Social Security (Fares Allowance for Private Transport) Determination 2026

Primary categories of persons and entities affected

• Recipients of the fares allowance referenced in subsection 1061ZAAK of the Social Security Act 1991. The instrument explicitly alters "the amount referred to in subsection 1061ZAAK(3)" (s 4) and replaces the table in subsection 1061ZAAK(4) (s 5). Therefore any person whose entitlement to a fares allowance is calculated under those subsections will have the per‑kilometre amount determined by the ATO rate specified under subsection 28‑25(4) ITAA 1997.
• Administrative agencies responsible for determining and paying social security entitlements under the Social Security Act. While the instrument does not name an agency, it changes the monetary parameter those agencies must apply when calculating fares allowances under the specified Social Security Act subsections.

Secondary and indirect effects

• Users of private vehicles and taxi services who receive fares allowances: the per‑kilometre cash amount they receive when claiming the fare component will be the ATO cents‑per‑kilometre figure. This affects the reimbursement they obtain per kilometre of private travel or taxi travel insofar as they are eligible under the Social Security provisions referenced.
• Organisations that assist recipients (for example, welfare advocates, financial advisers, or intermediaries) who must apply the updated rate in client calculations.
• Data systems and payment platforms that calculate and disburse fares allowances must reference an external tax legislative instrument to determine the applicable per‑kilometre rate. That introduces a dependency on the ongoing publication and structure of the ATO instrument.

Who is not directly affected by this instrument

• Persons who are not recipients of fares allowances under s 1061ZAAK of the Social Security Act are outside the direct scope. The instrument changes only the rate used in those subsections; it does not create new payment categories or change tax treatment of private vehicle use for other purposes.

Distribution of costs and benefits

• The instrument reallocates the task of setting the monetary figure from a Social Security determination to an ATO tax legislative instrument. The cost of implementing the numerical change (system updates, administrative communication) falls primarily on the administering agency. The cost or benefit to recipients depends on the level of the ATO rate compared with the prior Social Security‑specified amount; the instrument itself does not state whether rates increase or decrease.

Timing impact

• Because the instrument commences the day after registration (s 2 table), affected recipients and administering agencies must apply the new rate from that date onward unless other transitional arrangements exist elsewhere in law. Section 2(2) also warns that the commencement table is not updated for later amendments.

What the instrument obliges and permits

• The instrument imposes no new duties on private persons in express terms. It is a monetary determination that prescribes the per‑kilometre rate to be applied under specific Social Security Act subsections (ss 4-5). The primary operative duty is therefore on the decision‑maker administering the Social Security Act to use the newly referenced rate when calculating fares allowance amounts under 1061ZAAK(3) and (4).

Rights that are affected

• The legal entitlement to a fares allowance remains governed by the Social Security Act provisions. This instrument affects the quantum of that entitlement by changing the numerical rate. Hence, recipients eligible under s 1061ZAAK retain whatever rights to payment and procedural protections the Social Security Act provides; the instrument modifies only the per‑kilometre monetary input to those entitlements.

Delegated power context

• The instrument is made under subsection 1061ZAAK(8) of the Social Security Act 1991 (s 3). That signals this is a statutory exercise of delegated authority to set amounts referenced in the main Act. The instrument itself does not purport to expand or curtail the substantive entitlements created by the Social Security Act; it operates within the scope of the delegated power.

Administrative implementation

• Administering bodies must interpret the phrase "the rate of cents per kilometre for cars for an income year determined, from time to time, by legislative instrument under subsection 28‑25(4) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997" and fetch the applicable ATO legislative instrument that sets the cents‑per‑kilometre rate. This requires an internal process to identify the correct year's ATO instrument, map that rate to social security payment periods, and apply it to calculations for individuals.

What is not created

• The determination does not create new entitlements, criminal offences, or penalties. It does not amend eligibility tests, requirements to substantiate travel or distance, nor does it alter the classification of vehicle types beyond the labels used in the substituted table (for example taxis vs "all private vehicles (excluding taxis)").

Interaction with periodic updates

• Because the text adopts the ATO figure "from time to time", there is an implicit right for recipients that once the ATO legislative instrument changes, the per‑kilometre figure used in fares allowance calculations will change correspondingly. That is a right in the sense that recipients will have their monetary rate indexed to the external instrument absent further legislative change.

Recordkeeping and proof

• The instrument does not alter recordkeeping or proof obligations laid down elsewhere in the Social Security Act; any such obligations continue to apply as before. The instrument's effect is limited to the monetary rate applied in calculation.

