Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT ACT 1988 No. 135, 1988 - SECT 19

19. (1) Where, immediately before 3 November 1988, a person was in receipt of
rent assistance under or because of the Social Security Act 1947 in respect of
payments for services provided in a retirement village, then, subject to this
section, from 12 June 1989 the person shall be taken to be entitled to receive
amounts by way of rent assistance under that Act that are not less than the
amounts that the person would have received by way of rent assistance if none
of the prescribed amendments had been made.

(2) Where:

   (a)  immediately after 12 June 1989 a person was in receipt of rent
        assistance because of the operation of subsection 31 (1);

   (b)  after 12 June 1989 the person became entitled to be paid a relevant
        pension, benefit or allowance under the Social Security Act 1947; and

   (c)  subsection 31 (1) had not ceased to apply to that person until the
        person became entitled as mentioned in paragraph (b); then, subject to
        this section, from the day when the person became entitled as
        mentioned in paragraph (b), the person shall be taken to be entitled
        to receive amounts by way of rent assistance under the Social Security
        Act 1947 that are not less than the amounts (if any) that the person
        would have received by way of rent assistance if none of the
        prescribed amendments had been made.

(3) Subsection (1) or (2) ceases to apply to a person whose principal home was
in a retirement village immediately before 3 November 1988:

   (a)  when the person ceases to be entitled to any relevant pension, benefit
        or allowance under the Social Security Act 1947; or

   (b)  when the person's principal home ceases to be in that retirement
        village; and neither subsection (1) nor subsection (2) again applies
        to a person after it has ceased to apply to the person because of this
        subsection.

(4) In this section:

"prescribed amendments" means the amendments of the Social Security Act 1947
made by paragraphs 9 (b) (to the extent that it inserts a definition of

"ineligible property owner" in subsection 3 (1) of that Act), 13 (1) (a), 14
(1) (a), 15 (1) (a) and 16 (1) (f) of this Act;

"relevant pension, benefit or allowance" means a pension, benefit or allowance
under the Social Security Act 1947 that may include, or be increased by, an
amount by way of rent assistance;

"rent assistance" means an increase in the amount, maximum amount or rate of a
pension, benefit or allowance under the Social Security Act 1947, being an
increase under or because of any of the following provisions of that Act:

   (a)  section 36;

   (b)  section 50;

   (c)  subsection 74 (2);

   (d)  subsections 120 (5) and (7). Commencement: 12 June 1989