Social Security (Personal Care Support - Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1)

Administered by Department of Social Services

Legislation au F2013L00933 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Social Security (Personal Care Support - Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1)

This Determination provides that the Queensland Government’s Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment is an ‘approved scheme’ under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act).

Background

Under the social security law, income includes any amount earned, derived or received for a person’s own use or benefit. However, the social security law specifically excludes some amounts from being recognised as income for the purposes of the income test. Paragraph 8(8)(zi) of the Act provides that a payment towards the cost of personal care support services for the person, being a payment made under a scheme approved under section 35A, is not income for the purposes of the Act.

Section 35A of the Act allows the relevant Minister to determine that a scheme for the provision of personal care support is an ‘approved scheme’ for the purposes of the Act.

The scheme known as Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment has been established under the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support Framework by the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to allow a person with a disability to purchase disability services and supports with their disability funding under the direct payment model or the host provider model. Under the direct payment model, a person with a disability would receive direct payments from the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to spend on disability services and supports. Under the host provider model, it is possible for the person with a disability to receive payments from the host provider to spend on disability services and supports. These payments are not intended as income, or to be used as an income source for the person. It is expected that payments to individuals under the direct payment model may commence from 1 July 2013.

Purpose

The purpose of the Determination is to determine that the Queensland Government’s Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment is an approved personal care support scheme for the purposes of the Act.

A person for whom a payment is made under the scheme may also receive a social security payment. The effect of this Determination is that the person will not have the payment received taken into account for the purposes of the income test under the social security law to the extent that the payment is for the cost of personal care support services for the person. This would ensure that the receipt of payments for personal care support services under the scheme would not have the unintended effect of reducing a person’s entitlement to any social security payment because of the operation of the income test.

This Determination has effect in relation to social security payments within the portfolio responsibility of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. A similar instrument is being considered by the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform and the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research in relation to social security payments for which those Ministers are responsible.

Explanation of the Provisions

Section 1 states the name of the Determination.

 

Section 2 provides that the Determination commences on the day after it is registered.

 

Section 3 provides that the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment, being a scheme of that name established by the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, is an approved scheme for the purposes of the Act.

Consultation

This Determination was made in response to a request from the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services.

Consultation on the Determination was undertaken with the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education.

Public consultation was considered to be unnecessary as this determination is purely beneficial in character.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

The Determination is not regulatory in nature, will not impact on business activity and will have no, or minimal, compliance costs or competition impact.

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

 

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

 

 

Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1)

 

 

The Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1) is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

 

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1) (the Determination) is made under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act) and determines that the Queensland Government’s Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment is an approved personal care support scheme for the purposes of the Act, thereby exempting payments received by a person under the scheme from the social security income test.

Section 35A of the Act allows the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations to approve a personal care support scheme for the purposes of the Act.  The effect of this is that funding received by a person under such a scheme is exempt from the social security income test (under paragraph 8(8)(zi) of the Act) in relation to social security payments for which the Minister is responsible.

The Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment has been established under the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support Framework by the Queensland Government Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services to allow a person with a disability to purchase disability services and supports with their disability funding under the direct payment model or the host provider model. Payments to individuals under the direct payment model are expected to commence from 1 July 2013.

The Determination ensures that the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment is an approved personal care support scheme under the Act, so that people receiving funding under the direct payment model or the host provider model will not have this funding assessed as income for social security purposes. This ensures that recipients retain the full value of the funding, and their entitlement to social security payments is not affected by receiving this funding.

 

Human rights implications

The Determination engages the human right to social security as recognised in Article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

 

The effect of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations approving the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment as an approved personal care support scheme under section 35A of the Act, is that when a person receives funding under this scheme, this funding is exempt from the social security income test in relation to social security payments for which the Minister is responsible. The determination is therefore beneficial to persons who receive such a social security payment.

 

Conclusion

 

The Determination under section 35A of the Act ensures that individuals receiving funding from an approved personal care support scheme do not have this funding assessed for income test purposes. The Determination supports their human right to social security and is compatible with the applicable rights and freedoms.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hon Bill Shorten MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations

Overview

The Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1) was enacted in 2013 to address the issue of payments made under the Queensland Government's Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support scheme being considered as income for the purposes of social security income tests, potentially reducing recipients' entitlement to social security payments. The determination was made under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and is designed to ensure that payments received by individuals under this scheme are not treated as income for social security purposes, thereby maintaining their eligibility for social security benefits. The Determination engages the human right to social security as recognised in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1) was enacted to ensure that individuals receiving funding from the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support scheme would not have this funding assessed as income for social security purposes. This was achieved by determining the scheme as an approved personal care support scheme under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991. This approach safeguards the recipients' entitlement to social security payments, ensuring that the funding they receive does not inadvertently reduce their social security benefits due to the income test. The Determination was made in response to a request from the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services and is compatible with the applicable human rights and freedoms.

Scope and Application

The Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1) applies to the Queensland Government’s Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment scheme, which enables individuals with disabilities to purchase disability services and supports under either the direct payment model or the host provider model using their disability funding. This Determination, made under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991, designates the scheme as an approved personal care support scheme. Consequently, payments received under this scheme are exempt from the social security income test, ensuring that these payments do not reduce recipients' eligibility for social security benefits. This applies specifically to social security payments within the portfolio responsibility of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations. The Determination does not impose any regulatory burdens, compliance costs, or competition impacts, and it does not extend beyond its jurisdictional scope within the Commonwealth.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Social Security (Personal Care Support – Queensland Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment) (DEEWR) Determination 2013 (No. 1) include Section 1, which names the Determination, and Section 3, which designates the Queensland Government’s Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment as an approved scheme under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act). Section 2 stipulates that the Determination comes into effect the day after its registration. These provisions collectively establish the framework under which the approved scheme operates and ensures its immediate applicability upon registration. The obligations and requirements imposed by the Act on the parties or entities it governs, particularly the Queensland Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, include the establishment of the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment scheme. This scheme must adhere to the direct payment model or the host provider model for the provision of disability services and supports, ensuring that the payments made under this scheme are not treated as income for social security purposes. The scheme's operation must be consistent with the provisions of the Act, ensuring that recipients of the payments maintain their eligibility for social security benefits without their disability funding being assessed as income. The Act includes provisions for offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach, although specific maximum penalties are not mentioned in the explanatory statement. Breaches of the scheme's requirements or non-compliance with the Act could potentially lead to administrative or legal actions, including the withholding of social security payments or other penalties as prescribed by the relevant laws. The primary focus of the Determination is on ensuring that the scheme operates as intended without penalising participants for non-compliance with the Act's provisions. Overall, the Determination ensures that the Your Life Your Choice Self-Directed Support: Host Providers and Direct Payment scheme is recognised as an approved personal care support scheme under the Act, thereby exempting payments made under this scheme from the social security income test. This protects the recipients' eligibility for social security payments and ensures that their disability funding is not inadvertently assessed as income, thereby preserving their social security benefits.

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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.