Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise proudly to give my support also to the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Improved Support for Carers) Bill 2009. This is significant and welcome legislation because at its core are the Labor values of standing up for the vulnerable, the desperate and the marginalised.

This bill implements part of the 2008 budget measures to improve assistance to the carers of children with profound disability. As a federal member of parliament I have had the privilege of meeting a number of parents and carers of children with profound disability. At the outset I stress that they are much braver people than me. It is all my wife and I can do to make it through each day with two healthy children. My chief of staff, Matthew Jutsum and his lionhearted wife, Susan, have four children, Harry, Levi, Reuben and Maisey, and I cannot imagine how they do it. Four children, and Matthew turns just 30 today. Happy birthday Matthew, you old man!

Returning to parents and carers of children with profound disability; these are remarkable people who walk a very tough road. These people’s lives have been turned upside down by adversity, and every single day can be a struggle. They face significant pressure on their relationships and on their finances, and they are asked to make sacrifices to care for our most vulnerable. They do so selflessly and, as the two previous speakers mentioned, they usually make such sacrifices quietly. In our Australian community people use the word ‘hero’ quite loosely on occasion. Whilst not taking anything from the heroes of military engagements, it takes a lot of courage to get up every single day to face these challenges. It is not the same sort of courage as storming a machine gun nest or driving into a fire, but it is an incredible type of courage and a type that I really respect.

Because of the constant demands on their time, many carers are unable to work. But these carers and parents would do anything for their children to give them the best life possible. The government provides a carer payment to people who, because of their caring responsibilities, are unable to support themselves through work. The government also provides carer allowance as an income supplement to people who provide daily care to an adult or a child who has a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability. There are currently around 7,000 children being cared for by carer payment recipients, and 113,549 carers receive carer allowance to assist them with the costs of caring for a child with a disability. The difference is accounted for by the far less rigorous care requirements for carer allowance than for the carer payment.

This bill before the chamber was foreshadowed in the 2008 budget and implements recommendations of the Carer Payment (child) Review Taskforce, which examined the criteria and effectiveness of the carer payment. This bill will make many more carers of children under 16 eligible for the carer payment. In fact, I understand it will almost quadruple the number of recipients from 7,000 to more than 26,000 carers. This will provide an additional $271 million over four years for carers. It changes the qualification criteria and assessment process for the carer payment for care provided to children with a disability or medical condition. The new process will be based on the level of care required instead of the current rigid medical criteria that are used. The bill will establish a test for assessing functional ability, behaviour and special care needs of a child, a method for rating a child’s care needs and a method for providing a qualifying rating for the carer.

The bill also amends the Social Security Act 1991 to ensure that carers continue to qualify for and receive the carer payment and carer allowance while the child they are caring for is in hospital. For the first time carers will be eligible for the carer payment for the short-term care that they provide. And a person in receipt of carer payment will also be automatically eligible for carer allowance. This bill also relaxes the qualification rules for a person caring for a child with a terminal illness.

In closing, I am thrilled with the measures in the budget last night to improve the assessment process for eligibility for the disability support pension and deliver a new payment for carers. The government will fast track a simpler and more dignified process for people with severe disabilities and those who are clearly eligible, ensuring that they are not asked to provide costly and time-consuming information and to enable them to receive financial support much more quickly. A number of carers and people with a disability have raised this very issue with me over the 18 months I have been the member for Moreton, and I am sure other members have had a similar experience. People are sick and tired of constantly filling out forms and providing the same information over and over again. I know we have to safeguard the public purse, but there comes a time when you also need to consider how onerous such requirements can be for people with a disability.

Also, around 500,000 carers will receive a new carer supplement to help them meet the significant financial challenges that they face. As well as an increase to the carer payment, carers will also receive an annual $600 payment. I am proud to be part of a government that is listening to the needs of carers and people with a disability and doing what it can to stand beside them. We judge a society by how it treats those who are most vulnerable. Australia, unfortunately, does not have an unblemished record when it comes to such judgements. This legislation is a small step back towards dignity and justice and I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context