Regulatory Reform Omnibus Act 2025 (73 of 2025)

Schedule 1   Amendments to support a 'tell us once' approach to government service delivery

Part 4   Improving arrangements for transferring customers between payment types

Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

106   At the end of section 12

Add:

Some eligibility requirements taken to be satisfied etc.

(3) If the new payment and the other payment are social security payments, then subsections (4) and (5) apply in relation to the Secretary considering, for the purposes of deciding whether to make the determination, whether the person became qualified for the new payment.

(4) The Secretary may treat the person as having satisfied an eligibility requirement (the new requirement ) for the new payment if:

(a) the new requirement is the same as an eligibility requirement (the current requirement ) for the other payment; and

(b) at a particular time, the Secretary was satisfied that the person satisfied the current requirement; and

(c) since that time, no information or statement has been given to the Department about an event, a change of circumstances or a matter that might affect whether the person satisfies the current requirement.

(5) If an eligibility factor (the new factor ) for the new payment is the same as an eligibility factor (the current factor ) for the other payment, the Secretary may:

(a) treat the new factor as existing in relation to the person, if:

(i) at a particular time, the Secretary was satisfied that the current factor existed in relation to the person; and

(ii) since that time, no information or statement has been given to the Department about an event, a change of circumstances or a matter that might affect whether the current factor exists in relation to the person; or

(b) treat the new factor as not existing in relation to the person, if:

(i) at a particular time, the Secretary was satisfied that the current factor did not exist in relation to the person; and

(ii) since that time, no information or statement has been given to the Department about an event, a change of circumstances or a matter that might affect whether the current factor exists in relation to the person.

Other powers not limited

(6) Subsections (3) to (5) do not, by implication, limit any other power of the Secretary to do the following in making a determination under subsection (1):

(a) treat a person as having satisfied an eligibility requirement;

(b) treat an eligibility factor as existing, or not existing, in relation to a person.

Definitions

(7) In this section:

eligibility factor , for an income support payment, means a fact, matter or circumstance the existence of which in relation to a person is relevant to:

(a) whether the person qualifies for the payment; or

(b) whether the payment is payable to the person.

eligibility requirement , for an income support payment, means a requirement that a person must satisfy:

(a) to qualify for the payment; or

(b) for the payment to be payable to the person.