The Act fixes three technical areas in child support and social security law. It does not create a new payment program; it changes when and how existing rules apply.
Schedule 1 — Child support (what changes and who it affects)
Changes when a child support period starts and ends when the Registrar (the Child Support official at Services Australia) receives a new tax assessment for a parent. The new timing rule depends on whether the Registrar makes the assessment on or before the 15th of a month or after the 15th (see substituted s 7A(3) and s 34A(2)). Mechanically: assessments made on or before the 15th take effect from the first day after that calendar month; assessments made after the 15th take effect from the first day after the following calendar month. (Schedule 1, Part 1, items 2–7.)
Confirms that a parent cannot be paid child support if the other parent has less than 35% care of the child. The Act changes section 40C so that a payer’s obligation is nil where the other parent’s care percentage is below 35% (Schedule 1, Part 2, items 13–15).
Validates prior administrative practice in two ways:
It treats certain past decisions about child support period start/end dates (where the Registrar treated the period as later than the law required) as if they were valid (a retrospective validation) so those administrative acts are not invalidated by the timing change. (Schedule 1, Part 1, Division 2, items 9–10.)
This Act changes the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 through Schedule 1 by rewriting the rules that determine when a child support period ends and a new one begins after the Registrar receives a new tax assessment under section 34A. Paragraph 7A(3)(b) now provides that an assessment made on or before the 15th day of a calendar month ends the current period at the end of that month, while an assessment made after the 15th ends the period at the end of the following month. Subsection 34A(2) is substituted so the new child support period starts on the first day after the end of the relevant month. Examples previously set out in subsections 7A(4) to (8) are repealed and replaced with updated illustrations at the end of subsection 7A(3). These alterations replace the former requirement that a new period starts immediately after the preceding period ends. The Act also amends section 40C so that the annual rate of child support payable by a parent is nil whenever the other parent's percentage of care is less than 35 per cent, provided the formula in section 35 or 37 applies and there is no non-parent carer. Items 13 to 15 adjust the heading and paragraph 40C(b) accordingly. Application provisions in item 16 state that the amendments apply to assessments made or amended on or after 1 July 2008, with limited exceptions for assessments already correctly applying the prior version of section 40C. Validation provisions in items 10 and 17 deem earlier Registrar decisions that followed the new rules to have been valid at the time they were made. Schedule 2 inserts new subsections 43(3DA) to (3F) and section 43A into the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. These provisions authorise the Secretary to pay an urgent payment of between 20 and 200 dollars to a person experiencing exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, calculated as the lesser of the requested amount or 50 per cent of accrued entitlement after deductions. A person who has received ten urgent payments in a 90-day period must contact Services Australia to discuss their circumstances before further requests are accepted. New subsection 43(3E) treats all payments within an instalment period, including urgent payments, as a single instalment for most purposes, while subsection 43(3F) treats weekly and urgent payments as separate instalments for income management and certain deduction provisions. Schedule 3 amends multiple provisions of the Social Security Act 1991, including subsections 1073A(1), 1073B(1), 1073BA(1), 1073BAB(1) and (2), and 1073BD(1). The changes explicitly extend employment income attribution rules to income paid to a recipient's partner and ensure that attributed amounts remain attributed to the original assessment period even if the recipient's payment is suspended, cancelled or replaced by a new payment type. New subsections such as 1073A(4A), 1073B(6A), 1073BA(5A), 1073BAB(4) and 1073BD(3) provide that attributed amounts are taken to be nil on days when the employee and recipient are no longer members of a couple. The amendments in Schedules 1 and 3 commenced the day after royal assent. Schedule 2 commences on proclamation or 12 months after assent if no proclamation is made.
Official source available
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Amends the: Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 to: clarify the commencement date of child support periods when the registrar receives a new tax assessment for a parent; and ensure that a parent with less than 35 per cent care of a child is not entitled to receive child support payments; Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to provide legislative authority for urgent payments to eligible social security recipients outside the standard fortnightly payment cycle; and Social Security Act 1991 to clarify the operation of the social security income test treatment of employment income.
Parliamentary progress
Progress
House of Representatives
Introduced and read a first time
05 Feb 2026
Second reading moved
05 Feb 2026
Second reading debate
10 Feb 2026
Referred to Federation Chamber
10 Feb 2026
Second reading debate
11 Feb 2026
Second reading agreed to
11 Feb 2026
Reported from Federation Chamber
12 Feb 2026
Third reading agreed to
12 Feb 2026
Senate
Introduced and read a first time
03 Mar 2026
Second reading moved
03 Mar 2026
Second reading debate
26 Mar 2026
Second reading agreed to
26 Mar 2026
Committee of the Whole debate
26 Mar 2026
Third reading agreed to
01 Apr 2026
Finally passed both Houses
01 Apr 2026
Assent
Act no: 30
Year: 2026
01 Apr 2026
Notes
Documents and transcripts
Text of bill
First reading
As passed by both Houses
Explanatory memoranda
Explanatory memorandum
Transcript of speeches
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Bill 2026 | Zoe
It also validates past decisions that set a nil child‑support rate where another parent had less than 35% care, and applies the 35% rule to assessments made or amended on or after 1 July 2008 (with limited exceptions for prior lawful assessments and final court orders). (Schedule 1, Part 2, Division 2, items 16–17.)
Who this affects (child support): parents, carers and children on active child support cases; Services Australia / the Registrar (decision‑maker); and potentially people whose past assessments or liabilities change because of the retrospective rule and validation.
Schedule 2 — Urgent payments (what changes and who it affects)
Creates an explicit legal power for the Secretary to authorise small "urgent payments" of between $20 and $200 out of a person’s accrued social security entitlement before the normal instalment date, subject to rules. (New subsection 43(3DB) in the Social Security (Administration) Act.)
Sets how the urgent payment amount is calculated: the lesser of the requested amount and 50% of the person’s accrued entitlement for the current instalment period (after normal deductions and prior urgent payments). (ss 43(3DC)–(3DD)).
Prevents people on a weekly payment schedule from getting urgent payments for that same instalment period, and prevents someone who has already received an urgent payment that day from getting another that day. (s 43(3DA) and 43(3DB)(c)).
Adds an operational safeguard: if a person has received 10 urgent payments in the past 90 days, they must speak with Services Australia about their situation before requesting another urgent payment (or wait until the 90 days expire). (New s 43A.)
Treats weekly and urgent payments as part of a single instalment for most purposes (so the instalment is treated as paid when the last piece is paid), but treats weekly payments and urgent payments as separate instalments for certain deduction and income‑management rules (so income management rules continue to apply appropriately). (ss 43(3E)–(3F)).
Who this affects (urgent payments): recipients of periodic social security payments; the DSS Secretary and Services Australia (who decide and administer urgent payments); and organisations involved in deductions or income management (since urgent / weekly payments interact with deduction and income‑management rules). The record shows urgent payments are used disproportionately by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recipients (per the Explanatory Memorandum).
Schedule 3 — Employment income attribution (what changes and who it affects)
Clarifies that the rules used to attribute employment income across days and instalment periods apply to a recipient’s partner as well as to the recipient. Practically, that means partner employment pay is explicitly treated the same way the law treats the recipient’s employment income for income‑testing a social security payment. (Amendments to ss 1073A, 1073B, 1073BA, 1073BB and related provisions.)
Ensures income that has already been attributed to a later assessment period remains attributed there even if a person’s payment was suspended or they later claim a new payment (so that previously attributed employment income can still be used in later rate calculations). (Amendment to s 1073BAB.)
Who this affects (income attribution): social security recipients in partnered relationships, their partners (whose pay will be attributed for means testing), Services Australia (rate calculator processes), and potentially employers (indirectly, through how pay is treated for the recipient’s means test).
Why the government says this matters (official purpose claims)
The Explanatory Memorandum and government statements present the changes as technical corrections to align law with long‑standing administrative practice (child support period timing) and policy intent (no child support where a parent has less than 35% care), to provide a clear legal basis for urgent payments, and to remove uncertainty about how partner employment income is attributed for the income test. The Bill also aims to validate past administrative acts so they are not exposed to legal challenge.
Testing those claims against costs, incentives and risks
Retrospective validation (Schedules 1 Division 2 and Part 2 Division 2): validates prior administrative acts and therefore reduces legal exposure for Services Australia and the Commonwealth. The trade‑off is that some affected individuals may find assessed entitlements or liabilities altered by the retrospective rule — the Act does not create a general compensation or remediation scheme in respect of these retrospective child‑support amendments. The Act excludes alteration of rights or liabilities that arose from court proceedings decided before commencement, so court determinations remain intact.
Behavioural incentives: the 35%‑care rule prevents small‑care parents from being assessed as entitled to child support, which removes certain transfer flows between parents. This changes incentives for care‑reporting: it reduces the chance that a small‑care parent receives a payment based solely on the formula gaps described in the Explanatory Memorandum. The timing rules for assessment start/end (7A/34A changes) can change when liabilities or entitlements are recorded and thus affect the period over which arrears or payments are calculated.
Urgent payments: these give individuals quicker access to a portion of accrued entitlement, improving short‑term liquidity. The cost is a reduced instalment later in the same period (because the urgent amount is drawn from accrued entitlement). The Secretary has judgment over eligibility and timing (subject to statutory tests), so administrative discretions will shape day‑to‑day practice. The requirement to discuss circumstances after 10 urgent payments in 90 days creates a case‑management trigger that may increase administrative workload and impose a conditional barrier for frequent users.
