Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021

Administered by Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Legislation au C2021A00075 In force Act

Legislation content

 

 

 

 

 

 

Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021

 

No. 75, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

An Act to amend the Farm Household Support Act 2014, and for related purposes

 

 

Contents

1 Short title

2 Commencement

3 Schedules

Schedule 1—Amendments

Farm Household Support Act 2014

 

 

 

Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021

No. 75, 2021

 

 

 

An Act to amend the Farm Household Support Act 2014, and for related purposes

[Assented to 23 July 2021]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act is the Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021.

2  Commencement

 (1) Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

 

Commencement information

Column 1

Column 2

Column 3

Provisions

Commencement

Date/Details

1.  The whole of this Act

The day after this Act receives the Royal Assent.

24 July 2021

Note: This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally enacted. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this Act.

 (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this Act. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this Act.

3  Schedules

  Legislation that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

Schedule 1—Amendments

 

Farm Household Support Act 2014

1  At the end of subsection 6(1A)

Add:

Note: See also section 102A (which deals with the waiver of certain debts and treats farm household allowance as being payable to a person on certain days).

2  After section 102

Insert:

102A  Debt waiver—farm household allowance paid for days occurring on or after 1 July 2015 and before 1 July 2020

Debts arising before commencement

 (1) If, before the commencement of this subsection, an amount of farm household allowance paid to a person in relation to days occurring on or after 1 July 2015 and before 1 July 2020:

 (a) was a debt due to the Commonwealth because of section 70 (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020); or

 (b) was a debt due to the Commonwealth because of a new determination covered by paragraphs 69(1)(b) and (c) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) made before that commencement that the person’s rate of farm household allowance for one or more of those days was reduced to nil;

then the Secretary may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, waive the Commonwealth’s right to recover the whole or a part of the debt (whether or not the debt has already been recovered in whole or in part).

 (2) The Secretary must not give a waiver under subsection (1) unless at the end of the day before the waiver the total number of days for which farm household allowance has been payable to the person, in the 10‑year period beginning on 1 July 2014, is less than 1,460 days.

 (3) The Secretary must not give a waiver under subsection (1) if the operation of subsection (4) in relation to the waiver would lead to the total number of days for which farm household allowance is payable to the person, in the 10‑year period beginning on 1 July 2014, exceeding 1,460 days.

 (4) If the Secretary gives a waiver under subsection (1), then, for the purposes of subsection 6(1A) and in addition to subsection 6(4), there is taken to be a further number of days for which farm household allowance is payable to the person in the 10‑year period beginning on 1 July 2014. That number is worked out in accordance with the following method statement.

Method statement

Step 1. Work out the dollar amount that is waived.

Step 2. Divide the amount at step 1 by $45.

Step 3. Round the result at step 2 down to the nearest whole number.

Step 4. The result at step 3 is the number of days.

 (5) If:

 (a) before the commencement of this subsection, an amount of farm household allowance was paid to a person in relation to days occurring on or after 1 July 2015 and before 1 July 2020; and

 (b) before that commencement, a part of that amount was a debt due to the Commonwealth because of a new determination covered by paragraphs 69(1)(b) and (c) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) made before that commencement that the person’s rate of farm household allowance for one or more of those days was reduced (but not to nil);

then the Secretary may, on behalf of the Commonwealth, waive the Commonwealth’s right to recover the whole or a part of the debt (whether or not the debt has already been recovered in whole or in part).

Debts arising after commencement

 (6) If:

 (a) before the commencement of this subsection, an amount of farm household allowance was paid to a person in relation to days occurring on or after 1 July 2015 and before 1 July 2020; and

 (b) on or after that commencement, the whole or a part of that amount becomes a debt due to the Commonwealth because of section 70 (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020);

then:

 (c) the amount of that debt is taken to have been waived; and

 (d) for the purposes of subsection 6(1A) and in addition to subsection 6(4), the days in the period referred to in paragraph 70(1)(c) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) are taken to be days for which farm household allowance is payable to the person.

 (7) If:

 (a) before the commencement of this subsection, an amount of farm household allowance was paid to a person in relation to days occurring on or after 1 July 2015 and before 1 July 2020; and

 (b) on or after that commencement, the whole or a part of that amount becomes a debt due to the Commonwealth because of a new determination referred to in paragraph 69(1)(b) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) made on or after that commencement that the person’s rate of farm household allowance for one or more of those days is reduced to nil; and

 (c) the determination is made as a result of information referred to in subparagraph 69(1)(c)(i) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) becoming available before 1 July 2023;

then:

 (d) the amount of that debt is taken to have been waived; and

 (e) for the purposes of subsection 6(1A) and in addition to subsection 6(4), the days for which the person’s rate of farm household allowance was so reduced to nil are taken to be days for which farm household allowance is payable to the person.

