Explanatory Statement
Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Determination 2011 (No. 1)
The Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment (the AGDRP) provides an immediate, one-off payment to Australians adversely affected by a major disaster.
Section 1061K of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act) specifies the qualification criteria for the AGDRP. One of the qualification criteria requires a person to be “adversely affected by a major disaster”.
Subsection 1061L(1) of the Act provides that, for the purposes of the Act, “a person is adversely affected by a major disaster if the person is affected by the disaster in a way determined by the Minister in relation to the disaster”.
Subsection 1061L(2) of the Act provides that the “Minister may determine in writing, in relation to a major disaster, the circumstances in which persons are to be taken to be adversely affected by the disaster”.
Section 36 of the Act empowers the Minister to determine in writing that an event is a “major disaster” if the Minister is satisfied that an event is a disaster that has such a significant impact on individuals that a Commonwealth Government response is required.
The Minister has made a declaration under section 36 of the Act that applies to the heavy rainfall, storm damage and associated flooding in Queensland that began in November 2010 and continued into January 2011.
The Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Determination 2011 (No. 1) (Determination (No. 1)) gives effect to the declaration referred to above and sets out the circumstances in which a person is to be regarded as “adversely affected” by the floods.
On 1 January 2011 the Minister made the Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Determination 201 (No. 3). The new determination, Determination (No.1), extends the circumstances in which a person is to be taken to be “adversely affected” by the heavy rainfall, storm damage and associated flooding in Queensland that began in November 2010 and continued into January 2011 beyond the circumstances included in Determination 201 (No. 3). Determination (No. 1) also extends the circumstances in which a person, who is a principal carer of a child, to be “adversely affected” by that disaster beyond the circumstances included in Determination 201 (No. 3).
The above new circumstances are set out in paragraph (a) to (g) of Schedule 2 to Determination (No. 1).
Section 1 of Determination (No. 1) specifies the name of the determination.
Section 2 of the Determination (No. 1) provides that it commences on the date it is registered.
Section 3 of the Determination (No. 1) repeals the Social Security (Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment) Determination 201 (No. 3).
Section 4 contains definitions relevant to Determination (No. 1).
Section 5 provides that for the purposes of subsection 1061L(2) of the Act, a person is adversely affected by a major disaster mentioned in Schedule 1 if the person is affected in the way mentioned in Schedule 2.
Schedule 1 to Determination (No. 1) applies to the heavy rainfall, storm damage and associated flooding in Queensland that began in November 2010 and continued into January 2011, determined to be a major disaster under section 36 of the Act by the Acting Attorney General on 1 January 2011.
Schedule 2 to Determination (No. 1) provides twelve circumstances where a person is adversely affected as a direct result of the major disaster referred to in Schedule 1.
The first circumstance is where the person is seriously injured.
The second circumstance is where a person is an immediate family member of an Australian who is killed.
The third circumstance is where the person’s principal place of residence has been destroyed or has sustained major damage.
The fourth circumstance is where a person has been unable to return to their principal place of residence for a period of 24 hours or more.
The fifth circumstance is where a person has been unable to leave their principal place of residence for a period of 24 hours or more.
The sixth circumstance is where a person’s principal place of residence has experienced utility failure caused by damage to public or private infrastructure for 48 hours or more.
A further six circumstances occur where a person is the principal carer of a child and any of the six situations specified in paragraphs (a) to (f) of Schedule 2 (referred to above) apply to that child.
What constitutes “the Act”, “destroyed”, “immediate family member”, “major damage”, “seriously injured” and “principle place of residence” is defined in section 4 of Determination (No. 1).
Subsection 1061L(3) of the Act provides that a determination under section 1061L is a legislative instrument.
This instrument is not subject to disallowance by the Parliament (subsection 1061L(3) of the Act provides that section 42 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 does not apply to the determination).
Formal consultation has not been undertaken as Determination (No. 1) was required as a matter of urgency.