Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SERVICES AMENDMENT ACT 1979 No. 121, 1979 - SECT 35

35. Section 107 of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section
substituted: Unemployment benefits
''107. (1) Subject to this Part, a person (not being a person in receipt of a
pension under Part III or IV or a service pension under the Repatriation Act
1920) is qualified to receive an unemployment benefit in respect of a period
(in this section referred to as the 'relevant period') if, and only if-

   (a)  the person had attained the age of 16 years before the commencement of
        the relevant period and, being a man, had not attained the age of 65
        years, or, being a woman, had not attained the age of 60 years, before
        the end of the relevant period;

   (b)  the person resided in Australia throughout the relevant period and on
        the date on which he lodged his claim for the benefit and-

        (i)    had resided in Australia for a period of not less than 12
               months immediately preceding that date; or

        (ii)   satisfies the Director-General that he is likely to remain
               permanently in Australia; and

   (c)  the person satisfies the Director-General that-

        (i)    throughout the relevant period he was unemployed and was
               capable of undertaking, and was willing to undertake, paid work
               that, in the opinion of the Director-General, was suitable to
               be undertaken by the person; and

        (ii)   he had taken, during the relevant period, reasonable steps to
               obtain such work.

''(2) Where, by reason of section 119, an unemployment benefit is payable only
after the expiration of a particular period (in this sub-section referred to
as the 'waiting period'), then, for the purposes of the application of
sub-section (1) of this section in relation to a relevant period that
immediately followed the waiting period, that sub-section has effect as if-

   (a)  the reference to the commencement of the relevant period in paragraph
        (a) of that sub-section were a reference to the commencement of the
        waiting period; and

   (b)  the references to the relevant period in paragraphs (b) and (c) of
        that sub-section were references to the period constituted by the
        aggregate of the waiting period and the relevant period.

''(3) The Director-General may, in his discretion, treat a person as having
been unemployed throughout a particular period for the purposes of
sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (c) of sub-section (1) notwithstanding that the
person undertook paid work during the whole or a part of that period if the
Director-General is of the opinion that, taking into account the nature and
duration of the work and any other matters relating to the work that he
considers relevant, the work should be disregarded.

''(4) A person is not qualified to receive an unemployment benefit in respect
of a period unless-

   (a)  the person satisfies the Director-General that the person's
        unemployment during that period was not due to the person being, or
        having been, engaged in industrial action; and

   (b)  the Director-General is satisfied-

        (i)    that the person's unemployment during that period was not due
               to another person or other persons being, or having been,
               engaged in industrial action; or

        (ii)   if the Director-General is satisfied that the person's
               unemployment during that period was due to another person or
               other persons being, or having been, engaged in industrial
               action-that the first-mentioned person was not, during that
               period, a member of a trade union of which the other person was
               a member, or of which any one or more of the other persons was
               or were a member or members, during that period.

''(5) Sub-section (4) does not disqualify a person from receiving unemployment
benefit in respect of a period occurring after the cessation of the relevant
industrial action.

''(6) If the Director-General has determined in pursuance of section 132 that
an instalment of an unemployment benefit in respect of a period is to be paid
to a person before the expiration of that period, the person is qualified to
receive that benefit in respect of that period if the person satisfies the
Director-General that the person may reasonably be expected to fulfil the
requirements of the proceeding provisions of this section in respect of that
period.

''(7) In this section-

'industrial action' means-

   (a)  the performance of work in a manner different from that in which it is
        customarily performed, or the adoption of a practice in relation to
        work, a result of which is a restriction or limitation on, or a delay
        in, the performance of the work;

   (b)  a ban, limitation or restriction on the performance of work or on
        acceptance of, or offering for, work; or

   (c)  a failure or refusal by a person to attend for work or a failure or
        refusal to perform any work at all by a person who attends for work,

but does not include the performance of work in a manner, the adoption of a
practice, a ban, limitation or restriction, or a failure or refusal, that is
authorized by the employer of the person concerned;

'trade union' includes any organization or association of employees (whether
corporate or unincorporate) that exists or is carried on for the purpose, or
for purposes that include the purpose, of furthering the interests of its
members in relation to their employment;

'unemployment', in relation to a person, includes-

   (a)  unemployment of the person arising by reason of a person or persons
        being, or having been, engaged in industrial action;

   (b)  unemployment of the person resulting from the termination of his
        employment; and

   (c)  the person being, or having been, stood down or suspended from his
        employment or work.

''(8) For the purposes of this section-

   (a)  conduct is capable of constituting industrial action notwithstanding
        that the conduct relates to part only of the duties that persons are
        required to perform in the course of their employment;

   (b)  a reference to industrial action shall be read as including a
        reference to a course of conduct consisting of a series of industrial
        actions; and

   (c)  if a trade union is divided into branches (whether or not the branches
        are themselves trade unions), the persons who are members of the
        respective branches shall all be deemed to be members of the
        first-mentioned trade union.''.