This 2nd edition comprehensively annotates the social security and family assistance law of Australia, as amended to February 2005. Social security practitioners will find that it maintains its reputation as an indispensable reference for all those engaged in social security and family assistance decision-making whether as a lawyer, a Tribunal member, a Department or Centrelink officer, or a community advocate.

Special features of this new book include:

• Comprehensive annotations, on a section-by-section basis, covering decisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Federal Court, and the High Court to February 2005;
• The book follows the new structure of the social security legislation (implemented in March and July 2000) but also includes consideration of decisions under repealed provisions of the 1991 Act and the repealed Social Security Act 1947 which have continuing relevance;
• Detailed discussion of areas of social security law which are the subject of increasing complexity, continuing debate, and difficulty: assets and income testing, debt recovery and waiver, compensation recovery, notices, activity testing, carer allowance, shared care, and marital status;
• Inclusion of a subject matter index, table of cases, table of statutes, and amendment histories for each of the five Acts annotated in the book.

Table of Contents

Editorial Contributions
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Currency of Legislation and Annotations
Key to case Citation
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Table of Cases
Table of Statutes

PART ONE: SOCIAL SECURITY LAW
CHAPTER 1: Social Security Act 1991
CHAPTER 2: Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
CHAPTER 3: Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999

PART TWO: FAMILY ASSISTANCE LAW
CHAPTER 4: A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999
CHAPTER 5: A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
CHAPTER 6: A New Tax System (Family Assistance and Related Measures) Act 2000

APPENDIX 1: Amendment History - Social Security Act 1991
APPENDIX 2: Amendment History - Social Security (Administration) Act 1999
APPENDIX 3: Admentment History - Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999
APPENDIX 4: Amendment History - ANTS (Family Assistance) Act 1999
APPENDIX 5: Amendment History - ANTS (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999
Index

"The name of Peter Sutherland has become synonymous with high quality writing in the area of Administrative Law. This publication is no exception....
Anyone familiar with social security legislation and the concepts embodied in it, will know what a difficult area of the law it is to follow. I laugh at the suggestion that the 1991 Act was designed to make it 'more accessible to persons without legal training.' In that, the draftsmen have been, may I suggest, spectacularly unsuccessful. The Act remains difficult to interpret and follow and many Tribunal decisions seem to be inconsistent and of little help in identifying the likely result of any particular application.
What the authors of this book have done, is to draw together the more prominent decisions in the many areas covered by the legislation and then suggest the likely interpretation to be applied by a Tribunal....
I cannot emphasise too strongly, what an invaluable source of ready information this book contains on social security related issues. It should be seriously considered for every practitioner’s library."

-- Tasmanian Law Society Newsletter