Distributional and operational effects: urgent payments interact with income management, which the Bill preserves; that matters because income management applies disproportionately to Indigenous recipients. The worked example shows how ordinary deductions and urgent payments reduce later instalments. There is a risk of substitution from other emergency assistance products (advance payments, crisis payments) to urgent payments because urgent payments are less constrained in eligibility, which could increase usage and administrative cost.
Employment income attribution: clarifying that partner income is attributed removes ambiguity and should reduce inconsistent decision‑making. It may also affect recipients’ incentives (for example, how partnership status or partner hours are timed) because partner pay now explicitly counts day‑by‑day in the income test.
Implementation cost and systems risk: all three schedules require IT and process changes at Services Australia (date‑of‑effect logic, urgent payment calculation and tracking, partner income attribution). The Act includes detailed transitional and validation provisions which lower the immediate legal risk, but implementing the precise day‑count and attribution rules in legacy systems carries operational risk and compliance costs.
Who pays, who decides, what behaviour changes
Who pays: transfers shift between parents (child support), between the Commonwealth and recipients (urgent payments advance part of an entitlement and reduce that instalment later), and recipients’ future instalments are reduced by urgent amounts. There is no new general appropriation mechanism in the Act; it works by reallocating already‑accrued entitlements or changing assessment outcomes.
Who decides: the Registrar (Services Australia) makes child support assessments and implements the date rules; the DSS Secretary determines urgent payments under the statutory tests; Services Australia applies the employment income attribution rules in rate calculations.
Behaviour changes likely: parents may see different start/end dates for child support assessments; some parents with small care percentages will not receive child support where the other parent has under 35% care; recipients can request small urgent payments (but must accept the instalment reduction); partners’ earnings will be explicitly attributed day‑by‑day for means testing.
Key legal limits and safeguards
Retrospective provisions do not affect rights or liabilities from court proceedings finally determined before commencement (schedules preserve court outcomes).
Urgent payments are capped ($20–$200), limited by accrued entitlement and deductions, and restricted after frequent use (10 in 90 days triggers a required discussion). Weekly payment recipients are excluded from urgent payments for the same instalment period.
Bottom line
This Act is a set of technical amendments that (1) align child support start/end dates and entitlement rules with administrative practice and policy intent, including retrospective validation of some past administrative decisions; (2) create a statutory power and calculation method for small urgent payments from accrued social security entitlements; and (3) clarify that partner employment income is attributed to assessment periods in the same way as a recipient’s own employment income, and that attributed income stays attached to its period where payments are suspended. The measures reduce legal uncertainty for administrators but change the timing and sometimes the amount of transfers between parents and between recipients and the Commonwealth. Services Australia and the DSS Secretary retain significant operational discretion in how the changes are administered (see Schedule 1 validation items and Schedule 2 urgent payment rules).
Main concepts
The central concepts in this Act are child support periods, percentage of care, urgent payments and employment income attribution. A child support period is the interval during which a particular administrative assessment applies. Under the revised section 7A, these periods now end at the close of the calendar month in which a new tax-based assessment is made if that assessment occurs on or before the 15th, or at the close of the following month if the assessment occurs later. Percentage of care determines both liability to pay and entitlement to receive child support. The Act reinforces the long-standing policy that a parent must have at least 35 per cent care to be entitled to receive payments by amending section 40C so that the other parent's rate is nil whenever one parent's care falls below that threshold. Urgent payments are amounts of a social security periodic payment delivered before the end of the normal fortnightly instalment period to a person who declares exceptional and unforeseen circumstances. The amount is capped at the lesser of the requested sum or 50 per cent of the person's accrued daily entitlement after deductions, with a minimum of 20 dollars. Employment income attribution is the process by which earnings from employment are spread across an assessment period that aligns with the recipient's instalment period. The Act extends this mechanism to a partner's employment income and preserves the attribution across gaps caused by payment suspension or the lodgement of a new claim. Validation is another key concept. Items 10 and 17 provide that past Registrar decisions and assessments that departed from the literal wording of the pre-amendment legislation are taken to have been valid from the time they were made, provided they match the outcomes now required by the Act. These concepts operate together to align statutory text with administrative practice while creating a statutory basis for urgent payments that previously lacked explicit legislative authority.
Who it affects
The Act affects separated parents and carers who are subject to child support assessments, particularly those whose care arrangements changed after notification delays or who share care with a third party such as a grandparent. It also affects parents whose taxable income assessments are updated by the Australian Taxation Office in the second half of a calendar month, because the start date of their new child support period is now delayed until the following month. Recipients of social security periodic payments who experience short-term financial pressure may request urgent payments, and those who have already received ten such payments within any 90-day window must engage with Services Australia before further requests are processed. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recipients are disproportionately represented among urgent payment users. Couples in which one member receives a social security pension or benefit and the other earns employment income are affected by the clarified attribution rules, because the partner's earnings must now be attributed consistently with the recipient's own income. Services Australia staff who administer child support and social security payments must apply the new statutory tests and calculation methods. The Child Support Registrar's decisions made since 1 July 2008 that resulted in a nil rate for a parent with less than 35 per cent care are validated, removing the prospect of successful challenges to those decisions. Individuals who were parties to court proceedings finally determined before commencement are excluded from the retrospective operation in limited respects. No new obligations are placed on employers or the Australian Taxation Office.
What people will want to know
Parents receiving or paying child support will want to know whether their current assessment will change. The Act does not automatically recalculate existing assessments, but any new assessment or amendment made after commencement must apply the revised section 40C and the new child support period rules. A parent who previously received a small amount of child support because of a gap period or third-party care arrangement will no longer be entitled to that payment. Recipients who need money before their next payday will want to know the eligibility criteria for an urgent payment. They must declare exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, request between 20 and 200 dollars, and satisfy the accrual test. After ten urgent payments in 90 days they must contact Services Australia to discuss their situation or wait until the 90-day period expires. People whose payments have been suspended or who are claiming a new payment will want to know that their partner's employment income continues to be attributed to the original assessment period rather than being reassessed from the date of the new claim. Individuals who believe they were underpaid or overpaid because of earlier unlawful decisions will want to know that the validation provisions prevent most claims for adjustment, although finalised court proceedings remain unaffected. Services Australia customers subject to income management will want to know that urgent payments are treated as separate instalments for the purpose of allocating funds to their income management account. No compensation scheme is established for people affected by the retrospective changes.
Status and what happens next
The bill received royal assent on 1 April 2026 and is now the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Act 2026, Act number 30 of 2026. Schedules 1 and 3 commenced on 2 April 2026. Schedule 2 will commence on a day fixed by proclamation or, if no proclamation is made, on the day after the end of the 12-month period beginning on the day of assent. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee reported on the bill on 25 March 2026. The Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights also considered the bill. Services Australia is updating its operational systems, the Child Support Guide and internal procedures to reflect the new child support period rules and the statutory framework for urgent payments. The Department of Social Services will prepare a legislative instrument if required to specify groups eligible for weekly payments. No further parliamentary action is required unless the government decides to proclaim an earlier commencement date for Schedule 2. The Act is available on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Powers, duties and rights created
The Act creates a duty on the Secretary to determine that an urgent payment be made when a person requests it, declares exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, has not already received an urgent payment that day, and the calculated amount is at least 20 dollars. The Secretary gains the power to require a person who has received ten urgent payments in 90 days to discuss their circumstances before any further urgent payment is approved. The Child Support Registrar retains the power to make assessments but must now apply the 15th-of-the-month rule and the less-than-35-per-cent-care test. Validation provisions remove any legal doubt about the validity of past decisions that followed the new rules, thereby protecting the Registrar from claims that those decisions were unlawful. Parents gain a clearer statutory right to know that they will not be required to pay child support when the other parent has less than 35 per cent care. Recipients gain a statutory right to receive urgent payments in defined circumstances and to have those payments treated appropriately for income management purposes. The Act does not create new review rights beyond those already available under social security and child support legislation. Subitem 10(6) and item 17(3) preserve the rights and liabilities of parties to court proceedings that were finally determined before commencement.
Money, penalties and enforcement
The Act does not introduce new penalties or offences. Urgent payments are not loans but advances on a person's accrued social security entitlement. They are recovered automatically by reducing the balance of the instalment paid at the end of the period. Existing deduction provisions in sections 61, 61A and 238 of the Administration Act and section 1231 of the Social Security Act 1991 continue to apply, with the added protection that an urgent payment cannot be reduced to recover certain debts. Income management and enhanced income management percentages apply to urgent payments as if each were a separate instalment. Child support validations prevent recipients from obtaining additional payments or payers from facing additional liabilities for periods before commencement. No appropriation is required beyond the standing appropriations that already support social security and child support payments. The Commonwealth is not made liable to pay compensation for any acquisition of property that might arise from the retrospective provisions. Enforcement of child support liabilities and social security debts continues under the existing Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 and social security recovery provisions.
Pressure points and controversies
The retrospective validation of decisions that did not comply with the literal terms of the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 for many years raises questions about adherence to the rule of law. The Commonwealth Ombudsman found that Services Australia knowingly failed to apply the legislation as amended in 2018 for a period of six years on the less-than-35-per-cent-care issue and that the Department of Social Services was aware of the non-compliance. The Act validates those decisions without establishing a resolution scheme or compensation mechanism of the kind included in the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Act 2025 for income apportionment. This creates a policy trade-off between finality for government administration and the interests of individuals who may have been entitled to different outcomes under the unamended law. The urgent payment provisions introduce a new administrative threshold after ten payments in 90 days, which may increase contact requirements for vulnerable recipients. The absence of a definition of exceptional and unforeseen circumstances leaves scope for inconsistent decision making until guidelines are published. The decision to apply the child support amendments from 1 July 2008 without preserving all accrued rights except those arising from finalised court proceedings represents a deliberate choice to prioritise legislative alignment over individual adjustment in most cases.
