Information about the Bill
The Senate has referred the
provisions of the Social Security Amendment (2007 Measures No. 1) to the
Senate Standing Committee on Employment, Workplace Relations and Education
for report by 30 July 2007.
The Bill contains
amendments which extend mobility allowance to a range of people and to
support the first phase of the child support reforms which came into
effect on 1 July 2006. It also contains a number of minor amendments to
ensure that the policy intention of the social security law is upheld.
The key amendments
proposed by the bill would:
- extend
the standard rate of mobility allowance to people undertaking a
vocational rehabilitation program under Part III of the Disability
Services Act 1986, and the higher rate of mobility allowance to
parenting payment recipients and people who are working for at least 15
hours per week on wages set in accordance with the supported wage
system;
-
ensure youth allowance recipients who cease full-time study notify
Centrelink of that cessation before they can qualify for youth allowance
through looking for work;
-
provide partnered parenting payment recipients who have a partial
capacity to work access to certain benefits and concessions similar to
those available to people with a partial capacity to work receiving
newstart allowance and youth allowance (job seeker); and
- allow a person with at least
14 percent care of a child to be eligible for payment at the dependent
child maximum basic rate where they are claiming youth allowance,
newstart allowance, sickness allowance and mature age allowance (under
part 2.12B).
Submissions are due by 13 July 2007 and can be emailed to
eet.sen@aph.gov.au
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia