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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-09-10 Daily Xml
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SENIORS CARD

In reply to the Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (13 May 2009).

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy): The Minister for Families and Communities and Minister for Ageing has provided the following information:

Seniors Card holders do not have to apply every year for their concessions. An application for either Emergency Services Levy or Council remissions will result in a seniors card holder receiving both concessions, although there can be occasions where they may be eligible for one and not the other in cases of complicated land use.

This is also the case for pensioners who receive a larger concession entitlement on their Council rates.

In addition, the Department for Families and Communities (DFC) is implementing processes so that Centrelink allowees will not have to apply every year either. This has already been implemented for water, sewerage and energy concessions. It is also being tested in three Council areas this year with a view of expanding the system to include Councils once the effective data transfer mechanisms are successfully developed to meet the needs of Councils. Once this is finalised further steps will be taken to automate processes so that continuing Centrelink allowees also receive their Emergency Services Levy remission without reapplying.

The government recognises that efficiencies might be achieved by further integration of concessions administration. A great deal of work has been undertaken over recent years to consolidate concessions and improve application and validation processes for eligible customers. Until recently, different government agencies were involved in administering concessions using a number of different databases. This has now been consolidated into a single database within DFC for all except seniors card council rate remissions and Emergency Services Levy remissions which are still administered by RevenueSA.

Preliminary discussions have taken place between officers of the Department for Families and Communities and RevenueSA about further streamlining in the application process for self funded retirees who gain eligibility for Council and Emergency Services Levy remissions due to their Seniors Card status. The primary objective of both departments is to ensure that a single application will lead to an eligible South Australian receiving all of their entitlements.

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