Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda[Index] [Search] [Download] [Bill] [Help]
1998-99-00-01
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CONCESSION CARDS) BILL 2001
THIS MEMORANDUM TAKES ACCOUNT OF AMENDMENTS MADE BY THE SENATE TO THE BILL AS INTRODUCED
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Family and
Community Services,
Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone)
ISBN: 0642 457581
SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (CONCESSION CARDS) BILL 2001
OUTLINE AND FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Bill
2001 forms a part of the measures being undertaken to give effect to the
Government’s commitment to implement a simpler and more coherent social
security system that more effectively meets its objectives of adequacy, equity,
incentives for self provision, customer service and administrative and financial
sustainability.
The Bill also responds to a recommendation contained in
the October 1997 report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on
Family and Community Affairs: Concessions – Who benefits – Report
on concession card availability and eligibility for concessions. The
Committee recommended that the legislative framework be rationalised to include
the bulk of concession entitlement provisions in the social security law rather
than in legislation administered by the then Health and Family Services
portfolio.
The provisions in the Health Insurance Act relating to an eligible
overseas representative have not been included in amendments to the social
security law. It is highly unlikely that the provisions would have any
operation because of the income test in relation to health care cards. In the
unlikely event that this deletion was to give rise to difficulties, the problems
could be overcome by use of the Minister’s powers under either subsection
1061ZN(1)(a)(iii) or 1061ZO(7).
The only significant policy change made
by the Bill relates to foster care children. In future, a child will be
entitled to a health care card under section 1061ZO if:
• the child
is in foster care; and
• the child is living in Australia with an
Australian resident.
Date of effect:
1 July
2001.
Financial Impact:
The additional costs of providing
cards to all foster children regardless of the income of parents are as
follows:
|
|
|
2001-02
|
2002-03
|
2003-04
|
2004-05
|
|
|
Administered
Departmental Total |
0.375
0.400 0.775 |
0.838
0.000 0.838 |
1.378
0.000 1.378 |
1.497
0.000 1.497 |
The additional administered costs are additional costs to the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
This clause specifies that the short title of the Bill, when enacted,
will be the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act
2001.
This clause specifies that the Bill is to commence on 1 July
2001.
Subclause 3(1) is a consequence of the repeal of Part 2A.1 and the
substitution of proposed Part 2A.1 of the Social Security Act
1991 (the 1991 Act). The application of section 3 of the
Social Security Legislation Amendment (Newly Arrived Resident’s Waiting
Periods and Other Measures) Act 1997 is preserved through this
subclause.
Subclause 3(2) is a consequence of transferring provisions
relating to newly arrived resident’s waiting periods from the Health
Insurance Act 1973 to proposed Part 2A.1 of the 1991 Act. The
application of section 3 of the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Newly
Arrived Resident’s Waiting Periods and Other Measures) Act 1997 is
preserved through this subclause.
Clause
4—Schedules
This clause gives effect to the Schedules to
the Bill.
Amendment of the Social Security Act 1991
Item 1 of Schedule 1 repeals section 6A and substitutes proposed
section 6A that contains a number of definitions related to the proposed
concession card provisions.
Items 2 and 3 make consequential amendments
to subsections 7(6) and (6AA) so they refer to a health care card.
Item 4
makes a consequential amendment to subsection 23(1) as a result of the repeal
and re-enactment of the provisions of the 1991 Act that relate to the seniors
health cards.
Item 5 amends subsection 23(1) and makes a consequential
amendment to the definition of newly arrived resident’s waiting period by
inserting paragraph (ka) that deals with a health care card newly arrived
resident’s waiting period under section 1061ZQ.
Item 6 of
Schedule 1 repeals Part 2A.1 of the 1991 Act that contains the qualification
provisions for a seniors health card and substitutes a new Part 2A.1 that deals
with concession cards.
