EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements – classes of persons) (DEEWR) Amendment Specification 2012 (No. 1)
Summary
The Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements – classes of persons) (DEEWR) Amendment Specification 2012 (No. 1) (the Specification), amends the Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements – classes of persons) (DEEWR) Specification 2011 (No. 1) (the Original Specification). The Specification inserts a new class of persons into the Original Specification, for the purposes of subsection 500(2) of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act) who will be subject to participation requirements under the Act, for the purpose of the Supporting Jobless Families measure. The Specification also makes minor amendments to the ‘teenage parent’ class of persons currently in the Original Specification to ensure consistency in drafting.
The purpose of the Supporting Jobless Families measure is to provide new services, opportunities and responsibilities to boost the educational attainment, job readiness, child wellbeing and functioning of jobless families with young children in some of the most disadvantaged locations in the country.
A person will be subject to the Supporting Jobless Families Measure if, on a particular day on or after 1 July 2012, all of the following apply to the person on that day:
- they have a PP child who is aged 5 or under;
- they have not engaged in work or study in the 4 week period immediately prior to the day; they are either:
- aged 22 or under; or
- has been receiving an income support payment for a continuous period of at least two years immediately prior to the day; and
- they reside in a trial location.
These persons will be required to attend appointments with the Department of Human Services (DHS) to discuss their employment and family related goals and identify suitable activities to assist in achieving these goals. When their youngest child turns four and five, they will also be required to develop and sign a Participation Plan (i.e. an Employment Pathway Plan) outlining suitable activities they intend to undertake to help them achieve work and family outcomes.
There is significant flexibility in relation to what terms a plan may contain, and a plan may only contain activities which are suitable for the person having regard to their circumstances.
In accordance with the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011, the Jobless Families Instrument is compatible with Human Rights. A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is included as part of this Explanatory Statement.
Explanation of the provisions
Sections 1 and 2 of the Specification are mechanical provisions that provide for the name of the Specification and its commencement, respectively. The commencement is to be on 1 July 2012.
Section 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Original Specification..
Schedule Item 1 inserts a definition of ‘study’ into section 3 of the Original Specification. ‘Study,’ is defined as participation in: a course of learning at a certain school, training organisation or institution; or participation in one of several Government programs. Specifically, as outlined in the Instrument, study means:
(a) participation in a course specified in Column 1 of a table in Schedules 1 or 2 to the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No. 2) as in force from time to time, that is provided by an educational institution specified for that course in Column 2 of the relevant table.
(b) participation in a course specified in Column 2 of the table in Schedule 3 to the Student Assistance (Education Institutions and Courses) Determination 2009 (No .2) as in force from time to time, that is provided by the educational institution specified for that course in Column 1 of that table.
(a) participation in a Masters course;
(a) participation in a Doctorate of Philosophy;
(b) participation in the Language, Literacy and Numeracy Program;
(c) participation in the Adult Migrant English Program;
(d) participation in Green Corps;
(e) participation in Work for the Dole; or
(f) participation in the Youth Connections Program.
Any level of participation in these courses or programs is sufficient for the purpose of the definition of ‘study’.
Item 2 inserts a definition of ‘work’ into section 3 of the Original Specification. ‘Work’ is defined as income-generating work undertaken either for an employer or as part of carrying on a business.
Specifically, as outlined in the instrument, work means:
(a) work which generates employment income; or
(b) work where the person carries on a business, and where the most recent information reported to the Department of Human Services in relation to the profitability of the business was that the business was generating a profit in the 4 weeks immediately prior to the reporting.
Any amount of work is sufficient for the purpose of this definition. The definition of ‘work’ contains a note which refers to subsection 8(1) of the Act. It serves as a reminder that the term ‘employment income’ in subdefinition (a) of the definition of ‘work’ is defined in subsection 8(1) of the Act.
Item 3 amends the Original Specification by omitting ‘is the parent of a child who has not turned 6’ in paragraph 4(1)(a), and substituting it with ‘has a PP child who is aged 5 or under’. This is to ensure consistency in drafting with the drafting of the class of persons proposed to be inserted by Item 5 of this Specification. Also, in order to qualify for a parenting payment, a person must have at least one ‘PP child’ (s 500(1)(a) of the Act). The definition of ‘PP child’ in s 500D of the Act is not linked to whether the person is a ‘parent’ of a child within the definition of ‘parent’ in s 5(1) of the Act.
Item 4 amends the Original Specification by omitting ‘and’ wherever occurring in paragraphs 4(1)(a), 4(1)(b) and 4(1)(c). This is to ensure consistency in drafting with the drafting of the class of persons proposed to be inserted by Item 5 of this Specification.
Item 5 amends the Original Specification by inserting section 5. Section 5 specifies the class of persons who will be subject to the Supporting Jobless Families Measure. Subsection 5(1) provides that a person will be in such a class if, on a particular day on or after 1 July 2012, the person:
(a) has a PP child who is aged 5 or under;
(b) has not engaged in work or study in the 4 week period immediately prior to the day;
(c) is either:
(i) aged 22 or under; or
(ii) has been receiving an income support payment for a continuous period of at least two years immediately prior to the day; and
(d) resides in a trial location.
Once all the factors in subsection 5(1) apply to a person on a particular day, the person is in a class of persons for the purposes of s 500(2) of the Act. This means that, subject to subsections 5(2) and 5(3), once a person is in the specified class of persons, they will continue to remain in the class from that day onwards.
Section 5 contains a note which refers to section 38B of the Act. Section 38B of the Act deals with the determination of a continuous period of receipt of income support payments. The effect of section 38B of the Act is that, in certain circumstances, a person may be deemed to be in receipt of income support payments for a continuous period even if there has been a break in their receipt of payments during that period. This means that for the purposes of subparagraph 5(1)(c)(ii), even if there has been a break in a person’s income support payments over the two year period immediately prior to the day, section 38B of the Act may deem the person to have been receiving an income support payment for a continuous period of at least two years, despite that break.
Subsection 5(2) provides that despite subsection 5(1), a person will cease to be in the specified class of persons if paragraph 5(1)(a) ceases to apply to them. That is, when the person’s youngest child turns 6. This reflects the intention that a person remains in the trial up until they become subject to work-related participation requirements.
Subsection 5(3) provides that despite subsection 5(1), a person is only in a specified class of persons for the period 1 July 2012 – 30 June 2015, reflecting the intended length of the measure.
Consultation
Consultation regarding this Specification was undertaken with the Department of Human Services and the DEEWR Job Seeker Participation Branch.
Regulatory Impact Analysis
This Specification does not require a Regulatory Impact Statement as it is not likely to have a direct or substantial indirect effect on business and does not restrict competition.