Glossary

Australian Pay and Classification Scale Wage Level A

The table below lists the maximum rate of pay under Wage Level A of the Australian Pay and Classification Scale (formerly known as the National Training Wage Award rates) over recent years and the minimum amounts that people must earn to qualify as independent under the self-supporting rules:

Dates Effective	Maximum rate of pay under Wage Level A	75% of Rate which equals Minimum Earnings
1 December 2006 to present date	$24 700	$18 525
3 July 2005 to 30 November 2006	$23 556	$17 667
3 July 2004 to 2 July 2005	$22 828	$17 121
7 July 2003 to 2 July 2004	$22 048	$16 536
3 July 2002 to 6 July 2003	$21 320	$15 990
17 August 2001 to 2 July 2002	$20 592	$15 444
17 August 2000 to 16 August 2001	$20 127	$15 095
13 August 1999 to 16 August 2000	$19 448	$14 586
3 July 1998 to 12 August 1999	$18 928	$14 196
25 June 1997 to 2 July 1998	$18 356	$13 767
1 January 1997 to 24 June 1997	$17 940	$13 455
1 January 1996 to 31 December 1996	$17 628	$13 221

Bereavement notification day
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 21 (2) b

Bereavement period
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 21 (2) a

Liquid assets are any readily available funds which can be accessed by the customer within 28 days of the date last worked.  A customer's liquid assets include the assets of the customer's partner and any assets owned by BOTH the customer and their partner.

Examples: Liquid assets include:

• cash on hand;
  
  
• shares and debentures, term deposits;
  
  
• other money available at short notice;
  
  
• some payments made or due to be made (within 28 days) by a customer's last employer;
  
  
• 10 year insurance bonds;
  
  
• amounts deposited or lent to banks or other financial institutions whether or not the amount can be withdrawn or repaid immediately;
  
  
• amounts borrowed from the bank for a specific purpose such as overseas travel that may not have been used for the said purpose;
  
  
• assets given to a son or daughter in some circumstances;
  
  
• loans to other people;
  
  
• unencumbered proceeds from sale of business;
  
  
• monies in trust funds, bank accounts including mortgage offset accounts, BUT NOT balances of mortgage redraw accounts; and
  
  
• compensation payments.

• wholly or substantially in the care of the person;

AND

• under 16 years of age; and
• not eligible for the Independent rate of ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance;
• not receiving Australian Government income support other than ABSTUDY, Assistance for Isolated Children or Youth Allowance;

OR

• 16 - 24 years of age; and
  • in full-time or concessional study-load study; and
  • not Independent for the purposes of Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY; and
  • not receiving Australian Government income support other than ABSTUDY, Assistance for Isolated Children or Youth Allowance;

OR

• 16 – 20 years of age; and
  • not Independent for the purposes of Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY; and
  • not receiving Australian Government income support other than ABSTUDY, Assistance for Isolated Children or Youth Allowance.

For the purposes of the Partner Income Tests for ABSTUDY customers 21 years of age and over, where adjustments are made to the Partner Income Free Area for dependent child/ren in the customer or partner’s care, a dependent child is:

• wholly or substantially in the care of the person;

AND

• under 16 years of age; and
• not eligible for the Independent rate of ABSTUDY or Youth Allowance;
• not receiving Australian Government income support other than ABSTUDY, Assistance for Isolated Children or Youth Allowance;

OR

• 16 – 24 years of age; and
  • in full-time or concessional study-load study; and
  • not Independent for the purposes of Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY; and
  • not receiving Australian Government income support other than ABSTUDY, Assistance for Isolated Children or Youth Allowance.

For the purposes of qualification for the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement on the basis of receipt of specified payments under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986, where the student is required to have a dependent child, a dependent child is:

• wholly or substantially in the care of the student; and
  
  
• in full-time education; and
  
  
• not in receipt of an income support payment (see def of income support); and
  
  
• either:
  
  
• under 16 years of age and does not have personal income that exceeds $148.45 per week (amount as at 01 January 2004); OR
  
  
• 16 – 21 years of age and will not have personal income that exceeds the limit of $8135.85 for the financial year (amount as at 01 January 2004).