Part 2A.1—Concession Cards
Proposed Division 1—Qualification for, and issue of, pensioner concession card
Proposed section 1061ZA—General qualification
rules
Subsection (1) sets out the qualification rules for a pensioner
concession card for a person to whom a social security pension or a mature age
allowance is payable under Part 2.12B of the 1991 Act. Essentially, a person to
whom a social security pension or a mature age allowance is payable under Part
2.12B of the 1991 Act is qualified for a pensioner concession card. A pensioner
concession card is issued automatically to a person who is qualified for such a
card (see proposed section 1061ZF).
Subsection (2) sets out the
qualification rules for a pensioner concession card for a person who is
receiving a social security benefit. Essentially, a person who is receiving a
social security benefit is qualified for a pensioner concession card if the
person is 60 years of age and has been receiving a social security benefit or
social security pension for a continuous period of 39 weeks. A pensioner
concession card is issued automatically to a person who is qualified for such a
card (see proposed section 1061ZF).
Subsection (3) provides that
subsection (1) and (2) only apply to a person in relation to a day on which the
person is in Australia and is an Australian resident. This means that a person
who resides outside Australia is not qualified for a pensioner concession card.
Similarly, a person who travels overseas is not qualified for a pensioner
concession card while overseas.
Subsection (4) overrides subsection (3)
for a person subject to the scheduled international agreement between Australia
and New Zealand. It provides that a person who qualified for a benefit under
subsection (1) or (2) solely because of the operation of the agreement must
reside in Australia but need not be an Australian
resident.
Proposed section 1061ZB—Extended
qualification rules for former recipients of mature age
allowance
Subsection (1) sets out extended qualification rules for
former recipients of mature age allowance and mature age partner allowance under
Part 2.12A of the 1991 Act or a mature age allowance paid under Part 2.12B of
the 1991 Act who would otherwise lose their qualification for a pensioner
concession card because:
• the person or the person’s partner
has commenced employment; or
• there has been an increase in the
ordinary income of the person or the person’s partner from
employment.
The extended qualification period for a pensioner concession
card is 26 weeks.
Subsection (2) provides that subsection (1) applies
only to a person while the person is in Australia and is an Australian
resident.
Proposed section 1061ZC—Extended
qualification rules for long-term recipients of social security
benefits
This section provides extended qualification rules for long
term recipients of social security benefits when they would otherwise lose their
qualification for a pensioner concession card because the person or the
person’s partner has commenced employment or there has been an increase in
the ordinary income of the person or the person’s partner. The extended
qualification period for a pensioner concession card is 26
weeks.
Subsection (2) provides that subsection (1) applies only to a
person in relation to a day on which the person is in Australia and is an
Australian resident.
Subsection (4) overrides subsection (2) for a person
subject to the scheduled international agreement between Australia and New
Zealand. It provides that a person who qualified for a benefit under subsection
(1) solely because of the operation of the agreement must reside in Australia
but need not be an Australian resident.
Proposed section
1061ZD—Qualification for pensioner concession card for a person
ceasing to receive disability support pension
This section provides
extended qualification rules for a person who ceases to receive a disability
support pension because the person commences employment that requires him or her
to work at least 30 hours per week.
The extended qualification period
for a pensioner concession card is 52 weeks.
Subsection (4) provides that
the section only applies to a person while the person is in Australia and is an
Australian resident.
Subsection (6) overrides subsection (4) for a person
subject to the scheduled international agreement between Australia and New
Zealand. It provides that a person who qualified for a benefit under subsection
(1) solely because of the operation of the agreement must reside in Australia
but need not be an Australian resident.
Proposed section
1061ZE—Qualification for pensioner concession card for a person
ceasing to receive wife pension
This section provides extended
qualification rules for a person who ceases to receive a wife pension because
the person’s partner who has been receiving a disability support pension
has commenced employment that requires the partner to work at least 30 hours per
week or there has been an increase in the ordinary income of the person’s
partner.
