Bills Digest No. 107,
2017–18
PDF version [258KB]
Michael Klapdor
Social Policy Section
21
May 2018
Contents
Purpose of the Bill
Background
Committee consideration
Policy position of non-government
parties/independents
Position of major interest groups
Financial implications
Statement of Compatibility with Human
Rights
Key issues and provisions
Date introduced: 28 March 2018
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Social Services
Commencement: 20 September 2018 if Royal Assent occurs before this date, otherwise the first 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October to occur after Royal Assent.
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 at May 2018.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of the Social Services Legislation Amendment
(Payments for Carers) Bill 2018 is to amend the Social Security Act
1991 (the SS Act) to introduce an income test for Carer
Allowance and the Carer Allowance (child) Health Care Card (HCC) only.[1]
Under the proposed income test, those with an annual family income of $250,000
or more will be ineligible for Carer Allowance or the Carer Allowance (child)
HCC. The same income limit will apply to both single and couple families and no
indexation of the income limit is proposed to maintain its value over time.
The measure was announced on 5 March 2018 as a means of
providing funding for a new package of supports and services for carers.[2]
According to the Explanatory
Memorandum, the measure is from the 2017–18 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal
Outlook (MYEFO).[3]
However, no reference is made to it in the MYEFO which suggests that it was
included under the ‘decisions taken but not yet announced’ line item.[4]
Background
Carer
Allowance
Carer Allowance is an income supplement for people
providing daily care to someone with a disability or medical condition or to
someone who is frail aged.[5]
It is a non-means tested payment and can be paid in addition to the means
tested income support payment for carers—that is, the Carer Payment—or other
income support payments.[6]
As at December 2017, there were 614,274 recipients of
Carer Allowance, and 16,339 Carer Allowance (Child Health Care Card only)
holders—see below for description of this group.[7]
Estimated expenditure on the Carer Allowance payment for
2017–18 is $2.3 billion.[8]
Eligibility
To be eligible for a Carer Allowance, both the carer and
the care-receiver must be Australian residents and residing in Australia.[9]
The care needs of the care receiver need to be considered permanent, or for a
minimum period of 12 months, unless the condition of the care receiver is
terminal.[10]
The rules relating to care receivers are different for
children and adults. Care receivers aged under 16 years must:
- be
a dependent child of the carer
- have
a recognised disability or medical condition, or have been given a qualifying
rating of ‘intense’ under the Disability Care Load Assessment (which is based
on responses to questionnaires completed by the Carer Allowance claimant and
the treating health professional) and
- need
care from the carer in their home or in hospital.[11]
- Care receivers aged 16 years or over must:
- be
a family member of the carer (or otherwise approved by Centrelink)
- receive
care and attention from the carer, or the carer together with another person
and
- have
a score of 30 or higher under the Adult Disability Assessment Tool (ADAT)
including a treating health professional score of 12 or higher. Adults with a
terminal illness who are not expected to live more than three months are taken
to satisfy this disability requirement.[12]
Some Carer Payment recipients may automatically be
qualified for Carer Allowance where the care-receiver is aged less than 16
years.[13]
Payment rates
The current rate of Carer Allowance is $127.10 per
fortnight.[14]
A person receiving Carer Allowance on 1 July for a care-receiver aged under 16
years is also eligible for a yearly $1,000 lump sum Child Disability Assistance
payment.[15]
A separate payment worth $600, the Carer Supplement, can be paid to recipients
of Carer Allowance for each person being cared for. The Carer Supplement is
paid annually in July.[16]
Health Care Card only
In some situations where a carer of a child under 16 years
does not qualify for payment of Carer Allowance, the child may still be
eligible to receive a HCC. This can occur in situations where the child has a
disability or medical condition that does not meet the qualification
requirements for Carer Allowance but who still requires and receives a level of
care and attention that is substantially more than that needed by a person of the
same age who does not have a disability.[17]
This is generally considered to be the case where the child requires at least
14 hours of care a week.[18]
HCC holders are entitled to discounted
medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, lower expenditure
thresholds for accessing the Medicare Safety Net, incentives for doctors who
bulk-bill HCC holders, as well as concessions offered by state and territory
governments on utilities, healthcare, public transport and rates.[19]
History
Carer Allowance has its origins in two payments: the
Domiciliary Nursing Care Benefit (DNCB) introduced by the McMahon Government
from 1973 and the Handicapped Child’s Allowance payment introduced by the
Whitlam Government in 1974.[20]
The DNCB was paid by the Department of Health to those who
provided professional nursing care to an aged relative in their own home.[21]
The payment of $14 per week was for those willing and able to care for aged
relatives in their home as an alternative to the relative entering a nursing home.[22]
The DNCB was not means tested.
