Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If the payer of an enforceable maintenance liability covered by subsection 17(2) is in receipt of a social security pension or a social security benefit, the Registrar may give a written notice to the Secretary:
(a) specifying the payer's name and setting out sufficient particulars to enable the Secretary to identify the payer; and
(b) instructing the Secretary to make the prescribed periodic deduction from the payer's social security pension or social security benefit as from the specified day.
(2) If:
(a) a person by whom a child support debt or carer debt is due (whether before or after the commencement of this section) has not paid the debt; and
(b) the person is in receipt of a social security pension or a social security benefit;
the Registrar may give a written notice to the Secretary:
(c) specifying the person's name and setting out sufficient particulars to enable the Secretary to identify the person; and
(d) for a child support debt--instructing the Secretary to:
(i) make the prescribed periodic deduction from the person's social security pension or social security benefit from a specified day until the debt is paid; or
(ii) if the Registrar is satisfied the person is in financial hardship--make the specified lesser periodic deduction from the person's social security pension or social security benefit from a specified day until the debt is paid; and
(e) for a carer debt--instructing the Secretary to deduct an amount, determined by the Registrar, from the payer's social security pension or social security benefit from a specified day until the debt is paid.
(2A) In making a determination for the purposes of paragraph (2)(e), the Registrar may determine an amount that reduces a person's pension or benefit to nil if the person has consented to the amount of the deduction being an amount that would reduce the payment to nil.
(3) A notice may be given by electronic transmission or by any other means.
(4) Subsection (2) does not apply to an amount due in respect of a liability covered by section 18.
(6) In this section:
"social security benefit" and social security pension have the same respective meanings as in the Social Security Act 1991 .