The extended qualification period for a pensioner concession
card is 52 weeks.
Subsection (4) provides that the section only applies
to a person in relation to a day on which the person is in Australia and is an
Australian resident.
Subsection (6) overrides subsection (4) for a person
subject to the scheduled international agreement between Australia and New
Zealand. It provides that a person who qualified for a benefit under the
section solely because of the operation of the agreement must reside in
Australia but need not be an Australian resident.
Proposed section
1061ZF—Issue of pensioner concession card
This section
requires the Secretary to issue a pensioner concession card to a person who is
qualified for the card. This means that a person who is qualified for a
pensioner concession card does not have to apply to receive the
card.
Proposed Division 2—Qualification for seniors health card
Proposed sections 1061ZG to 1061ZJ are the equivalent of what is
currently Part 2A.1 that deals with qualification for a seniors health
card.
Proposed Division 3—Qualification for a health care card
Proposed Subdivision A—Qualification for automatic issue health care card
Proposed section 1061ZK—Qualification for automatic issue
health care card: general rules
This section sets out the general
rules for a person to qualify for an automatic issue health care card. If the
rules set out in subsections (2) to (8) apply to a person on a day, the person
is qualified to hold an automatic issue health care card.
Subsection (2)
deals with a child where a person is qualified under Part 2.19 for carer
allowance.
Subsection (3) deals with a disabled child.
Subsection
(4) deals with a person who is entitled to be paid family tax benefit by
instalment.
Subsection (5) deals with a person who is
receiving:
• youth allowance and the person was not undertaking
full-time study when the determination to grant the allowance was
made;
• newstart allowance;
• partner
allowance;
• widow allowance;
• benefit PP
(partnered)
• sickness allowance; or
• special
benefit.
Subsection (6) deals with a person who is receiving exceptional
circumstances relief payment or farm help income support under the Farm
Household Support Act 1992.
Subsection (7) deals with a person who is
receiving mobility allowance or would be but for paragraph 1037(b) of the 1991
Act.
Subsection (8) contains a definition of disabled
child.
Subsection (9) provides that the section is subject to section
1061ZN which contains residence requirements.
Proposed section
1061ZL—Qualification for automatic issue health care card: certain
disabled young persons
This section provides for the continued
qualification of certain saved disabled young persons for an automatic issue
health care card.
Proposed section
1061ZM—Qualification for health care card: employment affected
person
This section provides an extension of health care coverage for
those who are no longer qualified for a concession card because the person is or
the person’s partner has commenced employment or there has been an
increase in the ordinary income of the person or the person’s partner from
employment. To qualify for the extension the person must be an employment
affected person and have been a qualified recipient for 12 months before
the commencement of the employment or the increase in the ordinary income. The
extended qualification period for a health care card is 26
weeks.
Subsection (3) contains definitions of employment affected person
and qualified recipient.
Subsection (4) provides that the section is
subject to section 1061ZN that contains residence rules.
Proposed
section 1061ZN—Residence requirement
This section sets
out the residence rules for sections 1061ZK, 1061ZL and
1061 ZM.
Proposed Subdivision B—Qualification for health care cards other than automatic issue cards
Proposed section 1061ZO—Qualification for health care
card where claim required: general rules
This section sets out the
general rules for a person to qualify for a health care card which the person
will only receive if they make a claim for the health care
card.
Subsections (2), (3) and (4) deals with persons who are Australian
residents and who satisfy the health care card income test (proposed Part 3.9A
of the 1991 Act). These provisions are sufficiently wide to cover persons who
receive youth allowance or austudy payment so no separate provisions dealing
with youth allowance (full-time students) or austudy payment are being inserted
in the social security law.
Subsections (5) and (6) deal with a person in
foster care.
Subsection (7) provides a power for the Minister to declare
that the section applies to a person who:
• is included in a
specified class of persons; and
• is, or has been, in Australia in
specified circumstances.
