Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

The Secretary may determine that a person commits a reconnection failure if:

the person is required to comply with:

a reconnection requirement; or

a further reconnection requirement; and

the person fails to comply with the requirement.

A further reconnection requirement may be imposed, and a penalty amount is deducted from the person’s participation payment, for a reconnection failure (see sections 42J and 42L).

The Secretary may determine that a person commits 2 or more reconnection failures on a day.

Despite subsection (1), the Secretary must not determine that a person commits a reconnection failure if:

the person satisfies the Secretary that the person has a reasonable excuse for the failure; or

the person is someone to whom section 42SB applies.

The Secretary must take certain matters into account for the purposes of paragraph (a) and may be prohibited from taking other matters into account for those purposes (see section 42U). For the purposes of paragraph (a), see also section 42UA (about prior notification of excuses).

If the Secretary determines that a person commits a reconnection failure, the person commits the failure during the period (the reconnection failure period) that:

begins on the day the person commits the failure; and

ends on:

the day before the person complies with any further reconnection requirement imposed on the person in relation to the reconnection failure; or

if the person fails to comply with a further reconnection requirement imposed on the person in relation to the reconnection failure, and the person satisfies the Secretary that the person has a reasonable excuse for the failure—the day before the person fails to comply with the requirement.

The Secretary must include in a determination under this section the instalment period in which a penalty amount (see section 42T) for the reconnection failure is to be deducted from the person’s instalment of a participation payment.