{"id":"F2020L01227","name":"Social Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Class of Persons) Specification 2020","slug":"social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440614,"registerId":"F2020L01227-fast-fetch-1775956178033","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Social Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Class of Persons) Specification 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![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments ­– Class of Persons) Specification 2020\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nI, Anne Ruston, Minister for Families and Social Services, make the following Specification.\n\nDated     24 September 2020  \n\nAnne Ruston\n\nMinister for Families and Social Services\n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Schedules\n\n6  Class of persons for period payments\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Class of Persons) (FaHCSIA) Specification 2010\n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Classes of Persons) (DEEWR) Specification 2010\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Social Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Class of Persons) Specification 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The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made.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 43(3B) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\n  Act means the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.\n\n5  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in the Schedule to this instrument is repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule, and any other item in the Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n6  Class of persons\n\n (1) For subsection 43(3A) of the Act, the class of persons who meet all of the following criteria is specified:\n\n (a) the person is an Australian resident living in Australia;\n\n (b) the person is receiving one of the social security periodic payments mentioned in subsection (2);\n\n (c) the person would benefit from having their social security periodic payment paid as described in subsection 43(3A) of the Act, including in the circumstances specified in subsection (3);\n\n (d) the person has requested the Secretary that they be paid their social security periodic payment in accordance with subsection 43(3A) of the Act and the person has not revoked that request.\n\n (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b), the social security periodic payments are:\n\n (a) age pension;\n\n (b) disability support pension;\n\n (c) carer payment;\n\n (d) special benefit; \n\n (e) widow allowance;\n\n (f) parenting payment;\n\n (g) youth allowance;\n\n (h) austudy payment;\n\n (i) partner allowance;\n\n (j) jobseeker payment.\n\n (3) A person is taken to benefit from having their social security payment paid in accordance with subsection 43(3A) of the Act if:\n\n (a) the person does not have access to safe, secure and adequate housing, including in the circumstances specified in subsection (4); or\n\n (b) the person is using emergency accommodation or is a refugee; or\n\n (c) the person is financially vulnerable and significantly disadvantaged.\n\n (4) A person is taken not to have access to safe, secure and adequate housing if:\n\n (a) the housing to which the person currently has access:\n\n (i) damages, or is likely to damage, the person’s health; or\n\n (ii) threatens or is likely to threaten the person’s safety; or\n\n (iii) does not provide the person with access to a reasonably level of personal amenities or the economic and social support that housing normally affords; or\n\n (b) in the circumstances, the adequacy, safety, security, or affordability of the housing to which the person currently has access is adversely affected or may be adversely affected; or\n\n (c) the person does not have a right to remain, or a reasonable expectation of being able to remain, in the housing to which the person currently has access.\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Class of Persons) (FaHCSIA) Specification 2010\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\nSocial Security (Administration) (Weekly Payments – Classes of Persons) (DEEWR) Specification 2010\n\n2  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"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"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument maintains the same scope as its predecessors. It consolidates two 2010 instruments into one without expanding the class of persons, the list of eligible payments, or the vulnerability criteria. The policy intent — allowing certain vulnerable recipients to elect weekly payments — remains unchanged from the original 2010 specifications."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 6 substantive sections plus a repeal schedule","Minimal defined terms: only 1 definition ('Act')","Simple conditional structure: single eligibility test with 4 cumulative criteria in section 6(1)","Clear nested criteria: subsections 6(2), 6(3), and 6(4) provide straightforward lists without cross-referencing other legislation beyond the parent Act","No exceptions to exceptions: the vulnerability criteria in subsections 6(3) and 6(4) are descriptive rather than creating complex carve-outs","Straightforward repeal schedule: repeals two expired instruments without transitional provisions"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument allows certain vulnerable Australians to request Centrelink payments weekly instead of the usual fortnightly schedule. It applies to residents receiving specified payments who ask for weekly pay and meet vulnerability criteria—housing crisis, emergency circumstances, or significant financial disadvantage. The change improves cash flow for people facing immediate hardship (food, shelter, bills) and consolidates two earlier 2010 instruments into a single 2020 instrument."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This instrument repeals two earlier 2010 specifications (Schedule 1) and restates a class of persons eligible for weekly payments (s6). The text itself specifies eligibility criteria but does not, on its face, state an expansion or narrowing of scope compared with prior instruments; it functions as a consolidated specification for the purposes of subsection 43(3A) of the Act."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference to the parent Act and specific subsections creates external dependency: instrument is made under subsection 43(3B) and specifies the class for subsection 43(3A) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (see s3, s6(1)).","Subjective eligibility criteria increase administrative assessment complexity: terms such as 'financially vulnerable and significantly disadvantaged' require judgment (see s6(3)(c)).","Detailed, multi-part housing adequacy test requires factual inquiries across health, safety, amenities, affordability and tenure expectations (see s6(4)).","Request-and-retention condition places the compliance burden on recipients to ask for weekly payments and not revoke that request (see s6(1)(d)).","Wide enumerated list of covered payments means multiple benefit streams are affected and systems must recognise each listed payment type (see s6(2)).","Delegated administration and decision points concentrate discretion in the Secretary/administration, creating implementation variance risk (implied by s6(1)(d) and the specification function).","Repeal and consolidation mechanics require transition mapping from two earlier 2010 instruments to this single instrument (see Schedule 1), adding legal-technical work for administrators."],"plain_english_summary":"This specification identifies who may be paid certain social security periodic payments on a weekly basis under subsection 43(3A) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. It applies to Australian residents receiving listed pensions or allowances who request weekly payment and would benefit from that arrangement.\n\nIt matters because it channels weekly-payment administration toward people lacking safe, secure housing, those in emergency accommodation or refugees, or people assessed as financially vulnerable, and requires recipients to request the payment change."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020","history":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/social-security-administration-weekly-payments-class-of-persons-specification-2020/documents"}}