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Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act amends the Social Security Act 1947 and several related laws to add new payments (a remote area allowance, a spouse‑carer’s pension and other incentives), change pension/benefit rates and eligibility, and consolidate claims, payment and review procedures. It strengthens administrative powers (delegation, information‑gathering, payment to banks), adjusts penalties and extends some extra‑territorial reach. It matters to pensioners, carers, beneficiaries, approved organisations and service providers because it changes who gets paid, how much, how payments are made and the reporting and compliance duties they face.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Social Security Legislation Amendment Act 1983.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Social Security Legislation Amendment Act 1983
No. 69 of 1983
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
PART I—PRELIMINARY
Section
Short title
Commencement
PART II—AMENDMENTS OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 1947
Principal Act
Title
Certain persons deemed to continue to receive full-time education
Repeal of sections 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 and insertion of new section—
Delegation
Insertion of new Part—
PART IIa—REMOTE AREA ALLOWANCE
17b. Interpretation
17c. Persons eligible for remote area allowance
17d. Rate of remote area allowance
17e. Payment of remote area allowance
Heading to Part III
Interpretation
Rate of age or invalid pension
Variation of certain rates
TABLE OF PROVISIONS—continued
Section
Rate of wife’s pension
Insertion of new Division —
Division 6—Spouse Carers’ Pensions
Spouse carer’s pension
Rate of spouse carer’s pension
Date from which pension payable
Suspension of pension where allowance payable under Tuberculosis Act 1948
Inmates of benevolent homes
Rate of widow’s pension
Interpretation
Qualifications for benefit
Rate of benefit
Interpretation
Funeral benefit payable to pensioner
Prescribed persons
Interpretation
Persons who are eligible to receive allowance
Sharing of allowance between 2 persons
Family allowance not to be granted or paid to certain persons
Repeal of section 105r and insertion of new section—
105r. Application of certain provisions of Part VI
Interpretation
Unemployment benefits
Sickness benefits
Rate of unemployment and sickness benefit
Variation of unemployment and sickness benefits
Income test
Waiting period
Amount of allowance
Persons eligible to be paid rehabilitation allowance
Insertion of new Part—
PART VIIIa—CLAIMS, PAYMENT, NOTIFICATION, REVIEW, CANCELLATION AND RELATED MATTERS
135ta. Claims
135tb. Making and lodgment of claims, &c.
135tc. Manner of payment of pension, benefit or allowance
135td. Pension, benefit or allowance may be paid to bank, &c.
135te. Notification and review
135tf. Power to obtain information, &c.
135tg. Self-incrimination
135th. Furnishing of information
135tj. Cancellation, suspension or variation of pension, &c.
135tk. Determination, &c., to be in writing
135tl. Interpretation
On death of married person, widow or widower to receive combined pensions for 12 weeks
Insertion of new section—
138a. Indictable offences
Prosecutions for offences
Recovery of overpayments
Repeal of sections 141 and 142 and insertion of new section—
Extra-territorial operation of certain provisions
Repeal of section 148 and insertion of new section—
Annual report
Notification provisions
Minor and consequential amendments
Formal amendments
Transitional
TABLE OF PROVISIONS—continued
PART III—AMENDMENTS OF THE AGED OR DISABLED PERSONS HOMES ACT 1954
Section
Principal Act
Interpretation
Insertion of new section in Part I—
Delegation
Repeal of section 10aa
Heading to Part III
Repeal of sections 10a, 10b and 10c and insertion of new sections -
10a. Interpretation
10b. Approvals
10c. Payments to approved organizations
Terms and conditions
Repeal
PART IV—AMENDMENTS OF THE HANDICAPPED PERSONS ASSISTANCE ACT 1974
Principal Act
Title
Interpretation
Interpretation
Approval of equipment
Grants
Repeal of section 19 and insertion of new section
Interpretation
Approved officers
Financial assistance towards meeting the cost of remuneration
Handicapped children’s benefit
Training fees
Claims
Insertion of new Part—
PART VIIIa—OPEN EMPLOYMENT INCENTIVE BONUS
29a. Interpretation
29b. Open employment incentive bonus
29c. Claims
PART V—AMENDMENTS OF THE HOMELESS PERSONS ASSISTANCE ACT 1974
Principal Act
Repeal of section 8 and insertion of new section—
Grants in respect of staff
Repeal of sections 9 and 10 and insertion of new sections—
Grants in respect of accommodation
Grants in respect of meals
PART VI—AMENDMENT OF THE STATES GRANTS (HOME CARE) ACT 1969
Principal Act
Grant of financial assistance in respect of salaries
SCHEDULES
Social Security Legislation Amendment Act 1983
No. 69 of 1983
An Act relating to social security and related matters
[Assented to 24 October 1983]
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:
PART I—PRELIMINARY
Short title
Commencement
(2) Section 5 shall be deemed to have come into operation on 31 December 1982.