This provides flexibility similar to, but more
limited than, the powers currently found in section 6 of the Health Insurance
Act. This provision will be used to provide health care cards to holders of
temporary protection visas who currently receive cards and where they do not
qualify for a concession card under another provision. The circumstances that
may be specified can exist at the time of making the declaration or have existed
at any time beforehand (see subsection (8)).
Subsection (9) provides that
a declaration under subsection (7) must be in writing and is a disallowable
instrument.
Proposed section 1061ZP—Person subject to
newly arrived resident’s waiting period
Proposed section 1061ZP
provides that the Subdivision does not apply to a person who is subject to a
newly arrived resident’s waiting period.
Proposed section
1061ZQ—Duration of Newly arrived resident’s waiting
period
Proposed section 1061ZQ defines the rules for waiting periods
for newly arrived residents.
Subsection (1) provides that a newly arrived
resident’s waiting period will apply to a person who has entered Australia
on or after 1 February 2000.
Subsection (2) provides for exceptions to
subsection (1). Persons who are not subject to a newly arrived resident’s
waiting period are those who:
• have a qualifying residence
exemption for a health care card;
• have already served a newly arrived
resident’s waiting period;
• have been an Australian resident and
in Australia for periods totalling 104 weeks;
• hold, or formerly held,
a visa for the purposes of subsection 739A(6); or
• are not subject to
a newly arrived resident’s waiting period under subsection 739A(1) or
(2) because of the operation of subsection 739A(7).
Proposed
section 1061ZR—Duration of newly arrived resident’s waiting
period
Proposed section 1061ZR sets out the start and end days for
newly arrived resident’s waiting periods. The period begins on the day a
person first becomes an Australian resident and ends when the person has been an
Australian resident for periods totalling 104 weeks.
Proposed Subdivision C—Miscellaneous provisions relating to health care cards
Proposed section 1061ZS—Issue of health care
cards
This section requires the Secretary to issue an automatic issue
health care card to a person who is qualified for the card.
Proposed
section 1061ZT—Certain dependants not qualified for health care
card
Proposed subsection (1) provides that a dependant (which does
not include a partner—see proposed subsection (3)) is not qualified for a
health care card in respect of any day on which the person:
• is a
dependant of any person; or
• is wholly or substantially dependent
on:
(i) a resident of;
(ii) a corporation carrying on business in;
or
(iii) the government of;
a country other than
Australia.
Proposed subsection (2) provides that subsection (1) does not
apply to a person’s partner or certain other persons.
Item 7 makes
a consequential amendment to point 1067G-F3.
Proposed Part 3.9A—Health Care Card Income Test Calculator
Item 8 of Schedule 1 inserts a new Part 3.9A that deals with the health
care card income test calculator after Part 3.9 of Chapter 3 of the 1991
Act.
New Part 3.9A is based on the provisions currently found in section
5B of the Health Insurance Act.
Item 9 of Schedule 1 inserts a new
section 1208
This section deals with the effect of a nil rate on
concession cards.
Amendment of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
Item 10
This item makes a consequential amendment to
section 11.
Item 11
This item adds a new subsection (2)
to section 11 that provides that subsection (1) does not apply to a concession
card.
Item 12
This item adds new subsections (9) to
(12) to section 37. New subsection (9) provides that a determination under
subsection (8) in relation to a seniors health card must specify the period for
which the seniors health card granted to the person is to have
effect.
New subsection (10) provides that a determination under
subsection (8) granting a health care card to under Subdivision B of Division 3
of Part 2A.1 of the 1991 Act must specify the period for which the health care
card granted to the person is to have effect.
New subsection (11)
provides that the Minister may determine the periods for which a seniors health
card or a non-automatic health care card may be granted. A determination must be
in writing and will be a disallowable instrument (new subsection
(12)).
