Using the Social Security Guide
Welcome to the Social Security Guide. The Guide has been designed as a web publication (HTML). It is not available in a single electronic file or in paper format.
What does the Guide cover?
The Guide is divided into 11 parts as explained in the following table:
Part Name | What is Covered |
---|---|
1 Key terms & principles | Terms used in the administration of payments/benefits, descriptions of benefits & principles surrounding the social security law. |
2 Claim verification | Information on the verification of claims for social security payments/benefits. |
3 Qualification & payability | What characteristics will qualify an individual for a payment/benefit, along with other assessment information, e.g. commencement dates, notifiable events and payability issues. |
4 Income & Assets | Which payments/benefits have income/assets testing, what the limits are for them, and what constitutes income and assets. |
5 Payment Rates | Current and some historic rates of payment, examples of payment calculations, information on taxation issues and advance payments. |
6 Reviews, debts & payment recovery | Various review mechanisms, all about overpayments, and what happens when a claimant receives compensation. |
7 Portability & comparable foreign payment (CFP) | Conditions for payment outside Australia, and a brief explanation of CFP provisions. |
8 Administration Act Provisions |
Guidance on:
|
9 Visas, entitlements & assurances of support | Information about visas issued by the Department of Home Affairs, entitlement to social security payments and the AoS scheme. |
10 Australian Social Security Agreements | Information about Australia's social security agreements with other countries. |
11 Income Management | Information about income management and its application. |
Use of abbreviations
For ease of reference the following abbreviations are used in the Guide:
- SS Guide - Social Security Guide
- SSAct - Social Security Act 1991
- SS(Admin)Act - Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
- SS(IntAgree)Act - Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999
- FA Guide - Family Assistance Guide
- FAAct - A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999
- FA(Admin)Act - A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
- PPL Guide - Paid Parental Leave Guide
- PPLAct - Paid Parental Leave Act 2010
Finding information
The following features are provided to assist in finding relevant information:
- Search - type your search term (words or phrases) in the search box at the top of the page. The Advanced search on the results page allows a search to be limited to a specific Guide or Guides.
- Site map - gives an overall picture of the structure of the Social Security Guide.
- Keyword index - this provides an extensive list of words which can be used to search for specific topics.
- Act reference index - this provides a list of sections in the social security legislation referenced in the Guide. This can be used to search for topics that relate to each listed section.
Links
The Guide has a number of links incorporated at various levels, including the following:
- Act references - links to relevant law on the Federal Register of Legislation website (see tip sheet for assistance navigating to a referenced section).
- Policy references - links to related information in other parts of the Guide, and sometimes to other policy documents.