Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Kevin Andrews MP)Schedule 4 - Portability for students and new apprentices
Summary
From 1 January 2015, this Schedule limits the six-week overseas portability period for student payments.
Background
The portability rules in the Social Security Act provide for when a person can continue to receive particular social security payments while absent overseas. Currently, a person can continue to receive youth allowance (as paid to a person undertaking full-time study) and austudy payment while absent overseas for a period of up to six weeks, irrespective of the reason for the absence. This Schedule will limit this six-week portability rule to absences that are for the purpose of seeking eligible medical treatment or attending to an acute family crisis.
A person can also continue to receive a number of social security payments for an unlimited period while overseas if the absence is for the purpose of undertaking studies that form part of a course of education at an educational institution. This Schedule provides that the Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make principles that must be complied with when deciding how much of a period of absence is for the purpose of undertaking studies that form part of the course of education.
This Schedule will also align the portability rules, for a person qualified for youth allowance or austudy payment on the basis that they are a new apprentice, with the portability rules for a person qualified for any of those payments on the basis that they are undertaking full-time study.
The amendments made by this Schedule commence on 1 January 2015.
Explanation of the changes
Amendments to the Social Security Act
Items 1 and 3 are consequential amendments to the insertion of section 1218BA by item 4 of this Schedule.
These items refer the reader to section 1218BA when considering the maximum portability period for youth allowance for a person who is not undertaking full-time study and for austudy payment. New section 1218BA provides an exception to the portability rules for a person who is receiving youth allowance or austudy payment on the basis that they are a new apprentice.
Item 2 repeals the cells in column 5 of table items 13 and 14 of section 1217, and substitutes new cells.
This item limits when an absence overseas will be an allowable absence for the purpose of the portability rules for youth allowance, granted on the basis that the person is undertaking full-time study, and for austudy payment. Currently, any absence overseas for a period of up six weeks is an allowable absence, irrespective of the reason for the absence (the repealed cells refer to 'Any temporary absence'). This item restricts allowable absences to those undertaken for the purpose of:
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- seeking eligible medical treatment; or
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- attending to an acute family crisis.
This item does not otherwise affect the maximum portability period of six weeks.
This item will generally align the portability rules for student payments with those that currently exist for newstart allowance and youth allowance, granted on the basis that the person is not undertaking full-time study and is not a new apprentice.
Item 4 inserts a new subsection 1218(4).
Section 1218, as in force before these amendments, provides an exception to the portability rules. An exception will apply if a person is receiving a specified social security payment and is absent from Australia for the purpose of undertaking studies that form part of a course of education that the person was undertaking before they left Australia.
New subsection 1218(4) provides that the Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make principles that must be complied with when deciding how much of a period of absence is for the purpose of undertaking studies that form part of the course of education. Such principles could, for example, provide that a short period of time before the commencement of an overseas unit of study is for the purpose of undertaking studies. If such principles were made and a person were to travel overseas a significant time before the commencement of their overseas unit of study, then a decision-maker could decide that some of that time is not for the purpose of undertaking studies. If this were to occur, the exception to the portability rules in section 1218 would not apply, and the social security payment may not be payable for some of the period that the person is overseas.
Item 5 inserts a new section 1218BA.
New section 1218BA applies to a person who is qualified for youth allowance or austudy payment on the basis that they are a new apprentice. The effect of this section is that a new apprentice may continue to receive these payments for so much of a period of absence overseas that is for the purpose of undertaking the person's full-time apprenticeship, traineeship or trainee apprenticeship. New subsection 1218BA(3) provides that the Secretary may, by legislative instrument, make principles that must be complied with when deciding how much of a period of absence is for the purpose of undertaking a full-time apprenticeship, traineeship or trainee apprenticeship.
This item aligns the portability rules for a person qualified for youth allowance or austudy payment on the basis that they are a new apprentice with the portability rules for a person qualified for those payments on the basis that they are undertaking full-time study.
Item 6 provides that the amendments made by this Schedule apply in relation to a period of absence from Australia beginning on or after the commencement of the Schedule (from 1 January 2015).