Item 13
This item inserts a new section 37A that
deals with the duration of a determination granting a health care card that
requires a claim. Under subsection 37A(2) the person may make a claim for a
further health care card before the current determination ceases to have
effect.
Item 14
This item adds a new subsection (2) to
section 41 so as to provide that generally a concession card takes effect on the
person’s start day in relation to the card.
Item
15—Automatic cancellation on cessation of qualification
This
item inserts proposed section 106A that deals with automatic cancellation when a
person ceases, otherwise than because of section 104 or 105 of the Social
Security (Administration) Act 1999, to be qualified for the concession
card.
Item 16—Additional provision for certain pensioner
concession cards and automatic issue health care cards
This item
inserts a new Subdivision 106B that deals with provisions relating to pensioner
concession cards and automatic issue health care cards. Essentially the new
provisions give effect to the underlying principle that a person’s
qualification for a pensioner concession card or automatic issue health care
card is dependent on the person receiving or being qualified for a particular
social security pension or benefit.
The section provides for the
automatic cancellation of a pensioner concession card or listed automatic health
care card when the social security pension or benefit that is the basis for
being qualified for the card is cancelled.
Subsection (2) provides for
the automatic cancellation of a listed automatic health care card when the
family tax benefit that is the basis for being qualified for the card is
cancelled.
Subsection (3) provides that neither subsection (1) nor (2)
apply where the Secretary is satisfied that the person concerned is likely to be
granted a social security pension or benefit before it is reasonably practicable
to take steps to give effect to the cancellation of the card.
Subsection
(4) contains definitions for terms used in the section.
Item
17—Repeal of Paragraph 126(1)(d)
This is a consequential
amendment.
Item 18—Repeal of Paragraph
129(1)(d)
This is a consequential amendment.
Item
19—Repeal of Paragraph 140(1)(c)
This is a consequential
amendment.
Item 20
Proposed section 240A—Form
of Cards
Subsection (1) provides that a pensioner concession card,
health care card or a seniors health care card must be in a form approved in
writing by the Secretary.
Subsection (2) provides for certain matters to
be included in an approval under subsection (1), including the day when a card
will expire.
Subsection (3) specifies whose name is to be included on a
card.
Subsection (4) deals with when the name of a person is not to
appear as a dependant on the card.
Proposed section
240B—Restrictions on listing of dependants
This section deals
with restrictions on the listing of dependants on a concession card including
residence requirements for dependants.
Proposed section
240C—Issue of replacement card on expiry of automatic issue
card
This section deals with when the Secretary must issue a
replacement card to a person when the person’s current card is due to
expire.
Item 21
This item repeals the definition of
concession card and replaces it with a new definition. Under the new definition,
concession card means:
(a) a pensioner concession card;
(b) a health
care card; or
(c) a seniors health card.
Item
22
This item repeals clause 2 of Schedule 2 of the Social Security
(Administration) Act 1999 and substitutes a new clause 2 of Schedule 2 that
provides for the start day for a concession card when multiple provisions
apply.
Item 23
This item adds subclauses (2) and (3) at
the end of clause 3 of Schedule 2 of the Social Security (Administration) Act
1999. Subclauses (2) and (3) provide for the start day for certain
concession cards.
Item 24
This item adds at the
end of Part 3 of Schedule 2 of the Social Security (Administration) Act
1999 new Division 4 that deals with the start day rules applying to health
care cards. These backdating rules are the same as those currently in the
Health Insurance Act and ensure that a person will continue to be able to obtain
backdated concessional pharmaceutical benefits.
Item
25—Saving: existing concession cards
This section deals with
the treatment of cards issued at the commencement of the Act. Cards will be
treated as if they were issued under the 1991 Act as amended by this
Bill.
Schedule 2—Other amendments
This Schedule makes amendments and repeals to the Health Insurance
Act 1973 and the National Health Act 1953 as a consequence
of the enactment of amendments of social security law by Schedule 1 of the
Bill.