Social Security Act 1991

Subject to section 1061EO, a person is qualified for a special employment advance at a particular time (the relevant time) only if:

the person is qualified for a special employment advance qualifying entitlement at the relevant time; and

the person has been receiving an income support payment for a continuous period of 3 months immediately before the day on which the person’s claim for the special employment advance is made; and

either of the following applies:

the person or, if the person is a member of a couple, the person’s partner has earned from casual work in Australia, but has not received, income (the unreceived income);

the Secretary is satisfied that the person has received a definite offer of employment in Australia (the offered employment) for a period of not less than 6 weeks and needs financial assistance from the Commonwealth to enable him or her to take up the employment; and

subsection (2) or (3), as the case requires, applies for the purpose of determining whether the person is qualified for a special employment advance at the relevant time; and

where subparagraph (c)(i) applies—the person is in severe financial hardship; and

the Secretary is satisfied that the person will not suffer financial hardship as a result of the recovery by the Commonwealth of the special employment advance.

This subsection applies for the purpose of determining whether a person is qualified for a special employment advance at the relevant time only where:

the person’s claim for the advance was based on the effect of the unreceived income on the person’s special employment advance qualifying entitlement; and

either of the following subparagraphs applies:

if the person were qualified for the special employment qualifying entitlement on the next payday for the entitlement at a rate equal to the maximum basic rate of the entitlement, the rate of the entitlement on that payday would be reduced by at least 50% as a result of the person or the person’s partner having earned the unreceived income;

subparagraph (i) does not apply in respect of the person but, if the person were qualified for the special employment qualifying entitlement on 2 or more paydays for the entitlement at a rate equal to the maximum basic rate of the entitlement, the average of the rates of the entitlement on those paydays would be reduced by at least 50% as a result of the person or the person’s partner having earned the unreceived income.

This subsection applies for the purpose of determining whether a person is qualified for a special employment advance at the relevant time only where the person’s claim for the advance was based on the person’s need for financial assistance from the Commonwealth to enable him or her to take up the offered employment and:

if the person were qualified for the special employment qualifying entitlement on each of the paydays for the entitlement that occur in the period of 6 weeks referred to in subparagraph (1)(c)(ii) at a rate equal to the maximum basic rate of the entitlement, the average of the rates of the entitlement on those paydays:

would be reduced by at least 50% as a result of the person having taken up the offered employment; or

would be so reduced if Module J of the Youth Allowance Rate Calculator in section 1067G or Module E of the Austudy Payment Rate Calculator were disregarded; or

the person would cease to be qualified for the special employment advance qualification upon his or her taking up the offered employment.