Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

A person commits an unemployment failure if:

the person is receiving a participation payment; and

in the case where the participation payment is parenting payment—the person is not someone to whom paragraph 500(1)(ca) of the 1991 Act applies; and

the person becomes unemployed:

as a direct or indirect result of a voluntary act of the person; or

as a result of the person’s misconduct as an employee.

In certain circumstances a person is taken to be receiving a participation payment even if it is not payable to the person: see section 42AQ.

A person also commits an unemployment failure if:

the person is not receiving, but has made a claim for, a participation payment; and

in the case where the participation payment is parenting payment—the person is not someone to whom paragraph 500(1)(ca) of the 1991 Act applies; and

the person becomes unemployed (whether before or after making the claim):

as a direct or indirect result of a voluntary act of the person; or

as a result of the person’s misconduct as an employee.

However, a person does not commit an unemployment failure because of subparagraph (1)(b)(i) or (2)(b)(i) if the person satisfies the Secretary that the voluntary act was reasonable.

A person also does not commit an unemployment failure if:

the person is the principal carer of at least one child or has a partial capacity to work; and

the work in relation to which the person became unemployed was work of more than 15 hours per week.

For principal carer see subsections 5(15) to (24) of the 1991 Act.

For partial capacity to work see section 16B of the 1991 Act.