What changes if it passes
With royal assent now granted, the child support scheme operates under a clearer statutory prohibition on payments to parents with less than 35 per cent care, removing the possibility of gap-period or third-party-care entitlements that existed under the previous wording of section 40C. Child support periods triggered by new tax assessments now follow a predictable mid-month rule that matches the practice Services Australia had already been applying. The Registrar's past decisions on these matters are validated, reducing the risk of successful legal challenges. Services Australia may now make urgent payments of up to 200 dollars outside the standard fortnightly cycle when a recipient declares exceptional and unforeseen circumstances, subject to the accrual formula and the 10-in-90-days contact requirement. Employment income of a recipient's partner is attributed in the same manner as the recipient's own income, and the attribution survives temporary cessation of payment or the making of a new claim. Income-managed recipients have the same percentage of any urgent payment quarantined as applies to their regular instalments. Overall, administrative practices that previously lacked clear legislative authority are now expressly authorised, and the risk of future findings of unlawful decision making on these specific issues is removed.
Social post angles
Technical Act aligns child support law with existing practice on care percentages. The legislation closes a loophole that allowed some parents with less than 35 per cent care to receive payments after 2018 amendments created unintended gaps. Urgent payment framework now has explicit statutory backing. Recipients facing exceptional circumstances can access up to 200 dollars early, with safeguards after ten payments in 90 days to encourage discussion of underlying issues. Partner income attribution clarified for social security recipients. The Act ensures employment income earned by a recipient's partner is spread across assessment periods consistently, even when the recipient's own payment is suspended or replaced. Retrospective validation protects past child support decisions. Decisions made since 2008 that denied payments to low-care parents are now deemed valid, limiting scope for later adjustments. Mid-month rule introduced for child support period start dates. Tax updates received after the 15th of a month will now shift the new assessment period to the following month, giving parents more notice. No compensation scheme for affected child support cases. Unlike the income apportionment legislation, this Act validates past practices without offering resolution payments to individuals who may have been entitled to different amounts. Frequent urgent payment users face new contact requirement. After ten early payments in 90 days, recipients must discuss their circumstances with Services Australia or wait before requesting another. Employment income rules now cover payment gaps explicitly. Attribution continues across suspensions and new claims, preventing abrupt changes in assessed income when a person moves between payment types.
All second reading speeches
Minister's second reading speech
Proposed amendments
Senate
2R - Australian Greens [sheet 3708]
ALLMAN-PAYNE, Sen Penny
CW - Australian Greens [sheet 3734]
ALLMAN-PAYNE, Sen Penny
CW - Australian Greens [sheet 3733]
ALLMAN-PAYNE, Sen Penny
CW - Australian Greens [sheet 3702]
ALLMAN-PAYNE, Sen Penny
CW - Independent [sheet 3744]
POCOCK, Sen David
Schedules of amendments
No documents at present
Bills digest
Bills Digest
Notes
Considered by scrutiny committee (25/02/2026): Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Scrutiny Digest 3 of 2026
Considered by scrutiny committee (04/03/2026): Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights; Report 2 of 2026
Referred to Committee (05/03/2026): Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (25/03/2026)
An electronic version of this Act is available on the Federal Register of Legislation (www.legislation.gov.au)
This Bills Digest replaces a preliminary Digest published on 9 February 2026 to assist in early consideration of the Bill.
Key points
The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Bill 2026 (the Bill) amends child support and social security law to:
align child support legislation with Services Australia’s long-standing practices in relation to the start date of child support periods and eligibility for child support for parents/carers with less than 35% of the care of a child
retrospectively apply the child support amendments and validate previously unlawful decisions
provide legislative authority and a framework for urgent payments to social security recipients outside standard fortnightly payment instalment periods
clarify the operation of employment income assessment rules for social security payments in relation to a partner’s employment income and for when rates are calculated following a payment suspension or claim for a new payment.
The Commonwealth Ombudsman investigated 2 of the 3 child support issues addressed in the Bill. In relation to 1 issue, the Ombudsman found Services Australia had knowingly failed to comply with child support legislation for 6 years.
The Ombudsman did not investigate 1 of the child support issues relating to the start date of child support assessments. It is unclear how long government agencies have been aware that start date decisions were being made unlawfully, and what the impact on families has been.
At the time of writing, the Bill had not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committees.
Introductory Info
Date of introduction: 5 February 2026
House introduced in: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Social Services
Commencement: Schedules 1 and 3 commence the day after Royal Assent. Schedule 2 commences on the earlier of proclamation or 12 months after Royal Assent.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Bill 2026 (the Bill) is to amend the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (the CSA Act), the Social Security Act 1991 (the SS Act), and the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (the SS Admin Act) to:
align child support legislation with Services Australia’s long-standing practices in relation to the start date of child support periods and eligibility for child support for parents/carers with less than 35% of the care of a child
retrospectively apply the child support amendments and validate previously unlawful decisions
provide legislative authority and a framework for the Secretary of the Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide urgent payments to social security recipients outside standard fortnightly payment instalment periods
clarify the operation of employment income assessment rules for social security payments in relation to:
how the employment income of a person’s partner is attributed for a particular period
preserving employment income attribution to a particular period so that an individual’s rate of payment can be calculated later (relevant to individuals who may have had their payment suspended or where a person claims a new payment).
The amendments were not previously announced but the DSS Secretary stated in November 2025 that legislation would be prioritised in early 2026 to address concerns raised by the Commonwealth Ombudsman around unintended consequences of child support amendments.
Structure of the Bill
The Bill comprises 3 Schedules:
Schedule 1 - Child Support
Schedule 2 - Urgent Payments
Schedule 3 - Employment income attribution rules.
Background
Bill forms part of a series responding to unlawful practices
The Bill is the latest in a series of legislative responses to identified cases where government agencies have been making unlawful decisions. In most,but not all,cases, the agencies have unknowingly acted contrary to legislative provisions.
The most significant example is income apportionment. Income apportionment was an unlawful method used to calculate social security debts for payment recipients with employment income prior to December 2020 (p. 4). The use of the method dates back more than 30 years and could have affected debts raised against more than 3 million people totalling $4.4 billion (pp. 1-3). The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Act 2025,passed by the Parliament in December 2025,retrospectively validated the use of the method and established a Resolution Scheme to make payments to affected individuals. Services Australia and DSS first became aware of the issue in late 2020 (p. 6).
The Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025,passed by the Parliament in November 2025,retrospectively validated unlawful decisions around the date of effect for Child Care Subsidy entitlements (dating back to 2018). The Department of Education’s ICT system was applying incorrect start dates (dates that did not align with family assistance law) resulting in underpayments or overpayments of Child Care Subsidy (pp.16 - 17). It is unclear how many people were affected by this issue.
Another high-profile instance is the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations’ (DEWR) and Services Australia’s unlawful cancellation of income support payments under the Targeted Compliance Framework. DEWR commissioned a legal review as well as a review of its ICT system. The government has announced changes in policy and practices to address the issues, but no legislative changes have been proposed.
Legal Compliance and Remediation Program
In April 2025, Services Australia established the Legal Compliance and Remediation Program to ‘centrally coordinate reporting and escalation of all matters involving legal non-compliance in the administration of payments and services delivered across all Agency programs’ (Legal Compliance and Remediation Program,Playbook, p. 5). As at November 2025, the agency had registered 144 issues including those described above. Of this list, 16 issues were identified as requiring legislative change ‘to provide clarity’,4 of these practices had ceased and 12 were continuing (pp. 2-3).
The Bill addresses 2 of the issues listed as matters requiring legislative changes,child support entitlements for parents with less than 35% care and the legislative basis for urgent payments (p. 88). The other amendments in the Bill are not linked to issues identified through this Services Australia program.
Child support
The Child Support Scheme was introduced in 1988 by the Hawke Government. The Scheme is intended to ensure children receive the proper level of support from their parents. The Scheme assesses amounts of child support in accordance with a formula and collects and enforces these assessments, child support agreements and court orders. In 2024-25, around $4.3 billion in child support was expected to be transferred between parents (pp. 83-84). Around $2.0 billion was collected and transferred through Services Australia while $2.3 billion was assessed to be paid by parents through private arrangements (pp. 83-84). As at September 2025, there were around 627,185 active child support cases involving 1.1 million parents or carers and around 960,000 children (p. 1).
The CSA Act sets out how child support assessments are to be conducted by the Child Support Registrar (the CEO of Services Australia). Child support assessments determine the amounts of child support that might be payable by one parent to another according to a formula. Other avenues for determining child support payments are child support agreements and court orders.
The assessment formula (p. 11):
assesses the income of both parents
deducts an amount needed for self-support
determines the percentage of care each parent has for each child and what costs are met through that direct care,if a parent’s share of their combined income remains positive, after adjusting for the share of costs met through direct care, then they are considered the payer
determines the costs of each child based on the level of the parents’ combined income and the annual rate of child support payable.
Under this formula, as amended in 2008, a parent with more than 65% care of the child is generally not liable to pay child support (p. 11).
The assessment normally uses income information reported in the parent’s most recent tax return. Where a parent has not lodged a tax return, the Registrar can draw on other available income information,from within Services Australia (relating to income support payments) or information provided by the parents, government agencies, employers, or other sources (p. 13).
