Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013

Administered by Department of Social Services

Legislation au F2013L01111 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013

This Determination provides that the Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot Scheme is an ‘approved scheme’ under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act).

Background

Under the social security law, income includes any income amount earned, derived or received for a person’s own use or benefit. However, the social security law specifically excludes some amounts from being income. 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 the Self Directed Funding Pilot has been established by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services to allow for direct payments to a person with a disability, or a person nominated by the person with disability, to enable the provision of specialist disability services or other support goods and services. Payments are not intended as income, or to be used as an income source for the person. The program will be introduced as a pilot from July 2013.

Purpose

The purpose of the Determination is to determine that the Tasmanian Government’s Self Directed Funding Pilot Scheme is an approved personal care support scheme for the purposes of the Act.

A person for whom a payment is made under the Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot Scheme may also receive a social security payment. The effect of this Determination is that the person will not have the payment that was received under the Self Directed Funding Pilot Scheme 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 under the scheme would not have the unintended effect of reducing a person’s entitlement to any social security payment.

This Determination has effect in relation to social security payments coming within the portfolio responsibility of the Minister for Higher Education and Skills. A similar instrument is being considered by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations and the Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and Minister for Disability Reform 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 Self Directed Funding Pilot, being a scheme of that name established by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services, is an approved scheme for the purposes of the Act.

 

Consultation

 

This Determination was made in response to a request from the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services.

Consultation on the Determination was undertaken with the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, and Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

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

This Legislative Instrument is the Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013

The Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013 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 - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013 (the Determination) is made under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act) and determines that the Government of Tasmania’s Self Directed Funding Pilot program is an approved personal care support scheme for the purposes of the Act, thereby exempting Self-Directed Funding from the social security income test.

The Self Directed Funding Pilot has been established by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services to enable people with disability to have control and choice about the individual funding they receive from the Tasmanian Government.  The program will be available to people with disability from July 2013.

The Determination ensures that people receiving Self Directed Funding from the Government of Tasmania will not have this funding assessed as income for social security purposes thereby ensuring that recipients retain their full entitlement to any social security payments.

 

Human rights implications

The Determination engages the human right: Right to social security.

 

The right to social security

 

Section 35A of the Act allows the Minister Higher Education and Skills to determine that when a person receives funding provided by a personal care support scheme this funding is exempt from the social security income test in relation to social security payments for which the Minister for Higher Education and Skills 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 a personal care support scheme do not have this funding assessed for income test purposes. The Determination supports their human right to social security.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hon SHARON BIRD MP, Minister for Higher Education and Skills

 

Overview

The Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013 was enacted to address a specific gap in the Social Security Act 1991, concerning the treatment of personal care support payments under the income test for social security. This Determination was made by the Commonwealth of Australia, under the authority vested in the Minister for Higher Education and Skills, to ensure that payments made under the Tasmanian Government’s Self Directed Funding Pilot scheme are not considered income for the purposes of social security eligibility and assessments. The policy objective is to provide clarity and certainty to individuals receiving support through the pilot scheme, ensuring that these payments do not inadvertently reduce their entitlement to social security benefits. This determination thereby protects the recipients' right to social security, enabling them to retain their full social security payments without the risk of their personal care support payments being misconstrued as income.

Scope and Application

The Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013 applies to the Self Directed Funding Pilot, a scheme established by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services to facilitate direct payments to individuals with disabilities or their nominees, enabling the procurement of specialist disability services and other support goods and services. This Determination operates under the Social Security Act 1991, specifically section 35A, which authorises the Minister for Higher Education and Skills to recognise schemes that provide personal care support as approved schemes. The Determination exempts payments made under the approved Self Directed Funding Pilot from being considered income for social security purposes, ensuring that recipients of these payments retain their full entitlement to other social security payments. The Determination has effect in relation to social security payments within the portfolio responsibility of the Minister for Higher Education and Skills. Notably, the Determination does not impose any regulatory impact, compliance costs, or competition effects, and it is not considered necessary to undertake public consultation due to its purely beneficial nature. This ensures that the scheme aligns with the human right to social security as recognised in international human rights instruments.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Social Security (Personal Care Support - Tasmanian Self Directed Funding Pilot) (DIICCSRTE) Determination 2013 (the Determination) are sections 1, 2, and 3. Section 1 provides the name of the Determination, section 2 states that the Determination commences on the day after it is registered, and section 3 declares the Self Directed Funding Pilot, a scheme established by the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services, to be an approved scheme under section 35A of the Social Security Act 1991 (the Act). This means that payments made under the scheme are not considered income for the purposes of the Act. The Determination imposes specific obligations on the Tasmanian Government and the Department of Health and Human Services. It requires them to establish and administer the Self Directed Funding Pilot in a way that ensures payments made under the scheme are not treated as income for social security purposes. This includes ensuring that the scheme operates in accordance with the provisions of the Act and that payments are used solely for the provision of personal care support services. There are no direct offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined in the Determination itself. However, if the Self Directed Funding Pilot is not administered in accordance with the Act, there could be implications for the recipients' eligibility for social security payments. The Determination is designed to ensure that these payments are not reduced or affected by the funding received under the scheme. Failure to comply with the Act could potentially lead to administrative or legal consequences for the Department of Health and Human Services and the Tasmanian Government.

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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.