Social Security Act 1991

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

The Housing Commission of New South Wales;

the Director, within the meaning of the Housing Act 1983 of the State of Victoria;

The Queensland Housing Commission;

The Corporation of the Director of Aboriginal and Islanders Advancement established by a law of Queensland;

the South Australian Housing Trust;

The State Housing Commission established by a law of Western Australia;

the Director‑General of Housing and Construction holding office under a law of Tasmania;

the Northern Territory Housing Commission;

The Commissioner for Housing within the meaning of the Housing Assistance Act 1987 of the Australian Capital Territory.

Rent payable by a person for living in premises in respect of which someone else pays Government rent may also be regarded as Government rent (see subsection (3AC)).

a person who is a homeowner by virtue of paragraph 11(4)(c); or

a person who:

is absent from the person’s principal home, in relation to which the person is a homeowner; and

is personally providing a substantial level of care in another private residence for another person who needs, or in the Secretary’s opinion is likely to need, that level of care in a private residence for at least 14 consecutive days; and

has been absent from the principal home for less than 2 years while providing care as described in subparagraph (ii); or

a person who is in a care situation but is not residing in a retirement village; or

a person who pays amounts for the use of a site for a caravan or other vehicle, or a structure, that is the person’s principal home; or

a person who pays amounts for the right to moor a vessel that is the person’s principal home.

For approved respite care see subsection 4(9), for in a care situation see subsection 13(9), for retirement village see subsections 12(3) and (4), for homeowner see subsection 11(4) and for principal home see section 11A.

Amounts are rent in relation to the person if:

the amounts are payable by the person:

as a condition of occupancy of premises, or of a part of premises, occupied by the person as the person’s principal home; or

as a condition of occupancy of premises, or of a part of premises, occupied by the person to allow him or her to provide personally a substantial level of care in a private residence for another person who needs, or in the Secretary’s opinion is likely to need, that level of care in a private residence for at least 14 consecutive days; or

for services provided in a retirement village that is the person’s principal home; or

if the person is in a care situation and the place where the person receives the care is the person’s principal home or would be the person’s principal home apart from subsection 11A(8) or (9)—for accommodation in the place where the person receives care; or

for lodging in premises that are the person’s principal home; or

for the use of a site for:

a caravan or other vehicle; or

a structure;

for the right to moor a vessel that is occupied by the person as the person’s principal home; and

either:

the amounts are payable every 3 months or more frequently; or

the amounts are payable at regular intervals (greater than 3 months) and the Secretary is satisfied that the amounts should be treated as rent for the purposes of this Act.

For retirement village see subsections 12(3) and (4) and for principal home see section 11A.

If:

youth allowance is payable to a person; and

the person is not independent (see section 1067A) and is required to live away from home (see section 1067D); and

the person is attending boarding school while living away from home;

the boarding school is taken to be the person’s principal home while the person is attending the school; and

any fees charged for attending the boarding school are taken to be payable by the person.

Subparagraphs (2)(a)(ii) to (vi) (inclusive) do not limit the generality of subparagraph (2)(a)(i).

To avoid doubt, an amount that is paid or becomes payable by a person is not rent in relation to the person (either at the time when it is paid or becomes payable or at any later time) if the amount is, or forms part of, a special resident’s entry contribution in relation to the person in respect of a retirement village under section 1147, whether the amount is paid or payable (whether wholly or partly) in a lump sum, by instalments or otherwise.

If the whole or any part of an amount that is not rent in relation to a person as mentioned in subsection (3AA) is, or will or may become, repayable to the person, any amount by which the amount so repayable is reduced is not rent in relation to the person (either at the time when the reduction occurs or at any later time).

If a person pays, or is liable to pay, rent for living in premises in respect of which someone else pays Government rent (other than Government rent paid at or above a rate that the authority receiving the rent has told the Department is the market rate), the rent paid or payable by the person for living in those premises is taken to be Government rent, unless the person shares the premises with the person who pays, or is liable to pay, Government rent in respect of those premises and the person’s income has been taken into account in calculating the amount of Government rent payable in respect of those premises.

If a person is in a care situation and the person’s principal home is not the place where the person receives the care, the person’s rent may be an amount described in any of the subparagraphs of paragraph 13(2)(a) that applies to the person but cannot include amounts described in different subparagraphs of paragraph 13(2)(a).

Under subsection 11A(8) or (9), the principal home of a person in a care situation may be a place other than the place where the person receives care.

If an amount described in subparagraph 13(2)(a)(ia) and an amount described in another subparagraph of paragraph 13(2)(a) are payable by a person, the person’s rent may be an amount described in either of those subparagraphs but cannot include amounts described in different subparagraphs.

Under subsection 11A(8) or (9), premises occupied by a person as described in subparagraph 13(2)(a)(ia) may not be the person’s principal home.

If a law of a State, the Northern Territory or the Australian Capital Territory alters the name of an authority referred to in the definition of Government rent in subsection (1), a reference to that authority in that definition is to be construed as a reference to the authority under the new name.

Where:

a person pays, or is liable to pay, amounts for board and lodging; and

it is not possible to work out the part of each of those amounts that is paid or payable for lodging;

Where:

a person in a care situation pays, or is liable to pay, amounts for accommodation and other services in the care situation; and

it is not possible to work out the part of each of those amounts that is paid or payable in respect of accommodation;

Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to a person residing in a nursing home is a reference to a person who is:

residing in premises at which accommodation is provided exclusively or principally for persons who have a mental disability; or

a nursing‑home type patient, within the meaning of the Health Insurance Act 1973, of a hospital.

Subject to subsections (8B) and (8C), a person is an aged care resident for the purposes of this Act if:

the person is in residential care; and

an approval to access funded aged care services in the service group residential care is in effect for the person under Division 3 of Part 2 of Chapter 2 of the Aged Care Act 2024.

Without limiting subsection (8A), a person is taken not to be an aged care resident if:

the person is in approved respite care, and has been in approved respite care for a continuous period of 52 days or less; and

immediately before the person became a person in approved respite care, the person was receiving rent assistance.

The Secretary may determine, for the purposes of subsection (8A), that a person is taken not to be an aged care resident on a day that occurs:

after the person in fact became an aged care resident; and

before the day occurring 15 days after the person in fact became an aged care resident;

In this section, rent assistance means an amount paid or payable under this Act to help cover the cost of rent.

For the purposes of this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, a person is in a care situation if:

the person is residing in a nursing home; or

the person needs and has been receiving a substantial level of care in a private residence for at least 14 consecutive days; or

in the Secretary’s opinion, the person needs and is likely to receive, a substantial level of care in a private residence for at least 14 consecutive days.