Summary

Amends the:

and to: increase the lower income threshold for family tax benefit (FTB) Part A; to: extend the FTB Part A large family supplement to families with 3 or more children; introduce a maintenance income credit to enable parents to access their unused maintenance income free area from previous years to offset late child support payments; and amend income test rules for FTB Part B where a secondary earner returns to work for the first time after the birth of a child; to: extend eligibility for the utilities allowance to recipients of mature age, widow or partner allowance; and extend the carer payment to carers of children under 16 years with severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural disabilities; and to enable the establishment of a special disability trust for the care of a severely disabled person to not affect the social security or veterans’ entitlements payments of the recipient or family member donors; , and to introduce a non-taxable means test-exempt Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment; to implement changes to the governance arrangements of the Australian Institute of Family Studies in response to recommendations of the Review of the Corporate Governance of Statutory Authorities and Office Holders (the Uhrig Review); to: amend the definition of “income tax refund” to include refundable tax offsets; and make technical amendments in relation to income estimates; and , , and to make technical amendments consequential on family law changes relating to shared parental responsibility.