The four Cape York communities designated as trial sites are;

• Aurukun;
• Coen;
• Hope Vale; and
• Mossman Gorge

Domestic and/or family violence

This definition applies to Crisis payment

Family Law Reform Act 1995 Section 60D (1)

• domestic and family violence occurs when someone tries to control their partner or other family members in ways that intimidate or oppress them. Controlling behaviours can include threats, humiliation (‘put-downs'), emotional abuse, physical assault, sexual abuse, financial exploitation and social isolations, such as not allowing contact with family or friends; AND/OR
  
  
• family violence means conduct, whether actual or threatened, by a person towards, or towards the property of, a member of the person's family that causes that or any other member of the person's family to fear for, or to be apprehensive about, his or her personal well being or safety.

The person must have established a new home or they must be intending to establish a new home, as a result of being forced from their home due to an extreme circumstance. 

Family member

Social Security Act 1991 General Definitions, Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 23.

Family member is defined as:

• the partner, father or mother of the relevant person;
  
  
• a sister, brother or child of the relevant person; and
  
  
• any other person who, in the opinion of the Secretary, should be treated for the purposes of this definition as one of the relevant person's relations (for example, a grandparent of the person, ex-partner of the person).

First available bereavement adjustment payday
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 21 (2) c

• a social security benefit; or
  
  
• a job search allowance; or
  
  
• a social security pension; or
  
  
• a youth training allowance; or
  
  
• a service pension; or
  
  
• income support supplement, where income support supplement means income support supplement under Part IIIA of the Veterans' Entitlement Act.

A Job Capacity Assessment (JCA) will be conducted by assessment organisations contracted to the Department of Human Services.

JCAs are a holistic, comprehensive assessment and identification of an individual's:

• barriers to finding and maintaining employment (this may relate to the impact of a person's disability, medical condition and/or other disadvantage/s they have);
  
  
• current and future work capacity (in hour bandwidths);
  
  
• the interventions/assistance that are appropriate to help a jobseeker to improve/maximise their current work capacity.

Lump Sum Bereavement Payment
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 21 (2) e

Member of a couple
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 4 (1)

New Apprentice
(known as Australian Apprenticeships from July 1, 2006)

Ordinary payment
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
Chapter 2, Part 2-10, Division 40, Subdivision 52A (IE)

Ordinary payment means a payment other than a payment made because of a person’s death.

• a natural parent of the young person; or
  
  
• in relation to an adopted child-an adoptive parent of the young person.

For all other purposes, a student’s or Australian Apprentice's parent is taken to be:

• a natural or adoptive parent of the student or Australian Apprentice with whom the student or Australian Apprentice normally lives; or
  
  
• if the natural or adoptive parent of the student or Australian Apprentice with whom the student or Australian Apprentice normally lives is a member of a couple and normally lives with the other member of the couple -the other member of the couple; or
  
  
• any other person (other than the relevant person's partner) on whom the relevant person is wholly or substantially dependent; or
  
  
• if none of the preceding paragraphs applies-the natural or adoptive parent of the relevant person with whom the relevant person last lived.

In shared care situations, and when parents are separated under the same roof, the parent for ABSTUDY purposes is taken to be the parent with primary care responsibility.

Partial Capacity to work

A person has a partial capacity to work if:

1. the person has a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment; and
   
   
2. the Secretary is satisfied that:
   
   
   
   1. the impairment of itself prevents the person form doing 30 hours per week of work independently of a program of support within the next 2 years; and
      
      
   2. no training activity is likely (because of impairment) to enable the person to do 30 hours per week of work independently of a program of support within the next 2 years.