Annual rates payable under an assessment can be varied at any time to reflect changes in financial circumstances, care arrangements or other events. The Registrar can make changes independently and parents can apply for a change to an assessment in certain circumstances.
DSS statement on an anomaly in the law
On 26 November 2025, the Secretary of DSS, Michael Lye, released a statement noting that the Commonwealth Ombudsman has raised concerns about previous amendments to child support legislation and that the Australian Government would prioritise legislative amendments in 2026 to address the concerns. The prior amendments had an unintended consequence in that a ‘small number of parents with little to no care of their child may be technically eligible for child support under an anomaly in the law’. The Secretary stated: ‘It is a longstanding principle of the child support scheme that parents with less than 35% care of a child should not be eligible for child support.’
Ombudsman report
In January 2026, the Commonwealth Ombudsman published the report, Following the law is not optional: An investigation into the actions of Services Australia and the Department of Social Services to address an ongoing issue of non-compliance with the law.
The Ombudsman’s investigation found that in February 2019 (p. 15), Services Australia had identified an issue where in some circumstances ‘one parent providing less than 35% care of a child is legally entitled to receive some child support from the other parent but is not paid it (or is not paid the correct amount)’ (p. 4). DSS was made aware of the issue by Services Australia in February 2020. The issue identified by Services Australia arose from amendments made by the Family Assistance and Child Support Legislation Amendment (Protecting Children) Act 2018 (Protecting Children Act) which commenced on 1 July 2018.
While being aware that the CSA Act as amended provided a legal entitlement to child support for some parents/carers with less than 35% care, Services Australia did not apply the law. Services Australia did not comply with the CSA Act ‘due to concerns that doing so would result in child support outcomes that customers and stakeholders would likely perceive as “unfair and nonsensical”’ (pp. 5-6).
DSS advised Services Australia in April 2025 of a further circumstance where individuals with less than 35% care could be paid child support: where care was shared by 3 or more parties (p. 13). This issue arose from amendments made by the Child Support Legislation Amendment (Reform of the Child Support Scheme - New Formula and Other Measures) Act2006 (New Formula Act) which commenced in July 2008.
Between 2019 and 2025, there were 4 reported attempts by government agencies to develop legislative amendments to correct the issue, but no Bill was introduced to Parliament (p. 18). References to the issue were contained in submissions to the Minister for Social Services in 2021, 2024 and 2025 (p. 18). Services Australia notified the Ombudsman of the issue in June 2025. Services Australia did not brief the Minister for Government Services about its decision to not apply the law until 30 September 2025, and DSS briefed the Minister for Social Services in November 2025 (p. 25).
The Ombudsman’s report stated:
It is not acceptable that an agency knows for years that it is not following the law and chooses to continue to not follow the law. The rule of law and trust in government are dependent on agencies complying with the law. If the intention is that the law be retrospectively amended to correct an apparent defect in the law, that intention can be publicly announced, so that at least there is transparency about the decision to not comply with the law pending that retrospective amendment. (p. 4)
The Ombudsman found ‘the lack of action by the agencies has only served to exacerbate the issue’ (p. 6).
The less than 35% care issue
The child support formula works out what each parent should contribute to the costs of a child (or children) based on each parent’s share of their combined income, less their contribution to the costs of the child provided directly through care. As noted above, the child support formula was designed with the intent that a parent or carer would not be entitled to be paid any child support if their percentage of the care of a child was less than 35%. Prior to March 2022, DSS’ Child Support Guide stated that to be entitled to receive child support, a parent/carer must have at least 35% of the care of a child. The Ombudsman’s report stated that DSS amended the Guide on 22 March 2022 (p. 15).
The care percentage is the proportion of the care of the child the person is likely to have over a care period (usually 12 months). This is usually worked out by the number of nights in the care period the child is likely to be, or has been, in the care of the parent/carer. For example, a parent who has care of the child for 260 nights in a year (5 nights a week), would have a care percentage of 72%. Where there is doubt about care arrangements, other factors may be considered by the Registrar such as the person’s responsibility for major decisions affecting the child or how they meet the child’s accommodation, food and clothing needs.
The 2018 Protecting Children Act made a wide range of changes to child support law, mostly in response to recommendations made by a House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs Committee’s 2015 report. The Act included amendments to date of effect rules, including when a change in care percentages would be recognised if parents and carers have delayed notifying the Registrar of the change (items 175-183 of Schedule 1). Under the amendments, if it takes 28 days or more for a parent to notify Services Australia of a change in care, then any decreased care percentage would be applied from the date of the care change. Increased care percentages would continue to be applied from the date of notification. The intended effect of the changes was to limit the backdating of beneficial child support payment amounts where the responsible parent had not notified Services Australia within a reasonable timeframe (p. 44).
The change has resulted in gaps between when a decreased care percentage is reflected in a child support assessment, and when the increased care percentage is reflected in the same assessment. The Ombudsman found that this change has meant:
Under the legislation, in some instances parents with less than 35% care during the gap period may be entitled to child support. This is because neither parent is recognised during this period as having a care percentage of more than 65% and so neither parent’s obligation to pay to child support is removed under s 40C(b) of the Assessment Act [CSA Act] (pp. 12-13).
Section 40C of the CSA Act provides that the amount a parent has to pay in child support is nil if their percentage of care is more than 65% (and if the formula at section 35 or 37 is used,where the income of both parents is assessed and there is no non-parent carer).
The Ombudsman included Figure 1 to demonstrate the impact of the ‘gap period’ where neither parent has an assessed care percentage of more than 65%. In the depicted scenario, during the gap period, Parent B has increased their care percentage to 85% but would be required to pay child support to Parent A, whose care percentage has reduced to 15%.
Figure 1 Illustration of the potential impact of the gap period on assessed care percentages
Source: Commonwealth Ombudsman, Following the law is not optional, (Canberra: Commonwealth Ombudsman, January 2026), p. 13.
A separate unintended scenario was identified by DSS in 2025 and has existed since the New Formula Act commenced in 2008 (p. 13). Here, the issue is where care is shared between 3 or more parties (such as the 2 parents and a grandparent). DSS identified that, in some cases, the third party is an ineligible carer for the purposes of the child support assessment, but the care they provide reduces the care percentages of the parents such that neither has more than 65% care (p. 8). Section 40C of the CSA Act does not prevent child support being payable to a parent with less than 35% care by the other parent.
Services Australia did not comply with the law when making some child support assessments
Services Australia has not complied with the CSA Act in making child support assessments affected by the 2 scenarios set out in the previous section. Services Australia became aware of the gap period issue in 2019 but has not complied with the law (pp. 4-5). The agency has instead made decisions in line with the policy of a parent with less than 35% care not being entitled to child support.
Services Australia advised DSS of the issue in 2020. DSS has responsibility for child support policy and legislation. While DSS advised Services Australia to follow the law, the Ombudsman found that DSS knew or should have known that Services Australia continued to not do so (p. 5).
In regards to the gap period issue, the Explanatory Memorandum states:
As the effect of the 2018 amendments was not initially appreciated, the changes have not been given effect in system implementation. That is, the Registrar’s decisions have generally proceeded on the basis of the policy intent, with a parent with less than 35% care not assessed as being entitled to child support in the gap period scenario. (p. 9)
Regarding the third-party scenario, the Explanatory Memorandum states: ‘These rare cases could have occurred since 1 July 2008, though they were not recognised and were not given this effect in administration of the Assessment Act’ (p. 8).
How many people might have been affected
Services Australia advised the Commonwealth Ombudsman that as at 1 March 2024, around 16,600 parents in 10,000 child support cases could have been affected by the gap period scenario (p. 13). If these cases were recalculated in accordance with the law, they would result in an average debt (child support owed) per case of around $560.
Services Australia advised that it was difficult to determine how many cases might have been affected by the third-party scenario with 4 cases identified for the period 1 January 2023 to 30 September 2024 (p. 13). If these cases had been recalculated in accordance with the law, all 4 would have resulted in debts ranging from $60 to more than $10,000 (p. 13).
Separate issue relating to unlawful decisions around start dates
Part 1 of Schedule 1 of the Bill addresses a separate issue where some of Services Australia’s decisions around child support period start dates have not complied with the CSA Act. This issue was not discussed in the Ombudsman’s 2026 report, and it is unclear how long Services Australia and DSS have been aware of these unlawful decisions.
Subsection 7A(3) of the CSA Act currently provides that a child support period will end at the end of a calendar month in which the Registrar makes a child support assessment when a new tax figure is available (via an income tax assessment made by the Australian Taxation Office). The new child support assessment will apply at the start of the new child support period. Paragraph 7A(2)(d) of the CSA Act provides a child support period will start ‘immediately after the end of the preceding child support period that relates to child support payable for the child’. These provisions provide that when the Registrar receives information regarding a parent’s tax assessment and makes a new child support assessment, the new child support assessment should apply from the first day of the next calendar month.
According to the Explanatory Memorandum:
Where tax assessments are available to the Registrar in the second half of a calendar month, it has been a long-standing practice for the Registrar to immediately process these assessments but to make a determination that the first day of the child support period for the new assessment is the first day, not of the next month, but the first day of the month after that. That is, a tax assessment received on 20 September would generally result in the Registrar issuing a new assessment shortly after receipt, but for a child support period commencing on 1 November, rather than 1 October. This practice was adopted to give parents sufficient notice to adjust to their new assessment, whilst not unduly delaying the making of a new assessment. (pp. 6-7)
This means it has been ‘a long-standing practice’ for the Registrar to not comply with the start date provisions at section 7A of the CSA Act. This is despite subsection 7A(5) providing a clear example of when child support periods should end and start if a new child support assessment is made towards the end of a month based on a new tax assessment:
On 20 October 2000, the Registrar makes a new administrative assessment based on an assessment under the income tax law of Peter’s taxable income for the 1999-2000 year of income (as required by section 34A). The first child support period starts on 8 June 2000 and ends at the end of 31 October 2000, and the second starts on 1 November 2000.
