Lived Experience Reference Group Incentive Payments

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DSS made a formal determination under the Social Security Act 1991 to exempt incentive payments for participants in the Lived Experience Reference Group from income testing. The Section 8(11)(d) determination, registered as F2026L00503 and effective from 23 September 2025, ensures that Commonwealth incentive payments (including gift cards) provided to attendees at Lived Experience Reference Group meetings are treated as exempt lump sums and do not affect recipients' income support eligibility or payments. The determination was sought by Services Australia's Income Support Means Test Team and approved following a formal exemption determination process, enabling the department to compensate people with lived experience for their policy input without triggering welfare payment reductions.