{"id":"F2018L00442","name":"Social Security (Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment – Disregarded Income) Specification 2018","slug":"social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":99987,"registerId":"commonwealth-F2018L00442-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-02","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of Specification","content":"#### 1 Name of Specification\n\n  This Specification is the Social Security (Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment – Disregarded Income) Specification 2018.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"#### 2 Commencement\n\n  This Specification commences on 1 April 2018.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Authority","content":"#### 3 Authority\n\n  This Specification is made under subsection 93WB(2) of the Social Security Act 1991.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definition","content":"#### 4 Definition\n\n  In this Specification:\n  Act means the Social Security Act 1991.\n  5 Schedules\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Specification of income to be disregarded","content":"#### 6 Specification of income to be disregarded\n\n  For subparagraph 93WB(1)(b)(ii) of the Act, compensation within the meaning of subsection 17(2) of the Act that is paid in the form of periodic payments is specified.\n\n  \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment — Disregarded Income) Specification 2007\n\n1 The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument","sortOrder":4}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This is a straightforward re-enactment of a 2007 instrument with identical scope. It performs a narrow technical function—specifying one category of disregarded income for one specific payment type. No scope creep is evident."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short instrument (only 6 substantive sections plus a repeal schedule)","Only 1 defined term ('Act')","Single operative provision (section 6) with straightforward cross-reference to Social Security Act 1991","No nested conditions, exceptions, or procedural requirements","Essentially a one-line technical specification of a single income type"],"plain_english_summary":"This law tells Centrelink to ignore certain types of compensation payments when calculating income for the Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment.\n\n**What it does:**\n- Specifies that **periodic compensation payments** (regular ongoing payments for injury or loss, rather than one-off lump sums) should be **disregarded** (not counted) as income when determining eligibility for the Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment.\n- Replaces an older 2007 version of the same rule.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Surviving partners of people who were registered for the Pension Bonus Scheme and died before claiming their bonus.\n- These survivors may be eligible for a bereavement payment, and this rule ensures their periodic compensation payments don't reduce or disqualify them from receiving it.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- Without this rule, someone receiving regular compensation payments (for example, from a workplace injury) could have those payments counted as income and potentially lose access to the bereavement payment.\n- This protects vulnerable widows/widowers from being penalised for compensation they receive for injuries or losses."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument repeals the earlier 2007 Specification and restates that compensation (as defined in the Act) paid as periodic payments is to be disregarded for the Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment income test (subparagraph 93WB(1)(b)(ii)). The operative scope is therefore focused specifically on periodic compensation payments and replaces the prior instrument."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose instrument specifying one class of income to be disregarded","Relies on cross-references to other Act provisions (subsection 93WB(1)(b)(ii) and subsection 17(2) of the Social Security Act 1991)","Legal effect hinges on the technical statutory definition of “compensation” and what counts as “periodic payments” in the Act","Repeal of the prior 2007 instrument requires administrators to replace previous guidance or practice","Low delegated discretion — directive specification rather than discretionary criteria"],"plain_english_summary":"This Specification says that compensation (as defined in the Social Security Act) paid as periodic payments must be ignored when assessing income for the Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment. It commences 1 April 2018 and repeals the 2007 specification. \n\nIt therefore affects bereaved pensioners who receive periodic compensation: those periodic payments will not reduce their Pension Bonus Bereavement Payment. The change shifts the administrative task of treating these payments as disregarded onto the agency administering the payment."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018","history":"/api/acts/social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018/history","analysis":"/api/acts/social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/social-security-pension-bonus-bereavement-payment-disregarded-income-specification-2018/documents"}}