Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Student Assistance and Other Measures) 2021

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Student Assistance and Other Measures) Bill 2021

## What it does
The government can now ask (but not force) students claiming special education assistance to provide their tax file number. The bill updates how student assistance and social security laws handle tax file numbers and information sharing between government agencies.

## Why it matters
Linking tax file numbers to student assistance claims helps the government verify eligibility and prevent fraud or duplicate payments. It also streamlines the application process by reducing the need for separate identity verification steps.

## Key details
- **It's voluntary**: The Secretary can *request* your tax file number but can't legally compel you to hand it over — though there may be consequences for not providing it (the bill hints at these in section 47, though the full details aren't shown here)
- **Applies to specific students**: Only affects people claiming or receiving "special educational assistance schemes" — not all student loans or payments
- **Comes into effect immediately**: The law takes effect the day after the bill receives Royal Assent, so changes apply right away

Official Description

Amends the: Student Assistance Act 1973 to introduce a new regime to enable the secretary to request, but not compel, a person to provide their tax file number; Social Security Act 1991 and Student Assistance Act 1973 to clarify that the collection, use and disclosure of personal information or protected information relates not only to the administration of the ABSTUDY scheme, but also to the Assistance for Isolated Children scheme; and Social Security Act 1991 , Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 , Social Security (International Agreements) Act 1999 and Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986 to make technical amendments to confirm that the definition of 'social security law' includes legislative instruments.

Committee Referrals

Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

4 Feb 2021

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

27 May 2021

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

Constituent votes

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