Unlike the 2 other unlawful practices investigated by the Commonwealth Ombudsman, this issue has not been independently reviewed, and it is unclear what the scale of the impact has been.
Urgent payments
Services Australia’s Legal Compliance and Remediation Program identified urgent payments as being ‘inconsistent with the payment provisions under social security law’ [p. 6].
Urgent payments are the early delivery of part of a person’s social security entitlement, with the remainder of their entitlement paid on their normal payment delivery date. Most social security payments are paid in fortnightly instalments,the entitlement to a payment is accrued daily and paid in arrears. According to the Explanatory Memorandum:
Urgent payments offer more immediate, flexible financial support for people experiencing exceptional and unforeseen circumstances. Further, these payments are not subject to the more stringent criteria or conditions of other hardship payments. (p. 20)
Other special arrangements for people in exceptional and unforeseen circumstances include advance payments and hardship advance payments (which are only paid in certain circumstances and are gradually paid off through reductions in later payment instalments); and the separate Crisis Payment. These payments have very specific eligibility criteria.
The Legal Compliance and Remediation Program has also identified that the automation of advance payments may not be permitted under social security law [p. 7]. The Bill does not include amendments to address issues with advance payments.
The proposed amendments in Schedule 2 of the Bill are intended to provide a legislative basis for urgent payments.
Employment income attribution
Schedule 3 of the Bill amends the employment income attribution rules in the SS Act. One of the main purposes of the amendments is to clarify that the employment income of a social security recipient’s partner should be attributed to periods of time (an ‘assessment period’) in the same way as a social security recipient’s employment income. Currently, the SS Act provisions setting out employment income attribution do not specifically refer to the partners of social security recipients. The employment income of partners who are not in receipt of a social security payment themselves may not be covered by the provisions.
It is unclear how Services Australia is currently attributing the employment income of partners. The Explanatory Memorandum states ‘the policy intent is that the attribution rules should also apply to assess employment income paid to the social security recipient’s partner, for the purposes of income testing that recipient’ (pp. 41-42).
Policy position of non-government parties/independents
Shadow Minister for the Environment Angie Bell stated that the Coalition did not oppose passage of the Bill. Ms Bell called for ‘robust safeguards’ to ensure the urgent payment amendments did not increase financial stress.
Independent MP Zali Steggall described the Bill as technical and not harmful but criticised the Government for not making broader reforms to the child support system.
Key issues and provisions
Schedule 1,Child support
Schedule 1 of the Bill addresses the 3 child support issues set out in the background. The proposed amendments will align the CSA Act with the policy intent and practices of Services Australia in administering the Child Support Scheme. The amendments will retrospectively validate the actions and decisions by the Child Support Registrar which did not align with the CSA Act provisions prior to commencement of the proposed amendments.
Unlike the recent retrospective validation of unlawful Child Care Subsidy decisions, the Bill does not include a provision making the Commonwealth liable to pay compensation to any person if the retrospective application of amendments result ‘in the acquisition of property from a person otherwise than on just terms and the acquisition would be invalid because of paragraph 51(xxxi) of the Constitution’ (section 37 of Schedule 2, Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Act 2025). And unlike the retrospective validation of income apportionment, there are no proposals for resolution payments to be made to affected individuals.
Child support periods
Item 2 repeals and substitutes paragraph 7A(3)(b) of the CSA Act setting out that if the Registrar must make a new child support assessment because a new tax figure is available (as required by section 34A), then the end of the child support period will depend on when the new assessment is made:
if the child support assessment is made on or before the 15th day of a calendar month, then the child support period ends at the end of that calendar month
if the child support assessment is made after the 15th day of a calendar month, then the child support period ends at the end of the calendar month following the month in which the Registrar makes the assessment.
Item 3 adds new examples of when child support periods end, at the end of subsection 7A(3). Item 4 repeals the existing examples at subsections 7A(4)-(8), including the example at subsection 7A(5) which clearly demonstrated that Services Australia’s ‘long-standing’ practice of delaying child support period end and start dates was unlawful.
Item 5 repeals and substitutes subsection 34A(2) to clarify when a child support period starts when the Registrar makes a new child support assessment based on new tax figures. The period will start on the first day of the next month if the new assessment is made on or before the 15th day of a calendar month. If the assessment is made after the 15th day of a calendar month, then the new period will start on the first day after the end of the calendar month following the month in which the assessment is made.
The amendments provide that if, for example, the Registrar receives new tax assessment information for a parent and makes a new child support assessment on 20 October, then the current child support period continues until 30 November, and the new assessment applies from a period starting 1 December.
Items 8-10 are application and validation provisions. While the amendments apply from commencement, the validation provisions provide that earlier decisions by the Registrar which align with the proposed amendments are not to be taken as invalid or ineffective. Subitem 10(6) provides that the validation provisions do not affect any parties’ rights or liabilities from determined court proceedings.
No entitlement to child support for those with less than 35% care
As explained in the ‘Background’ section above, section 40C of the CSA Act provides that the amount a parent has to pay in child support is nil if their percentage of care is more than 65% (and if the formula at section 35 or 37 is used,where the income of both parents is assessed and there is no non-parent carer).
Item 13-15 amend section 40C so that a parent’s rate of child support is nil if the other parent’s percentage of care is less than 35% (where either the formula at section 35 or 37 is used to work out the rate of child support).
The proposed amendments do not alter the date of effect rules and could still result in a gap period where the total care percentages of the parents do not equal 100%. However, the amendments ensure that parents with less than 35% care will not receive any child support.
Item 16 sets out application provisions, including that the proposed amendments apply to child support assessments made or amended on or after 1 July 2008. However, under subitem 16(2), the amendments do not apply to assessments made or amended before commencement which correctly applied section 40C (where a parent with less than 35% care was assessed as eligible to be paid child support). This is to ensure the retrospective amendments do not invalidate previous, lawful, assessments. However, under subitem 16(3) if an objection to, or an ART review of, such an assessment is decided after commencement, the amendments will be applied by the decision maker. The amendments do not affect rights or liabilities arising from finalised court proceedings.
Item 17 retrospectively validates decisions which determined a nil rate of child support for a parent with less than 35% care.
Schedule 2,Urgent payments
Schedule 2 provides a legislative framework for the payment of urgent payments. As noted in the ‘Background’ section, the Legal Compliance and Remediation Program has identified that urgent payments are ‘inconsistent with the payment provisions under social security law’ (p. 6).
Section 43 of the SS Admin Act sets out how periodic social security payments are to be paid in arrears and by instalments. The section includes provision for the DSS Secretary to pay some groups on a weekly basis rather than the typical fortnightly basis,these groups are to be specified in a legislative instrument. However, the section does not provide a legislative basis for or set conditions for the payment of urgent payments.
It is unclear when government agencies became aware that there was no clear legislative basis for making urgent payments.
Rules for making urgent payments
Item 9 of Schedule 2 repeals subsections 43(3E) and (3F) of the SS Admin Act and substitutes subsections 43(3DA)-(3F) to establish the power of the Secretary to make urgent payments, conditions for making these payments and the process for determining amounts. Individuals receiving weekly instalments of social security payments will be ineligible for urgent payments. Those on weekly payment arrangements who require an urgent payment can request to revert to a fortnightly arrangement and then request an urgent payment (p. 25).
Under new subsection 43(3DB), individuals ‘experiencing exceptional and unforeseen circumstances’ can request an urgent payment of between $20-$200. These circumstances are not defined and there is no requirement for individuals to prove their circumstances. The Secretary must determine the person is to be paid the amount if:
they have not been paid an urgent payment on the day the person makes the request and
the amount calculated under subsections 43(3DC) and (3DD) is more than $20.
The amount of the urgent payment is worked out under subsections 43(3DC) and (3DD) is the lesser of:
the requested amount and
50% of the person’s accrued entitlement for the period up to and including the day the request is made (after any required deductions such as debt repayments) minus any other urgent payments made in the instalment period.
The Explanatory Memorandum provides an example calculation (p. 30).
Box 1 Example of single urgent payment
Rachel is receiving JobSeeker Payment including relevant supplementary payments totalling $793.60 per fortnight. Each day in the instalment period, she accrues $56.69 of this total. Rachel makes 2 deductions from her JobSeeker Payment each fortnight (to the Australian Tax Office and to another business) totalling $250.
Rachel requests a $100 urgent payment on day 9 of the instalment period. Her urgent payment will be the lesser of $100 (the amount requested) or $130.11 (her maximum urgent payment). This maximum amount of $130.11 is worked out as follows:
for the 9 days of the fortnight, she has accrued $510.21
her normal deductions are $250 leaving a subtotal of $260.21
50% of this subtotal is $130.11
Rachel has not received any other urgent payments this period so no further deductions.
the maximum urgent payment amount is $130.11.
The requested amount is less than the maximum, the urgent payment paid is $100.
At the end of the instalment period, Rachel will be paid $443.60 (her total entitlement of $793.60 minus $250 in scheduled deductions and the $100 urgent payment).