The Handicapped Child’s Allowance, administered by the
Department of Social Security, provided $10 per week to parents or guardians
caring for ‘severely handicapped’ children under the age of 16 years who were
at home and in need of constant care and attention on a permanent or long-term
basis.[23]
The allowance was not taxable, nor was it subject to an income test.
In 1977, the disability criteria for the Handicapped
Child’s Allowance were broadened to include ‘substantially handicapped’
children and in 1978 the payment was expanded to include dependent full-time
students aged 16 to 24 years.[24]
In 1983, a separate Rehabilitation Allowance was introduced for full-time
students.[25]
In 1987, the Child Disability Allowance replaced the
Handicapped Child’s Allowance. The new payment did not distinguish between
handicapped and severely handicapped and was payable at the rate of $122 per
month.[26]
In 1998 the Howard Government introduced a new method for
assessing eligibility: the Child Disability Assessment Tool (CDAT).[27]
Under the previous assessment system for Child Disability Allowance, a child
had to have a disability and as a result of that disability require
substantially more care and attention on a daily basis than a child of the same
age without a disability. Some disabilities were considered sufficient in
themselves to automatically fulfil the care requirement. They were called
manifest disabilities and eligibility was automatic. The new assessment tool
consisted of questionnaires for parents and treating doctors. It tried to
assess functional ability in a range of areas: special care needs, behavioural
issues and emotional state issues. The new system also classified certain
conditions as recognised disabilities or chronic conditions, which gave
automatic eligibility.[28]
Also in 1998, the rate of the Child Disability Allowance
was aligned with the rate of the DNCB.[29]
In 1999, the Child Disability Allowance was merged with
the DNCB to form the new Carer Allowance.[30]
The new payment was to provide similar levels of assistance to carers of people
with disability or medical conditions of all ages. The differing eligibility
requirements for adult care-receivers under Carer Allowance, using the Adult
Disability Assessment Tool, meant that more people caring for adults were
eligible to receive a payment compared to the DNCB.[31]
The merger also simplified the administration of payments for carers under one
department.
In 2004, eligibility for carers of adults was extended to
those who do not live with the person to whom they provide substantial levels
of personal care on a daily basis.[32]
In 2009, the Rudd Government introduced automatic
qualification for Carer Allowance for Carer Payment recipients caring for a
child.[33]
Prevalence
of means testing
Carer Allowance and its predecessor payments have never
been means tested. This makes it unusual within the framework of Australia’s
social security system.
Currently, almost every social security and family
assistance payment provided by the Australian Government is either means tested
through income and/or asset tests, or an income limit applies to eligibility
for the payment. Non-means tested payments include Carer Allowance, Double
Orphan Pension, Remote Area Allowance, some components of the Assistance for
Isolated Children Scheme and Child Care Rebate. Child Care Rebate will be
merged with the means-tested Child Care Benefit from July 2018 to form the new,
means tested, Child Care Subsidy payment.[34]
Permanently blind recipients of pension payments are not subject to the income
and asset testing that would normally apply to those payments.[35]
At the time of the introduction of the Carer Allowance,
former Liberal Party MP Teresa Gambaro stated:
Exempting the carer allowance from means and income tests
reflects the government's commitment to Australian carers. We will always have
an ongoing commitment to people in this particular role.[36]
National
Commission of Audit recommendation
The Abbott Government’s National Commission of Audit (NCA)
recommended applying an income limit to Carer Allowance of $150,000 per year:
In keeping with the Commission’s focus on targeting payments
to those most in need, an income test could be introduced for Carer Allowance.
