2004-2005 The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Presented and read a first time Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 (Family and Community Services) A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to family and community services, and for related purposes [Page Break] 1 Short title ...........................................................................................1 2 Commencement.................................................................................1 3 Schedule(s) ........................................................................................2 Schedule 1--Amendments relating to threshold for receiving child care benefit 3 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 3 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 3 Schedule 2--Amendments relating to work/training/study test 6 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 6 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 9 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 ii [Page Break] 2 family and community services, and for related 3 purposes 4 The Parliament of Australia enacts: 5 1 Short title 6 This Act may be cited as the Family and Community Services 7 Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Act 2005. 8 2 Commencement 9 This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal 10 Assent. Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 1 [Page Break] 2 Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or 3 repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule 4 concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect 5 according to its terms. 2 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 [Page Break] 1 2 Schedule 1--Amendments relating to 3 threshold for receiving child care 4 benefit 5 6 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 7 1 Paragraph 53(1)(a) 8 Omit "20", substitute "24". 9 2 Paragraph 53(2)(a) 10 Omit "20", substitute "24". 11 3 Subsection 53(3) 12 Omit "20", substitute "24". 13 Note: The heading to subsection 53(3) is altered by omitting "20" and substituting "24". 14 4 Subsection 54(8) 15 Omit "20", substitute "24". 16 5 Paragraph 54(9)(b) 17 Omit "20", substitute "24". 18 6 Subsection 54(10) 19 Omit "20", substitute "24". 20 7 Paragraph 54(12)(b) 21 Omit "20", substitute "24". 22 8 Paragraph 57A(1)(a) 23 Omit "20", substitute "24". 24 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 25 1999 26 9 Paragraph 50H(3)(b) 27 Omit "20", substitute "24". Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 3 [Page Break] 1 10 Subsection 54C(1) 2 Omit "20", substitute "24". 3 11 Paragraph 56C(3)(b) 4 Omit "20", substitute "24". 5 12 Paragraph 56D(1)(c) 6 Omit "20", substitute "24". 7 13 Subsection 59F(1) 8 Omit "20", substitute "24". 9 14 Subsection 64D(2) 10 Omit "20", substitute "24". 11 Note 1: The heading to section 64D is altered by omitting "20" and substituting "24". 12 Note 2: The heading to subsection 64D(2) is altered by omitting "20" and substituting "24". 13 15 Paragraph 219B(3)(a) 14 Omit "20", substitute "24". 15 16 Transitional provision--claimants for whom there is an 16 existing 20-hour determination 17 (1) If: 18 (a) immediately before the start of the first week commencing 19 after 1 July 2006: 20 (i) a determination under subsection 50H(1) of the Family 21 Assistance Administration Act is in force; or 22 (ii) a determination of a weekly limit of hours is taken to 23 have been made under section 54C of that Act; and 24 (b) the determination is a determination that the weekly limit of 25 hours applicable to the claimant and the child referred to in 26 that subsection or section (as the case may be) is 20 hours; 27 on and from the start of the first week commencing after 1 July 2006, 28 the determination is taken to be a determination under that subsection or 29 section (as the case may be) that the weekly limit of hours applicable to 30 the claimant and the child is 24 hours. 4 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 [Page Break] 1 (2) If subitem (1) applies to a determination under subsection 50H(1) that is 2 in force, the Secretary must give notice to: 3 (a) the claimant; and 4 (b) the approved child care service (within the meaning of the 5 Family Assistance Administration Act), or approved child 6 care services, that are, or will be, providing care to the child. 7 (3) The notice must state that on and from the start of the first week 8 commencing after 1 July 2006, the weekly limit of hours applicable to 9 the claimant and the child is 24 hours. 10 (4) A failure to comply with subitem (2) or (3), or both, does not affect the 11 validity of a determination to which subitem (1) applies. 12 (5) Section 219A of the Family Assistance Administration Act applies in 13 relation to a notice under subitem (2) as if it were a notice of a kind 14 referred to in column 1 of table item 6 of the table in subsection 15 219A(2) of that Act. 16 17 Application 17 The amendments made by this Schedule apply to sessions of care 18 provided: 19 (a) during the first week commencing after 1 July 2006; and 20 (b) during subsequent weeks. Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 5 [Page Break] 1 2 Schedule 2--Amendments relating to 3 work/training/study test 4 5 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 6 1 Subsection 3(1) (definition of paid work) 7 After "(other than in paragraph 15(1)(a)", insert "or section 17A". 8 2 Subsection 3B(1) 9 After "(other than in paragraph 15(1)(a)", insert "or section 17A". 10 3 Subsection 3B(1) (at the end of the note) 11 Add "and section 17A". 