances
The value of a person’s assets is the sum of the following values: (a) the value of the person’s assets (disregarding paragraph (b)); (b) if the person is a member of a couple (see section 4)—the…
Section 549 — Waiting periods
(1) A youth allowance is not payable to a person who is qualified for youth allowance while the person is subject to a waiting period. (2) For the purposes of this Part, a person may be subject to…
Section 549A — Liquid assets test waiting period
When person subject to liquid assets test waiting period—general (1) Subject to this section, if: (a) the value of a person’s liquid assets is more than the person’s maximum reserve on: (i) the day…
Section 549CA — Ordinary waiting period
(1) This section applies if a person is qualified for a youth allowance, where neither subparagraph 540(1)(a)(i) (about full-time study) nor section 540AA (about new apprentices) applies. (2) Subject…
Section 549B — Start of liquid assets test waiting period
General (1) The liquid assets test waiting period of a person who does not have a temporary incapacity exemption starts on the day on which the person became qualified for youth allowance. Person has…
Section 549CB — Duration of ordinary waiting period
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), if a person is subject to an ordinary waiting period, the ordinary waiting period is the period of 7 days that starts on the person’s start day (worked out…
Section 549C — Length of liquid assets test waiting period
Number of weeks (1) A person’s liquid assets test waiting period is: (a) if the result obtained under subsection (2) is 13 or more whole weeks—13 weeks; or (b) if the result obtained under subsection…
Section 549D — Newly arrived resident’s waiting period
Basic rule (1) Subject to this section, a person is subject to a newly arrived resident’s waiting period if the person: (a) has entered Australia; and (b) has not been an Australian resident in…
Section 549E — Length of newly arrived resident’s waiting period
If a person is subject to a newly arrived resident’s waiting period, the period: (a) starts on the day the person first became an Australian resident; and (b) ends when the person has been an…
Section 549F — Effect of being subject to multiple waiting periods
For the avoidance of doubt, if a person is subject to 2 or more waiting periods under this Subdivision, a youth allowance is not payable to the person until all of those waiting periods have ended.
Section 549G — Application of Subdivision
This Subdivision applies to a person only if the person is undertaking full-time study (see section 541B). Note: If the person is not undertaking full-time study, Division 3AA or 3A of Part 3 of the…
Section 550 — Youth allowance participation failures
Meaning of youth participation failure (1) A person commits a youth allowance participation failure if the person: (a) fails to comply with a requirement: (i) that was notified to the person under…
Section 550B — Allowance not payable because of youth allowance participation failure
General (1) A youth allowance is not payable to a person, for the period starting in accordance with section 550C and ending in accordance with section 550D, if: (a) the person commits a youth…
Section 550C — When the period of non-payment starts
The period for which youth allowance is not payable to the person because of section 550B is taken to have started at the start of the participation failure instalment period for the youth allowance…
Section 550D — When the period of non-payment ends
The period for which youth allowance is not payable to the person because of section 550B ends when: (a) in accordance with a requirement of the Secretary that the person comply with the requirement,…
Section 550E — Application of Subdivision
This Subdivision applies to a person only if the person is undertaking full-time study (see section 541B). Note: If the person is not undertaking full-time study, Division 3AA or 3A of Part 3 of the…
Section 551 — Allowance not payable because of repeated failure
General (1) A youth allowance is not payable to a person, for the period of 8 weeks starting in accordance with section 551A, if the person commits a youth allowance participation failure (the…
Section 551A — When the period of non-payment starts
The period for which youth allowance is not payable to the person because of subsection 551(1) is taken to start, or to have started: (a) if the repeated failure occurs during a participation failure…
Section 552 — Multiple entitlement exclusions
(1) Youth allowance is not payable to a person who is qualified for youth allowance while the person is subject to a multiple entitlement exclusion. (2) For the purposes of this Division, a person is…
Section 552A — Person receiving payment under certain schemes
General (1) Subject to subsection (2), the schemes for the purposes of paragraph 552(2)(b) are: (a) a prescribed educational scheme other than the ABSTUDY Scheme to the extent that it applies to…
Section 552B — Assurance of support
An assurance of support applies to a person if: (a) an assurance of support is in force in respect of the person (assuree); and (b) the person who gave the assurance was willing and able to provide…
Section 553 — Employment-related exclusions
(1) Youth allowance is not payable to a person who is qualified for youth allowance while the person is subject to an employment-related exclusion. (2) For the purposes of this Division, a person is…