C29/2006 Extension and Clarification of Crisis Payment Eligibility

Purpose

The purpose of this Departmental Instruction is to advise of amendments to the Veterans' Entitlements (Special Assistance) Regulations 1999 (the Regulations).  These amendments broaden the eligibility criteria for crisis payments and clarify the existing eligibility criteria.  The start date for the extension of eligibility is 1 January 2007.

Background

Amendments to the Regulations are being introduced as a result of an announcement in the 2006-07 Budget.  The changes mirror amendments made to crisis payments made under the Social Security Act 1991.

Extended eligibility amendment

The current requirement that a person must either leave the home or be unable to return to the home fails to address the costs that a person  who remains in their home may face in re-establishing their home after a crisis.

The first amendment seeks to extend eligibility for crisis payment to victims of domestic or family violence who remain in the home after the perpetrator of the violence has left or been removed.

CLIK and Fact Sheet IS121

The CLIK Policy Library at P3/C12 has been revised to reflect this amendment and contains a full explanation of the extended eligibility criteria.

S1, S2 and S3 have been amended and S4 has been added which deals with domestic and family violence where the victim remains in the home.

Fact Sheet IS121 has also been amended to include these changes.

Clarification amendment

The Regulations provide that a person is eligible for crisis payment due to extreme circumstances or domestic or family violence on condition that 'in the last 12 months.....no more than 3 crisis payments have been payable to the person'.

The second amendment is to clarify the policy that only crisis payments made due to extreme circumstances or domestic or family violence are counted in the limit of four crisis payments that may be made in each 12 month period.

The CLIK Policy Library at P3/C12/S3 has been revised to reflect this amendment.

Contact

Any queries should be directed to Chris Johnston, Income Support and Aged Care Policy, on 14773.