Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 1991 - SECT 551

General

             (1)  A youth allowance is not payable to a person, for the period of 8 weeks starting in accordance with section 551A, if the person:

                     (a)  commits a youth allowance participation failure (the repeated failure ), having committed youth allowance participation failures (the earlier failures ) on 2 or more other occasions during the period of 12 months preceding that failure; or

                     (b)  is unemployed due, either directly or indirectly, to a voluntary act of the person; or

                     (c)  is unemployed due to the person's misconduct as a worker; or

                     (d)  has refused or failed, without reasonable excuse, to accept a suitable offer of employment; or

                     (e)  fails, without reasonable excuse:

                              (i)  to commence, complete or participate in an approved program of work for income support payment that the person is required to undertake; or

                             (ii)  to comply with the conditions of such a program.

          (1A)  The Secretary must, by legislative instrument, determine matters that the Secretary must take into account in deciding whether, for the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), a person had a reasonable excuse for refusing or failing to accept a suitable offer of employment.

          (1B)  To avoid doubt, a determination under subsection (1A) does not limit the matters that the Secretary may take into account in deciding whether, for the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), a person had a reasonable excuse for refusing or failing to accept a suitable offer of employment referred to in that paragraph.

Reasonable excuse etc.

             (2)  For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), disregard any earlier failure that is a failure to which subsection 550B(1) does not apply because of subsection 550B(2).

             (3)  Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to the repeated failure if the Secretary is for any other reason satisfied that subsection (1) should not apply to the failure.

Full‑time study and new apprentices

             (4)  Paragraphs (1)(b) to (e) do not apply to a failure if the person:

                     (a)  is undertaking full‑time study; or

                     (b)  is a new apprentice.

Note 1:       For undertaking full‑time study see section 541B.

Note 2:       For new apprentice see subsection 23(1).

Unemployment due to voluntary act

             (5)  Paragraph (1)(b) does not apply if the Secretary is satisfied that the person's voluntary act was reasonable.

Failures relating to participation in approved programs of work

             (6)  Paragraph (1)(e) applies only if:

                     (a)  the person is under 60; and

                     (b)  a determination under paragraph 28(4)(b) is in force in relation to the person.