House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by the authority of the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Minister for Disability Reform, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP)

Schedule 1 - Immunisation requirements

Summary

This Schedule amends the family assistance law to make payment of the FTB Part A supplement conditional on a child meeting the immunisation requirements. This will apply to the income years that the child turns one, two and five. As a consequence, maternity immunisation allowance will cease from 1 July 2012. This measure will strengthen incentives for parents to have their children immunised and help improve immunisation rates over time.

Background

Currently, maternity immunisation allowance is generally paid in two separate amounts. In normal circumstances, an individual is eligible for maternity immunisation allowance if the child has met the immunisation requirements before the child turns two and further immunisation requirements before the child turns five.

Where an individual is eligible for FTB, the FTB Part A supplement for each FTB child may be paid at reconciliation, which generally occurs after the end of the relevant income (financial) year.

This Schedule will cease maternity immunisation allowance, currently a payment under the family assistance law. Instead, an individual will only be eligible for the FTB Part A supplement for a child in an income year, where the child turned one, two or five, if they have met the immunisation requirements for the relevant age group.

This Schedule will commence on 1 July 2012.

Explanation of the changes

Part 1 - New rules

Amendments to the Family Assistance Act

Item 1 amends subsection 6(1) of the Family Assistance Act to remove the reference to maternity immunisation allowance and replace it with a reference to the FTB Part A supplement.

Item 2 inserts new section 61B into the Family Assistance Act. New section 61B sets out the situations when the immunisation requirements must be satisfied so that the individual can be eligible for the FTB Part A supplement in respect of a particular FTB child for an income year.

There are two situations in which the immunisation requirements will apply. The first relates to parents and is described in new subsections 61B(1) and (3). The second relates to non-parent carers and is described in new subsections 61B(2) and (3).

New subsections 61B(1) and (3) set out how the immunisation requirements affect eligibility for the FTB Part A supplement for a particular income year if an individual has an FTB child who turns one, two or five in the income year and the individual or their partner is a parent of the child on the last day of the income year. In those circumstances, the FTB Part A supplement is not to be included in calculating the individual's Part A rate for the FTB child for that income year unless certain conditions relating to the immunisation requirements are met. To this end, clause 38A of Schedule 1 to the Family Assistance Act, which provides for the amount of the FTB Part A supplement to be added in working out an individual's maximum or base rate of Part A, is disregarded for the income year unless the conditions in new subsection 61B(3) (explained below) are met.

New subsections 61B(2) and (3) deal with non-parent carers such as foster or kinship carers. New subsection 61B(2) relates to the situation where an individual has an FTB child who turned one, two or five in a particular income year, and neither the individual nor their partner is a parent of the child on the last day of the income year.

If the number of days in the income year that the child is an FTB child of the individual totals at least 182 days (26 weeks), and if the child is an FTB child of the individual on the last day of that year, then the immunisation requirements apply in relation to the child. In those circumstances, the FTB Part A supplement is disregarded in calculating the individual's Part A rate for the child for the income year unless the conditions relating to the immunisation requirements in new subsection 61B(3) (explained below) are met.

As with the health check requirement in section 61A, the conditions in new paragraph 61B(2)(c) ensures that temporary non-parent carers do not need to meet the new requirements by establishing a sufficient period of ongoing care by the carer for it to be reasonable to expect the carer to have organised the child's immunisation. In addition, if the child is no longer an FTB child of the non-parent carer at the end of the income year in which the child turned one, two or five, they would have no continuing legal responsibility in respect of the child and would therefore be unable to play a role in ensuring that the child meets the immunisation requirements within the subsequent two years (the maximum period for meeting the relevant conditions if they apply). In these circumstances, it is unreasonable to withhold the FTB Part A supplement.

In comparison, a parent who has lost care is more likely to have an ongoing connection with the child and could be expected to play a role in ensuring that the immunisation requirements are met. Therefore, it is appropriate for the immunisation requirements to apply to a parent who ceases to have care of the child before the end of the income year.

New subsection 61B(3) provides that, in the two situations described above, where the immunisation requirements apply, the FTB Part A supplement is disregarded in the FTB rate calculation process for the income year in which the FTB child turned one, two or five unless two things happen.

The first is that, at any time before the end of the second income year after the one in which the child turned one, two or five, the Secretary becomes aware of information that the child meets the immunisation requirements set out in section 6 of the Family Assistance Act.

The second is that the Secretary is satisfied at any time (including after the two-year timeframe) that the child met the immunisation requirements within the required two-year timeframe.

These rules enable the immunisation requirements to be met within two income years after the income year in which the relevant FTB child turned one, two or five. However, they also cover situations where information suggesting that the immunisation requirements have been met is provided within the two-year timeframe but is not considered until after that time.

New subsection 61B(4) provides that the immunisation requirements do not apply in relation to an FTB child if the child, or the individual who was eligible for FTB for the child, dies before the end of the second income year after the income year in which the child turned one, two or five. If the individual who was eligible for FTB for the child dies (and the child does not die), the immunisation requirements for the child may still affect eligibility for the FTB Part A supplement for a new carer of the child for a relevant income year.

New subsection 61B(5) makes it clear that new section 61B does not limit the application of current section 32A of the Family Assistance Administration Act (which requires the FTB Part A supplement to be disregarded from the FTB rate calculation process unless and until the relevant FTB reconciliation conditions are satisfied). This means that, if the immunisation requirements are satisfied in relation to an individual and FTB child but the individual does not satisfy the relevant FTB reconciliation conditions, the FTB Part A supplement cannot be included in the individual's rate of FTB.

