Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Mal Brough MP)Schedule 6 - Extension of carer payment for carers of severely disabled children
Summary
From 1 July 2006, the qualification rules for carer payment (CP) will be extended to cover carers of children who are under 16 years of age with severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural disability and who require constant care or supervision.
Background
CP provides income support to people who, because of the demands of their caring role, are unable to support themselves through substantial workforce participation. CP is subject to income and assets tests and is paid at the same rate as other social security pensions.
On 1 July 1998, CP was introduced for carers of children under 16 years of age with a profound disability and for carers of two or more disabled children who together require a level of care that is at least equivalent to the level of care required by a profoundly disabled child. The relevant qualification rules are in paragraphs 198(2)(b) and (c) and subsection 198(8) of the Social Security Act. Subsections 197(2) and (2A) then define when a child is a 'profoundly disabled child'. Under this definition, a child must have a severe disability or medical condition and, as a consequence, require continuous personal care for a minimum of 6 months (unless the child's condition is terminal). In addition, the child's disability or condition must meet at least 3 of 7 specified criteria. There are separate conditions that are relevant for children with a terminal illness who receive active treatment.
The definition of profoundly disabled child is stringent and focuses on the high level of care required to maintain comfort, sustain life or attend to a bodily function that the child cannot manage. The criteria are not targeted at particular medical conditions and it is recognised that, under the current rules, CP is generally not available to carers of children with psychiatric conditions or to those with moderate to severe physical or intellectual disability.
This measure expands the definition of profoundly disabled child in section 197 of the Social Security Act so that it includes behavioural characteristics of a child who requires constant care or supervision because of unsafe behaviour due to severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural disability (rather than focusing on specific disability types).
A Reference Group comprising representatives from peak bodies, professional associations and educational institutions met in November 2005 to assist in the process of formulating appropriate criteria for this new group of children. The criteria set out in the new expanded definition of profoundly disabled child draw heavily on criteria developed by the Reference Group.
Explanation of the changes
Under the qualification rules for CP in section 198 of the Social Security Act, CP is available to a person who is personally providing constant care for a profoundly disabled child under 16 years of age. Section 197 then defines the meaning of profoundly disabled child.
Item 2 inserts a new subsection 197(2AA) into the Social Security Act, which specifies an additional set of circumstances in which a child would be considered a profoundly disabled child for the purposes of qualification for CP. The existing definition of profoundly disabled child in subsection 197(2) remains unchanged.
A child is a profoundly disabled child under the new definition in subsection 197(2AA) if all of the specified requirements set out below are satisfied.
The first requirement is that the child must have a severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural disability or a severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural medical condition.
The second requirement is that, because of that disability or condition, the child needs continuous personal care (which can include supervision) for:
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- 6 months or more; or
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- if the child's condition is terminal and the child's life expectancy is less than 6 months - the remainder of the child's life.
A similar requirement applies under the existing definition of profoundly disabled child - see paragraph 197(2)(b) of the Social Security Act.
The third requirement is that the child must be aged 6 or more and under 16 years of age.
The fourth requirement sets out the relevant behavioural characteristics that the child must display in order to come within the new definition of profoundly disabled child. The child, because of the disability or medical condition, must have behaviours that meet one or more of the following descriptions:
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- The child repeatedly engages in dangerous behaviour that poses a significant immediate or long term risk to the child's own health or safety (including self-harming behaviours or absconding or behaviours of a similar extreme nature) that, without carer intervention, would result in the child suffering injury that is maintained or lasting or death.
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- The child repeatedly engages in aggressive or violent behaviour that poses a significant risk to the health or safety of others or that results in significant property damage (including arson or repeated destruction of multiple household items or behaviours of a similar extreme nature) and, due to these behaviours, the child is regularly or permanently excluded from community programs, activities, services or facilities (such as a special education school or class or mainstream class, play group, pre-school, a local swimming pool or shopping center.)
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- The child repeatedly engages in severe sexually deviant or sexually inappropriate behaviour and, due to this behaviour, the child is regularly or permanently excluded from community programs, activities, services or facilities.
A further requirement that relates to the carer rather than the child is inserted into section 198 as new subsection 198(10). Item 4 makes the relevant amendment. This requirement is that the provision of continuous personal care by the carer (which is a new requirement under paragraph 197(2AA)(b)) severely restricts the carer's capacity to undertake paid employment.
Item 1 makes a consequential amendment to the existing definition of profoundly disabled child in subsection 197(1) so that that definition also refers to the new criteria.
A profoundly disabled child is also a 'care receiver' as defined in subsection 197(1) by reference to subsection 198(2). This definition will flow through to the new category without the need for amendment.
There are numerous references to a care receiver, a profoundly disabled child and combinations of both in Part 2.5 of the Social Security Act. With the exception of the rule in subsection 198(8), all of the rules that currently apply in relation to a profoundly disabled child (care receiver), would also apply in relation to the new category of child with a severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural disability. Amendments are not required to achieve this outcome.
The exception is subsection 198(8) of the Social Security Act, which enables a person to qualify for CP in respect of 2 or more disabled children, provided the children require a level of care that is at least equivalent to the level of care required by a profoundly disabled child. The scope of this provision will not change with the introduction of a new category of profoundly disabled child. Item 3 makes an amendment to this effect by ensuring that the reference in subsection 198(8) to the level of care required by a profoundly disabled child remains a reference to the concept of profoundly disabled child as defined in subsection 197(2) or (2A).