12 4 After subsection 14(1) 13 Insert: 14 (1A) However, for the purposes of section 54, the individual satisfies the 15 work/training/study test only if: 16 (a) the individual meets the activity requirements under 17 section 17A for the week; or 18 (b) the individual is not included in a class of individuals 19 specified in a determination under subsection (1C) and: 20 (i) paragraph 15(1)(b), 15(1)(c), 17(1)(a), 17(1)(b), 21 17(1)(c) or 17(1)(d) applies to the person; or 22 (ii) the individual is an individual in a class of individuals 23 specified in a determination under subsection 15(2); or 24 (iii) the individual is covered by a determination under 25 subsection (1B) or (2). 26 (1B) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine 27 circumstances in which individuals are not required to meet the 28 activity requirements under section 17A. 29 (1C) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine that one or 30 more of the classes of individuals specified in a determination 31 under subsection 15(2) are classes of individuals who must meet 32 the activity requirements under section 17A. 6 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 [Page Break] 1 5 Section 16 2 Before "An individual", insert "(1)". 3 6 At the end of section 16 4 Add: 5 (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), if an individual is undertaking a 6 training course then the individual is taken to be doing so even if 7 the individual is not required to participate in any activity for the 8 course (for example, because of a vacation break in the course). 9 7 Section 17 10 Before "An individual", insert "(1)". 11 8 At the end of section 17 12 Add: 13 (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), if an individual is undertaking 14 an education course then the individual is taken to be doing so even 15 if the individual is not required to participate in any activity for the 16 course (for example, because of a vacation break in the course). 17 9 After section 17 18 Insert: 19 17A Activity requirements for claims for child care benefit for care 20 provided by approved child care service 21 (1) An individual who has claimed child care benefit for care provided 22 by an approved child care service during a week meets the activity 23 requirements for a week if: 24 (a) during the week, the individual has engaged in one or more 25 of the following activities: 26 (i) paid work (whether or not the individual performs the 27 work as an employee); 28 (ii) a training course undertaken for the purpose of 29 improving his or her work skills and/or employment 30 prospects; Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 7 [Page Break] 1 (iii) a course of education undertaken for the purpose of 2 improving his or her work skills and/or employment 3 prospects; 4 (iv) any other activity that the Minister determines under 5 subsection (2); and 6 (b) the sum of the number of hours that the individual spends 7 during the week doing those activities: 8 (i) is at least 15; or 9 (ii) if subparagraph (i) does not apply--is, when added to 10 the sum of the number of hours that the individual 11 spends during the immediately preceding week doing 12 those activities, at least 30; or 13 (iii) if neither subparagraph (i) nor (ii) applies--is, when 14 added to the sum of the number of hours that the 15 individual spends during the immediately following 16 week doing those activities, at least 30. 17 (2) The Minister may, by legislative instrument, determine activities 18 that count towards meeting the activity requirements under this 19 section. 20 (3) A determination under subsection (2) may determine that specified 21 kinds of leave are activities that count towards meeting the activity 22 requirements under this section. 23 (4) If, in determining whether an individual has met the activity 24 requirements for a week, hours that the individual spends during 25 another week doing the activities mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) are 26 counted, then no hours spent during that other week are to be 27 counted in determining whether the individual has met the activity 28 requirements for a third week. 29 (5) If: 30 (a) an individual is in paid work; and 31 (b) the individual is taking leave of a kind specified in a 32 determination under subsection (2); 33 then, the individual is taken to have engaged in paid work for the 34 number of hours that the individual would have spent doing the 35 paid work if the individual did not take the leave. 36 10 Paragraph 52(4)(a) 8 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 [Page Break] 1 Before "section 59F", insert "subsection 59(2) or". 2 11 Subsection 54(2) 3 Omit "work/training/study test at some time in the week.", substitute: 4 work/training/study test: 5 (a) if subsection 14(1A) requires the claimant to meet the 6 activity requirements under section 17A--for the week; or 7 (b) in any other case--at some time in the week. 8 12 At the end of subsection 54(2) 9 Add: 10 Note: Subsection 14(1A) specifies extra requirements for satisfying the 11 work/training/study test for the purposes of this section. 12 13 Paragraph 54(3)(b) 13 Repeal the paragraph, substitute: 14 (b) the individual, and the individual's partner (if any), satisfy 15 the work/training/study test: 16 (i) if subsection 14(1A) requires the claimant to meet the 17 activity requirements under section 17A--for the week; 18 or 19 (ii) in any other case--at some time in the week. 20 14 At the end of subsection 54(3) 21 Add: 22 Note: Subsection 14(1A) specifies extra requirements for satisfying the 23 work/training/study test for the purposes of this section. 24 A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 25 1999 26 15 Section 57F 27 Before "If a determination of conditional eligibility", insert "(1)". 