Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone)Outline and financial impact statement
This Bill contains a range of minor and technical amendments to Family and Community Services portfolio legislation, and certain other legislation which relates to this portfolio, which are intended to assist in more effective and efficient administration of this legislation.
The items contained in this Bill include amendments to simplify and clarify existing legislative provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types, and address some unintended consequences of earlier amendments. Technical amendments include the repeal of redundant provisions, references and notes, the renumbering of misdescribed provisions and the correction of various cross-references and minor drafting errors. The Bill also makes some minor policy changes.
The amendments to the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 restore the previous legislative position that existed in relation to the recovery of certain debts, before the introduction of the family assistance law on 1 July 2000.
The Bill also repeals the First Home Owners Act 1983 which is now redundant.
The Acts to be amended by the Bill are:
Schedule 1 - Amendments of the social security law
- Social Security Act 1991;
- Social Security (Administration) Act 1999; and
- Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999.
Schedule 2 - Amendments of the family assistance law and certain related Acts
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999;
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance)(Administration) Act 1999;
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000;
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance)(Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No 1) 1999
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance)(Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No 2) 1999; and
- A New Tax System (Taxation Administration) Act 1999.
Schedule 3 - Amendment of other Acts
- Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency Act 1997;
- Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (1999 Budget and Other Measures) Act 1999;
- Social Security (Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999;
- Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act 2001;
- Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986; and
- Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Schedule 4 - Formal amendments of the social security law
- Social Security Act 1991; and
- Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.
Schedule 5 - Repeal
- First Home Owners Act 1983.
Schedule 1 - Amendments of the social security law
Schedule 1 makes minor amendments to various provisions of the Social Security Act 1991, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999, including amendments which correct various cross-references, simplify and clarify existing provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types and address some unintended consequences of earlier amendments, such as those that occurred unintentionally on the introduction of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999. Schedule 1 also makes some minor policy changes.
Date of Effect: Items 1 to 112 of Schedule 1 commence on Royal Assent.
Item 113 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act.
Items 114 to 116 and item 124 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000.
Items 117 to 123 are taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after the commencement of those provisions of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(1) of that Act.
Financial Impact: There are no financial implications from these changes.
Schedule 2 - Amendments of the family assistance law and certain related Acts
The amendments made by Schedule 2 to the family assistance law and certain other New Tax System legislation is primarily minor and technical in nature. These items include amendments which simplify and clarify existing provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types, correct various cross-references and minor drafting errors and address some unintended consequences of earlier amendments.
Date of Effect: Items 1 to 51 of Schedule 2 commence on Royal Assent.
Items 52 to 72 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000 referred to in subsection 2(2) of that Act.
Items 73 to 83 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000.
Items 84 to 86 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000.
Item 87 is taken to have commenced on 3 May 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000.
Item 88 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of Schedule 7 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999.
Item 89 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Item 90 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(9) of that Act.
Financial Impact: The costs associated with items 10 and 11 of Schedule 2, to prevent certain family assistance and Department of Veterans' Affairs customers from being disadvantaged by the change to the family assistance law, are:
2002-03 $0.527m;
2003-04 $0.541m;
2004-05 $0.553m;
2005-06 $0.553m;
Total $2.174m.
There are no financial implications from any other measures in Schedule 2.
Schedule 3 - Amendment of other Acts
Schedule 3 makes minor and technical amendments to various Family and Community Services portfolio legislation, including repealing redundant provisions and references, renumbering misdescribed provisions and correcting various cross-references.
Minor amendments to the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 are also made in Schedule 3 to restore the equivalent legislative position that previously existed before the introduction of the family assistance law.
Date of Effect: Items 1, 5, 7 and 9 to 14 commence on Royal Assent.
Item 2 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Items 3, 4 and 6 are taken to have commenced on 20 March 2000, immediately after the commencement of Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Administration and International Agreements) (Consequential Amendments) Act 1999.
Item 8 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2001, immediately after the commencement of the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Concession Cards) Act 2001.
Item 15 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 1999, immediately after the commencement of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Item 16 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of item 2 of Schedule 4 to the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000.
Financial Impact: There are no financial implications from these changes.
Schedule 4 - Formal amendments of the social security law
Schedule 4 makes technical amendments to various provisions of the Social Security Act and the Social Security (Administration) Act, including repealing redundant provisions, references and notes, renumbering misdescribed provisions and correcting various cross-references and minor drafting errors.
Date of Effect: Schedule 4, other than items 23 and 100, commence on Royal Assent.
Item 23 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000.
Item 100 is taken to have commenced on 20 March 1998, immediately after the commencement of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Parenting and Other Measures) Act 1997.
Financial Impact: There are no financial implications from these changes.
Schedule 5 - Repeal
Schedule 5 repeals the redundant First Home Owners Act 1983.
Date of Effect: Royal Assent
Financial Impact: There are no financial implications from the repeal of this Act.
Abbreviations
In this explanatory memorandum, the following abbreviations are used:
- Social Security Act 1991 is referred to as the Social Security Act;
- Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 is referred to as the Social Security (Administration) Act;
- Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 is referred to as the Social Security (International Agreements) Act;
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 is referred to as the Family Assistance Act;
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 is referred to as the Family Assistance (Administration) Act;
- A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000 is referred to as the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act;
- family tax benefit is referred to as FTB;
- child care benefit is referred to as CCB;
- maternity allowance is referred to as MA; and
- maternity immunisation allowance is referred to as MIA.
