Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY AND VETERANS' ENTITLEMENTS (MAINTENANCE INCOME TEST) AMENDMENT ACT 1988 No. 13, 1988 - SECT 21

21. (1) In this section:

"final pre-amendment period" means the fortnight ending on the day immediately
before the day on which this Act comes into operation;

"income", in relation to a person, has the same meaning as in the Social
Security Act or Part III of the Veterans' Entitlements Act, but does not
include so much of a payment as, under subsection 12A (3) of the Social
Security Act or subsection 49B (3) of the Veterans' Entitlements Act, the
person is taken not to have received;

"maintenance income", in relation to a person, has the same meaning as in the
Social Security Act or Part III of the Veterans' Entitlements Act;

"qualifying pension" means:

   (a)  a pension, allowance or benefit under the Social Security Act; or

   (b)  a pension or allowance under Part III of the
        Veterans' Entitlements Act;

"Social Security Act" means the Social Security Act 1947;

"total income", in relation to a person, means the aggregate of:

   (a)  the person's income and maintenance income; and

   (b)  any qualifying pension received by the person;

"Veterans' Entitlements Act" means the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), this section applies in relation to a person
who, in the final pre-amendment period:

   (a)  was receiving a qualifying pension; and

   (b)  had maintenance income; and applies in relation to such a person
        until:

   (c)  the person ceases to be eligible to receive a qualifying pension
        (whether or not of the same kind); or

   (d)  subsection (4) does not apply in relation to the person in relation to
        a fortnight after the commencement of this Act; whichever happens
        first.

(3) This section does not apply in relation to a person who:

   (a)  was required by or under the Social Security Act or the Veterans'
        Entitlements Act to notify the Department of the maintenance income
        that the person had in the final pre-amendment period; and

   (b)  failed to notify the Department of the maintenance income as required
        by or under the Social Security Act or the Veterans' Entitlements Act.

(4) If, in a fortnight after the commencement of this Act, the total income of
a person would, but for this section, be less than it was in the final
pre-amendment period, the amount of any qualifying pension that the person is
eligible to receive in that fortnight shall, in spite of anything in the
Social Security Act or the Veterans' Entitlements Act but subject to
subsection (5), be an amount such that the person's total income for the
fortnight is equal to the person's total income for the final pre-amendment
period.

(5) The amount of the qualifying pension shall not exceed the amount of the
qualifying pension (whether or not of the same kind) received in the final
pre-amendment period.

(6) If the amount of:

   (a)  a benefit or allowance received by a person under the Social Security
        Act in the final pre-amendment period; or

   (b)  a pension received by a person under Part III of the Veterans'
        Entitlements Act in that period; is less than the amount of the
        person's fortnightly rate of the benefit, allowance or pension, the
        amount of the benefit, allowance or pension received by the person in
        that period shall, for the purpose of this section, be taken to be the
        amount of the person's fortnightly rate of the benefit, allowance or
        pension.