The person is legally married to another person and is not, in the Secretary’s opinion, living separately and apart from the other person on a permanent or indefinite basis; or
All of the following conditions are met:

• the person has a relationship with a person of the opposite sex;
  
  
• the person is not legally married to the partner;
  
  
• the relationship between the person and the partner is, in the Secretary's opinion, a marriage-like relationship;
  
  
• both the person and the partner are over the age of consent applicable in the State or Territory in which they live; and
  
  
• the person and the partner are not within a prohibited relationship for the purposes of section 23B of the Marriage Act 1961.

Note: a prohibited relationship for the purposes of section 23B of the Marriage Act 1961 is a relationship between a person and:

• an ancestor of the person; or
• a descendant of the person; or
• a brother or sister of the person.

In forming an opinion about the relationship between two people for the purposes of determining if they are partnered, all the circumstances of the relationship are to be considered, including, in particular, the following matters:

The financial aspects of the relationship, including:

• any joint ownership of real estate or other major assets and any joint liabilities; and
  
  
• any significant pooling of financial resources especially in relation to major financial commitments; and
  
• any legal obligations owed by one person in respect of the other person; and
  
  
• the basis of any sharing of day-to-day household expenses;
  
  
• the nature of the household, including:
  
  
• any joint responsibility for providing care or support of children; and
  
  
• the living arrangements of the people; and
  
  
• the basis on which responsibility for housework is distributed;
  
  
• the social aspects of the relationship, including:
  
  
• whether the people hold themselves out as married to each other; and
  
  
• the assessment of friends and regular associates of the people about the nature of their relationship; and
  
  
• the basis on which the people make plans for, or engage in, joint social activities;
  
  
• any sexual relationship between the people;
  
  
• the nature of the people's commitment to each other, including:
  
  
• the length of the relationship; and
  
  
• the nature of any companionship and emotional support that the people provide to each other; and
  
  
• whether the people consider that the relationship is likely to continue indefinitely; and
  
  
• whether the people see their relationship as a marriage-like relationship.
  
  
• where the person is living separately and apart from the partner on a permanent or indefinite basis, the relationship between a person and his or her partner cannot be considered a marriage-like relationship.

For a dependent student or Australian Apprentice, the permanent home is the place where the student’s or Australian Apprentice's parent (see definition of parent) normally resides.

Exception: For the sole purpose of assessing entitlement to Fares Allowance, if a dependent student does not normally live with their parent (See definition of parent), then the student’s permanent home is considered to be the place where the student lived immediately prior to commencing study.

Student or Australian Apprentice in State Care

For a student in State Care who has foster carer/s, the permanent home is the place where the foster carer/s normally reside.

For a student in State Care who does not have foster carer/s, the permanent home is the place where s/he normally resides.

Independent student or Australian Apprentice (and other students or Australian Apprentices who are not dependent or in State Care)

For all purposes except the assessment of Fares Allowance qualification, the permanent home of an independent student or Australian Apprentice is the place where s/he normally resides.

For the purposes of assessing qualification for Fares Allowance for an independent student or Australian Apprentice (or other students who are not dependent and not in State Care), the permanent home is considered to be the place where the student lived immediately prior to commencing study.

For the purposes of assessing Fares Allowance, an independent student’s or Australian Apprentice's  permanent home address can, in the following circumstances, vary from the place where the student lived immediately prior to commencing study:

• if the student has a partner and/or dependent children who remained at the permanent home whilst the student moved to the study location, and the partner/children relocate permanently to a new location, then the new location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address;
  
  
• if the student is only accessing Fares Allowance through the provisions of Away from Base activity travel, and the student relocates permanently to a new location, then the new location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address;
  
  
• if the student has applied for and/or obtained rental accommodation at the study location through the local State/Territory Housing Authority, then the study location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address;
  
  
• if the student has purchased housing at the study location, then the study location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address;
  
  
• if the student who is completing or discontinuing his/her course does not undertake a return journey to the home location within three months of ceasing study, then the study location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address, unless exceptional circumstances prevented the student from undertaking the return journey;
  
  
• if the student is a continuing student and does not undertake a return journey to the home location at the end of the study year under the provisions of 89.2 Travel at Commencement and End of Study Period, then the study location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address, unless exceptional circumstances prevented the student from undertaking the return journey;
  
  
• if the student has received Relocation Allowance (see 97.4) under the Masters and Doctorate Award in order to relocate his/her home to the study location, then the study location is considered to be the student’s permanent home address.