Notes on clauses
Clause 1 of the Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2002 sets out how the Act is to be cited.
Subclause 2(1) sets out a table containing information about the commencement of each provision of the amending Act. Each provision in column 1 of the table will commence, or be taken to have commenced, on the day or at the time specified in column 2.
The items that do not commence on Royal Assent are of a technical or beneficial nature and the reasons for their particular commencement date are outlined below in the explanation for each item.
Subclause 2(2) specifies that column 3 of the table contains additional information about the commencement of specified items. This subclause provides that such information is not part of the amending Act, but may be included in any published version of the Act.
Clause 3 provides that each Act that is specified in a Schedule to the Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2002 is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in those Schedules. Any other item in a Schedule of the amending Act has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 2 - amendments of the family assistance law and certain related acts
1. Summary of proposed changes
Schedule 2 amends the family assistance law and certain other New Tax System legislation by:
- making various minor amendments to some New Tax System legislation, primarily the Family Assistance Act and the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, to simplify and clarify existing provisions, achieve consistency between similar provisions and payment types, and make some minor policy changes;
- making a number of technical amendments, consisting of the repeal of redundant provisions and the correction of various cross-references and minor drafting errors; and
- addressing some unintended consequences of earlier amendments.
Schedule 2 is divided into 4 parts: amendments commencing on Royal Assent, amendments related to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000, other amendments of the family assistance law and the amendment of related Acts.
2. Background
The New Tax System legislation commenced on 1 July 2000 as part of the Government's tax reform package. The amendments made by Schedule 2 to this Bill simplify, clarify and correct some New Tax System legislation.
3. Explanation of the changes
Part 1 - Amendments commencing on Royal Assent
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999
Currently, the definitions of "non-standard hours family day care", "standard hours family day care", "non-standard hours in-home care" and "standard hours in-home care" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act all refer to hours of care provided by a relevant child care service at times that are identified in the "service's conditions of approval" as being standard or non-standard hours of the service. It may be regarded as unclear exactly what conditions of approval are actually being referred to in these definitions and where these conditions can be found. Items 1, 2, 3 and 4 clarify these definitions so that they refer to eligibility rules applicable to the service under subsection 205(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. This is also consistent with other references to these eligibility rules in the family assistance law.
Because the eligibility rules require that the service must identify their own standard and non-standard hours of care within certain limits, the amended definitions will clarify that the hours of care provided by the service are actually those identified by the service in accordance with the eligibility rules.
The definitions of "non-standard hours in-home care" and "standard hours in-home care" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act refer to hours of care provided by an in-home care service. However, this is inconsistent with other references to in-home care services in the family assistance law and the similar family day care definitions in subsection 3(1), which refer to an approved in-home care or family day care service. For consistency, items 2 and 4 also amend these definitions so that they expressly refer to hours of care provided by an approved in-home care service.
Paragraph (b) of the third column of table item 1 in subsection 22A(1) of the Family Assistance Act currently specifies that an individual cannot be an FTB child of an adult if the adult is the individual's partner. Due to the interaction of the definitions of "partner" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act and "partnered" in subsection 4(11) of the Social Security Act with the definition of "member of a couple" in subsection 4(2) of the Social Security Act, a person in a relationship with someone who is under the age of consent is not regarded as being "partnered". This means that, contrary to the intention of section 22A of the Family Assistance Act, there is nothing that would prevent the payment of FTB to an adult in respect of an under-age individual who is living with the adult in a relationship.
Item 5 amends paragraph (b) of the table in subsection 22A(1) to rectify this situation, so that it provides that an individual cannot be an FTB child of an adult if the adult is the individual's partner, or they would be if the individual was over the age of consent applicable in the State or Territory in which the individual lives.
Item 7 amends section 38 of the Family Assistance Act to insert a 26-week time limit within which claims for maternity allowance must be made by another individual after the death of an individual who was eligible for that payment in respect of a child. Alternatively, the Secretary may allow a further period in special circumstances. This requirement previously existed for maternity allowance under the Social Security Act, but was inadvertently omitted when provisions dealing with maternity allowance became part of the family assistance law.
Item 9 makes a corresponding amendment to section 40 of the Family Assistance Act in relation to maternity immunisation allowance.
Items 6 and 8 amend paragraphs 38(d) and 40(d) of the Family Assistance Act respectively to clarify that the deceased person referred to in these paragraphs is actually "the first-mentioned individual", that is, the same individual as the one referred to in paragraphs 38(a) and 40(a). This amendment will also distinguish them from the other individual who makes a claim for maternity allowance or maternity immunisation allowance after the death of that first-mentioned individual.
The note following item 9 is a consequential amendment to the heading to subclause 24(3) of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act which takes into account amendments to the Family Law Act 1975. Because these amendments adjust the orders and agreements that can be made under that Act, it is necessary to remove the reference to "registered or approved maintenance agreement" in the heading to subclause 24(3) and replace it with the word "agreement".
