Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme 2004 (2 July 2015)
Division 1Clean energy advance
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3A.1.1 The Commission may determine that a person is eligible for a clean energy advance if, on a day during the period starting on 14 May 2012 and ending on 30 June 2012:
(a) the person receives a clean energy underlying payment; and
(b) the person’s rate of payment is greater than nil; and
(c) the person is in Australia.
Eligibility for days 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013
3A.1.2 The Commission may determine that a person is eligible for a clean energy advance if, on a day during the period starting on 1 July 2012 and ending on 30 June 2013:
(a) the person receives a clean energy underlying payment; and
(b) the person’s rate of payment is greater than nil; and
(c) the person is in Australia.
Eligibility for days 1 July 2013 to 31 December 2013
3A.1.3 The Commission may determine that a person is eligible for a clean energy advance if, on a day during the period starting on 1 July 2013 and ending on 31 December 2013:
(a) the person receives a clean energy underlying payment; and
(b) the person’s rate of payment is greater than nil; and
(c) the person is in Australia.
First day of eligibility under paragraph 3A.1.2 or 3A.1.3
3A.1.4 A determination under paragraph 3A.1.2 or 3A.1.3 must specify the first day during the period set out in that paragraph for which the person:
(a) satisfies paragraphs (a) and (b) of that paragraph; and
(b) is in Australia, disregarding any temporary absence from Australia for a continuous period not exceeding 6 weeks.
Limits on eligibility for multiple advances
3A.1.5 A person is eligible for, at most, two clean energy advances under paragraphs 3A.1.1, 3A.1.2 and 3A.1.3:
(a) one under either paragraph 3A.1.1 or 3A.1.2; and
(b) one under paragraph 3A.1.3.
3A.1.6 A person’s eligibility for a clean energy advance is subject to paragraph 3A.10.1 (multiple entitlement exclusion).
Note: Top‑up payments of clean energy advance may be payable under paragraph 3A.5.1 if the person’s circumstances change during the person’s clean energy advance period.
3A.1.7 A claim is not required for a clean energy advance.
Amount of a clean energy advance
3A.2.1 On the day (the decision day) that the Commission determines that a person is eligible for a clean energy advance for a clean energy underlying payment, the Commission must work out the amount of the advance.
Note: The advance will be paid in a lump sum as soon as is reasonably practicable: see paragraph 3A.6.1.
3A.2.2 The amount of the advance is the result of the following formula rounded up to the nearest multiple of $10:
Start formula Clean energy advance daily rate times Number of advance days end formula
where:
clean energy advance daily rate is worked out under paragraph 3A.3.1.
number of advance days is worked out under paragraph 3A.4.1.
Clean energy advance daily rate
3A.3.1 The clean energy advance daily rate for a person’s clean energy underlying payment is worked out by:
(a) working out 1.7% of the rate for the clean energy underlying payment, worked out:
(i) for the first day of the person’s clean energy advance period; and
(ii) for someone in circumstances the same as the person’s on the clean energy advance eligibility day; and
(b) rounding the result of paragraph (a) up or down to the nearest multiple of 10 cents (rounding up if that result is not a multiple of 10 cents but is a multiple of 5 cents); and
(c) adding 20 cents to the result of paragraph (b); and
(d) dividing the result of paragraph (c) by 14.
Number of advance days
3A.4.1 The person’s number of advance days is the number of days in the person’s clean energy advance period that are on or after:
(a) if the person is eligible for the clean energy advance before 1 July 2012—1 July 2012; or
(b) otherwise—the advance eligibility day.
Top‑up payments of clean energy advance
3A.5.1 If:
(a) the Commonwealth pays a clean energy advance (the original payment) to a person; and
(b) the person’s circumstances change on a day (the change day) and the person satisfies any top‑up qualifying condition in relation to that change of circumstances as set out in paragraph 3A.5.2; and
(c) either
(i) the change of circumstances means that a higher clean energy advance daily rate would be used to calculate the original payment if the person’s clean energy advance eligibility day were the change day; or
(ii) except for the provisions of a multiple entitlement exclusion the person would be eligible for a clean energy bonus under the Act, another Act or a Commonwealth scheme;
the person is eligible for a top‑up payment calculated in accordance with paragraph 3A.5.4 – 3A.5.7.
3A.5.2 For the purposes of paragraph 3A.5.1 a person satisfies a top‑up qualifying condition if:
(a) the person was paid an original payment and as a result of the change in circumstances the person receives an education allowance at a higher rate in relation to the change day and the change of circumstances occurs before 1 January 2014; or
(b) the person was paid an original payment and as a result of the change in circumstances the person no longer receives an education allowance but receives, before 20 March 2013:
(i) service pension; or
(ii) war widow(er) pension; or
(iii) a payment listed in subsection 914(4) of the Social Security Act 1991; or
(iv) MRCA wholly dependent partner payment; or
(c) the person was paid an original payment and as a result of the change in circumstances the person no longer receives an education allowance but receives, before 1 January 2014:
(i) a payment listed in subsection 914A(5) of the Social Security Act 1991; or
(ii) a VCES payment; or
(iii) ABSTUDY.