Setting an income limit of $150,000 per year would mean that around
6 per cent of recipients would no longer be eligible. It is
anticipated that around 35,000 carers would lose access to Carer Allowance
under this arrangement.[37]
The NCA noted that the introduction of an income test
would give rise to additional complexity, including in relation to how income
was defined for the purpose of the test.[38]
Reference
Group on Welfare Reform
The Reference Group on Welfare Reform, led by Patrick
McClure, did not make any specific recommendations in regards to Carer
Allowance. In arguing for the simplification of the social security payment
system, the Group recommended there should be fewer supplementary payments and
they ‘should have clearly defined purposes and be for specific additional
costs’.[39]
The Group recommended there be a supplement for carers and people with
disability but did not propose any specific rate or means testing arrangement.[40]
Committee
consideration
Senate
Standing Committee for Selection of Bills
At the time of writing, the Bill had not been referred to
any committees. In its report on 28 March 2018, the Senate Selection
of Bills Committee deferred consideration of the Bill to its next meeting.[41]
Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
The Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee had no comment on the
Bill.[42]
Policy
position of non-government parties/independents
At the time of writing, non-government parties and
independents had not stated their position on the Bill.
Position of
major interest groups
Peak body for carers, Carers Australia, has stated that it
supports the measure as the budget savings will provide funding for a new
integrated carer support services model (see further discussion in the
‘Financial implications’ and ‘Key issues and provisions’ sections of this Bills
Digest).[43]
Financial
implications
According to the Explanatory
Memorandum to the Bill, the amendments will provide savings of $85.6
million over the forward estimates.[44]
The Explanatory
Memorandum states that the measures are from the 2017–18 MYEFO, however, no
reference to the changes is made in the MYEFO.[45]
This suggests the new income test for Carer Allowance was included under the ‘decisions
taken but not yet announced’ line item.
The Explanatory
Memorandum states that savings will be invested in the Integrated Carer
Support Service expected to be introduced from October 2018.[46]
This service will consist of digital services provided through the Carer
Gateway website and, from September 2019, a network of Regional Delivery
Partners providing needs assessment and planning; targeted financial support
packages, coaching, counselling and training; information and advice; access to
crisis support; and assistance navigating relevant services.[47]
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
As required under Part 3 of the Human Rights
(Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth), the Government has assessed
the Bill’s compatibility with the human rights and freedoms recognised or
declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of that Act. The
Government considers that the Bill is compatible.[48]
Parliamentary
Joint Committee on Human Rights
The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights determined
that the Bill did not raise human rights concerns.[49]
Key issues
and provisions
The Bill introduces a means test on Carer Allowance for
the first time. The means test consists of a non-indexed income limit of $250,000—those
with assessable family income that exceeds this amount will be ineligible for
Carer Allowance.
Assessable income will be adjusted taxable income
which includes:
- taxable
income (excluding any assessable First Home Super Saver Scheme released amount)
- employer-provided
fringe benefits
- target
foreign income[50]
- net
investment losses
- reportable
superannuation income
- income
from long-term financial assets (for those with tax-free income streams)
- paid
parental leave and
- tax-free
pensions or benefits.[51]
Any child maintenance expenditure (child support) is
deducted from the total income amount.[52]
The income limit will apply to current and new Carer
Allowance claimants. Unlike most social security means test thresholds, the
income limit will not be indexed to maintain its value over time. Most social
security means test thresholds are adjusted in line with movements in the
Consumer Price Index in order to maintain their real value.