Items 10 and 11 provide savings provisions to restore the position of certain Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) customers, who also receive FTB or CCB, as at 30 June 2000. Before 1 July 2000, family allowance, family tax payment, family tax assistance and childcare assistance were calculated by reference to a family's taxable income. A DVA disability or war widow/widower pension under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 was not treated as part of that income because they are non-taxable pensions. Therefore, these DVA pensions were previously disregarded. However, FTB and CCB are calculated with reference to a claimant's "adjusted taxable income", which includes DVA disability and war widow/widower pensions. In relation to people who were previously receiving family allowance, family tax payment, family tax assistance or childcare assistance and one of these DVA pensions, and who after 1 July 2000 became entitled to FTB or CCB, the inclusion of the DVA pensions in the current definition of income resulted in a decrease in the amount of their entitlements.
Items 10 and 11 remedy the situation for the group of people involved by inserting specific formulas into Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Family Assistance Act for calculating the rate of FTB and CCB respectively. These formulas prevent those people from being disadvantaged by the change in the legislation.
Item 12 amends clause 1 of Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance Act to provide that an estimate of an individual's adjusted taxable income can be used for the purposes of determining both their eligibility for, or rate of, FTB. This wording more accurately reflects current practice.
Also see items 16, 18 and 19 of Schedule 2 below which similarly amend subsections 20(1) and 20(2), paragraph 28A(1)(b) and subparagraph 28A(3)(b)(ii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act respectively.
Item 13 substitutes a new subclause 5(4) into Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance Act to provide alternative methods of converting foreign income, to allow for countries for which it is not possible to obtain the on-demand airmail buying rate for that currency available at the Commonwealth Bank. This amendment reflects the equivalent provision in the social security law relating to currency conversions for foreign income.
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
Items 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26
Items 14 and 15 and 20 to 26 insert tax file number (TFN) provisions into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act for the purposes of MA and MIA. TFN provisions existed in relation to MA and MIA qualification under the former Social Security Act, which applied prior to 20 March 2000, and also in relation to a person who had made a claim for MA or MIA under the Social Security (Administration) Act, which applied between 20 March 2000 and 30 June 2000. However, these requirements were inadvertently omitted from the family assistance law when it was introduced with effect from 1 July 2000.
Item 21 inserts a new subsection 38(2) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act for the purposes of MA and MIA claims. The new paragraph 38(2)(b), which is consistent with subsection 7(2) relating to FTB claims, provides that the TFN requirement in the new section 38A (see item 22) must be satisfied for a claim for MA or MIA in normal circumstances to be effective. The new paragraph 38(2)(c), which is consistent with paragraph 7(2)(c) relating to FTB claims, provides that the TFN requirement in the new section 38B (see item 22) must be satisfied for a claim for MA or MIA because of the death of another individual to be effective.
Item 22 inserts a new section 38A into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act which sets out the details of the TFN requirement that is required by the new paragraph 38(2)(b), which relates to claims for MA and MIA in normal circumstances. This new section 38A is similar to section 8, which relates to FTB.
Each TFN claim person is subject to the TFN requirement in section 38A. Item 14 amends the definition of "TFN claim person" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to include MA and MIA claims in normal circumstances. "TFN claim person" is defined for these purposes as meaning the claimant and any partner that the claimant had at the time of the claim.
The TFN requirement in section 38A can be satisfied in several ways.
Firstly, subsection 38A(3) provides that the claimant, and only the claimant, can make a statement of the TFN claim person's TFN. The TFN claim person's TFN is the claimant's own TFN and the TFN of any partner that the claimant may have had at the time of the claim.
Secondly, subsection 38A(4) states that the TFN claim person can provide a statement to the effect that they have a TFN but do not know what it is, that they have asked the Commissioner of Taxation to tell them their TFN, and that they authorise the Commissioner to tell the Secretary whether they have a TFN and, if so, the number.
Thirdly, subsection 38A(5) allows the TFN claim person to provide a statement to the effect that they have applied for a TFN and authorises the Commissioner for Taxation to tell the Secretary whether the application is refused or withdrawn or, if a TFN is issued to the TFN claim person, that number.
Subsection 38A(6) provides that if the claimant is making a statement under section 38A, that statement must be in their claim. However, if any other TFN claim person is making a statement, that statement must be in a document which is in a form approved by the Secretary, and the claimant must give it to the Secretary with their claim.
There may be situations where a claimant cannot satisfy the TFN requirement because the claimant cannot obtain a relevant statement from their partner who is a TFN claim person (ie. their current or former partner). In these circumstances, subsection 38A(7) gives the Secretary discretion to exempt the claimant from the TFN requirement in section 38A.
An example where the Secretary might use the discretion would be where the claimant has a well based reason to believe that that he or she would be subject to violence from the partner or there are other concerns for the safety of the claimant or a child of the claimant if the partner were approached for a relevant statement.
Item 22 also inserts a new section 38B into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act which sets out the details of the TFN requirement that is required by the new paragraph 38(2)(c), which relates to claims for MA and MIA because of the death of another individual.
Each TFN substitution person is subject to the TFN requirement in section 38B. Item 15 amends subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to include a definition of "TFN substitution person" for the purposes of a claim made by an individual for MA and MIA in substitution because of the death of another individual. Under this amended definition a TFN substitution person for MA and MIA purposes is the deceased individual and any partner of the deceased individual during the period in respect of which the payment is claimed.
