Bills Digest no. 43 2005–06
Social Security Legislation Amendment (One-off Payments
for Carers) Bill 2005
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Contact Officer & Copyright Details
Passage History
Social
Security Legislation Amendment (One-off Payments for Carers)
Bill 2005
Date Introduced: 11 May 2005
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Family and Community
Services
Commencement: On
Royal Assent (25 May 2005)
The Bill provided for the payment
of bonus payments to carers in receipt of Carer Payment and Carer
Allowance. Carer Payment recipients received $1000 and Carer
Allowance recipients received $600.
The provision of one-off payments to carers was announced in the
2005 Budget. They were made to those eligible for carer payments on
Budget night by the end of June 2005. Carer Allowance recipients
who received an allowance for more than one care receiver were paid
a bonus for care receiver. Where Carer Allowance was shared the
bonus was also shared. An administrative scheme was provided for in
the Bill to deal with any cases where the statutory scheme produces
anomalous results. A Similar set of one-off payments was made to
carers in June 2004.
The Bill passed both Houses of the Parliament by 12 May 2005 and
received the Royal Assent on 25 May 2005.
Item 1 Part 1 of Schedule 1 inserted
new parts 2.5B and 2.5C into the Social
Security Act 1991. The new parts provided for the payment of
one-off bonuses to recipients of Carer Payment and Carer Service
Pension.
Item 2 Part 1 of Schedule 1 inserted
new part 2.19B into the Social Security Act
1991. The new part provided for the payment of one-off bonuses
to recipients of Carer Allowance.
Part 2 of Schedule 1 amended various provisions
in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 and the Income
Tax Assessment Act 1997 to ensure that the bonus payments were
income tax free.
Schedule 2 allowed the Minister to set up an
administrative scheme for payment of bonuses by legislative
instrument.
Dale Daniels
9 September 2005
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 2005
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Published by the Parliamentary Library, 2005.
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