Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005

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Entitlement to benefit.

[2000 s10; 2005 (SW&P) s6(b)]

100.—(1) Subject to this Act, a benefit (in this Act referred to as “carer's benefit”) shall be payable to a carer where he or she—

(a) was engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employed contributor for not less than 8 weeks, whether consecutive or not, within the relevant period,

(b) does not engage in employment or self-employment, and

(c) satisfies the contribution conditions in section 101 .

(2) Subsection (1)(a) shall not apply in respect of a claimant who was in receipt of carer's benefit within the relevant period.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1)(b), the Minister may make regulations to provide that a carer may engage in employment or self-employment subject to the limitations in relation to hours or remuneration that may be prescribed and subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed.

(4) Subsection (1)(c) shall not apply in the case of a claimant who was previously in receipt of carer's benefit.

(5) In this section “remunerative full-time employment” means remunerative employment for not less than 16 hours a week within the 8 weeks referred to in subsection (1)(a) or any period that may be prescribed under subsection (6), provided that where any 2 of those weeks are consecutive, the requirement in relation to those 2 weeks may be satisfied by an aggregate of not less than 32 hours in that fortnight.

(6) Regulations may provide that, subject to the conditions and in the circumstances that may be prescribed, in the case of a person who was absent from his or her employment within the relevant period referred to in subsection (1)(a), by reason of being on such leave from that employment as may be prescribed, the condition specified in subsection (1)(a) shall be regarded as being satisfied in respect of that person if he or she was engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employed contributor for 8 weeks, whether consecutive or not, within the relevant period (other than the relevant period referred to in that subsection) that may be prescribed (and the period that may be so prescribed may comprise 2 or more periods which, taken together, amount to a period of 26 weeks).