New section 38B is similar to section 8A, which relates to FTB. New subsections 38B(1) to 38B(6) provide the same TFN requirements as the new subsections 38A(1) to 38A(6) provide for MA and MIA claims in normal circumstances as stated above, but they apply in relation to TFN substitution persons. While the statement in subsection 38B(3) can only be made by the claimant, the statement in subsections 38B(4) and 38B(5) are made by a TFN substitution person who was the deceased individual's partner during the period in respect of which the MA or MIA is claimed.
Subsections 38B(7) and 38B(8) contain discretions which allow the Secretary to exempt a TFN substitution person from the TFN requirement in section 38B, if the claimant does not know the TFN substitution person's TFN, or in relation to the partner of the deceased individual, where the claimant cannot obtain a statement by the partner under subsection 38B(4) or 38B(5).
Item 24 inserts a new section 41A into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act which is similar to section 15 relating to FTB. The effect of the new subsection 41A(1) is that if a statement under subsection 38A(4) or 38B(4) is provided, the claim can only be determined if, within 28 days after the claim is made, the Commissioner of Taxation tells the Secretary the individual's TFN or 28 days pass after the claim is made without the Commissioner telling the Secretary that the person does not have a TFN. Subsection 41A(2) provides that if a statement under subsection 38A(5) or 38B(5) is provided, the claim can only be determined if, within 28 days after the claim is made, the Commissioner of Taxation tells the Secretary the person's TFN or 28 days pass after the claim is made without the Commissioner telling the Secretary that the person has not applied for a TFN or that the application has been refused or withdrawn.
Subsection 41A(3) provides that if the Secretary cannot determine a person's claim after the 28 days mentioned in subsection 41A(1) or 41A(2) have passed, the claim is taken never to have been made.
The consequences which apply to particular TFN claim persons who fail to meet certain TFN requirements are outlined in the new section 47A, which is inserted by item 26. Section 47A is similar to subsections 27(4A), 27(4B), 27(5) and 27(6) relating to FTB. Under subsection 47A(1), the Secretary may vary a determination of entitlement to MA or MIA if a TFN claim person has made a statement under subsection 38A(4) that they do not know what their TFN is etc., and the Secretary is later told by the Commissioner of Taxation that the TFN claim person has no TFN. Subsection 47A(2) provides that the Secretary may also vary a determination of entitlement to MA or MIA if a TFN claim person has made a statement under subsection 38A(5) that their application for a TFN is pending, and the Secretary is later told by the Commissioner of Taxation that that TFN claim person has not applied for a TFN, or their application for a TFN has been refused or withdrawn. Subsection 47A(3) provides that if either subsection 47A(1) or 47A(2) applies, the Secretary may vary the determination so that it has the effect that the claimant is not entitled to be paid MA or MIA, as the case may be. This is the consequence specified in subsections 47A(1) and 47A(2). This means that because MA and MIA are one-off payments, and that payment (or payments) have already been made to the claimant, a debt will arise against the claimant to recover the full amount of that payment (or payments), because the Secretary has determined that the claimant is not entitled to MA or MIA. If the Secretary later becomes aware of the TFN claim person's TFN at any time after having varied the determination under subsection 47A(3), subsection 47A(4) provides that the Secretary must vary the determination again to undo the effect of the determination made under subsection 47A(3), so that the claimant is entitled to be paid MA or MIA, as the case may be. This will cancel any debt that may still be owing by the claimant as a result of the determination made under subsection 47A(3).
Items 20, 23 and 25 amend paragraph 38(1)(b), subsection 39(5) and paragraph 43(a) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, to refer to the death of another "individual" instead of "person". This will ensure consistency with other provisions of the family assistance law, including the definition of "TFN substitution person" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Item 16, 18 and 19 amend subsections 20(1) and 20(2), paragraph 28A(1)(b) and subparagraph 28A(3)(b)(ii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act respectively to provide that an estimate of an individual's adjusted taxable income can be used for the purposes of determining both their eligibility for, or rate of, FTB. This wording more accurately reflects current practice.
Related item 12 of Schedule 2 amends clause 1 of Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance Act in a similar way.
In addition, paragraphs 20(1)(a) and 20(1)(c) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act are amended by item 16 to refer to Division 3 as well as Division 1 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. This is because the payment of MA and MIA to a person under Division 3 is linked to their eligibility for FTB and their rate of FTB under Division 1. An estimate of the person's adjusted taxable income may be required to determine their eligibility or rate of FTB, which is then used in determining their eligibility for MA or MIA.
Subsection 20(2) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act is also amended by item 16 so that the individual's eligibility or rate of FTB cannot be determined if the individual has not given the Secretary an estimate of adjusted taxable income that the Secretary considers reasonable. Section 19 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act will apply if the individual's eligibility or rate of FTB cannot be determined on the basis of this estimate. The effect of this is that, in these circumstances, the Secretary must determine that the individual is not entitled to be paid FTB, in accordance with section 19 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Currently, section 26 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act provides that the Secretary may request an FTB claimant to give the Secretary a TFN statement, but it does not state the form in which such a statement is to be provided. Item 17 makes a minor amendment to section 26 to expressly provide that the Secretary may request a written statement from an FTB claimant, in order to clarify exactly how a TFN statement must be given to the Secretary. This item gives effect to the Department's current practice.