The Government estimates that 6,500 current Carer
Allowance recipients and 400 Health Card holders will be affected in 2018–19.[53]
Estimates of future claimants affected have not been published.
Rationale
Minister for Social Services, Dan Tehan, explained the
rationale for the proposed income limit in his second reading speech for the
Bill:
Unlike most other social security payments, which are income
tested and targeted to those most in need, there is currently no income test
associated with carer allowance.
The carer payment, the age pension, and family benefits are
all subject to an income test. This Bill will keep our welfare system strong
and sustainable into the future.
...
The need for carers is increasing so it is essential we get
the balance right in the welfare system between financial support and
availability of services.[54]
The Minister’s speech suggests that the level of
expenditure on Carer Allowance, and a desire to direct funding from payments to
services, is the key rationale behind the measure.
Impact
As noted above, the number of current recipients the
measure is expected to affect represent around one per cent of all Carer
Allowance recipients and around 2.4 per cent of all Care Allowance (Child
Health Care Card only) holders.
The level of the income limits means that the measure will
affect those with very high incomes—it is likely that many of the carers are
those with partners with high incomes (given the care-need eligibility
requirements for the payment). Around 73.4 per cent of Carer Allowance
recipients and 92.1 per cent of Care Allowance (Child Health Care Card only)
holders are women.[55]
As the income limit will not be indexed or adjusted over
time, its real value will decline. Wage rises will see more families exceeding
the static income limit.
Ara Cresswell, CEO of peak body Carers Australia stated:
We appreciate that when people have become accustomed to
receiving a benefit, they can feel aggrieved when it is taken away. However,
the income threshold is very generous compared to other pensions and
allowances, reflecting the Government’s recognition that caring can add
substantially to the usual costs of maintaining a household.[56]
Carers Australia supports the changes as the budget
savings will be directed towards the new Integrated Carer Support Service.[57]
Key
provisions
Schedule
1—Carer allowance
Section 10A of the SS Act currently provides
definitions for the purposes of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, including
definitions used in applying the income test for that card. Item 2 in
Schedule 1 of the Bill amends subsection 10A(2) of the SS Act so that
the definitions also apply to Carer Allowance.
Items 3–6 in Schedule 1 of the Bill insert proposed
paragraphs 953(1)(g),[58]
953(2)(g),[59]
954(1)(g)[60]
and 954A(1)(ea),[61]
respectively, into the SS Act so that a requirement for a Carer
Allowance claimant to meet the income test under proposed section 957A (inserted
by item 7) is added to the qualification requirements for the payment.
Proposed section 957A of the SS Act sets out
the income test for Carer Allowance. The income test calculates whether a person’s
total annual adjusted taxable income is less than $250,000. The combined
adjusted taxable income of both members of a couple is used for partnered
claimants.[62]
Generally, where a person has received their tax return,
the income for the financial year preceding the claim is used.[63]
In other cases, the income for the year preceding the last financial year is
used. Proposed subsection 957A(3) of the SS Act allows a person
to elect in writing that their income for the financial year in which they are
claiming be used for the purposes of the income test.
Proposed section 957B (inserted by item 7)
defines adjusted taxable income for the purposes of the income test (see above
for the types of income to be included). In particular, it requires that child
maintenance expenditure is deducted from the assessable income total[64]
and, for persons aged over 60 years, income from long-term financial assets
such as account-based superannuation is calculated under the deeming rules (see
below).[65]
Proposed section 957C (inserted by item 7)
provides for income estimates to be used, if provided in a form approved by the
Secretary of the Department of Social Services, and if the Secretary is
satisfied that the estimate is reasonable.