Pension age
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 23 (5A,B,C,D)

A man reaches pension age when he turns 65.
A woman born before 1 July 1935 reaches pension age when she turns 60.
A woman born within the period specified in column 2 of an item in the following Table reaches pension age when she turns the age specified in column 3 of that item.

Table - Pension age for women

A woman born on or after 1 January 1949 reaches pension age when she turns 65.

Prison or psychiatric confinement

Prison is defined as:

• the person is being lawfully detained (in prison or elsewhere) while under sentence for conviction of an offence and not on release on parole or licence; or
  
  
• the person is undergoing a period of custody pending trial or sentencing for an offence.

Psychiatric confinement is defined as a person includes confinement in:

(a) a psychiatric section of a hospital; and
(b) any other place where persons with psychiatric disabilities are, from time to time, confined.

Note: The confinement of a person in a psychiatric institution during a period when the person is undertaking a course of rehabilitation is not to be taken to be psychiatric confinement.

When assessing hardship all cash and readily realisable assets should be taken into account, including money in the bank and earnings due.  For the purposes of Crisis Payment, an applicant who is:

• not a member of a couple is in severe financial hardship if the value of the applicant's liquid assets is less than the fortnightly amount at the maximum payment rate of the ABSTUDY Living Allowance that is payable to the person, or
  
  
• a member of a couple is in severe financial hardship if the value of the applicant's liquid assets is less than twice the fortnightly amount at the maximum payment rate of the ABSTUDY Living Allowance that is payable to the person.

Social Security Benefit
Social Security Act 1991 Chapter 1, Part 1.2, Section 23 (1)

"social security benefit" means:

1. widow allowance; or
2. youth allowance; or
3. austudy payment; or
4. newstart allowance; or
5. sickness allowance; or
6. special benefit; or
7. partner allowance; or
8. a mature age allowance;or
9. benefit PP (partnered); or
10. parenting allowance (other than non-benefit allowance).

Supplementary amount of payment
Income Tax Assessment Act 1997
Chapter 2, Part 2-10, Division 40, Subdivision 52-132

The supplementary amount of a payment is the total of:

a)      so much of the payment as is included to assist you with, or to reimburse you for, the costs of any one or more of the following:

i) rent;

ii) living in a remote area;

iii) commencing employment;

i) travel to, or participation in, courses, interviews, education or training;

ii) a child or children wholly or substantially dependent on you;

iii) telephone bills;

iv) living away from your usual residence;

v) maintaining your usual residence while living away from that residence;

vi) accommodation, books or equipment;

vii) discharging a HEC assessment debt (within the meaning of Chapter 4 of the Higher Education Funding Act 1988);

viii) discharging a compulsory repayment amount (within the meaning of the Higher Education Support Act 2003);

ix)    transport in travelling to undertake education or training, or to visit your usual residence when undertaking education or training away from that residence;

x) if you are disabled—acquiring any special equipment, services or transport as a result of the disability;

xi) anything that would otherwise prevent you from beginning, continuing or completing any education or training; and

b) so much of the payment as is included by way of pharmaceutical allowance.

A transitional DSP applicant means a person:

1. who made a claim for a disability support pension on or after 11 May 2005 and before 1 July 2006; and
   
   
2. to whom, on or after 1 July 2006, a notice under subsection 63(2)   or 64(2)    of the Social Security Administration Act 1999 is given; and
   
   
3. who is required under the notice to undertake a specified activity for the purpose of reviewing his or her capacity to perform work.

An unapproved absence is any absence from compulsory schooling that the education institution has recorded as: an unexplained absence, unapproved absence or unjustified absence on a student’s record.