Absence of express offences or penalties

• This determination contains no new offences, fines, or enforcement mechanisms. Sections 4 and 5 operate purely to vary the monetary figure referenced in particular subsections of the Social Security Act; the instrument itself is silent on sanctions (see ss 4-5).

Enforcement remains via the Social Security Act framework

• Because entitlements and compliance mechanisms (including potential recovery powers, penalties for false statements, or other enforcement provisions) are contained in the Social Security Act, enforcement of any misuse, overclaim, or incorrect payments will proceed under the existing Social Security Act provisions, not under this determination. The instrument does not displace or modify those enforcement provisions.

Administrative compliance responsibilities

• The administrative duty arising from this instrument is to apply the ATO‑determined per‑kilometre rate when calculating fares allowances. Failure by the administering agency to adopt the updated rate could lead to incorrect payments; any legal consequences of incorrect payments will stem from the Social Security Act and its administrative framework rather than from the determination itself.

Inspection, review and judicial enforcement

• The instrument does not state mechanisms for review, merits review, or judicial appeal specific to the rate change. Any challenge to the application of the rate in an individual's entitlement calculation would proceed through the standard review and appeal channels established under the Social Security Act and related administrative law, subject to any statutory time limits and jurisdictional rules contained elsewhere.

Parliamentary oversight or disallowance

• The instrument does not itself include material on parliamentary scrutiny or disallowance. The making of the instrument is said to be under subsection 1061ZAAK(8) (s 3). Whether the instrument is subject to disallowance or tabling obligations is governed by the primary statute and the Legislation Act framework, which are not reproduced here.

Liability and indemnities

• The instrument does not contain provisions about liability or indemnities for administrative errors or reliance on ATO instruments. Any legal consequences of errors will derive from the Social Security Act and common law principles.

Cross‑reference to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997

• The central interaction is a direct textual cross‑reference to subsection 28‑25(4) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997. The determination makes the monetary value for fares allowance equal to "the rate of cents per kilometre for cars for an income year determined, from time to time, by legislative instrument under subsection 28‑25(4) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997" (ss 4-5). That imports the ATO's tax legislative instrument as the source of the monetary figure used in a social security context.

Dependency risk and single‑point linkage

• By aligning the Social Security fares allowance rate with the ATO cents‑per‑kilometre determination, the Social Security rate becomes dependent on the tax instrument's content, timing and legal form. Any change in how the ATO frames or titles, or any change to the structure of the tax legislative instrument under subsection 28‑25(4), may require administrative mapping to ensure continued legal clarity. The instrument references that ATO instrument as the operative source; the Social Security rate will move automatically as that ATO instrument is varied "from time to time" (ss 4-5).

Delegated‑law interaction

• This is an example of layered delegated law: a Social Security legislative instrument (this determination) incorporates by reference a tax legislative instrument. Implementers must therefore monitor and apply two delegated instruments in tandem.

Administrative implementation across statutory terms

• The ATO rate is expressed as "for an income year", whereas social security payments and administrative periods may operate on differing temporal bases (for example, fortnightly or calendar periods). The determination does not resolve how an "income year" ATO rate maps to social security payment periods; that mapping must be handled by administrators consistent with s 1061ZAAK and administrative practice. The instrument therefore creates an implementation task at the interface of tax and social assistance law.

Naming and Legislation Rules connection

• The instrument records an editorial name change on registration under section 12 of the Legislation Rules 2026. That indicates it interacts with the Legislation Rules for formalities and publication. The commencement table itself contains a note saying it will not be amended to reflect later amendments (s 2(2)). Administrators and users must therefore consult the instrument text and subsequent amending instruments rather than relying on the original commencement table remaining current.

No other substantive legal amendments

• The instrument does not amend other statutes directly. Its effect is limited to varying specified monetary references in the Social Security Act by cross‑reference to an Income Tax Assessment Act instrument. Any broader interactions (for example, tax treatment of fares allowances, or social security treatment of ATO‑determined amounts) are outside this instrument's text.

Original enactment and commencement

• The instrument's commencement provision states the whole instrument commences the day after registration (s 2, table, row 1). Section 2(2) qualifies that the table relates only to provisions as originally made and will not be updated to reflect later amendments.

Authority and making

• The instrument identifies its statutory authority as subsection 1061ZAAK(8) of the Social Security Act 1991 (s 3). That locates this instrument as an exercise of a delegated power to vary the monetary amounts referenced in s 1061ZAAK.

