{"id":"F2020L01225","name":"Social Security (Administration) (Exempt Welfare Payment Recipients – Principal Carers of a Child) (Indications of Financial Vulnerability) Principles 2020","slug":"social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440613,"registerId":"F2020L01225-fast-fetch-1775956178031","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Social Security (Administration) (Exempt Welfare Payment Recipients – Principal Carers of a Child) (Indications of Financial Vulnerability) Principles 2020","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Exempt Welfare Payment Recipients – Principal Carers of a Child) (Indications of Financial Vulnerability) Principles 2020\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nI, Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services, make the following Principles.\n\nDated                            25 September 2020  \n\nSenator the Hon Anne Ruston\n\nMinister for Families and Social Services\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Schedule\n\nPart 2—Decision-Making Principles\n\n6  Financial exploitation\n\n7  Priority needs\n\n8  Money management strategies\n\n9  Changes to welfare payment arrangements\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Exempt Welfare Payment Recipients  Persons with Dependent Children) (Indications of Financial Vulnerability) Principles 2010\n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Social Security (Administration) (Exempt Welfare Payment Recipients – Principal Carers of a Child) (Indications of Financial Vulnerability) Principles 2020.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument 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.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsection 123UGD(5) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n (1) In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.\n\nCentrepay means the voluntary deduction service provided by Services Australia under section 61A of the Act.\n\npriority needs has the meaning given by section 123TH of the Act.\n\nrelevant period means, in relation to a person, the 12-month period mentioned in paragraph 123UGD(1)(d) of the Act as it applies to that person.\n\nsocial security entitlement has the meaning given by subsection 23(1) of the Social Security Act 1991.\n\nspecified dependants means, in relation to a person, the following:\n\n1.     a child of the person;\n\n\n (b) the person’s partner;\n\n (c) any other dependants of the person.\n\nstrategies include:\n\n1.     tools (however described); and\n\n\n (b) training (however described).\n\n (2) For the purposes of section 7 of this instrument, a person (the first person) is experiencing financial exploitation, if another person, or any entity (whether or not it has a legal personality):\n\n1.     has acquired; or\n2.     has attempted to acquire; or\n3.     is attempting to acquire;\n\n\npossession of, control of or the use of, or an interest in, some or all of the first person’s financial resources, through the use of undue pressure, harassment, violence, abuse, deception, duress, fraud and exploitation.\n\n5 Principles\n\n  For subsection 123UGD(5) of the Act, the decision-making principles are set out in Part 2 of this instrument.\n\n6  Schedule\n\n  The instrument that is specified in Schedule 1 to this instrument is repealed as set out in the Schedule.\n\n \n\n\n\n\nPart 2—Decision-Making Principles\n\n7  Financial exploitation\n\n  The Secretary must consider whether the person experienced financial exploitation during the relevant period.\n\n8  Priority needs\n\n  The Secretary must consider:\n\n (a) the priority needs, during the relevant period, of the person and the person’s specified dependants (if any); and\n\n (b) whether, during the relevant period, the person was applying appropriate resources to meet some or all of those priority needs.\n\n9  Money management strategies\n\n  The Secretary must consider:\n\n (a) what, if any, strategies (however described) the person used, during the relevant period, to manage their financial resources; and\n\n (b) whether it is likely that the person will continue to use those strategies, or similar strategies, to manage their financial resources in the foreseeable future.\n\n  Examples for paragraph (a)\n\n- A personal or household budget.\n- A financial plan.\n- Paying bills or other expenses through Centrepay.\n- Paying bills or other expenses by direct debit from a bank account.\n- Arrange to pay major bills or debts by instalments.\n- Undertaking a course to learn or update financial skills.\n- Using lay-by services.\n- Using a BasicsCard as part of an income management arrangement under Part 3B of the Act.\n\n\n10  Changes to welfare payment arrangements\n\nUrgent payments\n\n (1) The Secretary must consider:\n\n (a) whether the person received more than one payment in relation to their social security entitlement in any fortnight during the relevant period, and the reasons for each of those payments; and\n\n (b) if the person requested that he or she be paid as described in paragraph (a) during the relevant period, and that request was rejected, ­ the reasons for each rejection.\n\n\n\n\nChanges to payment payday\n\n (2) The Secretary must consider how many times (if ever) the person requested that his or her usual social security payment payday be changed during the relevant period, and the reasons for each request.\n\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Exempt Welfare Payment Recipients ­ Persons with Dependent Children) (Indications of Financial Vulnerability) Principles 2010\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\n  Repeal the instrument.\n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward re-enactment and update of the 2010 Principles. The scope remains tightly focused on the same purpose: establishing decision-making criteria for exempting principal carers from compulsory income management. The only substantive change is terminology ('principal carers of a child' replacing 'persons with dependent children') to align with legislative amendments, plus minor modernisation of examples (adding Centrepay and BasicsCard references). The instrument has not expanded beyond its original narrow remit."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 10 substantive sections plus preliminary matters","Minimal defined terms: only 6 defined terms in section 4, most referencing external legislation","Simple structure: linear progression through four assessment criteria with no nested exceptions","No cross-referencing maze: references only the parent Act (Social Security (Administration) Act 1999) and Social Security Act 1991 for basic definitions","Clear conditional logic: each section uses straightforward 'must consider' obligations without complex triggers","Single purpose: entirely focused on one decision-making framework for one specific exemption category"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument sets rules for how Services Australia decides if a principal carer receiving welfare is \"financially vulnerable\" and thus exempt from or kept on compulsory income management. It requires decision‑makers to use a checklist assessing exploitation, essential spending, money‑management practices, and payment‑arrangement instability.\n\nIt affects parents/guardians on Parenting Payment or JobSeeker and matters because outcomes determine whether a portion of their welfare is quarantined, affecting financial autonomy."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument repeals the 2010 Principles (Schedule 1) and, by title and text, reframes the decision factors specifically for \"principal carers of a child\" rather than the earlier wording concerning \"persons with dependent children.\" It therefore appears to narrow and re‑articulate the group and the decision‑making focus (see title, Schedule 1, Parts 1–2, ss7–10)."},"complexity_factors":["References and dependence on other Act provisions (instrument made under s123UGD(5); uses terms defined in the Social Security (Administration) Act and Social Security Act) — see s3 and s4.","Multiple defined terms that channel interpretation (eg. 'priority needs' refers to s123TH; 'relevant period' ties to paragraph 123UGD(1)(d)) — s4.","Broad, non-prescriptive discretionary duties on the Secretary to 'consider' various matters (financial exploitation, priority needs, money management, payment changes) without formulaic standards — ss7–10.","Non‑exhaustive examples for money‑management strategies that expand but do not limit what may be relevant (examples following s9).","Administrative implementation and evidence‑gathering burdens for decision‑makers to establish past behaviour during the 12‑month 'relevant period' — ss4, 7–10.","Repeal and replacement dynamic (repeals a 2010 instrument) which raises transition and scope‑clarity issues — Schedule 1."],"plain_english_summary":"These Principles set out what the Secretary must consider when deciding if an exempt welfare payment recipient who is a principal carer of a child shows signs of financial vulnerability. They require decision-makers to look at financial exploitation, priority needs, the person’s money‑management strategies, and certain payment‑change events; those considerations can affect how social security payments are managed or arranged and give the Secretary discretion to alter payment handling in response to assessed vulnerability."},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat","history":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat/history","analysis":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-exempt-welfare-payment-recipients-principal-carers-of-a-child-indicat/documents"}}