EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Household Stimulus Package (Household Stimulus Payment Administrative Scheme) (DEEWR) Amendment Determination 2009 (No. 1)

Summary

The Household Stimulus Package (Household Stimulus Payment Administrative Scheme) (DEEWR) Amendment Determination 2009 (No. 1) (Amendment Determination) is made by the Minister for Education and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations under subitem 1 (1) of Schedule 4 to the Household Stimulus Package Act (No. 2) 2009 (HSP Act).

The purpose of the Amendment Determination is to amend the Household Stimulus Package (Household Stimulus Payment Administrative Scheme) (DEEWR) Determination 2009 (No. 1) (Principal Determination) to provide for household stimulus payments to be made to certain recipients of postgraduate research scholarships.  The Amendment Determination also makes minor technical amendments to the Principal Determination.

Background

The HSP Act amended the Social Security Act 1991 (Social Security Act) and the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 (Family Assistance Act) to provide for one-off payments by the Commonwealth to certain individuals.  These payments include:

• a training and learning bonus under the Social Security Act, payable to recipients of certain student income support payments and recipients of family tax benefit (FTB) Part A with FTB children aged from 21 to 24 (i.e. full-time students); and
• a back to school bonus under the Family Assistance Act, payable to recipients of FTB Part A with FTB children aged from 4 to 18.

Eligibility for these bonus payments is based on whether a person met the criteria for eligibility (e.g. received a qualifying payment or had an FTB child) on 3 February 2009, the date the Government announced the measures enacted by the HSP Act.

The Principal Determination, which commenced on 20 March 2009, supplemented these bonuses by providing for household stimulus payments to be made to:

• parents of full-time students aged 19 to 24 who are in receipt of FTB Part A in respect of those students during the first semester of 2009; and
• full-time students who received income support payments in the first semester of 2009 but who did not receive an income support payment for a period including 3 February 2009.

The Government has also agreed to provide household stimulus payments to full-time students who are undertaking postgraduate research at a masters or doctorate level and who are receiving, during the first six months of 2009, an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or a substantially similar scholarship.

Accordingly, the Amendment Determination amends the Principal Determination to include a new criterion for qualification for a household stimulus payment relating to receipt of an APA or similar scholarship.

As well as providing for household stimulus payments to recipients of certain postgraduate research scholarships, the Amendment Determination also amends the Principal Determination to:

• preclude a person receiving an household stimulus payment where they have already received a education entry payment supplement under the Social Security Act; and
• allow the amount of a person’s household stimulus payment to be recalculated if their circumstances change and as a result they become entitled to a higher amount of household stimulus payment (e.g. where a person gains care of FTB children for whom they are entitled to FTB Part A during first semester 2009); and
• require payment of a person’s household stimulus payment to their payment nominee if they have a payment nominee for the purposes of the social security law.

Household stimulus payments under the Principal Determination as amended by the Amendment Determination will be made out of money appropriated from the Consolidated Revenue Fund by subitem 1 (5) of Schedule 4 to the HSP Act.

Explanation of provisions

Amendment Determination

Sections 1 and 2 of the Amendment Determination are formal provisions providing for the name and commencement of the Amendment Determination.

Section 3 provides that the Principal Determination is amended as set out in Schedule 1 to the Amendment Determination.

Schedule 1 to the Amendment Determination

Items 1 and 2 amend subsection 3 (1) of the Principal Determination by inserting three new definitions.  Importantly, a new definition of qualifying scholarship is included that sets out the criteria for a scholarship that is sufficiently similar to an APA to qualify a person for a household stimulus payment.  The criteria for a qualifying scholarship are all met by an APA.

Item 3 contains the key amendment to the Principal Determination.  The item amends section 5 of the Principal Determination by adding a new subsection (2A) that provides that a person qualifies for a household stimulus payment if the person is an Australian citizen or permanent resident and receives, for a period including a day between 1 January and 30 June 2009:

• an APA; or
• an Australian Research Council Australian Postgraduate Award (Industry); or
• a National Health and Medical Research Council Postgraduate Research Scholarship; or
• a qualifying scholarship (i.e. a scholarship meeting the criteria set out in the definition of “qualifying scholarship”).

Item 4 corrects the inadvertent omission of the word “or” between paragraphs 5 (3) (b) and (c) of the Principal Determination.

Items 5, 6, 8 and 9 add a new multiple entitlement exclusion to the Principal Determination.  The amendments made by these items preclude the payment of a household stimulus payment under the Principal Determination to a person who has already received an education entry payment supplement, or whose FTB child has already received an education entry payment supplement, under the Social Security Act.

Items 7, 11 and 12 add references to the new subsection 5 (2A) into subsections 5 (5) and 6 (1) of the Principal Determination.

Item 13 amends section 6 of the Principal Determination to allow the amount of a person’s household stimulus payment to be recalculated if their circumstances change and as a result they become entitled to a higher amount of household stimulus payment.  Item 10 inserts a Note to this effect after subsection 5 (6).

Item 14 substitutes section 7 of the Principal Determination.  The old section 7 provided that a person was not required to make a claim for a household stimulus payment.  The new subsection 7 (1) maintains that situation for household stimulus payments under subsections 5 (1) and (2).  However, subsection 7 (2) provides that a claim must be made for a household stimulus payment under the new subsection 5 (2A) in the form and manner approved by the Secretary and on or before 30 June 2010.  That is, a person in receipt of a relevant postgraduate research scholarship must make a claim to receive a household stimulus payment.  This is consistent with the treatment of most social security payments.  The Secretary will not accept claims for household stimulus payments under subsection 5 (2A) after 30 June 2010.

Item 15 substitutes paragraph 9 (2) (a) of the Principal Determination.  The new paragraph requires the Secretary to pay a person’s household stimulus payment to their payment nominee if they have one under the social security law.  This is consistent with the treatment of most social security payments.

Formal matters

Consultation

The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs was consulted during the preparation of the Amendment Determination.  The Amendment Determination is beneficial and supplements an existing legislative scheme for one-off payments to students and parents of students.  No public consultation was considered necessary.

Regulatory Impact Statement

The Amendment Determination does not require a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) nor a Business Cost Calculator Figure.  The Amendment Determination is not regulatory in nature, will not impact on business activity and will have no compliance costs or competition impact.

Authority

Subitem 1 (1) of Schedule 4 to the Household Stimulus Package Act (No. 2) 2009.  No preconditions need to be satisfied for the making of this instrument.