Name amendment on registration

• A note appended to the instrument states: "The name of this document was amended on registration to include the year of its making (see section 12, Legislation Rules 2026)." That is recorded as an editorial alteration on registration rather than a substantive amendment to the instrument's operative provisions.

No subsequent amendments recorded in the document

• The instrument text supplied is brief and records only the original provisions and the registration name change. It contains the explicit statement that the commencement table will not be amended to deal with later amendments of the instrument (s 2(2)). There are no other amendment entries or schedules appended.

Implications for tracking changes

• Because the commencement table is not updated for later amendments, users must consult consolidated or amending instruments independently to establish the current operative version. The instrument itself does not include a history of later amendments; that function is commonly performed by consolidated legislation databases or registers.

Practical note for legal research

• To determine whether later instruments or regulations have modified the rates, the relevant Social Security Act subsections, or the making power in subsection 1061ZAAK(8), one must search the statutory instrument register and any amending instruments. This determination replaces only the monetary references in the specific subsections named at the date of its making; later changes would appear as separate instruments or amendments.

No cases or litigation recorded in the text

• The instrument itself contains no references to judicial decisions, past litigation, or interpretive authorities. It is a short delegated instrument that varies monetary references; the text supplied does not record any litigation history.

Implication for legal practice

• Because the instrument is a technical monetary determination that cross‑references an ATO figure, legal disputes that might arise would likely concern administrative application (for example, whether the correct year's ATO instrument was applied in a particular entitlement calculation) or claims of incorrect payment under the Social Security Act. Any such litigation would proceed under the Social Security Act and administrative law, but no specific authorities or precedent are supplied within this instrument.

Where litigation is most likely to focus

• Potential disputes might involve:
  • Interpretation of which "income year" ATO rate applies to a specific period of travel when calculating a fares allowance.
  • Procedural challenges to the administrative application of the ATO rate in a recipient's entitlement.
  • Claims regarding retrospective application if the date mapping between the ATO income year and the social security assessment period is contested.
• None of these are addressed in the instrument text; courts would interpret the Social Security Act provisions and the making instrument in light of statutory interpretation principles and the facts of a particular case.

Absence of express transitional or savings provisions

• The instrument does not include transitional or savings clauses dealing with past periods or with how previous payments are to be reconciled. If disputes arise over historical application, litigants would rely on the Social Security Act, the prior determinations and ordinary administrative law remedies.

Dependency on an external tax instrument

• The instrument does not specify a numerical value; instead it imports the ATO's cents‑per‑kilometre figure as determined under subsection 28‑25(4) ITAA 1997 (ss 4-5). That creates a dependency: administrators and recipients must identify which ATO legislative instrument applies at a given time and map its "income year" basis into the social security payment period. The instrument gives no methodological guidance on how that mapping should be performed.

Timing and mapping risk

• The ATO rate is expressed "for an income year". The determination does not state whether the relevant ATO rate is the rate for the income year in which travel occurs, the income year prior, or another period. Implementers must decide a mapping convention. This is an implementation risk that may produce inconsistent outcomes if not centrally prescribed.

No change to eligibility or evidence requirements

• The determination changes only the monetary rate. It does not alter any eligibility criteria, travel substantiation rules, or obligations in the Social Security Act. Parties might mistakenly assume a broader reform; the instrument is confined to monetary variation.

Uniformity across taxi and private vehicles

• The instrument sets the taxi and private vehicle rate to the same ATO cents‑per‑kilometre rate. If previously different figures applied, the administrative consequence is that both categories now track the same external number. That may produce unexpected increases or decreases for one category relative to prior practice; the instrument does not record transitional protections.

No express transitional arrangements or savings

• The determination contains no transitional clauses addressing earlier claims or payments. Because the instrument commences the day after registration (s 2 table), administrators must decide whether to treat the rate as applying prospectively from that date or whether reconciliation is appropriate where entitlement periods straddle the change.

Comms and systems work required

• Payment systems and guidance documents that previously contained a hard‑coded numeric rate must be updated to reference the ATO instrument and to implement logic that selects the correct ATO rate for the relevant period. The instrument imposes no timetable for these changes beyond its commencement date; failure to update systems may produce incorrect payments or delays.

