Clients with dependent children - 50% protection
Sanctions are applied differently for:
- sole parent clients who fail their obligations
- couples with dependent children who both fail their obligations
- couples where one person is youth money managed
Clients and partners in these situations with a financial sanction imposed do not have their whole benefit sanctioned. Instead, a maximum sanction of 50% of the total benefit may be imposed. The balance payable is known as 50% protection.
For more information, including treatment of supplementary assistance, see:
- Sanctions for sole parents
- Sanctions for a couple with dependent children - both fail their obligations
- Sanctions for young partners
Note if a client has more than one obligation failure initiated on the same day, only one sanction can be imposed on the client. For the sanction to be lifted, the client must successfully dispute or recomply with all the obligation failures.
For more information see:
Legislation
- Variations on sanctions on rate of benefit affecting people married or in civil union or de facto relationship section 245-247 Social Security Act 2018
- Variation for suspension or cancellation of main benefit or non-entitlement period affecting sole parent section 248 Social Security Act 2018