 (8) If:

 (a) before the commencement of this subsection, an amount of farm household allowance was paid to a person in relation to days occurring on or after 1 July 2015 and before 1 July 2020; and

 (b) on or after that commencement, a part of that amount becomes a debt due to the Commonwealth because of a new determination referred to in paragraph 69(1)(b) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) made on or after that commencement that the person’s rate of farm household allowance for one or more of those days is reduced (but not to nil); and

 (c) the determination is made as a result of information referred to in subparagraph 69(1)(c)(i) (as in force immediately before 1 July 2020) becoming available before 1 July 2023;

then the amount of that debt is taken to have been waived.

No limit on other waiver provisions

 (9) This section does not limit the following:

 (a) the application of Chapter 5 of the Social Security Act in connection with debts arising in relation to payments of farm household allowance;

 (b) rules made under section 92 of this Act to the extent those rules modify that Chapter.

 

 

 

 

[Minister’s second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 2 June 2021

Senate on 21 June 2021]

(56/21)

 

 

Overview

The Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, is an amendment to the Farm Household Support Act 2014. The primary objective of this legislation is to address the financial hardship experienced by farm households by allowing the waiver of certain debts associated with farm household allowance payments made between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2020. This Act aims to provide relief to farm households that have been adversely affected by various circumstances, including natural disasters and other economic factors, by waiving debts that have arisen from these payments. The Act came into effect on 24 July 2021, the day following Royal Assent, ensuring that the provisions are immediately applicable to eligible farm households. The policy objective of the Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021 is to alleviate the financial burden on farm households that have been impacted by specific events and to ensure the sustainability of farming operations. By waiving certain debts, the Act seeks to support farm households in recovering from economic difficulties and to promote the ongoing viability of their businesses. The Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment is granted the authority to waive these debts under the terms and conditions specified in the Act, ensuring that the relief provided is both fair and targeted to those who have genuinely experienced hardship.

Scope and Application

The Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021 applies to individuals who have received farm household allowance payments between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2020 and who now find themselves owing a debt to the Commonwealth for these payments. Specifically, the Act allows for the waiver of these debts under certain conditions, primarily focusing on the number of days for which farm household allowance has been payable to a person over a ten-year period. The Act applies to the entire Commonwealth of Australia and amends the Farm Household Support Act 2014 to introduce these waiver provisions. The Act does not specify any exclusions or exemptions, but it does set a threshold of 1,460 days for the total number of days on which farm household allowance can be payable in the specified ten-year period before a waiver can be considered. The Act itself does not extend or restrict its application through subordinate instruments, but the waiver provisions are subject to the conditions outlined in the Act.

Key Provisions

The Farm Household Support Amendment (Debt Waiver) Act 2021 (Act) amends the Farm Household Support Act 2014 to introduce provisions for the waiver of certain debts related to farm household allowances. Section 102A of the Act allows the Secretary to waive the Commonwealth's right to recover debts that arose from farm household allowances paid between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2020. This waiver applies to debts that existed before the commencement of the Act, as well as those that may arise after the Act comes into effect. The waiver can be applied to the entire debt or a portion of it, regardless of whether it has already been recovered in part or in full. The Act imposes certain conditions on the waiver of these debts. According to Section 102A(2), the Secretary must not provide a waiver if the total number of days for which farm household allowance has been payable to the person, in the 10-year period beginning on 1 July 2014, is 1,460 days or more at the end of the day before the waiver. Similarly, Section 102A(3) stipulates that the Secretary must not give a waiver if the operation of Section 102A(4) in relation to the waiver would lead to the total number of days for which farm household allowance is payable to the person, in the 10-year period beginning on 1 July 2014, exceeding 1,460 days. If a waiver is granted under Section 102A(1), then, for the purposes of subsection 6(1A) and in addition to subsection 6(4), there is taken to be a further number of days for which farm household allowance is payable to the person in the 10-year period beginning on 1 July 2014. This number is calculated by dividing the dollar amount that is waived by $45 and rounding the result down to the nearest whole number. The Act does not specify any criminal or civil penalties for breaches of its provisions. However, it is important to note that the waiver of debts under Section 102A is subject to the conditions mentioned above, and failure to comply with these conditions could result in the waiver not being granted. Additionally, any misuse or abuse of the waiver provisions could potentially lead to other legal consequences under the Social Security Act or any rules made under section 92 of the Farm Household Support Act 2014.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Social Security Law
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Commencement Provisions
Repeal & Amendment
Debt Waiver

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.