Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated ActsValue of unrealisable asset to be disregarded
(1) If section 52Y applies to a person, the value of:
(a) any unrealisable asset of the person; and
(b) any unrealisable asset of the person's partner;
is to be disregarded in working out the person's service pension rate, income support supplement rate or veteran payment rate.
Deduction from maximum payment rate
(2) If section 52Y applies to a person, there is to be deducted from the person's service pension maximum payment rate, income support supplement maximum payment rate or veteran payment maximum payment rate an amount equal to the person's adjusted annual rate of ordinary income.
Adjusted annual rate of ordinary income
(3) A person's adjusted annual rate of ordinary income is an amount per year equal to the sum of:
(a) the person's annual rate of ordinary income (other than income from assets); and
(b) the person's annual rate of ordinary income from assets that are not assets tested; and
(c) either:
(i) the person's annual rate of ordinary income from unrealisable assets; or
(ii) the person's notional annual rate of ordinary income from unrealisable assets;
whichever is the greater; and
(d) an amount per year equal to $19.50 for each $250 of the value of the person's assets (other than disregarded assets).
(3A) In working out the ordinary income of a person for the purposes of subsection (3), the following payments and amounts are to be counted:
(a) a payment of an instalment of pension under Part II or IV;
(b) a payment of an instalment of a pension (other than a pension payable in respect of a child) payable because of subsection 4(6) or (8B) of the Veterans' Entitlements (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 1986 ;
(d) a payment (other than a payment referred to in paragraph (a) or (b)) that is a payment in respect of incapacity or death resulting from employment in connection with a war or war - like operations in which the Crown has been engaged;
(da) a payment of compensation (other than a payment covered by paragraph (d)) to the extent that the payment is taken into account:
(i) under Division 5A of Part II; or
(ii) under section 74;
to reduce a pension payable to the person under Part II or IV, as the case requires;
(e) a payment by way of allowance (other than loss of earnings allowance) under Part VI of this Act;
(f) a payment, by a foreign country, of an allowance or annuity that is of a similar kind to decoration allowance payable under section 102 or to Victoria Cross allowance payable under section 103;
(fa) a payment under Part VIB (prisoner of war recognition supplement);
(g) a payment of a weekly amount under section 68, 71 or 75 of the MRCA (permanent impairment);
(h) a payment of a Special Rate Disability Pension under Part 6 of Chapter 4 of the MRCA;
(i) if subsection 204(5) of the MRCA applies to a person--an amount per fortnight worked out under section 5I of this Act;
(j) a payment of a weekly amount mentioned in paragraph 234(1)(b) of the MRCA (including a reduced weekly amount because of a choice under section 236 of the MRCA) (wholly dependent partner payment).
Note 1: Subsection 204(5) of the MRCA reduces a Special Rate Disability Pension by reference to amounts of Commonwealth superannuation that the person has received or is receiving.
Note 2: The payments and amounts referred to in this subsection would not be considered ordinary income elsewhere in this Act (see subsections 5H(1) and (8)).
(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), an asset is not assets tested if the asset's value is disregarded under subsection 52(1).
Notional annual rate of ordinary income from unrealisable assets
(5) A person's notional annual rate of ordinary income from unrealisable assets is:
(a) the amount per year equal to 2.5% of the value of the person's and the person's partner's unrealisable assets; or
(b) the amount per year that could reasonably be expected to be obtained from a purely commercial application of the person's and the person's partner's unrealisable assets;
whichever is the less.
(6) Subsection (2) applies:
(a) subject to subsection (8); and
(b) despite the Rate Calculator and section 45S (calculation of rate of income support supplement).
(7) Where:
(a) a person has disposed of assets and section 52G, 52H, 52JA, 52JB, 52JC or 52JD applies to the disposition; and
(b) the Commission has made a determination under subparagraph 52Y(1)(b)(ii) in relation to the disposition;
this section applies to the person as if the person had not disposed of the assets.
(8) Where the sum of the rate of service pension, income support supplement or veteran payment that would, apart from this subsection, be payable to a person and the annual rate of income of the person exceeds the maximum payment rate, the rate so payable is to be reduced by the amount per year of the excess.