Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to this section, a person is qualified for an advance payment of a social security entitlement only if:
(a) the social security entitlement is payable to the person; and
(b) the person has been receiving an income support payment for a continuous period of 3 months immediately before the day on which the person's application for the advance payment is lodged; and
(d) the Secretary is satisfied that the person will not suffer financial hardship from reductions in instalments of the social security entitlement as a result of receiving the advance payment.
Note 1: Other provisions of this Act deal with advances of social security payments that are not social security entitlements. For example, Division 3 of Part 2.21 deals with mobility allowance advance and Part 2.23 deals with advance pharmaceutical allowance.
Note 2: For income support payment and social security entitlement see subsection 23(1).
Note 3: For the determination of the continuous period in respect of which a person received an income support payment see section 38B.
(2) The Secretary may, by legislative instrument, determine that paragraph (1)(b) does not apply to a person who has applied for an advance of youth allowance or austudy payment and the determination has effect accordingly.
Disqualification--age and disability support pensions and carer payment
(3) A person is not qualified for an advance payment of an age pension, disability support pension or carer payment if:
(a) the maximum amount of advance payment to which the person would be entitled under Division 4 is less than 1 / 52 of the person's advance payment qualifying amount; or
(b) the amount of an advance payment of a social security entitlement that the person received in full (whether as a single lump sum or in instalments) more than 12 months ago has not been fully repaid; or
(c) the person owes a debt to the Commonwealth (whether arising under this Act or not) that is recoverable under Part 5.2 by means of deductions from the person's social security payment.
The amount worked out under paragraph (a) must be rounded to the nearest cent (rounding 0.5 cents upwards).
Note 1: Paragraph (a) does not prevent payment of an advance payment in instalments of less than the amount worked out under that paragraph.
Note 2: For advance payment qualifying amount , see subsection 23(1).
Disqualification--other social security entitlements
(4) A person is not qualified for an advance payment of a social security entitlement not covered by subsection (3) if:
(a) the maximum amount of advance payment to which the person would be entitled under Division 4 is less than $250; or
(b) the person has received an advance payment, or an instalment of an advance payment, of a social security entitlement and has not fully repaid the advance payment; or
(c) the person has received the amount of an advance payment in a single lump sum, or has received the first instalment of such an amount, on or after 1 January 1997, and the period of 12 months from the day the lump sum or instalment was paid has not elapsed; or
(d) the person owes a debt to the Commonwealth (whether arising under this Act or not) that is recoverable under Part 5.2 by means of deductions from the person's social security payment.
Note: Paragraph (a) does not prevent payment of an advance payment in instalments of less than $250.
(5) Paragraph (4)(c) does not apply to a person:
(a) who is receiving a pension PP (single); and
(b) who applies for an advance payment within the period of 28 days after ceasing to be a member of a couple.
(6) Paragraph (4)(d) does not apply to a person if:
(a) the debt the person owes to the Commonwealth arose as a result of the person's parenting payment rate changing from benefit PP (partnered) to pension PP (single); and
(b) the amount of the debt is smaller than the amount of advance
payment to which the person would be entitled under Division 4.