3A.5.3 Despite any other provision of the MRCAETS if a person received an original payment under 3A.1.3 of the MRCAETS and as a result of a change in circumstances the person starts to receive one of the payments listed in subsection 914(4) of the Social Security Act 1991, war widow(er) pension or service pension under the VEA or a MRCA wholly dependent partner payment, in relation to the change day, the person will not be eligible for a top‑up payment.
Method of working out the top‑up payment for a person
3A.5.4 If the person has not previously been eligible for a top‑up payment in relation to that clean energy advance period, the amount of top‑up payment is to be calculated in accordance with the Method Statement 1 at the end of paragraph 3A.5.5.
Top‑up payment for first change of circumstances
3A.5.5 For the purposes of paragraph 3A.5.4 the top‑up payment is to be worked out as follows:
A method statement for working out the top-up payment for a person
Top‑up payment for subsequent change of circumstances
3A.5.6 If a person has previously been paid a top‑up payment calculated in accordance with paragraph 3A.5.4 and the person has a further change in circumstances any additional top‑up payment is to be calculated in accordance with paragraph 3A.5.7.
3A.5.7 For the purposes of paragraph 3A.5.6, the method for calculating any further top‑up payment is as follows:
A method statement for calculating any further top-up payments
Payment of clean energy advance
3A.6.1 An amount of clean energy advance for which a person is eligible is payable in a single lump sum on the day that the Commission considers to be the earliest day on which it is reasonably practicable for the amount to be paid.
3A.6.2 However, the clean energy advance is not payable if the Commission is aware that the person has died.
Debts relating to clean energy advances
3A.7.1 This paragraph applies if:
(a) a person has been paid a clean energy advance for a clean energy underlying payment; and
(b) after the advance was paid, one of the following events happens to a determination that directly or indirectly affected the payability or amount of the clean energy advance paid to the person:
(i) the determination is changed, revoked or set aside;
(ii) the determination is superseded by another determination; and
(c) the event happened wholly or partly because the person knowingly made a false or misleading statement or knowingly provided false information; and
(d) had the event happened on or before the day the advance was paid:
(i) the advance would not have been paid; or
(ii) the advance would have been reduced.
Note 1: Examples of determinations directly affecting the payability or amount of the clean energy advance include:
(a) a determination relating to the person’s eligibility for the clean energy underlying payment to which the advance related; and
(b) the determination of the person’s eligibility for the clean energy advance.
Note 2: An example of a determination indirectly affecting the amount of the advance is a determination relating to a change in circumstances that results in the person becoming eligible for a further payment of the advance under paragraph 3A.5.1 (top up of clean energy advance).
Creation and amount of debt
3A.8.1 The clean energy advance is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the person in paragraph 3A.7.1 if paragraph 3A.7.1(d)(i) applies.
3A.8.2 The amount by which the clean energy advance paid to the person in paragraph 3A.7.1 would have been reduced is a debt due to the Commonwealth by the person if paragraph 3A.7.1 (d)(ii) applies.
Relationship with sections of Act
3A.9.1 The provisions of the Act under which debts arise do not apply in relation to clean energy advances to which paragraph 3A.7.1 applies.
Multiple entitlement exclusion – Clean Energy Advance
3A.10.1 Despite any provision of the MRCAETS a person is not eligible for a clean energy advance under the MRCAETS:
(1) if the person has previously been paid, or is eligible or qualified for, a clean energy advance under:
(a) ABSTUDY; or
(b) the MRCA, in relation to a MRCA wholly dependent partner payment; or
(c) the Social Security Act 1991; or
(d) the VCES (in relation to the same period); or
(e) the VEA, except for a clean energy advance in relation to a pension payable under Part II or IV of the VEA at a rate determined under or by reference to Division 4 of Part II of the VEA; or
(2) if the person has previously been paid a clean energy advance under the MRCAETS (in relation to the same period).
3A.10.2 A person to whom paragraph 3A.10.1 applies may still be eligible for a top‑up payment.
Division 2—Energy supplement and Quarterly energy supplement
Energy supplement
3A.11.1 This paragraph applies to a person for a day if:
(a) the person receives for the day a clean energy underlying payment; and
(b) the person’s rate of the payment is greater than nil; and
(c) the person is residing in Australia on the day; and
(d) on the day the person either:
(i) is in Australia; or
(ii) is temporarily absent from Australia and has been so for a continuous period not exceeding 6 weeks.