Proposed section 957D (inserted by item 7) provides
a method statement for working out how income from certain superannuation
income streams paid to those over the age of 60 is to be assessed under the
deeming rules. The deeming rules assess an assumed rate of return based on the
value of a financial asset rather than the actual income.[66]
Schedule
2—Health care card
Item 1 of Schedule 2 to the Bill inserts proposed
paragraph 1061ZK(3)(e) into the SS Act to include a requirement that
a person meets the Carer Allowance income test (inserted by Schedule 1) in
order to qualify for the Health Care Card only Carer Allowance.
[1]. Social Security Act
1991 (Cth) (SS Act).
[2]. D
Tehan (Minister for Social Services) and J Prentice (Assistant Minister for
Social Services and Disability Services), Supporting
Australia’s carers, media release, 5 March 2018.
[3]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Social Services Legislation Amendment (Payments for Carers)
Bill 2018, p. 4.
[4]. S
Morrison (Treasurer) and M Cormann (Minister for Finance), Mid-year
economic and fiscal outlook 2017–18, p. 134.
[5]. Department
of Human Services (DHS), ‘Carer
allowance’, DHS website, last updated 12 May 2018; SS Act, Part
2.19.
[6]. The
Carer Payment supports people who are unable to work in substantial paid
employment because they are providing full time daily care to someone with a
severe disability or medical condition, or to someone who is frail aged.
Department of Social Services (DSS) ‘Payments
for carers’, DSS website, last updated: 27 August 2017.
[7]. Department
of Social Services (DSS), ‘DSS
Demographics December 2017’, data.gov.au website, last updated 11 April
2018.
[8]. Australian
Government, Portfolio
additional estimates statements 2017–18: Social Services Portfolio, p.
39.
[9]. DHS,
‘Residence
descriptions’, DHS website, last updated 17 January 2018.
[10]. DSS,
‘3.6.7.30
Qualification for CA’, Guide to social security law, DSS website,
last reviewed 2 January 2015.
[11]. Ibid.
[12]. Ibid.
[13]. DSS,
‘3.6.7.35
Qualification for CA (child) – automatic qualification for CA (child) through
qualification for CP (child)’, Guide to social security law, DSS
website, last reviewed 16 May 2016.
[14]. DHS,
‘How
much carer allowance can you get’, DHS website, last updated 12 May 2018.
[15]. DHS,
‘Child
disability assistance payment’, DHS website, last updated, 12 May 2018.
[16]. DHS,
‘Carer
supplement’, DHS website, last updated 12 May 2018.
[17]. DSS,
‘3.6.7.10
Qualification for HCC only CA (child)’. Guide to social security law,
DSS website, last reviewed 9 February 2015.
[18]. Ibid.
[19]. DHS,
‘Benefits
of a Health Care Card’, DHS website, last updated 12 May 2018.
[20]. National Health
Act 1972; Social
Services Act (No. 3) 1974.
[21]. K
Anderson, ‘Ministerial
Statement: Nursing Care’, Senate, Debates, 16 August 1972, pp.
59–60.
[22]. K
Anderson, ‘Second
reading speech: National Health Bill 1972’, Senate, Debates, 24
October 1972, p. 1814.
[23]. D
Daniels, Social
security payments for the aged, people with disabilities and carers 1901 to
2010, Background note, Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 21 February
2011, p. 21.
[24]. Social Services Amendment Act 1977.
[25]. Social Security Legislation Amendment Act 1982.
[26]. Social Security and Veterans’ Entitlements
Amendment Act (No. 2) 1987.
[27]. D
Daniels and M Tapley, Assistance
for Carers Legislation Amendment Bill 1999, Bills digest, 148, 1998–99,
Parliamentary Library, Canberra, 30 March 1999, p. 6.
[28]. Ibid.
[29]. Ibid.
[30]. Assistance for Carers Legislation Amendment Act
1999.
[31]. Daniels
and Tapley, Assistance
for Carers Legislation Amendment Bill 1999, op. cit., p. 7.
[32]. Family and Community Services and Veterans’
Affairs Legislation Amendment (2004 Budget Measures) Act 2004.