(3) Section 25 and sub-section 37 (2) shall be deemed to have come into operation on 27 October 1982.
(4) Sections 58, 60, 61, 62, 69 and 70 shall be deemed to have come into operation on 1 October 1983.
(5) Sub-section 11 (1) shall come into operation, or shall be deemed to have come into operation, as the case requires, on 1 November 1983.
(6) Sections 30 and 31 shall come into operation, or shall be deemed to have come into operation, as the case requires, on 1 December 1983.
(7) Parts III and V shall come into operation on 1 January 1984.
(8) Sub-section 33 (1) shall come into operation on 1 May 1984.
(9) Sub-section 23 (1) shall come into operation on the 1 May or 1 November on which, by virtue of the operation of section 28a of the Social Security Act 1947, that Act has effect as if there were substituted for the rate applicable under paragraph 83ca (2) (c) of that Act a rate that is equal to or greater than $3,536 per annum.
(10) The amendments of the Principal Act made by the items enumerated in Schedule 1 shall come into operation on such date as is, or on such respective dates as are, fixed by Proclamation, and section 45 shall come into operation accordingly.
PART II—AMENDMENTS OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 1947
Principal Act
Title
“An Act to provide for the payment of certain pensions, benefits and allowances and for related purposes”.
Certain persons deemed to continue to receive full-time education
Section 6b of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from paragraph (a) “has attained the age of 16 years but”.
Sections 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13 of the Principal Act are repealed and the following section is substituted:
Delegation
“8. (1) The Director-General may, either generally or as otherwise provided by the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by him, delegate to an officer all or any of his powers under this Act, other than this power of delegation.
“(2) A delegation under this section does not prevent the exercise of a power by the Director-General.”.
7. (1) After Part II of the Principal Act the following Part is inserted:
“PART IIa—REMOTE AREA ALLOWANCE
Interpretation
“17b. (1) In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears—
‘allowance’ means a remote area allowance under this Part;
‘de facto spouse’ means a person who is living with another person of the opposite sex as the spouse of that other person on a bona fide domestic basis although not legally married to that other person;
‘married person’ includes a de facto spouse but does not include—
(a) a legally married person (not being a de facto spouse) who is living apart from the spouse of the person on a permanent basis; or
(b) a person who, for any special reason in any particular case, the Director-General determines should not be treated as a married person;
‘remote area’ means those parts of Australia referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936;
‘spouse’ includes a de facto spouse;
‘unmarried person’ means a person who is not a married person.
“(2) For the purposes of this Part, where a person whose usual place of residence is situated in the remote area is absent from the remote area for a period not exceeding 8 weeks, the person shall be taken to be physically present in the remote area during that period.
“(3) Sub-section (2) does not apply to a person in respect of any period during which the person is outside Australia.
Persons eligible for remote area allowance
“17c. (1) Subject to sub-section (2), a person who—
(a) is in receipt of a pension, benefit or allowance under Part III, IV, IVaaa, VII or VIIa or a rehabilitation allowance under Part VIII; and
(b) is physically present in, and whose usual place of residence is situated in, the remote area,
is eligible to receive a remote area allowance.
“(2) A person to whom sub-section 28 (2ab) or (2ac) applies is not eligible to receive an allowance.
Rate of remote area allowance
“17d. (1) Subject to this section, the rate of an allowance is—
(a) in the case of an unmarried person or a married person whose spouse is not eligible to receive an allowance under this Part, an allowance under section 98aa of the Repatriation Act 1920 or an allowance under the Tuberculosis Act 1948 the rate of which is determined having regard to residence in the remote area—$14 per fortnight; or
(b) in any other case—$12 per fortnight.
“(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), a person—
(a) in relation to whom a direction under sub-section 28 (1aaa) or 32 (1a) is in force;
(b) who is in receipt of a benefit under Part IVaaa by reason of the person being a person referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of ‘married person’ in sub-section 83aaa (1); or
(c) who is the spouse of a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b),
shall be taken to be an unmarried person.
