House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone)

Outline and financial impact statement

Nominees under the social security and family assistance laws

The amendments relating to nominees 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.

Nominees are particularly relevant to youth allowance, age pension and disability support pension recipients who have difficulty managing their own financial affairs.

Currently, the law only provides for a payment nominee and arrangements relating to correspondence are dealt with administratively. Similarly, the current law does not clearly set out the duties and obligations of nominees. With an ageing population the use of nominees is likely to increase so it is considered appropriate to address these issues now.

This Bill repeals the current nominee provisions in the social security law and the family assistance law and inserts new Part 3A in the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and new Part 8B in the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 , which addresses the deficiencies in the current law.

The provisions in the Bill distinguish between a correspondence nominee and a payment nominee and sets out the duties of payment nominees in relation to payments they receive.

The Bill also consolidates within the framework of the social security law a number of administrative practices relating to nominees.

Profoundly disabled child amendments

The amendments relating to profoundly disabled children will streamline the process to allow more people caring for certain terminally ill children to qualify for carer payment. The need for these amendments was identified in the Government's response to the Review of the measure to extend carer payment eligibility to carers of children with a profound disability .

Date of effect:

Sections 1 and 3 commence on Royal Assent.

Schedules 1 and 2 that relate to nominees commence on 1 July 2003.

Schedule 3 that relates to the definition of profoundly disabled child commences on Royal Assent.

Financial Impact:

The total costs of the amendments made by Schedules 1 and 2 of the Bill in 2003-2004 are negligible.

The total costs of the amendments made by Schedule 3 of the Bill to the definition of profoundly disabled child in section 197 of the Social Security Act 1991 in Schedule 2 of the Bill are: