d. Social Security

9. Financial

D. Social Security

For Jobkeeper-related information, see the Jobkeeper section.

i. Legislation

Commonwealth:
Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) amended by the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (Cth).

Medicare Levy Act 1986 (Cth) amended by the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth)

Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cth) amended by the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (Cth).

Made under the Paid Parental Leave Act 2010 (Cth):

Paid Parental Leave Rules 2010, amended by:
- Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Coronavirus Economic Response) Rules 2020: to assist people who have been affected by the economic impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to be eligible for parental leave pay or dad and partner pay.

Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) amended by:

Made under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth):

Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 2) Determination 2020: specifies the criteria a person must meet in order to qualify for youth allowance, jobseeker payment or crisis payment under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) in circumstances relating to COVID-19, and provides for recipients of Austudy payment to receive the COVID-19 supplement from 27 April 2020.
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 6) Determination 2020: provides for recipients of widow allowance, partner allowance and special benefit under the social security law to receive the COVID-19 supplement from 27 April 2020.

Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) amended by:

Made under the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth):

Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 1) Determination 2020: temporarily amends s 13 of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) to deem what date a person’s claim for a social security payment is taken to be.
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 3) Determination 2020: modifies the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) in respect of the rates of payment paid to some people who claim a social security payment between 23 March 2020 and 29 March 2020. It also applies to modify the Act in respect of the rates of payment paid to people who are taken to have made a claim for one of these payments under s 13(3B) or (3C) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth). For people to whom the determination applies, and who only qualified for a social security payment on 25 March 2020 because of the commencement of Sch 11 of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth) on that day (or the Coronavirus Economic Response-2020 Measures No.1 Determination 2020, which commenced on the same day), this determination will ensure that the first instalment of a person’s payment will include an additional amount that represents two days’ worth of their daily rate of payment.
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 4) Determination 2020: modifies the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) in relation to the partner income reduction rate for jobseeker payment by reducing it from 60 per cent to 25 per cent of the person’s partner income excess.
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 7) Determination 2020: varies the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) to remove the liquid assets test waiting period and seasonal work preclusion period for social security claimants who had already served a part of such period prior to 25 March 2020, and for people who claim during the periods covered by ss 504(2), 557(2) and 646(2) of the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth).
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 8) Determination 2020: temporarily modifies the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) in relation to when a person is regarded as a “member of a couple” for the purposes of Jobseeker payment.
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 9) Determination 2020: amends the Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 1) Determination 2020 and modifies the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to give people who attempt to contact or actually contact Services Australia between 23 March and 29 March until 8 May 2020 to complete their social security payment claim and have their payment backdated until 23 March 2020 (or the day they qualify for payment if this is a later day). This determination also ensures that people who contact Services Australia between 30 March 2020 and 21 April 2020 will have until 8 May 2020 to complete their claim and have their payment backdated to the date they make contact (or the day they qualify for payment if this is a later day).
Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 10) Determination 2020: to implement several measures to prevent detriment to recipients of social security payments resulting from the impacts of COVID-19.

Made under the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (Cth):

Social Security (Coronavirus Economic Response—2020 Measures No. 5) Determination 2020: modifies s 204A of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) to facilitate the provision of information (including tax file number information) by the Commissioner of Taxation to the Secretary of the Department of Social Services.

Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth) amended by:

Note: modifications to “Veteran’s Law” made by Sch 6 of the Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus (Measures No. 2) Act 2020 (Cth) affect:

Made under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth):

Made under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (Cth) and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth):

Veterans’ Children Education Schemes (COVID-19 Supplement) Amendment Determination 2020: temporarily increases payments to certain recipients receiving benefits under the Veterans’ Children Education Scheme and the MRCA Education and Training Scheme. The payments of education allowance to these recipients will be increased by a new and temporary payment of $550 per fortnight referred to as the “COVID-19 supplement”. Aims to ensure that payments to these recipients remain in step with equivalent payments to recipients of Youth Allowance, ABSTUDY and Austudy.

ii. Case law

This is an area of substantive law that is very likely to result in case law. As of the last update, we are not aware of any relevant decision of a superior court in this area.

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