Item 27, note following item 27 and item 28
Advance amounts of CCB are generally paid directly to the bank account of an approved child care service. However, it is possible that an advance CCB payment may inadvertently be made to someone else's bank account by mistake. Item 27 adds a new subsection 71B(2) to the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to provide that amounts of CCB advances paid to the wrong bank account will become, subject to subsection 93A(5), a debt due to the Commonwealth by the person or persons in whose name the account is kept. This amendment will provide an additional method which the Commonwealth may use to create a debt (and then recover under section 82) in respect of amounts of CCB advance paid to the wrong bank account, in case the full amount of the incorrect payment cannot be recovered from the relevant financial institution under subsection 93A(1) (with the amendment proposed in item 39). This will provide the Commonwealth with another avenue for correcting unintended errors occurring in these circumstances.
The note after item 27 amends the heading to section 71B to take into account the new subsection 71B(2).
Item 28 amends subsections 71F(1) and 71F(2) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to make it clear that the new subsection 71B(2) does not relate to section 71F.
Items 29, 33, 34, 35, 36 and note following item 36
Section 82 of Family Assistance (Administration) Act provides an exhaustive list of the means by which a debt is recoverable. At present, it provides that the Secretary may authorise repayment by instalments under section 91 in relation to a person who is not a service. It was intended that a service would also be allowed to pay a debt in one or more instalments.
Item 29 inserts a new paragraph 82(2)(ab) and item 33 inserts a new subsection 91(1A) into the Family Assistance) (Administration) Act to allow recovery of debts by instalments from a service. Items 34, 35 and 36 are consequential amendments which insert references to the new subsection 91(1A). The note after item 36 amends the heading to section 91 to clarify that the arrangements referred to in this provision are instalment arrangements.
Item 33 also amends subsection 91(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to simplify the existing provision and remove the reference to section 82. This is to prevent a possible circular argument arising (ie. a debt is not recoverable under section 82 unless an arrangement exists under section 91, but an arrangement cannot exist under section 91 unless the debt is recoverable under section 82). Instead, the amendment clarifies that a debt may be recovered under section 82 by repayment by instalments under an arrangement entered into under section 91.
Prior to the introduction of the family assistance law on 1 July 2000, it was possible to recover overpayments of family allowance, MA, MIA and family tax payment paid under the Social Security Act by deductions from a pension or allowance paid under Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. It was also possible to recover an overpayment of a pension or allowance paid under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 by deductions from these social security payments.
After 1 July 2000, family allowance, MA, MIA and family tax payment were repealed from the Social Security Act and replaced with family assistance, which includes family tax benefit, MA, MIA and child care benefit, on the introduction of the New Tax System. It was intended that the same recovery action would be available in respect of these payments as existed prior to 1 July 2000. However, at present it is not possible to recover overpayments of family assistance from a pension or allowance paid under Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. Nor is it possible to recover overpayment of a pension or allowance paid under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 by deductions from family assistance.
Items 30, 31, 32, 37 and 38 insert references to the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 into sections 84, 84A, 92 and 92A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, to ensure that the same action for the reciprocal recovery of debts that was available for family allowance, MA, MIA and family tax payment between the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 and the Social Security Act prior to 1 July 2000, is now available for family assistance under the family assistance law.
See discussion on items 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Schedule 3 below which make equivalent amendments to section 205 of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.
Currently, sections 84 and 84A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act provide for deductions from a debtor's family tax benefit and the setting off of arrears of family assistance against a debt owed. Sections 92 and 92A provide for deductions by consent from a person's family tax benefit to meet another person's debt and the setting off of a person's arrears of family assistance against another person's debt by consent.
Items 30 and 32 also insert references to debts under the Data-matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990, the Farm Household Support Act 1992, the Social Security Act 1947, the Student Assistance Act 1973 and Part 8 of the Student and Youth Assistance Act 1973 as in force before 1 July 1998 into subsection 84(1) and paragraph 84A(1)(b) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to ensure consistency with the debts that can be recovered under these provisions and sections 92 and 92A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Section 93A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act provides for the recovery of amounts of family assistance payments from financial institutions in certain situations, such as where an amount was intended to be paid to the bank account of a child care service, but was inadvertently paid to the wrong account. The term "family assistance", which is currently used in section 93A, and is defined in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act, does not include advance amounts of CCB that are paid to child care services under Division 2 of Part 8A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. Item 39 inserts a new definition of "family assistance payment", for the purposes of section 93A of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, which encompasses advance amounts of CCB determined under section 219Q of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, including instalments of such amounts, so that these amounts can also be recovered from financial institutions under section 93A in certain circumstances.
Item 40 is a technical amendment to correct cross-references in subsections 106(2) and 106(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. These subsections should refer to section 105 instead of section 50K.
Item 41 is a technical amendment to correct a cross-reference in paragraph 144(1)(p) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. This paragraph should refer to subsection 57(1) of the Family Assistance Act instead of subsection 53(3).
