A WA parliamentary question addresses the exclusion of low-income, self-funded retirees from the Country Aged Pension Fuel Card scheme and requests the Minister to extend eligibility. The Minister acknowledges the review of eligibility criteria.

AnsweredQoN 5900Legislative Council
Asked
14 August 2012
Portfolio
Regional Development

QuestionView source ↗

I refer to self-funded retirees classed as low income earners being deemed ineligible to receive the Country Aged Pension Fuel Card, and ask —
(1) Why has the Country Aged Pension Fuel Card been set up in such a way as to exclude self-funded retirees who do not receive any form of pension, but are classified as low income earners and are eligible for a healthcare card and other seniors' rebates?
(2) Will the Minister extend the eligibility criteria for the Country Aged Pension Fuel Card to low income self-funded retirees in receipt of a healthcare card and other seniors' rebates?
(3) If no to (2), why not?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered
18 September 2012
Responded by
Parliamentary Secretary representing the Minister for Regional Development
Response time
35 days
(1) The Country Age Pension Fuel Card Scheme was established in recognition of the higher costs involved for regional income support pensioners reliant on private vehicle travel to access social services. There existed a need to provide special assistance to income and asset tested pensioners as they were on low and fixed incomes. It was determined at that time, that self-funded retirees may have had greater means of support available than the eligible categories.
(2) As part of the Scheme's regular policy review process, the Department of Regional Development and Lands is currently reviewing cardholder eligibility. The inclusion of self-funded retirees classed as low income earners will be considered as part of that review.  Consideration on the inclusion of this additional category will be made following the completion of that review.
(3) Not applicable.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more