In other cases, regard must be had to the level of any income which the person receives, and whether it would be sufficient to provide economic independence. In this regard, the social security pension rate for adults may be referred to as a general guide to the level of income necessary for economic independence.
Where, however, the client's contribution to the economic independence of the prescribed person is critical, dependency (in the whole or the main) will be established.
Section 4(7) provides that certain payments under the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 (family tax benefit Part A, carer allowance and double orphan pension) must not be taken into account when deciding whether a child is dependent on a client. Because of an error in amending legislation, carer allowance and double orphan pension are wrongly described as being paid under the Family Assistance Act rather than the Social Security Act 1991. Pending legislative amendment to correct this incorrect reference, as a matter of policy, carer allowance and double orphan pension must not be taken into account when deciding whether a child is dependent on a client.
In appropriate cases, consideration may be given to offsetting a prescribed person's income by any personal commitments outside the household expenditure, e.g. debts incurred prior to marriage, child support obligations.