6 November 1996

Department of Social Security says removing ‘significant risk’ regulation is ‘neutral’ despite providing a ‘safety net’ for those facing a ‘significant risk’ of harm if found capable of work. This means the committee does not see a formal referral and the regulation is approved by parliament (the removal will later be found to be unlawful).

What: During a meeting with its Social Security Advisory Committee, DSS suggests removing regulation 27, which provides a ‘safety net’ for those facing a ‘significant risk’ of harm if they are found capable of work because they do not score enough points on the fitness for work test. The DSS says this change will be “neutral” – despite the committee querying this – because of other protections within the All Work Test. By naming the change as “neutral”, the committee does not see a formal referral and the regulation is approved by parliament.

Why significant: The categorisation of the clause as ‘neutral’ and its removal will later be found to be misleading and unlawful.