{"id":"F2019L01287","name":"Social Security (Reasonable Excuse – Student Payments) Determination 2019","slug":"social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":440263,"registerId":"F2019L01287-fast-fetch-1775955956172","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Social Security (Reasonable Excuse – Student Payments) Determination 2019","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 (Reasonable Excuse – Student Payments) Determination 2019\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nI, Kathryn Campbell, Secretary of the Department of Social Services, make the following Determination\n\nDated 17 September 2019\n\nKathryn Campbell AO CSC\n\nSecretary of the Department of Social Services\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5 Schedules\n\n6  Matters to be taken into account in deciding whether a person had a reasonable excuse\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Reasonable Excuse—Participation Payment Obligations) (DEEWR) Determination 2009 (No. 1)\n\n \n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Social Security (Reasonable Excuse – Student Payments) Determination 2019.\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this instrument is registered\n\n\nNote:           This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made.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 subsections 550(2A), 550B(2A), 576(2A) and 576A(2A) of the Social Security Act 1991.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this determination:\n\nAct means the Social Security Act 1991\n\ncommunity service order means any community service order issued by a court under the laws of the Commonwealth, a State or Territory\n\nrefugee has the meaning given in subsection 7(6B) of the Act\n\n5  Schedule\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in Schedule 1 to this instrument is repealed as set out in the applicable items in Schedule 1, and any other item in Schedule 1 to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n6  Matters to be taken into account in deciding whether a person had a reasonable excuse\n\n (1) For subsections 550(2A), 550B(2A), 576(2A) and 576A(2A) of the Act, the matters set out in subsection (2) are matters that the Secretary must take into account in deciding whether a person has a reasonable excuse for committing a youth allowance participation failure or austudy participation failure.\n\n (2) The matters are:\n\n (a) the person did not have access to safe, secure and adequate housing, or was using emergency accommodation or a refuge; and\n\n (b) the literacy and language skills of the person; and\n\nExample:\n\n If the person is unable to comprehend a requirement or an instruction, because the person’s literacy and/or language skills are such that prevents them from understanding the requirement or instruction, the Secretary must take these circumstances into account.\n\n (c) an illness, impairment or condition of the person that requires treatment, including an illness that is episodic or unpredictable in nature; and\n\n (d) a cognitive or neurological impairment of the person; and\n\n (e) a psychiatric or psychological impairment or mental illness of the person; and\n\n (f) a drug or alcohol dependency of the person; and\n\n (g) unforeseen family or caring responsibilities of the person; and\n\n (h) the person is, or was, subjected to criminal violence (including domestic violence and sexual assault); and\n\n (i) the person is, or was, adversely affected by the death of an immediate family member or close relative; and\n\n (j) if the person is, or was, a member of a couple, the breakdown of that relationship; and\n\n (k) jury service; and\n\n (l) if:\n\n(i) the person has been imprisoned for a continuous period of more than 14 days; and\n\n(ii) the person has been released; and\n\n(iii) the person was released not more than 28 days before the failure was committed;\n\n  the person’s imprisonment or release from imprisonment; and\n\n(m) the person is, or was, a refugee; and\n\n(n) the person is, or was, subject to a community service order requiring the person to perform more than 20 hours of community service for each week the order has effect.\n\n (3) However, the Secretary must not take into account a matter if the Secretary is not satisfied that the matter had a significant effect on the person’s capacity to comply with the requirement, or the provision of the Act, to which the failure relates.\n\n (4) Without limiting paragraph 6(2)(a) of this instrument, a person is taken to not have access to safe, secure and adequate housing if:\n\n (a) the housing to which the person has, or had, access:\n\n(i) damaged, damages, or is likely to damage, the person’s health; or\n\n(ii) threatened, threatens, or is likely to threaten, the person’s safety; or\n\n(iii) does not, or did not, provide the person with access to a reasonable 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 has, or had, access to is, or was, adversely affected; or\n\n (c) the person does not, or did not, have a right to remain, or a reasonable expectation of being able to remain, in the housing to which the person had, or has, access.\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nSocial Security (Reasonable Excuse—Participation Payment Obligations) (DEEWR) Determination 2009 (No. 1)\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument repeals the 2009 Determination (Schedule 1) and replaces it with a specific list of matters the Secretary must take into account when deciding whether a student’s participation failure is excused (s.6). It adds an explicit housing-adequacy test (s.6(4)), enumerates refugee and community service circumstances (s.4 definition; s.6(2)(m),(n)), and codifies the Secretary’s threshold that a matter must have had a \"significant effect\" to be considered (s.6(3))."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-reference to multiple Social Security Act subsections as authority (see s.3: subsections 550(2A), 550B(2A), 576(2A), 576A(2A))","Discretionary assessment by the Secretary — subjective evaluation of whether a matter \"had a significant effect\" on capacity (s.6(3))","Enumerated, partly-overlapping personal circumstances requiring factual and medical evidence (s.6(2)(b)–(m))","Detailed multi-criteria housing adequacy test that requires contextual interpretation (s.6(4)(a)–(c))","Temporal and conditional rules for imprisonment-related excuses that require timeline verification (s.6(2)(l)(i)–(iii))","Inclusion of non-medical factors (jury service, community service orders) that can create operational verification burdens (s.6(2)(k),(n))","Repeal and replacement of a prior instrument, requiring administrators to apply new guidance (Schedule 1)"],"plain_english_summary":"This Determination tells the Secretary of the Department of Social Services which personal circumstances to take into account when deciding whether a student on Youth Allowance or Austudy had a “reasonable excuse” for failing participation obligations. It replaces the 2009 Determination.\n\nIt lists factors such as housing instability, language or literacy limits, health (including episodic or mental illness), substance dependence, family/caring crises, violence, bereavement, relationship breakdown, jury service, recent imprisonment, refugee status and onerous community service. The Secretary must be satisfied a factor significantly affected the person; proving effects may increase documentation and administrative tasks for claimants."},"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":"This is a straightforward replacement instrument that performs the same function as its 2009 predecessor — specifying reasonable excuse factors for student payment participation failures. The scope remains tightly focused on its original purpose."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument (only 6 substantive sections plus a repeal schedule)","Simple structure: definitions, list of factors, one limitation clause, one expansion clause","Only 4 defined terms ('Act', 'community service order', 'refugee', plus implicit 'Secretary')","Single cross-reference (to Social Security Act 1991 subsections)","No nested exceptions or complex conditional logic — subsection (3) contains one straightforward limitation ('significant effect' test)","Subsection (4) provides a single expansion of the housing factor without sub-nesting"],"plain_english_summary":"This law requires Centrelink to take into account 14 specified circumstances when deciding if a student on Youth Allowance or Austudy had a “reasonable excuse” for failing participation requirements. It replaces the 2009 determination and applies to students at risk of penalty for participation failures.\n\nCentrelink may only rely on these factors if they had a significant effect on the student’s ability to comply, protecting those facing homelessness, serious health or mental‑health issues, language barriers, family violence or similar severe disruption."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019","history":"/api/acts/social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/social-security-reasonable-excuse-student-payments-determination-2019/documents"}}