Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1989 No. 83, 1989 - SECT 31

31. Section 21 of the Principal Act is amended:
(a) by omitting from subsection (1) the definition of "total income" and
substituting the following definition:

" 'total income', for a person in a period, means the sum of:

   (a)  the person's income and maintenance income received in that period;
        and

   (b)  any qualifying pension received by the person in that period;
reduced by so much of that amount as:

   (c)  was received as arrears of payments due to the person before that
        period; and

   (d)  the relevant authority is satisfied should be disregarded for the
        purposes of this section;"; Commencement: 17 June 1988

   (b)  by inserting in subsection (1) the following definition:

" 'extra payment' means a payment made to a person who is eligible to receive
a qualifying pension, being a payment made:

   (a)  under or by reference to subsection 118 (2) of the Social Security
        Act, because the person is a married person;

   (b)  under or by reference to subsection 33 (3) or (4) of the Social
        Security Act, or paragraph 47 (3) (a), (b), (c) or (e) of the
        Veterans'  Entitlements Act , whether because the person or the
        person's spouse has a dependent child or dependent children, or in
        respect of a particular dependent child of the person or the person's
        spouse;

   (c)  because the person or the person's spouse pays rent; or

   (d)  by way of remote area allowance;"; Commencement: Day of Royal Assent

   (c)  by inserting in subsection (1) the following definitions:

" 'indexation increase', in relation to a qualifying pension, means an
increase in the rate at which the qualifying pension is payable that has
occurred pursuant to an indexation provision;
'indexation provision' means a provision of the Social Security Act or the
Veterans' Entitlements Act providing for the rate of a qualifying pension to
be increased periodically by reference to the quarterly All Groups Consumer
Price Index numbers published by the Australian Statistician;
'relevant authority' means:

   (a)  in relation to a person who is eligible to receive a qualifying
        pension under the Social Security Act-the Secretary to the Department
        of Social Security; or

   (b)  in relation to a person who is eligible to receive a qualifying
        pension under the Veterans' Entitlements Act-the Repatriation
        Commission;"; Commencement: 17 June 1988

   (d)  by inserting after subsection (4) the following subsection:

"(4A) Where:

   (a)  a person's total income for the final pre-amendment period included an
        extra payment under the Social Security Act or the
        Veterans' Entitlements  Act ; and

   (b)  after the commencement of this subsection, because of a change in the
        person's circumstances (not being a change in the person's other
        income), the person is no longer entitled to an extra payment of the
        same kind under the Social Security Act or the
        Veterans' Entitlements Act;
then, for the purposes of the application of subsection (4) after that change
in circumstances, the person's total income for the final pre-amendment period
shall be taken to have been reduced by the amount of the extra payment.";
Commencement: Day of Royal Assent

   (e)  by omitting subsection (5) and substituting the following subsection:

"(5) The amount of the qualifying pension shall not exceed:

   (a)  except where paragraph (b) applies-the amount of the qualifying
        pension (whether or not of the same kind) received in the final
        pre-amendment period; or

   (b)  in the case of a person to whom this section applies who, immediately
        before 17 June 1988, had no dependent children-the amount of the
        qualifying pension (whether or not of the same kind) received in the
        final pre-amendment period, increased to take account of any
        indexation increases, but no other rate increases, since the end of
        that period.". Commencement: 17 June 1988