Items 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49
Currently, subparagraph 158(2)(b)(iii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act provides that a written notice of a requirement given to a person under Division 1 of Part 6 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act must specify "the officer", ie. a particular officer to whom the information or document requested in the notice must be given. Item 48 amends subparagraph 158(2)(b)(iii) to provide that such a notice does not necessarily have to specify a particular officer, but if desired, it may specify that the information or document requested must be given to an agency. The option of specifying a particular officer in such a notice is still available. This amendment will ensure consistency with the equivalent provision in the social security law.
Once it is no longer necessary to specify a particular officer in a notice given to a person under Division 1, references to "an officer" in subsections 154(1), 154(2), 154(3) and 154(4), paragraphs 155(a), 155(b) and 155(c), section 156, subsection 157(1), subparagraph 158(2)(b)(ii) and section 160 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act are no longer appropriate. Items 42, 44, 45, 46, 47 and 49 omit these references and replace them with the term "a specified agency", which allows the Secretary to specify whether the person to whom the notice is given should provide the required information or document to the Department, the Commonwealth Services Delivery Agency (ie. Centrelink), the Australian Taxation Office or the Health Insurance Commission. This will enable that information or documents to be given by the person to the Family Assistance Office, for example, if so requested.
Item 43 inserts new subsections 154(5) and 154(6) into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. New subsection 154(5) gives the Secretary power to require the provision of information or a document from a person if it is relevant to certain matters relating to the approval or continued approval of a child care service or applicant for approval as a registered carer. New subsection 154(6) also gives the Secretary the same power where information or a document held by a person is relevant to whether a service is the sole provider of a certain kind of care in an area for the purposes of subsection 57(1) of the Family Assistance Act. These powers are similar to the powers that currently exist in section 154: for example, in subsection 154(3), the Secretary may request information or a document from a person if relevant to whether an individual who has claimed CCB by fee reduction is conditionally eligible for that payment. It was intended that the powers inserted by the new subsections 154(5) and 154(6) would be included in the family assistance law when it was introduced, but this intention was not reflected in the current legislation.
Item 50 amends subsection 195(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act to make it expressly subject to subsection 195(2). This clarifies that the Secretary has the discretion to refuse to approve a child care service in the circumstances set out in subsection 195(2), even if the Secretary might be satisfied of the circumstances specified in subsection 195(1).
Currently, if a child care service does not continue to be operated by the person who made the application for approval of the service under section 194 of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, such as if the business is sold to another operator, this is a breach of a condition of continued approval under section 18 of the Child Care Benefit (Eligibility of Child Care Services for Approval and Continued Approval) Determination 2000. It is then open to the Secretary to impose one or more of the sanctions in subsection 200(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act on the service, such as cancelling the service's approval, but only after the procedure for imposing a sanction in section 201 is undertaken. Part of this procedure requires the Secretary to invite the service to make written submissions, within 28 days, as to why the sanction should not be imposed. This process currently causes delays in finalising accounts and other matters between the operator and the Department where the operator of a service changes.
Item 51 clarifies the situation by inserting a new subsection 202(4A) into the Family Assistance (Administration) Act which requires that the Secretary must cancel the approval of an approved child care service if the service ceases to be operated by the person who made the original application for approval (for example, if the operator of that service changes). This gives effect to current practice, and achieves the same result as the current provisions but in a clear, straightforward manner. This amendment will also ensure that a new operator of a service will take over the service with a "clean slate", and will not be responsible for any possible family assistance debts that may be owed by the service under the previous operator. This amendment does not affect the existing requirement in section 219M of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act that an operator of an approved child care service must notify the Secretary at least 30 days before they intend to cease operating the service.
Part 2 - Amendments related to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999
Item 53 inserts the definition of "CPC rate" (combined pensioner couple rate) as a new subsection 3(7) of the Family Assistance Act. Item 52 amends the definition of "CPC rate" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act to refer to the new subsection 3(7). The term "CPC rate" was originally intended to be in the Family Assistance Act when the family assistance law was introduced, but was inadvertently placed in the Family Assistance (Administration) Act.
Also see item 72 of Schedule 2 below which repeals the definition of "CPC rate" from subsection 3(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act and item 4 of Schedule 4 below which repeals the redundant definition of "CPC rate" from subsection 20(1) of the Social Security Act.
Item 53 also amends the definition of "CPC rate" to take into account changes made by the A New Tax System (Compensation Measures Legislation Amendment) Act 1999, which makes provision for an amount of pension supplement that may be paid to a person with their pension. Module BA in section 1064 of the Social Security Act now provides that there is a pension supplement amount for each maximum basic rate of pension listed in the table in point 1064-B1 of the Social Security Act. Item 53 amends the definition of "CPC rate" to take account of the pension supplement, so that the CPC rate is twice the sum of the maximum basic rate of age pension in item 2 of Table B in point 1064-B1 and the amount of the person's pension supplement (which is worked out in accordance with Module BA of Pension Rate Calculator A in section 1064).
Items 52 and 53 are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 54 and 56 are technical amendments which correct cross references in section 12 of the Family Assistance Act. Section 12 should refer to Subdivision C of Division 4 of Part 3, and Subdivision D of Division 4 of Part 4.