Note: paragraph 3A.15.2 (election to take quarterly energy supplement) may affect whether a person meets the conditions in paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 3A.11.1.
Energy supplement payable
3A.12.1 Subject to paragraph 3A.14.1 (multiple entitlement exclusion), if paragraph 3A.11.1 applies to a person, the Commonwealth is liable to pay the person for the day energy supplement for the person’s clean energy underlying payment.
Note 1: The supplement is a payment separate from the clean energy underlying payment.
Note 2: paragraph 3A.14.1 (multiple entitlement exclusion) may affect the person’s entitlement to the energy supplement.
Rate of energy supplement
3A.13.1 The rate of energy supplement for a clean energy underlying payment is, subject to 3A.18.1, the rate worked out by:
(a) working out 1.7% of the clean energy underlying payment on 1 January 2014; and
(b) rounding the result of paragraph (a) up or down to the nearest multiple of 10 cents (rounding up if that result is not a multiple of 10 cents but is a multiple of 5 cents).
3A.13.2 An energy supplement is to be added to the rate of clean energy underlying payment of a person mentioned in paragraph 3A.11.1.
3A.13.3 Paragraph 3A.13.2 does not apply if quarterly energy supplement is payable to a person to whom paragraph 3A.12.1 applies.
Multiple entitlement exclusion – Energy Supplement
3A.14.1 Despite any provision of the MRCAETS, a person is not eligible to have an energy supplement for an education allowance used to calculate the person’s rate of education allowance on a day if the person is also in receipt of a payment:
(a) under the VEA – being a war widow(er) pension; or
(b) under the MRCA – being a MRCA wholly dependent partner payment;
where the pension or payment under the VEA or MRCA respectively, includes a component of energy supplement covering the same instalment period for the person’s education allowance.
Quarterly payment of energy supplement
3A.15.1 A quarterly energy supplement is payable to a person for each day for which an election by the person under paragraph 3A.15.2 is in force in relation to a clean energy underlying payment the person is receiving.
Note: paragraph 3A.14.1 (multiple entitlement exclusion) may affect the person’s eligibility for quarterly energy supplement.
3A.15.2 If paragraph 3A.12.1 applies to a person, the person may, in a manner or way approved by the Commission, make an election to receive the person’s energy supplement as a quarterly payment.
3A.15.3 An election ceases to be in force if the person ceases to receive a clean energy underlying payment.
3A.15.4 The person may, in a manner or way approved by the Commission, revoke an election. A revocation takes effect as soon as practicable after it happens.
Rate of quarterly energy supplement
3A.16.1 A person’s daily rate of quarterly energy supplement, for a particular day, is 1/14 of the amount that, apart from paragraph 3A.15.1, would be the person’s energy supplement for that day.
Payment of quarterly energy supplement
3A.17.1 A quarterly energy supplement is to be paid by instalments.
3A.17.2 An instalment of quarterly energy supplement is to be paid to a person as soon as is reasonably practicable on or after the first supplement test day (the current test day) that follows a day for which quarterly energy supplement is payable to the person.
3A.17.3 The amount of the instalment is worked out by:
(a) working out the amount of the person’s quarterly energy supplement for each day during the test period for which quarterly energy supplement is payable to the person; and
(b) adding up the amounts resulting from paragraph (a).
3A.17.4 In paragraphs 3A.17.2 and 3A.17.3:
supplement test day means:
(a) 20 March; or
(b) 20 June; or
(c) 20 September; or
(d) 20 December.
test period means the period:
(a) starting on the most recent supplement test day before the current test day; and
(b) ending on the day immediately before the current test day.
3A.17.5 A claim is not required for quarterly energy supplement.
Division 3—Adjustments relating to clean energy underlying payments
Special rules for indexation of clean energy underlying payments on or after 1 January 2014
3A.19.1 The rate of a clean energy underlying payment is to be adjusted in accordance with section 1206GG of the SSA as if, under section 1206GG, YA MBR is the rate for the clean energy underlying payment.
3A.19.2 In applying section 1206GG of the SSA, sections 1191‑1194 of the SSA are also to be applied as if the amount YA MBR in item 3A of the CPI Indexation Table in section 1191 is a clean energy underlying payment.
3A.19.3 In applying section 1206GG of the SSA:
YA MBR means the rate for the clean energy underlying payment.
indexation factor means the factor worked out under section 1193 of the SSA.
indexation day means the indexation day(s) in item 3A of the CPI Indexation Table in section 1191 of the SSA.
Division Division 1 - Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act Education and Training Scheme 2004 (2 July 2015) - Clean energy advance | Zoe