Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

SOCIAL SECURITY ACT 1991 - SECT 576

Meaning of austudy participation failure

  (1)   A person commits an austudy participation failure if the person:

  (a)   fails to comply with a requirement:

  (i)   that was notified to the person under subsection   63(2) or (4) of the Administration Act; and

  (ii)   that was reasonable; and

  (iii)   the notification of which included a statement to the effect that a failure to comply with the requirement could constitute an austudy participation failure; or

  (b)   fails to satisfy the activity test; or

  (c)   fails to comply with a requirement to undertake another activity referred to in paragraph   576A(1)(b).

Reasonable excuse

  (2)   Despite subsection   (1), a failure of a kind referred to in that subsection is not an austudy participation failure if the person satisfies the Secretary that the person had a reasonable excuse for the failure.

  (2A)   The Secretary must, by legislative instrument, determine matters that the Secretary must take into account in deciding whether, for the purposes of subsection   (2), a person had a reasonable excuse for committing an austudy participation failure.

  (2B)   To avoid doubt, a determination under subsection   (2A) does not limit the matters that the Secretary may take into account in deciding whether, for the purposes of subsection   (2), a person had a reasonable excuse for committing the austudy participation failure referred to in subsection   (1).

Subsequent failures in the same instalment period

  (3)   Despite subsection   (1), if a failure of a kind referred to in that subsection occurs in an instalment period of the person in which the person has already committed an austudy participation failure, the failure is not an austudy participation failure if:

  (a)   the instalment period is the person's first instalment period for austudy payment; or

  (b)   the instalment period is not the person's first instalment period for austudy payment, and:

  (i)   the person did not commit an austudy participation failure in the immediately preceding instalment period of the person; or

  (ii)   in respect of each austudy participation failure that the person committed in the immediately preceding instalment period of the person, the person acted in accordance with a requirement of the Secretary that was notified in respect of that failure.