Kevin Andrews (Menzies, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Social Security and Indigenous Legislation Amendment (Budget and Other Measures) Bill 2010. This bill encompasses three schedules. Schedule 1 completes the government’s response to the report of the Carer Payment (child) Review Taskforce, Carer payment (child): a new approach. The proposed amendments will bring consistency to the assessment of carers of children for carer payment and carer allowance. Indeed, it was the coalition in 2006 that recognised the gap in government assistance for families caring for children with disabilities. It was the coalition that initiated a review in March 2007 into carer payment (child) to examine the ability to provide a safety net for carers of children with profound disability or severe medical conditions. The review, which recommended a fairer assessment process and less red tape, was handed to the incoming Rudd government in November 2007.

In the 2008-09 budget the Rudd government announced it would provide $293.6 million over five years to improve assistance to carers. A key measure was to expand qualification for carer payment paid in respect of a child. As part of the measure, the government announced it would implement a new assessment process to determine qualification for carer payment paid in respect of a child based on the amount of care required by a child with disability or two or more children with disability, rather than the rigid medical criteria used to assess qualification for the payment. The Social Security Legislation Amendment (Improved Support for Carers) Bill was introduced in the House on 19 March 2009 and received assent on 23 June 2009. The coalition supported that bill. The amendments made by the schedule commence on 1 July 2010.

The proposed amendments under schedule 2, which relate to the income management regime, include: removing the concept of special account and replacing it with the income management record, allowing the collection of income management debts through the social security debt collection system, allowing recovery where funds have been paid to an income management account in error, allowing the secretary to credit the income management of certain customers earlier in some circumstances, giving the minister power to specify the amount of the deductible proportion of two new student scholarships, and some other amendments relating to financial management of income management accounts.

The objective of schedule 3 is to provide a guaranteed minimum income of $45 million per year to the Indigenous Land Corporation. The Indigenous Land Corporation currently receives annual income through investment earnings from the realised real return on the investment of the land account in the previous financial year. The land account is administered by the Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs portfolio. Since 2004-05, the value of payments to the ILC from the land account has fluctuated as a result of changes in the value of the realised real return on investments. These fluctuations have caused difficulties for the ILC in its long-term strategic planning. This legislation will establish a guaranteed minimum earning for the ILC. The payment will be set in the first year at $45 million and indexed at the CPI.

When earnings from the land account exceed the minimum amount, a supplementary payment will be made in addition to the annual amount. The supplementary payment will be the difference between the land account actual balance and its real capital value. In a situation where the guaranteed payment for any year exceeds the earnings from the land account, no supplementary payments will be made in future years until the real capital value of the land account has been restored.

Current capital value of the land account is $1.7 billion, with investment earnings averaging $50 million over the medium term. Regulations will be drafted to establish a review mechanism to assess the revised ILC earning system established through this legislation to ensure the $45 million is sustainable. The coalition will be supporting this bill when it is returned to the House.

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