Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Social Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2015. The Intergenerational report demonstrates how Australia's population will change over time and highlights the need to create jobs, growth and opportunity to improve our living standards in the future. Importantly, the government recognises that we must be able to pay for our future. As part of this, we are obliged to ensure that the government lives within our means and delivers a welfare system that assists those who are genuinely in need.

Currently, we are living beyond our means. It is alarming when we hear that eight out of 10 taxpayers are footing the welfare bill. Put simply: the government is spending over $100 million more per day than it receives and is borrowing to meet the shortfall. The government is totally committed to repairing the budget. This is why we are undertaking a comprehensive review of our social security system and identifying fair measures to ensure that we are best targeting government spending for those in need who require support. This is why legislation such as this is essential in ensuring we have a sustainable budget and a social welfare system that has the means and capacity to assist the most vulnerable in our community.

This bill provides that a person who is undergoing psychiatric confinement as a result of being charged with a serious offence will be deemed to be in psychiatric confinement for the purpose of social security law. This will be applied irrespective of whether the person is undertaking a course of rehabilitation. This measure will be implemented from 1 July 2015 and will ensure that social security payments will not be payable to an individual while they are undergoing psychiatric confinement. These changes will contribute to the government's budget repair job and will save approximately $29.6 million over the forward estimates. It is estimated that this proposed measure will affect approximately 350 people upon implementation and 50 people each year thereafter.

The government has introduced this legislation in response to the 2002 Federal Court decision in Franks and Secretary, Department of Family and Community Services, where it was held that people who are confined in a psychiatric institution would be considered to be undertaking a course of rehabilitation and therefore eligible to receive social security payments. Prior to this decision many people in psychiatric confinement as a result of serious criminal charges could not receive social security payments. Passage of this bill will deliver a return to the original policy intent whereby those undertaking psychiatric confinement as a result of being charged with a serious offence will be denied social security payments.

It is important to note that while an individual is undergoing psychiatric confinement the relevant state or territory government is responsible for taking care of their needs, including funding their treatment and rehabilitation. We are not stopping people in rehabilitation. This ensures that all individuals within psychiatric confinement are provided with a level of care. This bill refers to those who are charged with a serious offence. For the purpose of this legislation the measure will focus on violent offences such as murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, rape, attempted rape, and certain other offences involving loss of, or serious risk to, life, wellbeing or safety. This is an important element to highlight.

Social security payments will not be payable to a person who is undergoing psychiatric confinement because the person has been charged with a serious offence. It is also important to highlight that a person may be undergoing psychiatric confinement because they are having their fitness to stand trial assessed, have been found unfit to stand trial because of the person's mental impairment, or have been found not guilty of the charge because of a mental impairment. This legislation ensures that there must be a connection between a serious criminal charge and the psychiatric confinement before a person would be denied social welfare benefits.

It is important to note that a social security payment will continue to be payable to a person who is undergoing psychiatric confinement for reasons unrelated to the commission of a serious offence. This will allay concerns that this legislation will unfairly impact upon individuals suffering from mental illness. This is not the case; this legislation is addressing those who have betrayed the trust of the community and committed a serious offence. It is likely that a person who is found guilty of an offence, but who is remanded in a psychiatric institution following the guilty finding, would be taken to be in jail for the purpose of social security law. It is also important to note that that relevant social security payments are not currently payable to people in jail. This bill has no impact on arrangements for those who are currently incarcerated.

From time to time a person who has been charged with a serious offence may be granted leave from a psychiatric institution. If this leave is taken for the purpose of integration back into the community, the individual will be eligible to receive a social security payment for this time. However, a social security payment will not be payable if this leave is not related to integration back into the community. This is an important element to this legislation as often treatment in a psychiatric confinement can occur at a range of locations, including outside the institution.

These new arrangements will only apply to individuals who have been charged with a serious offence. For the purpose of this legislation a serious offence includes murder or attempted murder, manslaughter, and rape or attempted rape. Moreover, this legislation provides that an offence will be considered serious if it is against the law of the Commonwealth or a state or territory, punishable by imprisonment for life, or for a period or maximum period of at least seven years. Such crimes include those resulting in loss of life or serious risk of loss of life, serious personal injury or serious risk of serious personal injury, or serious damage to property and circumstances endangering the safety of a person. It is intended that this broad description of offences will capture crime where the conduct involves serious harm or risk of harm to an individual.

I conclude by confirming that these measures will only apply to individuals who have been charged with a serious offence. This is a fair measure that enhances the integrity of our social security system and it also contributes to the budget repair job. The Australian people expect this direction from their government. We must continue to deliver a fair social security system that supports our nation's most vulnerable. This legislation contributes to this objective. I commend the bill to the House.

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