Conversely, if an individual satisfies the FTB reconciliation conditions but has not met the immunisation requirements in relation to a relevant child, then the individual's FTB entitlement for the relevant income year would still be reviewed under section 105 of the Family Assistance Administration Act, but the FTB Part A supplement would be disregarded in relation to the relevant child. If the immunisation requirements are met at a later time and within two years after the end of the income year in which the relevant child turned one, two or five, then the individual's FTB entitlement can again be reviewed and the FTB Part A supplement for the relevant child included in the individual's rate of FTB as appropriate for the relevant income year.

New subsection 61B(6) defines parent as including an adoptive parent and a relationship parent. A relationship parent is currently defined in subsection 3(1) of the Family Assistance Act by reference to the Social Security Act.

Amendments to the Family Assistance Administration Act

Item 3 makes a technical amendment to subsection 107(1) as a consequence of the amendment made by item 4 , explained below.

Item 4 provides for further exceptions to the limitations in the current date of effect rules for arrears of FTB for a Secretary initiated review. New subsection 107(3C) ensures that the FTB Part A supplement may be paid if a child meets the immunisation requirements within the required timeframe set out in new subsection 61B(3) of the Family Assistance Act. New subsection 107(3D) ensures that the FTB Part A supplement may be paid if the immunisation requirements do not apply because of the death of the FTB child or the eligible individual due to new subsection 61B(4) of that Act.

Item 5 provides for further exceptions to the current time limit rules if a person applies for internal review of a decision about FTB for a past period (such as an end of year lump sum claim for FTB) or FTB because of the death of another individual (such as a lump sum bereavement payment). New paragraph 109D(4)(f) ensures that the FTB Part A supplement may be paid if a child meets the immunisation requirements within the required timeframe set out in new subsection 61B(3) of the Family Assistance Act. New paragraph 109D(4)(g) ensures that the FTB Part A supplement may be paid if the immunisation requirements do not apply because of the death of the FTB child or the eligible individual due to new subsection 61B(4) of that Act.

Item 6 provides for further exceptions to the limitations in the current date of effect rules for arrears of FTB if a person applies for internal review of a decision about payment of FTB by instalment. New paragraph 109E(3)(f) ensures that the FTB Part A supplement may be paid if a child meets the immunisation requirements within the required timeframe set out in new subsection 61B(3) of the Family Assistance Act. New paragraph 109E(3)(g) ensures that the FTB Part A supplement may be paid if the immunisation requirements do not apply because of the death of the FTB child or the eligible individual due to new subsection 61B(4) of that Act.

Part 2 - Removal of old rules

Amendments to the Family Assistance Act

Items 7 to 14 repeal all of the relevant rules for the eligibility and amount of maternity immunisation allowance as well as the references to maternity immunisation allowance in the Family Assistance Act.

Amendments to the Family Assistance Administration Act

Items 15 to 45 repeal all of the relevant rules for claims and determinations for maternity immunisation allowance as well as the references to maternity immunisation allowance in the Family Assistance Administration Act.

Part 3 - Consequential amendments

Amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act

Items 46 and 47 make consequential amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act to remove references to maternity immunisation allowance.

Amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

Items 48 to 51 make consequential amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to remove references to maternity immunisation allowance.

Part 4 - Application and transitional provisions

Item 52 sets out the application and transitional provisions for Schedule 1.

Subitems 52(1), (2) and (3) provide that, if an individual was eligible for maternity immunisation allowance before 1 July 2012, the existing provisions for maternity immunisation allowance will be preserved on and after 1 July 2012 for that eligibility. In these situations, the existing rules in the family assistance law will continue to apply as if the amendments in Part 1 (New rules) and Part 2 (Removal of old rules) of this Schedule had not been made.

However, a claim for maternity immunisation allowance in normal circumstances for preserved eligibility must be made before the end of the earlier of the last day for making the claim under subsection 39(4) of the Family Assistance Administration Act (that is, the existing time limit) or 30 June 2013. Furthermore, if an individual was eligible for maternity immunisation allowance before 1 July 2012 and subsequently dies, paragraph 40(b) of the Family Assistance Act will apply on and after 1 July 2012 so as to enable another individual to claim and be paid the deceased's unpaid maternity immunisation allowance only if the death occurs before 1 July 2013.

In summary, these provisions mean that, despite the repeal of the relevant provisions in the family assistance law for maternity immunisation allowance from 1 July 2012, the relevant law in force immediately before 1 July 2012 is preserved on and after 1 July 2012 (so as to enable payment of maternity immunisation allowance) if: the individual was eligible before 1 July 2012; and a claim is made by the earlier of the existing time limit and 30 June 2013; and for a claim by another individual if the eligible individual dies, the death occurs before 1 July 2013.

Subitem 52(4) provides that section 52-150 of the Income Tax Assessment Act, as in force immediately before 1 July 2012, continues to apply on and after 1 July 2012 in relation to payments of maternity immunisation allowance made before, on or after 1 July 2012. This ensures that these payments of maternity immunisation allowance will be exempt from income tax, despite the amendment to section 52-150 by item 47 (which will remove the reference to maternity immunisation allowance on 1 July 2012).

Subitem 52(5) provides that, despite the amendments made by items 48, 50 and 51 to the income management provisions in the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 , those provisions continue to apply on and after 1 July 2012 in relation to payments of maternity immunisation allowance made before, on or after 1 July 2012.

Subitem 52(6) defines terms used in item 52.