Item 10 inserts new section 43A, which provides that if a person has received 10 urgent payments within a 90-day period, they must discuss their circumstances with Services Australia before they can request another urgent payment. If they do not contact Services Australia to discuss their circumstances, then they will have to wait 90 days from the day the 10th urgent payment was made before they can make another request. The Explanatory Memorandum states the purpose of this restriction is to provide an opportunity to ‘identify whether the person faces particular risks and explore other personalised alternative supports that may assist them through their exceptional and unforeseen circumstances’ (p. 26).
The current policy guidelines for urgent payments state that an individual can only receive 2 such payments in a 12 month period, with exceptions in special circumstances.
Treatment of urgent and weekly payments for deductions and income management
New subsection 43(3E) provides that for the purposes of social security law, all the payments made to a person in respect of an instalment period (including any urgent or weekly payments) are to be taken as a single instalment of their periodic payment. New subsection 43(3F) provides an exception to this rule so that weekly payments are considered as separate instalments for the purposes of:
section 61 of the SS Admin Act (recipient requests deductions from their payment instalments be paid to the ATO)
section 61A (recipient requests deductions from their payment instalments be paid to a business or organisation)
enhanced income management (Part 3AA of Division 3) and income management (Part 3B of Division 5) and
section 238 (deductions from instalments to be paid to the ATO or the Child Support Registrar).
Urgent payments are to be treated as separate instalments for the purposes of enhanced income management and income management (but not for the purposes of requested and required deductions).
Social security recipients subject to enhanced income management and income management have a portion of their payment instalments restricted in how they can be spent. The amendments ensure that these restrictions apply to weekly and urgent payments. For example, an individual subject to enhanced income management may have 70% of their payment instalments allocated to a SmartCard which can only be used at certain merchants, with 30% of their payment able to be used without restriction. The same percentage of any weekly or urgent payments will be allocated to the person’s SmartCard account.
More than 80% of people subject to income management identify as Indigenous. Urgent payments are disproportionately accessed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recipients,around 45% of the 440,000 urgent payment recipients in 2024-25 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (while only 6% of all income recipients identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) (p. 20).
Schedule 3,Employment income attribution rules
Schedule 3 clarifies the operation of the employment income assessment rules in the SS Act with regard to:
how employment income of a person’s partner is attributed for a particular period
preserving employment income attribution to a particular period so that an individual’s rate of payment can be calculated later (relevant to individuals who may have had their payment suspended or where a person claims a new payment).
The proposed amendments apply from commencement, not retrospectively.
Employment income assessment
The way employment income is assessed for the social security income test changed from December 2020. For background information on the changes and how employment income is attributed across employment and assessment periods, see the Bills Digest for the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Income Reporting and Other Measures) Bill 2020.
Under the social security income test, a person is taken to receive employment income over a period known as the assessment period which starts on the first day of the payment instalment period in which they were paid. The assessment period duration is equal to the number of days in the employment period,the period for which the employment income has been paid for (for example, a week or a fortnight of work). For each day in the assessment period, the person is taken to have received an amount of employment income worked out by dividing the total amount of employment income from that employer by the number of days in the assessment period.
Where a person’s employment income is taken to have been paid during only part of a particular instalment period, the person is taken to receive on each day of that instalment period an amount worked out by dividing the portion of their employment income attributed to that instalment period divided by the number of days in the instalment period. An assessment period may extend across instalment periods, so part of the person’s employment income from 1 pay day is assessed in multiple payment instalment periods.
Partner income
Currently, the SS Act provisions setting out employment income attribution do not specifically refer to the partners of social security recipients. Partners who are not in receipt of a payment may not be covered by the provisions. The rate calculator references to partner income in other sections of the SS Act are to the partner’s ordinary income but do not specify how any employment income should be assessed for any particular instalment period.
The proposed amendments add in specific references to the employment income of a recipient’s partner. For example, item 1 of Schedule 3 repeals and substitutes subsection 1073A(1) of the SS Act to provide that the employment income attribution rules apply to the person whose social security rate is being worked out or to employment income paid to their partner. Other amendments make clear that a partner’s employment income is not to be taken into account on any day in an assessment or instalment period on which they are not the recipient’s partner (for example, item 8 inserts new subsection 1073A(4A)).
Attributed income period
Item 27 repeals and substitutes subsections 1073BAB(1) and (2) to clarify that employment income attributed to a particular period (an assessment period), will remain attributed to that period if, during the relevant assessment period:
a person ceases to receive a social security payment (through a suspension, employment income nil rate period, or cancellation)
and then starts to receive a social security payment (whether the same type of payment or a new type).
This rectifies an issue where the current attribution provisions only cover situations where a person claims a new payment during an assessment period, not where their payment has only temporarily ceased.
Links
The links to the Bill, its Explanatory Memorandum and second reading speech can be found on the Bill’s home page, or through the Australian Parliament website.
When Bills have been passed and have received Royal Assent, they become Acts, which can be found at the Federal Register of Legislation website.
All hyperlinks in this Bills Digest are correct as of February 2026.
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Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Act 2026
No. 30, 2026
An Act to amend the law relating to social security and child support, and for related purposes
Contents
1 Short title 1
2 Commencement 2
3 Schedules 2
Schedule 1,Child support 3
Part 1,Child support periods 3
Division 1,Main amendments 3
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 3
Division 2,Application and validation 5
Part 2,Less than 35% care 8
Division 1,Main amendments 8
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 8
Division 2,Application and validation etc. 8
Schedule 2,Urgent payments 11
Social Security Act 1991 11
Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 11
Schedule 3,Employment income attribution rules 16
Social Security Act 1991 16
Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Act 2026
No. 30, 2026
An Act to amend the law relating to social security and child support, and for related purposes
[Assented to 1 April 2026]
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1 Short title
This Act is the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Act 2026.
2 Commencement
(1) Each provision of this Act 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.
Commencement information
Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Provisions
Commencement
Date/Details
Sections 1 to 3 and anything in this Act not elsewhere covered by this table
The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.
2 April 2026
Schedule 1
The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.
2 April 2026
Schedule 2
A single day to be fixed by Proclamation.
However, if the provisions do not commence within the period of 12 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent, they commence on the day after the end of that period.
Schedule 3
The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.
2 April 2026
Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.
(2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.
3 Schedules
Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1,Child support
Part 1,Child support periods
Division 1,Main amendments
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
1 Subsection 7A(1) (note)
Omit “Subsections (5) to (8) provide some examples of child support periods”, substitute “Some examples of child support periods are set out at the end of this section”.
2 Paragraph 7A(3)(b)
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
(b) if the Registrar makes an assessment relating to the annual rate of child support payable for the child as required by section 34A (assessment when new tax figure is available):
(i) for an assessment made on or before the 15th day of a calendar month,the end of that calendar month; or
(ii) otherwise,the end of the calendar month following the calendar month during which the Registrar makes the assessment;
3 At the end of subsection 7A(3)
Add:
Example 1: Mary and Peter have one child. Mary cares for their child and, on 8 June 2026, makes an application under Part 4 for Peter to pay her child support for the child. The Registrar makes an administrative assessment based on an assessment under the income tax law of Peter and Mary’s taxable income for the 2024‑2025 year of income.
If no assessment of the taxable income of Mary or Peter for the 2025‑2026 or the 2026‑2027 year of income had been made under the income tax law before the end of 7 September 2027:
(a) the first child support period that started on 8 June 2026 ends at the end of 7 September 2027 (15 months after it started); and
(b) a new child support period starts on 8 September 2027.
Example 2: To continue the example, assume instead that in October 2026, a new assessment is made of Peter’s taxable income for the 2025‑2026 year of income, and the Registrar needs to make a new administrative assessment based on that assessment of taxable income (as required by section 34A).
If the Registrar makes the new assessment on a day occurring between 1 October and 15 October 2026, the first child support period that started on 8 June 2026 ends at the end of 31 October 2026, and the second starts on 1 November 2026.
However, if the Registrar makes the new assessment on a day occurring between 16 October and 31 October 2026, the first child support period ends at the end of 30 November 2026 and the second starts on 1 December 2026.
Example 3: To continue the example, if Mary and Peter make a child support agreement to affect the annual rate of child support on and after 15 September 2026:
(a) the child support period that started on 8 June 2026 ends at the end of 14 September 2026; and
(b) a new child support period starts on 15 September 2026.
Example 4: To continue the example, if the child support agreement set the rate of child support payable for the next 2 years (so section 34A did not require an administrative assessment be made), the child support period that started on 15 September 2026 would end 15 months later at the end of 14 December 2027.
4 Subsections 7A(4) to (8)
Repeal the subsections.
5 Subsection 34A(2)
Repeal the subsection, substitute:
Registrar must make assessment using new tax figures
(2) As soon as practicable after the tax assessment is made, the Registrar must assess the annual rate of child support payable for the child for days in a child support period (the later period) starting:
(a) if the Registrar makes the assessment on or before the 15th day of a calendar month,on the first day after the end of that calendar month; or
(b) otherwise,on the first day after the end of the calendar month following the calendar month during which the Registrar makes the assessment.
6 Paragraph 34A(3)(b)
Omit “next calendar month”, substitute “later period (if the Registrar were to make the assessment as soon as practicable)”.
7 Paragraph 34A(3)(c)
Repeal the paragraph, substitute:
(c) the earlier period would end before the start of the later period (if the Registrar were to make the assessment as soon as practicable).
Division 2,Application and validation
8 Definitions
In this Division:
Assessment Act means the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989.
commencement time means the time when this Division commences.
do a thing includes:
(a) make a decision (however described); and
(b) exercise a power, perform a function, comply with an obligation or discharge a duty; and
(c) do anything else;
and purport to do a thing has a corresponding meaning.
Registrar’s assessment means an assessment by the Registrar relating to the annual rate of child support payable for a child as required by subsection 34A(2) (assessment when new tax figure is available) of the Assessment Act.
9 Application of amendments
The amendments made by Division 1 of this Part apply in relation to the following decisions:
(a) a Registrar’s assessment made on or after the commencement time;
(b) a Registrar’s assessment if:
(i) the assessment is made, before the commencement time, during a child support period (the earlier child support period); and
(ii) at the time the assessment is made, the earlier child support period is to end, under paragraph 7A(3)(b) of the Assessment Act, on or after the commencement time;
(c) a decision, made on or after the commencement time, on an objection to the particulars of a Registrar’s assessment (whether made before or after that commencement);
(d) a decision, made on or after the commencement time, on an ART review of a decision on an objection (whether made before or after that commencement) to the particulars of a Registrar’s assessment.
10 Validation
(1) This item applies if:
(a) a Registrar’s assessment is made, before the commencement time, during a child support period (the earlier child support period); and
(b) at the time the assessment is made:
(i) the earlier child support period is to end, under paragraph 7A(3)(b) of the Assessment Act, at the end of a calendar month (the legally correct month) (whether the end of the legally correct month is before or after the commencement time); and
(ii) the earlier child support period is treated by the Registrar as ending at the end of the calendar month (the later month) following the legally correct month (whether the end of the later month is before or after the commencement time).
Validation of child support periods
(2) By force of this subitem:
(a) the earlier child support period is taken to end, and always to have ended, at the end of the later month; and
(b) a new child support period is taken to start, and always to have started, immediately after the earlier child support period ends.
Validation of actions taken based on child support periods
(3) To avoid doubt, anything that is done or that occurs, or is purportedly done or occurs, (whether under the Assessment Act, the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 or otherwise):
(a) is taken not to be, and is taken never to have been, invalid or ineffective merely because:
(i) the earlier child support period is treated as ending at the end of the later month; and
(ii) a new child support period is treated as starting immediately after the end of the later month; and
(b) to that extent, is taken for all purposes to be valid and effective and to have always been valid and effective.
(4) A reference in subitem (3) to anything that is done or that occurs, or is purportedly done or occurs, includes a reference to anything that has been done or has occurred, or has purportedly been done or has purportedly occurred.
(5) Subitem (3) applies despite any effect that that subitem may have on the accrued rights of any person.
Item does not affect decided court proceedings
(6) However, this item does not affect rights or liabilities arising between parties to proceedings heard and finally determined by a court before the commencement time, to the extent that those rights or liabilities arose by reference to a child support period referred to in subitem (1).
Part 2,Less than 35% care
Division 1,Main amendments
Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989
11 Section 35 (note)
Repeal the note, substitute:
Note: The annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a child is nil if the other parent’s percentage of care for the child is less than 35% (see section 40C).
12 Section 37 (note)
Repeal the note, substitute:
Note: The annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a child is nil if the other parent’s percentage of care for the child is less than 35% (see section 40C).
13 Section 40C (heading)
Omit “more than 65% care”, substitute “less than 35% care and no non‑parent carer”.
14 Paragraph 40C(b)
Omit “parent’s”, substitute “other parent’s”.
15 Paragraph 40C(b)
Omit “more than 65%”, substitute “less than 35%”.
Division 2,Application and validation etc.
16 Application
(1) The amendments made by Division 1 apply in relation to an assessment made or amended on or after 1 July 2008.
Note: This means that the amendments also apply in relation to:
(a) an objection to the particulars of such an assessment; and
(b) an ART review of a decision on such an objection.
(2) However, the amendments made by Division 1 do not apply in relation to an assessment of child support for a child if:
(a) the assessment was made or amended before the commencement of this item; and
(b) the annual rate of child support for the child was worked out under section 35 or 37; and
(c) the percentage of care of one of the child’s parents determined for the purposes of the assessment was less than 35%; and
(d) under the assessment (as made or as amended, as the case may be), the annual rate of child support payable by the other parent for the child was assessed to be greater than nil.
Note 1: This means that the amendments also do not apply in relation to:
(a) an objection to the particulars of such an assessment; and
(b) an ART review of a decision on such an objection.
Note 2: However, the amendments do apply in relation to a decision on such an objection or such an ART review that is made after the commencement of this item: see subitem (3).
(3) Despite subitem (2), the amendments made by Division 1 do apply in relation to an objection relating to an assessment mentioned in subitem (2), or an ART review of a decision on such an objection, that is decided after the commencement of this item.
Application in relation to finalised court proceedings
(4) Despite subitems (1) to (3), the amendments made by Division 1 do not apply in relation to an assessment to the extent that the assessment gives rise to, or affects, rights or liabilities arising between parties to proceedings heard and finally determined by a court before the commencement of this item.
Definitions
(5) In this item:
assessment means the following:
(a) an administrative assessment;
(b) a provisional notional assessment;
(c) a notional assessment.
17 Validation
(1) To avoid doubt, anything done or occurring, or anything purported to have been done or to have occurred (whether under the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989, the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 or otherwise):
(a) is taken not to be, and is taken never to have been, invalid or ineffective merely because, before the validation time, the annual rate of child support payable by a parent for a child for a day in a child support period was assessed as being nil because the other parent’s percentage of care was determined to be less than 35%; and
(b) to that extent, is taken for all purposes to be valid and effective and to have always been valid and effective.
(2) Subitem (1) applies despite any effect that it may have on the accrued rights of any person.
Item does not affect decided court proceedings
(3) However, this item does not affect rights or liabilities arising between parties to proceedings heard and finally determined by a court before the commencement of this item, to the extent that those rights or liabilities arose from, or were affected by, the annual rate of child support referred to in subitem (1).
Definitions
(4) In this item:
do a thing includes:
(a) make a decision (however described); and
(b) exercise a power, perform a function, comply with an obligation or discharge a duty; and
(c) do anything else;
and purport to do a thing has a corresponding meaning.
validation time means the commencement of this item.
Schedule 2,Urgent payments
Social Security Act 1991
1 Subsection 23(1) (note to the definition of payday)
Repeal the note, substitute:
Note: Subsection 43(3E) of the Administration Act affects when an instalment of a social security periodic payment is taken to be paid to a person if the payment is not paid as a single payment.
2 At the end of subsection 1231(1AA)
Add:
; and (d) must not make a determination that would reduce (including reduce to nil) an urgent payment paid to the person in accordance with subsection 43(3DB) of the Administration Act.
Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
3 Subsection 43(3)
Omit “subsection (4)”, substitute “subsections (4) to (5B)”.
4 Subsection 43(3A)
Omit “(the part payments)”, substitute “(each a weekly payment)”.
5 Subsection 43(3C)
Omit “part”, substitute “weekly”.
6 Paragraph 43(3C)(a)
Omit “and (5A)”, substitute “to (5B)”.
7 Subsection 43(3D)
Omit “other of the part”, substitute “second of the weekly”.
8 Paragraph 43(3D)(a)
Omit “part”, substitute “weekly”.
9 Subsections 43(3E) and (3F)
Repeal the subsections, substitute:
(3DA) A person is not entitled to an urgent payment under subsection (3DB) of a social security periodic payment relating to an instalment period if the Secretary has determined that the person is to be paid a weekly payment of the social security periodic payment relating to that instalment period.
Urgent payments of a social security periodic payment
(3DB) Subject to section 43A, the Secretary must determine that a person is to be paid an amount (an urgent payment) of a social security periodic payment before the end of an instalment period for the payment if:
(a) the person declares to the Secretary that the person is experiencing exceptional and unforeseen circumstances and makes a request for an urgent payment of an amount between $20 and $200; and
(b) if the times for payment of instalments of the social security periodic payment to the person have been determined by the Secretary under subsection 52(2),the Secretary has determined that the instalments are to be paid on a regular cycle of 14 days or less; and
(c) the person has not been paid an urgent payment on the day the person makes the request; and
(d) the amount worked out under paragraph (3DC)(b) is equal to or greater than $20.
(3DC) The amount of the urgent payment is the lesser of:
(a) the amount requested by the person in the request; and
(b) the amount that is equal to:
(i) the amount worked out under subsection (3DD); less
(ii) the amount of any urgent payments already paid in the instalment period.
(3DD) For the purposes of subparagraph (3DC)(b)(i), the amount is equal to 50% of:
(a) the total of the amount of the social security periodic payment (calculated by reference to the daily rate of payment applicable to each day, subject to subsections (4) to (5B)), payable to the person for days in the instalment period immediately before, and including, the day the request for an urgent payment is made; less
(b) the amount of any deductions or repayments under sections 61, 61A and 238 of this Act and paragraph 1061EL(1)(c) and section 1231 of the 1991 Act for the instalment period for the social security periodic payment.
(3DE) However, the total amount of all urgent payments paid to a person in an instalment period must not exceed the amount worked out under subsection (3) (subject to subsections (4) to (5B)).
(3DF) A person who is paid an urgent payment of a social security periodic payment relating to an instalment period is not entitled to be paid a weekly payment under subsection (3A) of the social security periodic payment relating to that instalment period.
Treatment of instalments that include weekly payments or urgent payments
(3E) If the total amount of a social security periodic payment relating to an instalment period for a person includes, or is to include, one or more weekly payments or urgent payments, then it is taken for the purposes of the social security law that:
(a) a single instalment of the social security periodic payment is, or is to be, paid in relation to the period; and
(b) the instalment is, or is to be, paid when the last of the payments relating to the instalment period is, or is to be, made; and
(c) the instalment is equal to the total of all payments made to the person for the instalment period.
