Family and Community Services and Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (2004 Budget Measures) Act 2004
No. 128, 2004
An Act to amend the social security law and law about veterans’ entitlements, and for related purposes
[Assented to 31 August 2004]
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
This Act may be cited as the Family and Community Services and Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (2004 Budget Measures) Act 2004.
(1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.
| Commencement information |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| Provision(s) | Commencement | Date/Details |
| 1. Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table | The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 31 August 2004 |
| 2. Schedule 1 | The day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent. | 31 August 2004 |
| 3. Schedule 2, Parts 1 and 2 | The later of: (a) the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent; and (b) 1 September 2004. | 1 September 2004
(paragraph (b) applies) |
| 4 Schedule 2, Part 3 | Immediately after the commencement of item 147 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999. | 20 March 2000 |
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.
(2) Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.
Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Social Security Act 1991
1 After paragraph 8(8)(zja)
Insert:
(zjb) an amount covered by subsection (8B) (about reductions of amounts payable for enrolment or tuition in certain courses);
(zjc) a payment covered by subsection (8C) (about payments that are made to an educational institution or the Commonwealth to reduce a person’s liability to the educational institution or Commonwealth and that are made by someone other than the person);
2 After subsection 8(8A)
Insert:
(8B) This subsection covers the amount of a reduction (by discount, remission or waiver) of an amount that would otherwise be payable by a person:
(a) to an educational institution for enrolment or tuition of the person by the institution in a course that:
(i) is determined, under section 5D of the Student Assistance Act 1973, to be a secondary course or a tertiary course for the purposes of that Act; or
(ii) is a Masters or Doctoral degree course accredited as a higher education course by the authority responsible for accrediting higher education courses in the State or Territory in which the course is conducted or by the institution, if it is permitted by a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory to accredit higher education courses that it conducts; or
(iii) is a course of vocational training; or
(b) to the Commonwealth as a result of the person’s enrolment in, or undertaking of, such a course at an educational institution.
(8C) This subsection covers a payment:
(a) that is made to discharge, or to prevent from arising, to any extent:
(i) a person’s actual or anticipated liability to an educational institution for enrolment or tuition of the person by the institution in a course described in paragraph (8B)(a); or
(ii) a person’s actual or anticipated liability to the Commonwealth resulting from the person’s enrolment in, or undertaking of, such a course at an educational institution; and
(b) that is made by someone other than the person; and
(c) that is made to the institution or the Commonwealth; and
(d) that is not made at the direction of the person.
Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986
3 After paragraph 5H(8)(hb)
Insert:
(hc) an amount covered by subsection (8A) (about reductions of amounts payable for enrolment or tuition in certain courses);
(hd) a payment covered by subsection (8B) (about payments that are made to an educational institution or the Commonwealth to reduce a person’s liability to the educational institution or Commonwealth and that are made by someone other than the person);
4 After subsection 5H(8)
Insert:
(8A) This subsection covers the amount of a reduction (by discount, remission or waiver) of an amount that would otherwise be payable by a person:
(a) to an educational institution for enrolment or tuition of the person by the institution in a course that:
(i) is determined, under section 5D of the Student Assistance Act 1973, to be a secondary course or a tertiary course for the purposes of that Act; or
(ii) is a Masters or Doctoral degree course accredited as a higher education course by the authority responsible for accrediting higher education courses in the State or Territory in which the course is conducted or by the institution, if it is permitted by a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory to accredit higher education courses that it conducts; or
(iii) is a course of vocational training; or
(b) to the Commonwealth as a result of the person’s enrolment in, or undertaking of, such a course at an educational institution.
(8B) This subsection covers a payment:
(a) that is made to discharge, or to prevent from arising, to any extent:
(i) a person’s actual or anticipated liability to an educational institution for enrolment or tuition of the person by the institution in a course described in paragraph (8A)(a); or
(ii) a person’s actual or anticipated liability to the Commonwealth resulting from the person’s enrolment in, or undertaking of, such a course at an educational institution; and
(b) that is made by someone other than the person; and
(c) that is made to the institution or the Commonwealth; and
(d) that is not made at the direction of the person.
