{"id":"F2017L00642","name":"Social Security (Means Test Treatment of Private Companies — Excluded Companies) Declaration 2017","slug":"social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":96413,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2017L00642-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Social Security (Means Test Treatment of Private Companies — Excluded Companies) Declaration 2017","content":"![](image.001.png)\n\nSocial Security (Means Test Treatment of Private Companies — Excluded Companies) Declaration 2017\n\nSocial Security Act 1991\n\nI, FINN PRATT, Secretary of the Department of Social Services, make this instrument under subsection 1207N(5) of the Social Security Act 1991.\n\nDated: 30 May 2017\n\nFinn Pratt\n\nSecretary\n\nDepartment of Social Services\n\nPart 1 Preliminary\n\n1 Name of Declaration\n\nThis Declaration is the Social Security (Means Test Treatment of Private Companies — Excluded Companies) Declaration 2017.\n\n2 Commencement\n\nThis Declaration commences on 1 October 2017.\n\n3 Purpose\n\nThis Declaration specifies a class of companies that are excluded companies for section 1207N of the Act.\n\n4 Revocation\n\nThe Social Security (Means Test Treatment of Private Companies – Excluded Companies) (DEEWR) Declaration 2008 is revoked.\n\n5 Definitions\n\nIn this Declaration:\n\n> Act means the Social Security Act 1991.\n\n> community purpose means a purpose that is intended to benefit primarily the members of a particular community or group.\n\n> government body includes the following kinds of body:\n\n(a) a department or agency of the Commonwealth;\n\n(b) a department or agency of a State or Territory;\n\n(c) a municipal corporation or other local government body;\n\n(d) a body corporate in which the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory body holds a controlling interest.\n\n> income means income within the ordinary meaning of that expression.\n\n> indigenous-held land has the same meaning as in section 4B of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005.\n\n  \n\nPart 2 Specified class of companies\n\n6 Companies with community purpose are excluded companies\n\n(1) Each company that meets the requirements in subsection (2) is an excluded company for section 1207N of the Act.\n\n(2) The company must have the sole or dominant purpose of:\n\n(a) receiving, managing or distributing property transferred directly to it, or through an interposed entity, by a government body for a community purpose; or\n\n(b) holding, managing or disposing of indigenous-held land, for a community purpose; or\n\n(c) receiving, managing or distributing income that:\n\n(i) has been generated from indigenous-held land; and\n\n(ii) is applied for a community purpose.","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Declaration remains tightly focused on its original purpose of exempting specific community-purpose and Indigenous land-holding companies from means test attribution. It replaces a 2008 instrument with substantially the same scope."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 6 sections plus definitions","Limited defined terms: only 5 definitions in section 5","Single operative provision (section 6) with straightforward three-part test","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the parent Act (Social Security Act 1991) and one reference to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005","Simple conditional structure: 'sole or dominant purpose' test with three alternative limbs (a), (b), and (c)","No nested exceptions or complex temporal provisions","Clear purpose statement in section 3"],"plain_english_summary":"This Declaration exempts certain private companies from Centrelink’s means‑test attribution rules so their assets and income aren’t treated as the personal property of people who control them. It applies where a company’s main purpose is managing community property, holding/managing Indigenous land, or handling income from Indigenous land for community benefit. The change protects Indigenous communities, organisations and community members (including elders) from losing pensions or benefits due to company-held assets being counted as personal wealth."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Clause 4 expressly revokes the 2008 declaration and replaces it with this specification. The instrument therefore changes the declared class of excluded companies as of 1 October 2017; without the prior instrument text attached here, the precise substantive differences in coverage cannot be determined from this document alone. The new declaration defines exclusion by the company’s sole or dominant purpose (s6(2))."},"complexity_factors":["Direct dependence on another statute: operates under s1207N of the Social Security Act 1991 (external legal context required).","Interpretive ambiguity: key threshold phrase “sole or dominant purpose” requires factual assessment.","Broad defined terms: “community purpose” is defined generically and must be applied case-by-case (cl 5).","Cross-reference to other legislation: “indigenous-held land” relies on definition in s4B of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2005 (cl 5).","Verification burden: administrators must verify that property was transferred by a government body and that income is applied for a community purpose (s6(2)).","Instrument-level change: revokes an earlier 2008 declaration (cl 4), requiring transition consideration and comparison with prior coverage.","Limited operational complexity: single-class specification with few subsections reduces structural complexity."],"plain_english_summary":"This declaration names which private companies count as “excluded companies” for means-testing under the Social Security Act, effective 1 October 2017, and revokes the 2008 declaration. It covers companies whose sole or dominant purpose is holding or managing property transferred by a government body, holding or managing indigenous-held land, or receiving income generated from indigenous-held land when that income is applied for a community purpose (see s6(2)).\n\nThe practical effect is to focus assessment on corporate purpose, source of assets and use of income, creating a compliance requirement to demonstrate those facts."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017","history":"/api/acts/social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/social-security-means-test-treatment-of-private-companies-excluded-companies-declaration-2017/documents"}}