Note: The total of all payments made to a person for an instalment period equals the amount worked out under subsection (3) (as affected by subsections (4) to (5B), if relevant).
(3F) However:
(a) the following provisions of this Act apply as if each weekly payment were a separate instalment:
(i) section 61;
(ii) section 61A;
(iii) Division 3 of Part 3AA;
(iv) Division 5 of Part 3B;
(v) section 238; and
(b) the following provisions of this Act apply as if each urgent payment were a separate instalment:
(i) Division 3 of Part 3AA;
(ii) Division 5 of Part 3B.
10 After section 43
Insert:
43A Request for urgent payment after 10 urgent payments within 90 days
(1) This section applies if:
(a) a person makes a request (the initial request) for an urgent payment under paragraph 43(3DB)(a); and
(b) on the day the initial request is made, the person has been paid 10 urgent payments within the previous 90 days.
(2) The Secretary must not determine that the person is to be paid an urgent payment in relation to the initial request.
(3) The person cannot make another request for an urgent payment until the earlier of the following:
(a) the day the person contacts the Secretary and discusses the person’s circumstances;
(b) the day after the end of the period of 90 days beginning on the day after the previous urgent payment was paid to the person.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), if paragraph (3)(a) applies, the person is taken to have been paid no urgent payments within the 90 days prior to the day mentioned in that paragraph.
11 Subsection 54(1) (note)
Repeal the note, substitute:
Note: Subsection 43(3E) affects what is an instalment of a social security periodic payment if the instalment is not made as a single payment.
12 Subclause 1(1) of Schedule 1
Insert:
urgent payment means an amount determined to be paid under subsection 43(3DB).
Schedule 3,Employment income attribution rules
Social Security Act 1991
1 Subsection 1073A(1)
Repeal the subsection (not including the notes), substitute:
(1) This section applies for the purposes of working out a person’s (the recipient’s) rate of payment of a social security pension or a social security benefit if:
(a) the rate of payment is worked out with regard to the income test module of a rate calculator in this Chapter; and
(b) one or more amounts of employment income, each of which is in respect of a particular period or periods (each period is an employment period), are paid by the same employer in an instalment period of the recipient to or for the benefit of a person (the employee) who is:
(i) the recipient; or
(ii) the recipient’s partner.
2 Subsection 1073A(1) (note 1)
Omit “person”, substitute “employee”.
3 Subsection 1073A(1) (note 2)
Repeal the note, substitute:
Note 2: If the employee is paid employment income monthly, section 1073B may apply to that income instead of this section for the purposes of working out the recipient’s rate of payment of a social security pension.
Omit “person” (first and second occurring), substitute “employee”.
8 After subsection 1073A(4)
Insert:
Employee ceases to be recipient’s partner
(4A) Despite the previous subsections, if:
(a) the employee is or was the recipient’s partner; and
(b) the employee is taken, under subsection (3) or (4), to have received an amount of employment income on a day; and
(c) the employee and the recipient are not members of a couple on that day;
that amount is taken to be nil.
9 Subsection 1073B(1)
Repeal the subsection (not including the note), substitute:
(1) This section applies for the purposes of working out a person’s (the recipient’s) rate of payment of a social security pension if:
(a) the rate of payment is worked out with regard to the income test module of a rate calculator in this Chapter; and
(b) an amount (the initial amount) of employment income, in respect of a period of 1 month, is paid in an instalment period of the recipient on a day in a calendar month (the initial calendar month) to or for the benefit of a person (the employee) who is:
(i) the recipient; or
(ii) the recipient’s partner;
by the employee’s employer; and
(c) the Secretary is satisfied that, for the reasonably foreseeable future, an amount of employment income, in respect of a period of 1 month, equal to the initial amount will be paid to or for the benefit of the employee by that employer on the following:
(i) the corresponding day in each calendar month (a later calendar month) after the initial calendar month;
(ii) if there is no such day in a later calendar month,the last day of the later calendar month.
10 Subsection 1073B(1) (note)
Omit “person”, substitute “employee”.
11 Subsection 1073B(2)
Omit “person”, substitute “employee”.
12 Subsection 1073B(3)
Omit “paragraph (1)(d) in relation to the person and the person’s employer, then subsection (2) ceases to apply in relation to the person and the person’s employer”, substitute “paragraph (1)(c) in relation to the employee and the employee’s employer, then subsection (2) ceases to apply in relation to the employee and the employee’s employer”.
(1) This section applies for the purposes of working out a person’s (the recipient’s) rate of payment of a social security pension or a social security benefit if:
(a) the recipient’s rate of payment of the pension or benefit is worked out with regard to the income test module of a rate calculator in this Chapter; and
(b) an amount of employment income is paid in an instalment period of the recipient to or for the benefit of a person (the employee) who is:
(i) the recipient; or
(ii) the recipient’s partner; and
(c) the employment income is not in respect of a particular period.
19 Subsection 1073BA(2)
Omit “person”, substitute “employee”.
20 Subsection 1073BA(2) (paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of note 1)
Omit “person’s”, substitute “employee’s”.
21 Subsection 1073BA(2) (paragraphs (d) and (e) of note 1)
Omit “person”, substitute “recipient”.
22 Subsection 1073BA(2) (note 2)
Omit “person receiving the social security pension or social security benefit”, substitute “recipient”.
(a) the employee is or was the recipient’s partner; and
(b) the employee is taken, under subsection (4) or (5), to have received an amount of employment income on a day; and
(c) the employee and the recipient are not members of a couple on that day;
that amount is taken to be nil.
27 Subsections 1073BAB(1) and (2)
Repeal the subsections, substitute:
(1) This section applies for the purposes of working out a person’s (the recipient’s) rate of payment of a social security pension or a social security benefit (the new payment) if:
(a) the recipient was receiving a social security pension or a social security benefit (the original payment, which may or may not be of the same kind as the new payment); and
(b) a person (the employee) who:
(i) is the recipient; or
(ii) is the recipient’s partner;
was, at the time the recipient was receiving the original payment, taken, under section 1073A, 1073B or 1073BA, for the purposes of working out the rate of payment of the original payment, to have received employment income over a period (the attributed income period); and
(c) the recipient ceased to receive the original payment on a day (the cessation day) that is before the end of the attributed income period; and
(d) the rate of payment of the new payment is being worked out for an instalment period of the recipient (the affected instalment period) that begins:
(i) after the cessation day; and
(ii) before the end of the attributed income period.
(2) For the purposes of working out the recipient’s rate of payment of the new payment, the employee is taken to continue receiving so much of the employment income for the attributed income period as is referable to each affected instalment period.
28 Paragraph 1073BAB(3)(a)
Omit “person’s rate of payment for”, substitute “recipient’s rate of payment of”.
29 Paragraph 1073BAB(3)(b)
Omit “person”, substitute “employee”.
30 At the end of section 1073BAB
Add:
Employee ceases to be recipient’s partner
(4) Despite the previous subsections, if:
(a) the employee is or was the recipient’s partner; and
(b) the employee is taken, under subsection (2), to have received an amount of employment income on a day; and
(c) the employee and the recipient are not members of a couple on that day;
that amount is taken to be nil.
31 Paragraphs 1073BB(1)(a) and (b)
Repeal the paragraphs, substitute:
(a) a person’s (the relevant person’s) rate of payment of a social security pension or a social security benefit is worked out with regard to the income test module of a rate calculator in this Chapter; and
(b) a person (the employee) who is:
(i) the relevant person; or
(ii) the relevant person’s partner;
earns or derives employment income during the whole or a part of an instalment period of the relevant person; and
32 Paragraphs 1073BB(1)(c) and (d)
After “the relevant person”, insert “or the relevant person’s partner”.
(a) the employee is or was the recipient’s partner; and
(b) the employee is taken, under subsection (4) or (5), to have received an amount of employment income on a day; and
(c) the employee and the recipient are not members of a couple on that day;
that amount is taken to be nil.
35 Section 1073BD
Repeal the section, substitute:
1073BD Daily attribution of employment income for amounts not elsewhere covered in this Division
(1) This section applies for the purposes of working out a person’s (the recipient’s) rate of payment of a social security pension or a social security benefit if:
(a) the recipient’s rate of payment of the pension or benefit is worked out with regard to the income test module of a rate calculator in this Chapter; and
(b) a person (the employee) who is:
(i) the recipient; or
(ii) the recipient’s partner;
is taken, under a provision of this Act (except section 1073A, 1073B, 1073BA or 1073BB), to have received an amount of employment income during the whole or a part of a particular instalment period of the recipient.
(2) The employee is taken to receive, on each day in that instalment period, an amount of employment income worked out by dividing the total amount of the employment income referred to in paragraph (1)(b) by the number of days in the instalment period.
Employee ceases to be recipient’s partner
(3) Despite the previous subsections, if:
(a) the employee is or was the recipient’s partner; and
(b) the employee is taken, under subsection (2), to have received an amount of employment income on a day; and
(c) the employee and the recipient are not members of a couple on that day;
that amount is taken to be nil.
36 Application of amendments
(1) The amendments made by this Schedule (other than of section 1073BAB of the Social Security Act 1991) apply in relation to amounts of employment income paid on or after the day this Schedule commences.
(2) The amendments of section 1073BAB of the Social Security Act 1991 made by this Schedule apply in relation to an attributed income period (within the meaning of that section) that begins on or after the day this Schedule commences.