Part 1—Main amendment
Social Security Act 1991
1 After section 954
Insert:
(1) A person is qualified for carer allowance for a disabled adult (the care receiver) if:
(a) the care receiver is an Australian resident; and
(b) the care receiver is a family member of the person or is a person approved in writing by the Secretary for the purposes of this paragraph; and
(c) the care receiver has been assessed and rated under the Adult Disability Assessment Tool and given a score under that assessment tool of at least 30, being a score calculated on the basis of a professional questionnaire score of at least 12; and
(d) the care receiver receives care and attention that meet the requirements in subsection (2); and
(e) the person is an Australian resident; and
(f) the person’s work in providing the care and attention is not at award wages or above; and
(g) neither the person nor anyone else is qualified for carer allowance for the care receiver under section 954.
Note 1: For Australian resident see section 7. For family member see subsection 23(1).
Note 2: For qualification for carer allowance in circumstances of hospitalisation, see section 955.
Note 3: For the effect of temporary cessation of care and attention on carer allowance, see section 957.
Note 4: For the effect of 2 people being qualified for carer allowance, see sections 964 and 965.
(2) The care and attention:
(a) must address special care needs:
(i) that the care receiver is assessed under the Adult Disability Assessment Tool as having; and
(ii) that relate to the care receiver’s bodily functions or to sustaining the care receiver’s life; and
(b) must be received by the care receiver on a daily basis, for a total of at least 20 hours a week; and
(c) must:
(i) be received by the care receiver from the person alone; or
(ii) be received by the care receiver from the person together with another person whose work in providing the care and attention is not at award wages or above, whether or not both persons are present every day when the care receiver receives the care and attention; and
(d) must be received in a private home that is the residence of the care receiver, the person or the other person (if any), but not the residence of both the care receiver and the person; and
(e) must not be care and attention of a kind (if any) specified in a written instrument made by the Secretary for the purposes of this paragraph.
(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(e), the Secretary may make a written instrument specifying kinds of care and attention. The instrument is a disallowable instrument.
Disabled adult does not qualify for carer allowance for another disabled adult
(4) If a person is qualified for carer allowance for a disabled adult, the disabled adult is not able to qualify for carer allowance for another disabled adult.
Person cannot qualify for more than 2 carer allowances
(5) A person may qualify for carer allowance under this section and/or section 954 for 2, but no more than 2, disabled adults.
Part 2—Related amendments
Social Security Act 1991
2 After paragraph 731J(4)(b)
Insert:
(ba) the person meets the qualification conditions for carer allowance set out in section 954A as modified by subsection (5); or
3 At the end of subsection 731J(5)
Add:
; and (c) a reference to section 954A as modified by this subsection is a reference to section 954A, subject to:
(i) the substitution of a requirement that the care receiver be in Australia for the requirement in paragraph 954A(1)(a); and
(ii) the omission of paragraph 954A(1)(e).
4 Subsection 731J(7)
Omit “either or both of sections 953 and 954” (wherever occurring), substitute “one or more of sections 953, 954 and 954A”.
5 Subsection 731J(7)
Omit “either or both” (last occurring), substitute “one or more”.
6 Section 952 (definition of care receiver)
Omit “and 954(1)”, substitute “, 954(1) and 954A(1)”.
7 Subsection 954(3)
After “this section”, insert “and/or section 954A”.
Note: The heading to section 954 is altered by adding at the end “in a private home of both the adult and the carer”.
8 Paragraph 955(1)(c)
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
(c) either the hospitalised person is terminally ill or it is reasonable to expect that, upon the hospitalised person leaving hospital:
(i) the hospitalised person will reside in the private home of the carer and the hospitalised person; or
(ii) the carer will qualify under section 954A for carer allowance for the hospitalised person;
9 Section 956
Omit “the residence of the person and the care receiver or care receivers”, substitute “described in whichever one of paragraphs 953(1)(d) and (2)(d), 954(1)(d) and 954A(2)(d) is relevant”.
Part 3—Technical correction
Social Security Act 1991
10 Section 958
Omit “child disability allowance rate”, substitute “carer allowance rate”.
[Minister’s second reading speech made in—
House of Representatives on 24 June 2004
Senate on 4 August 2004]