[33]. Social Security Legislation Amendment (Improved
Support for Carers) Act 2009.
[34]. Department of Education
and Training (DET), ‘The
new child care package’, DET website.
[35]. DSS,
‘4.3.1.30
Rate of income – couples, blind pensioners and children’, Guide to social
security law, DSS website, last reviewed 15 August 2016.
[36]. T
Gambaro, ‘Second
reading speech: Assistance for Carers Legislation Amendment Bill 1999’,
House of Representatives, Debates, 23 March 1999, p. 4129.
[37]. National
Commission of Audit, Towards
responsible government, ‘Appendix volume 1’, National Commission of
Audit, Canberra, 2014, p. 310.
[38]. Ibid.
[39]. Reference
Group on Welfare Reform, A new system
for better employment and social outcomes: final report, (McClure
Review), DSS, Canberra, 2015, p. 16.
[40]. Ibid.
[41]. Senate
Standing Committee for the Selection of Bills, Report,
4, 2018, The Senate, Canberra, 28 March 2018.
[42]. Senate
Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Scrutiny
digest, 5, 2018, The Senate, 9 May 2018, p. 53
[43]. Carers
Australia, New
national approach to carer support services announced, media release, 5
March 2018.
[44]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Social Services Legislation Amendment (Payments for Carers)
Bill 2018, p. 4.
[45]. Ibid;
Morrison and Cormann, Mid-year
economic and fiscal outlook 2017–18, op. cit., p. 134.
[46]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Social Services Legislation Amendment (Payments for Carers)
Bill 2018, p. 4; DSS, ‘Integrated
carer support service’, DSS website, last updated 16 April 2018.
[47]. DSS,
New
services for carers, Fact sheet, DSS, last updated 16 April 2018.
[48]. The
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights can be found at pages 9–10 of the Explanatory
Memorandum to the Bill.
[49]. Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human rights scrutiny report, 4, 8 May
2018, p. 96.
[50]. SS
Act, section 10A defines target foreign income as foreign
income that is not taxable income or received in the form of a fringe benefit.
[51]. Explanatory
Memorandum, Social Services Legislation Amendment (Payments for Carers)
Bill 2018, p. 6.
[52]. Under
proposed subsection 957B(9) of the SS Act deductible child
maintenance expenditure is worked out according to the provisions of the A New Tax System
(Family Assistance) Act 1999. See DSS, ‘3.2.7 Deductible child
maintenance expenditure’, Guide to Social Security Law, DSS website,
last reviewed 1 July 2016.
[53]. D
Tehan, ‘Second
reading speech: Social Services Legislation Amendment (Payments for Carers)
Bill 2018’, House of Representatives, Debates, 28 March 2018, p.
3022.
[54]. Ibid.,
p. 3023–4.
[55]. DSS,
‘DSS
Demographics December 2017’, op. cit.
[56]. Carers
Australia, New
national approach to carer support services announced, op. cit.
[57]. Ibid.
[58]. SS
Act, subsection 953(1) sets out the qualification for Carer Allowance where
a person is caring for one disabled child.
[59]. SS
Act, subsection 953(2) sets out the qualification for Carer Allowance where
a person is caring for two disabled children.
[60]. SS
Act, subsection 954(1) sets out the qualification for Carer Allowance where
a person is caring for a disabled adult in the home of both the adult and the
carer.
[61]. SS
Act, subsection 954A(1) sets out the qualification for Carer Allowance
where a person is caring for a disabled adult in a home not shared by the adult
and the carer.
[62]. SS
Act, proposed subsection 957A(1), method statement, step 2.
[63]. SS
Act, proposed subsection 957A(2) defines this as the person’s reference
tax year.
[64]. SS
Act, proposed subsection 957B(9).
[65]. SS
Act, proposed subsection 957B(8).
[66]. DSS,
‘4.4.1.10
Overview of deeming’, Guide to social security law, DSS website,
last reviewed 3 July 2017.
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