These technical amendments are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69 and 70
Items 56 to 65 and 67 to 70 contain technical amendments to correct minor drafting errors in subsections 52(3), 52(5), 52(6), 57(3), 76(1) and 76(2), paragraph 76(3)(a), subsections 76(4) and 80(1), paragraph 80(2)(a) and subsections 81(2), 81(3), 81(4) and 81(6) of the Family Assistance Act. These errors arose through amendments made to these provisions by the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act.
These items are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 66 corrects a cross-reference in paragraph 81(1)(a) of the Family Assistance Act. This paragraph is intended to refer to section 50F of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, not the Family Assistance Act.
This technical measure is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Subparagraphs (a)(i), (b)(i), (c)(i), (d)(i) and (e)(i) of the definition of "part-time %" in subclause 2(2) of Schedule 2 of the Family Assistance Act correctly refer to care provided by approved centre based long day care services. However, subparagraphs (a)(iii), (b)(iii), (c)(iii), (d)(iii) and (e)(iii) merely refer to "approved child care services".
Item 71 amends subparagraphs (a)(iii), (b)(iii), (c)(iii), (d)(iii) and (e)(iii) of the definition of "part-time %" to clarify that the type of services being referred to in these subparagraphs are actually the same as the approved centre based long day care services referred to in subparagraphs (a)(i), (b)(i), (c)(i), (d)(i) and (e)(i).
These technical amendments are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
Item 72 repeals subsection 3(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, which defines the term "CPC rate" (combined pensioner couple rate). This definition was inadvertently inserted into that Act instead of the Family Assistance Act.
See discussion on item 53 of Schedule 2 above which reinserts the definition of "CPC rate" as a new subsection 3(7) of the Family Assistance Act.
This technical amendment is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Part 3 - Other amendments of the family assistance law
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999
Currently, due to the interaction of the definition of "undertaking full-time study" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act and subsections 541B(1) and 541B(5) of the Social Security Act, only people enrolled in, or intending to enrol in, approved secondary or tertiary courses will satisfy this definition. This means that children attending primary school, who are within the age group specified in table item 1 in subsection 22A(1) of the Family Assistance Act, must be income tested to determine whether they are an FTB child of an adult. If the child has adjusted taxable income equal to or greater than the cut-out amount for an income year, they cannot be an FTB child of another individual, and so that other individual cannot qualify for FTB. This is an inequitable outcome for children attending primary school, because it is impossible for them to satisfy the definition of "undertaking full-time study".
Item 73 substitutes new paragraph (a) in the third column of table item 1 in subsection 22A(1) of the Family Assistance Act to exclude primary school children from the requirement to satisfy the income test. Item 74 inserts a new subsection 22A(1A) to define when an individual is taken to be undertaking primary education, that is, when they are actually participating in a course of primary education, or enrolled to participate in such a course.
Item 75 amends paragraph (a) of the third column of table item 1 in subsection 35(1) of the Family Assistance Act in the same way as item 9, so that it negates the need to income test a primary school student in determining whether an approved care organisation is eligible for FTB in respect of that student. Item 76 inserts the same definition of "undertaking primary education" after subsection 35(2) as the one inserted by item 10.
Items 73 to 76 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, so that some primary school students are not disadvantaged by the application of the income test (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 77 is a technical amendment to column 1 of table items 2 and 3 of clause 22 of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act to include the concept of "an annualised amount of maintenance income". This concept was introduced into the family assistance law by the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, but clause 22 was not amended to reflect this.
This technical measure is taken to have commenced on the introduction of the family assistance law on 1 July 2000 (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 78 and 79 amend the definition of "tax free pension or benefit" in clause 7 of Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance Act to include pensions payable to a member of the Forces or Peacekeeping Force, or to a widow or widower of a deceased member of the Forces or Peacekeeping Force, under Part IV of the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986. These pensions were originally intended to be included in this definition but were inadvertently omitted when the family assistance law was introduced.
This beneficial measure is retrospective to 1 July 2000 (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Paragraphs 8(2)(a), 8(2)(b) and 8(2)(c) of Schedule 3 of the Family Assistance Act currently result in double-counting of child maintenance expenditure because they contain references to payments and benefits paid or provided by both the "payer" and the "payer's partner". Items 80, 81 and 82 contain technical amendments to avoid this double-counting, so that only payments and benefits paid or provided by the payer to another individual other than the payer's partner (if any), will be included as "child maintenance expenditure" for the purposes of clause 8.
This technical measure is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, so that child maintenance expenditure is not double-counted from the introduction of the family assistance law (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendments to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
The definition of "FTB advance rate" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act is used in determining an individual's entitlement to an FTB advance under subsection 33(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. If an individual's FTB advance rate is worked out in accordance with paragraph (a) of the definition of "FTB advance rate" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act, and this figure is not a multiple of $3.65, paragraph (b) of that definition will apply so that the figure obtained under paragraph (a) is to be rounded up to the next highest multiple of $3.65. However, in certain situations, when this FTB advance rate is used in subsection 33(1) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act, the rounding may prevent subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) from being satisfied. This is because, in certain circumstances, the individual's Part A rate will not be equal to or exceed twice their FTB advance rate, because the FTB advance rate has been rounded up in accordance with the definition in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act.
