The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Disaster Recovery Allowance) Bill 2013 was passed by the House of Reps on 15 May 2013 without amendment and then introduced in the Senate (it will be debated there after the Senate resumes on 17 June 2013). It proposes to create a new payment, the Disaster Recovery Allowance, a fortnightly income support payment for individuals whose income has been affected by a major disaster.
The Allowance will be a taxable, fortnightly payment at a rate based on the maximum applicable Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance rate. The Bill will amend subs 160AAA(1) of the ITAA 1936 to add the new Allowance to the list of payments which are “rebatable benefits”. This amendment will have the effect that the Allowance, which will be considered taxable income, will be subject to the Beneficiary Tax Offset scheme.
[LTN 100, 27/5/13]