House of Representatives

Explanatory Memorandum

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, MP)

OUTLINE AND FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT

This Bill completes the legislation package commenced with the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Youth Allowance) Bill 1997. That Bill gives legislative effect to the new social security payment, youth allowance. Youth allowance will be an integrated income support payment for young people which will be available regardless of whether a person is in education, in training, unemployed or sick.

The primary purpose of this new Bill is to provide the consequential amendments for youth allowance. However, it also incorporates some significant related measures flowing from the establishment of youth allowance. These related measures largely comprise the transfer of program elements for older students from the portfolio of the Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs to the portfolio of the Minister for Social Security.

This is to be done primarily by setting up a new payment, austudy payment, in the Social Security Act for over 25 year old students. There will also be new provisions in the Social Security Act for the pensioner education supplement, for fares allowance and for the Student Financial Supplement Scheme. Current arrangements will continue to apply for ABSTUDY pensioner education supplement, student financial supplement and fares allowance, and for the Assistance for Isolated Children Scheme.

This Bill provides the consequential amendments for the transfer of these elements as well as for youth allowance itself. It also provides: the transitional arrangements for the package; the flow through to youth allowance of certain Budget measures contained in the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Parenting and Other Measures) Act 1997 and the Social Security and Veterans' Affairs Legislation Amendment (Budget and Other Measures) Bill 1997 that were not drafted in time to be included in the original youth allowance legislation; and certain policy and technical refinements to youth allowance.

The Acts to be amended are the Social Security Act 1991 , the Data-Matching Program (Assistance and Tax) Act 1990 , the Student and Youth Assistance Act 1973 , the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 , the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 , the Taxation (Interest on Overpayments and Early Payments) Act 1983 , the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 , the Farm Household Support Act 1992 , the Health Insurance Act 1973 , the National Health Act 1953 , the Disability Services Act 1986 , the Child Care Payments Act 1997 , the Aged Care Act 1997 , the Bankruptcy Act 1966 , the Registration of Deaths Abroad Act 1984 and the Telecommunications Act 1997 .