28 16 At the end of section 57F 29 Add: 30 (2) To avoid doubt, the Secretary may, before the start of the first 31 week commencing after 1 July 2006, give a notice under Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 9 [Page Break] 1 subsection (1) requiring the claimant to give the Secretary 2 information about whether or not the claimant will satisfy the 3 work/training/study test on or after the start of the first week 4 commencing after 1 July 2006. 5 Note: The Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare 6 to Work) Act 2005 amends the work/training/study test and applies 7 from the start of the first week commencing after 1 July 2006. 8 17 Section 59 9 Before "If:", insert "(1)". 10 18 At the end of section 59 11 Add: 12 (2) Without limiting subsection (1), if: 13 (a) determinations of conditional eligibility under section 50F 14 and of a weekly limit of hours under section 50H are in force 15 in respect of a claimant who is an individual; and 16 (b) the Secretary makes a request under section 57F in respect of 17 a data verification form referred to in that section; and 18 (c) the request is a request for information of the kind described 19 in subsection 57F(2); and 20 (d) the form is not returned in the time specified in the request; 21 the Secretary may vary the determination of a weekly limit of 22 hours with the effect that, on and from the start of the first week 23 commencing after 1 July 2006, the limit is 24 hours. 24 Consequence of Secretary later becoming aware of the information 25 (3) If: 26 (a) under subsection (2), the Secretary varies the determination; 27 and 28 (b) before the end of the income year following the one in which 29 the variation took effect: 30 (i) the claimant returns the data verification form specified 31 in the request under section 57F and provides the 32 information mentioned in paragraph (2)(c); or 33 (ii) the Secretary finds out the information (whether from 34 the claimant or someone else); 35 the Secretary must vary the determination to undo the effect 36 mentioned in subsection (2). 10 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 [Page Break] 1 19 Paragraph 62D(a) 2 After "62CA", insert "or under subsection 59(2)". 3 20 Paragraph 64A(5)(a) 4 After "in force", insert "under subsection 59(2) or". 5 Note: The heading to subsection 64A(5) is altered by omitting "Section 59F and 62C 6 variations" and substituting "Variations under subsection 59(2), section 59F and 7 section 62C". 8 21 Paragraph 64A(5)(b) 9 After "the variation" (first occurring), insert "under subsection 59(2) 10 or". 11 22 Subsection 64A(5) 12 After "the variation" (third last occurring), insert "under subsection 13 59(2) or". 14 23 Paragraph 64B(6)(a) 15 After "in force", insert "under subsection 59(2) or". 16 Note: The heading to subsection 64B(6) is altered by omitting "Section 59F and 62C 17 variations" and substituting "Variations under subsection 59(2), section 59F and 18 section 62C". 19 24 Paragraph 64B(6)(b) 20 After "the variation" (first occurring), insert "under subsection 59(2) 21 or". 22 25 Subsection 64B(6) 23 After "the variation" (third last occurring), insert "under subsection 24 59(2) or". 25 26 Paragraph 64C(5)(a) 26 After "in force", insert "under subsection 59(2) or". 27 Note: The heading to subsection 64C(5) is altered by omitting "Section 59F and 62C 28 variations" and substituting "Variations under subsection 59(2), section 59F and 29 section 62C". 30 27 Paragraph 64C(5)(b) 31 After "the variation" (first occurring), insert "under subsection 59(2) 32 or". Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 11 [Page Break] 1 28 Subsection 64C(5) 2 After "the variation" (second last occurring), insert "under subsection 3 59(2) or". 4 29 Paragraph 65D(4)(a) 5 After "in force", insert "under subsection 59(2) or". 6 Note: The heading to subsection 65D(4) is altered by omitting "Section 59F and 62C 7 variations" and substituting "Variations under subsection 59(2), section 59F and 8 section 62C". 9 30 Paragraph 65D(4)(b) 10 After "the variation" (first occurring), insert "under subsection 59(2) 11 or". 12 31 Subsection 65D(4) 13 After "the variation" (second last occurring), insert "under subsection 14 59(2) or". 15 32 At the end of paragraph 157(2)(j) 16 Add: 17 ; and (iii) the number of hours each week for which the person is 18 employed; 19 33 At the end of subsection 157(2) 20 Add: 21 (k) in relation to any other work (other than as an employee) that 22 the person does for the person given the notice and that is a 23 recognised work or work related commitment for the 24 purposes of the work/training/study test: 25 (i) the date on which the person's work started; 26 (ii) the date on which the person's work ended; 27 (iii) the number of hours each week for which the person 28 does the work; 29 (l) in relation to any training of the person by the person given 30 the notice: 31 (i) the name of the entity providing the training; 32 (ii) if the person is undertaking a training course--the name 33 of the training course; 34 (iii) the period required to complete the training; 12 Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 [Page Break] 1 (iv) the date on which the person's training started; 2 (v) the date on which the person's training ended; 3 (vi) the number of hours each week for which the person 4 engages in the training. 5 34 Subsection 219A(2) (table item 6, column 1) 6 After "made under section", insert "59,". 7 35 Application 8 The amendments made by this Schedule apply to sessions of care 9 provided: 10 (a) during the first week commencing after 1 July 2006; and 11 (b) during subsequent weeks. Family and Community Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare to Work) Bill 2005 No. , 2005 13