This unintended consequence will arise in any income year in which the rounding base of $3.65 increases what would otherwise be an individual's FTB advance rate, ie. when paragraph (b) of the definition of "FTB advance rate" in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act applies. This is because the individual could not satisfy subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act in such a year. This occurred for the 2000/2001 income year, but not for the 2001/2002 income year due to the indexation of the 0 to 17 base FTB child rate in paragraph 26(2)(a) on 1 July 2001 (This indexation occurs on 1 July every year).
For example, in the 2000/2001 income year, if an individual with one FTB child who had not turned 18 had a Part A rate (Method 1) that equalled the 0 to 17 base FTB child rate (as stated in paragraph 26(2)(a) of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act - see also the definition of "base FTB child rate" in clause 8 of Schedule 1), their FTB child rate would have been $974.55. This means their FTB advance rate would have been half that amount. This would have been $487.275, which is not a multiple of $3.65. Therefore, paragraph (b) of the definition of "FTB advance rate" would have applied so that this figure was rounded up to the next highest multiple of $3.65, which was $489.10. This FTB advance rate would then have been applied into subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act. If the individual's Part A rate also equalled $974.55, due to their level of income, for example, subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) provides that this amount must be equal to or greater than twice the individual's FTB advance rate. Twice the individual's FTB advance rate would be two times $489.10, which is $978.20. Therefore, the individual's Part A rate would actually be less than two times the individual's FTB advance rate. This means that the individual would not have been entitled to be paid an FTB advance because subparagraph 33(1)(a)(iii) was not satisfied in this situation.
While it was intended that the rounding base of $3.65 could increase the amount of an individual's FTB advance, it was not intended that some customers would be excluded from actually being entitled to receive an advance as a result of this rounding base. To correct this unintended consequence, item 83 amends paragraph 33(1)(a) to exclude the effect of the rounding rule that exists in the current definition of "FTB advance rate" in determining an individual's entitlement to an FTB advance. Item 83 provides that to be entitled to a FTB advance, the individual's Part A rate must equal or exceed the amount that would be the FTB child rate for an FTB child who had not turned 18 under clause 26 of Schedule 1 of the Family Assistance Act, if the individual's Part A rate were required to be calculated under Part 3 of Schedule 1, and clause 27 of that Schedule did not apply.
This beneficial measure is retrospective to 1 July 2000 (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)).
Items 84, 85 and 86 contain technical amendments to correct minor drafting errors in subsection 107(2), paragraph 108(2)(f) and subsection 109(3) of the Family Assistance (Administration) Act respectively. These errors arose through amendments made to these provisions by the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act.
Items 84 to 86 are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2 to the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 10 of subclause 2(1)).
Part 4 - Amendment of related Acts
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000
Item 87 corrects an inaccurate cross-reference in subsection 2(11) of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act.
This technical amendment is taken to have commenced on 3 May 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act (see table item 11 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999
Item 88 corrects a minor drafting error in item 78 of Schedule 7 of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999.
This technical amendment is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of Schedule 7 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 12 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 2) 1999
Item 89 corrects an inaccurate cross-reference in paragraph 2(4)(a) of the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 2) 1999, so that the Act referred to in that paragraph is correctly referred to as the "Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000".
Item 89 is taken to have commenced on 6 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000, to ensure that that Act is referred to by its correct title (see table item 13 of subclause 2(1)).
Amendment to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999
Item 90 corrects a misdescription in items 67 and 68 of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999, in relation to amendments made to section 75 of the Social Security (Administration) Act.
Items 67 and 68 of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999 both attempted to amend section 75 of the Social Security (Administration) Act. However, those items should have amended section 76, rather than section 75.
Item 90 makes the amendments in accordance with the original intention.
This technical amendment is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(9) of that Act (see table item 14 of subclause 2(1)).
4. Commencement
The commencement of each provision of Schedule 2 is set out in the table in subclause 2(1).
Part 1 of Schedule 2 (items 1 to 51) contains items which commence on the day on which this Act receives Royal Assent (see table item 7 of subclause 2(1)).
Part 2 of Schedule 2 (items 52 to 72) contains amendments related to the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, and these will be taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of the provisions referred to in subsection 2(2) of that Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 8 of subclause 2(1)).
Part 3 of Schedule 2 (items 73 to 86) contains other amendments of the family assistance law. Items 73 to 83 are taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000 (see table item 9 of subclause 2(1)). Items 84 to 86 are taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of Schedule 2 of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act, on 1 July 2000 (see table item 10 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 87 of Schedule 2 is taken to have commenced on 3 May 2000, immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Family Assistance and Related Measures Act (see table item 11 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 88 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of Schedule 7 to the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Consequential and Related Measures) Act (No. 1) 1999 (see table item 12 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 89 is taken to have commenced immediately after the commencement of section 2 of the Youth Allowance Consolidation Act 2000, on 6 July 2000 (see table item 13 of subclause 2(1)).
Item 90 is taken to have commenced on 1 July 2000, immediately after the commencement of the provisions of Schedule 5 to the A New Tax System (Tax Administration) Act 1999 that commenced in accordance with subsection 2(9) of that Act (see table item 14 of subclause 2(1)).