Potential for regulatory drift if ATO instrument format changes

• The instrument assumes the ATO will continue to set a "cents per kilometre for cars for an income year" by legislative instrument under subsection 28‑25(4) ITAA 1997. If the ATO changes the format, terminology, or legal vehicle through which it sets per‑kilometre figures, administrators will need to ensure continued compatibility. The determination does not create a fallback if the ATO instrument ceases to exist in that form.

Publication and name change note

• The instrument records an editorial name amendment on registration via the Legislation Rules 2026 s 12. Users relying on document titles should note that the registered name may differ from the form originally made, and must consult the register for the registered text.

Record of commencement table not being updated

• Section 2(2) specifically states that information in column 3 of the commencement table is not part of the instrument and that the table relates only to the provisions as originally made. That warning means do not rely on the instrument's commencement table for later amendment history; use the legislative instrument register for current status.

For administering agencies (practical checklist)

1. Identify the applicable ATO instrument for the relevant "income year":
   • The determination requires use of the "rate of cents per kilometre for cars for an income year determined, from time to time, by legislative instrument under subsection 28‑25(4) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997" (ss 4-5). Administrators must determine which ATO legislative instrument contains that rate for the income year that should be applied to the social security payment period in question.
2. Establish a clear mapping rule:
   • Decide and document how an ATO "income year" rate maps to the social security assessment/payment period (for example, which ATO income year applies to travel in a given fortnight or calendar month). The instrument does not dictate the mapping, so an internal policy is necessary to ensure consistency.
3. Update payment systems and calculation routines:
   • Replace any hard‑coded numeric per‑kilometre rates in software, manuals and forms with a reference and lookup process that pulls the currently operative ATO legislative instrument rate for the appropriate income year.
4. Amend guidance and client communications:
   • Update public guidance, fact sheets and staff instructions to explain that the fares allowance per‑kilometre rate is determined by reference to the ATO's cents‑per‑kilometre legislative instrument and that it may change "from time to time" with updates to that instrument.
5. Recordkeeping and audit trails:
   • Ensure calculations and payment records record which ATO instrument and which income year were used to determine the per‑kilometre rate applied to each payment, to support audits or participant queries.
6. Transitional handling:
   • Decide whether any reconciliation or adjustment is necessary for payments straddling the commencement date or later ATO rate changes. If a decision is made, document the rationale and legal basis.

For recipients and advisers

1. Monitor the ATO rate:
   • The per‑kilometre money you receive under the Social Security fares allowance will be whatever rate the ATO legislative instrument specifies for the relevant income year. Check the ATO legislative instruments or ask the administering agency which ATO income year rate applies to your travel periods.
2. Understand eligibility remains governed by the Social Security Act:
   • This determination affects only the monetary rate. Eligibility, evidence and substantiation requirements remain those set out in the Social Security Act and relevant administrative rules.
3. Keep distance and travel records:
   • Although this instrument does not change evidentiary requirements, prudent practice continues to be to retain travel logs and receipts to support claims. The calculation will require a per‑kilometre figure; you will need the same distance evidence as before.

For legal and compliance teams

1. Maintain a watch on both instrument streams:
   • Because the Social Security rate is now tethered to the ATO tax legislative instrument, compliance teams should monitor updates to subsection 28‑25(4) ITAA 1997 instruments and the Social Security instrument register for any subsequent amendments.
2. Document rationale for mapping choices:
   • If you choose an interpretation of which ATO income year applies to which social security payment period, record the legal and administrative reasoning to defend that approach against challenge.
3. Review internal controls:
   • Ensure reconciliation controls are in place so that when the ATO updates its cents‑per‑kilometre rate, the change propagates to social security payment systems promptly and accurately.
4. Train staff:
   • Provide staff with clear instructions on where to find the operative ATO instrument, which income year to apply and how to evidence the choice for audit purposes.

Practical tips

• Do not rely solely on the commencement table in this instrument for amendment history or registered name; the instrument itself warns the commencement information relates only to the original making and that column 3 information is not part of the instrument (s 2(2)). Consult the legislative instrument register for current status and consolidated text.
• Implement a simple lookup table with effective date ranges that maps ATO income year rates to social security assessment periods so that system changes to the ATO rate are administrative rather than manual.

Final operational point

• The instrument's effect is mechanical: change the per‑kilometre number used in the Social Security Act subsections to the ATO's current cents‑per‑kilometre figure. Compliance therefore primarily requires accurate identification of the ATO rate, consistent application of a chosen mapping rule, and timely systems and guidance updates in line with the instrument's commencement provisions (s 2).