“(3) Where—
(a) a person is in receipt of a benefit under Part VII and the rate of that benefit is increased under sub-section 112 (2) or (4a) or a person is in receipt of a rehabilitation allowance under Part VIII the rate of which is increased by reference to sub-section 112 (2) or (4a); and
(b) the person in respect of whom the rate of that benefit or allowance is so increased is physically present in the remote area and the usual place of residence of that person is situated in the remote area,
the rate of allowance applicable to the first-mentioned person is such amount, exceeding $12 per fortnight but not exceeding $24 per fortnight, as the Director-General determines in writing.
“(4) Where—
(a) a person is in receipt of an allowance under Part VIIa or a rehabilitation allowance under Part VIII;
(b) the amount of that allowance is calculated having regard to an amount of a wife’s pension under Part III; and
(c) the spouse of the person is physically present in the remote area and the usual place of residence of the spouse is situated in the remote area,
the rate of allowance applicable to the person is $24 per fortnight.
“(5) Subject to sub-sections (6) and (7), where the rate of a pension, benefit or allowance payable to a person (in this sub-section referred to as the ‘relevant person’) who is eligible to receive an allowance or the rate of a pension, benefit or allowance payable to the spouse of the relevant person is increased by reference to sub-section 28 (1b), 63 (1a) or 112 (5) in respect of another person or other persons, the rate of allowance applicable to the relevant person shall be increased by $7 per fortnight in respect of that other person or each of those other persons, as the case may be.
“(6) An increase under sub-section (5) is not payable to a person in respect of another person unless that other person is physically present in the remote area and the usual place of residence of that other person is situated in the remote area.
“(7) Where, but for this sub-section, an increase under sub-section (5) would be payable to 2 persons in respect of the same person, the increase is payable only—
(a) in a case where the rate of a pension, benefit or allowance payable to one only of those persons is increased by reference to sub-section 28 (1b), 63 (1a) or 112 (5)—to that person; or
(b) in any other case—to the person to whom the Director-General directs that the increase should be paid.
“(8) Where the Director-General gives a direction under paragraph (7) (b), he shall, by notice in writing, inform each of the persons affected by the direction accordingly.
“(9) For the purposes of this section, the rate of a pension shall be taken to be increased by reference to sub-section 28 (1b) if the rate of the pension would, but for sub-section 28 (1ea), have been so increased.
Payment of remote area allowance
“17e. (1) An allowance is payable at such times as the Director-General determines.
“(2) Where—
(a) a person who is in receipt of a benefit under Part VII is eligible to receive an allowance; and
(b) an instalment of that benefit is calculated, in accordance with sub-section 132 (3), at one-fifth of the weekly rate of the benefit for each day in a period,
an allowance is payable to the person in respect of that period at the rate of 10% of the fortnightly rate of the allowance for each day, not being a Saturday or Sunday, in that period.”.
(2) A person is not eligible to receive a remote area allowance under Part IIa of the Social Security Act 1947 before 1 May 1984.
Heading to Part III
“PART III—AGE, INVALID, WIVES’ AND SPOUSE CARERS’ PENSIONS”.
Interpretation
(2) Section 18 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by omitting paragraph (c) of the definition of “income” and substituting the following paragraphs:
“(c) the value of emergency relief or like assistance;
(ca) the value of any assistance provided by an eligible organization within the meaning of the Homeless Persons Assistance Act 1974, being assistance by way of the provision of accommodation or meals or of a ticket, voucher or token that may be exchanged for accommodation or meals;
(cb) a payment under the Handicapped Persons Assistance Act 1974;
(cc) insurance or compensation payments made by reason of the loss of, or damage to, buildings, plant or personal effects;
(cd) moneys from the investment of payments of the kind referred to in paragraph (cc), being an investment for a period not exceeding 12 months or such longer period as the Director-General, for any special reason in any particular case, allows;
(ce) a payment of domiciliary nursing care benefit under Part Vb of the National Health Act 1953;
(cf) a payment under a law of the Commonwealth, being a law having an object of assisting persons to purchase or build their own homes;”;
(b) by inserting “IIa, IVaaa,” before “VI” in paragraph (e) of the definition of “income”;
(c) by omitting “the scheme known as the National Employment and Training System” from paragraph (ea) of the definition of “income” and substituting “a program included in the programs known as the Labour Force Programs”; and
(d) by omitting the definition of “Registrar”.
(3) The amendment made by sub-section (1) applies, insofar as it affects instalments of pension, benefit or allowance under Part III, IV, IVaaa, VIIa or VIII of the Social Security Act 1947, in relation to each instalment of pension, benefit or allowance that falls due on or after 1 November 1983.
Rate of age or invalid pension
10. (1) Section 28 of the Principal Act is amended—
(a) by omitting from sub-s
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.