Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to offer a contribution to this debate. In the electorate of Kingsford Smith there are a number of Australian disability enterprises, or ADEs, that do a fantastic job providing employment opportunities for people in our community living with disabilities. This has been an issue that has gone on for quite a while, and there has been a degree of uncertainty in these businesses for parents and people who work in these businesses regarding their wages and conditions into the future.

The purpose of the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool Payment Scheme Amendment Bill 2016 is to provide some of that certainty, to amend the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool Payment Scheme Act 2015 to increase one-off payments from 50 per cent to 70 per cent of the difference between the actual wage paid to an eligible person and the amount they would have been paid had the business services wage assessment tool—BSWAT—productivity-only component been applied. It also provides a top-up payment for persons who have already received a 50 per cent payment under the BSWAT payments scheme. It removes the current compulsory requirement to obtain legal advice before any payments are made. It extends all relevant scheme dates by 12 months, clarifies certain administrative arrangements and enables a deceased person's legal representative to engage with the payments scheme on their behalf.

The catalyst for this bill and the reforms that result comes from the bravery of two men with disabilities who in 2012 were successful in challenging the fairness of their wage, which under the old payments scheme was less than $4 an hour. That case went all the way to the Federal Court, and the Federal Court had a look at the BSWAT system and found that it unlawfully discriminated against people with intellectual disability, because it assessed competency as well as productivity. This meant that employees with physical disabilities could receive a higher BSWAT score than someone with an intellectual disability and thus receive a higher wage because of their lack of intellectual impairment. The court found that that was discrimination and breached the nation's antidiscrimination legislation. Following this case, a class action was launched, on behalf of supported employees, seeking similar compensation to those that had that outcome in that case.

In 2014 the government passed legislation to establish a scheme to compensate supported employees with intellectual disability who were paid wages using the discriminatory BSWAT tool. Eligible people were able to receive a payment amount worth 50 per cent of the amount the worker would have been paid had productivity element of the BSWAT tool only been used for the purposes of calculation of their wage.

Labor opposed the original legislation because it denied people with disability the legal right to pursue further compensation from the Commonwealth through the courts. When the original legislation was before the parliament, Labor unsuccessfully moved amendments that would allow people with disability to pursue further legal action, even if they accepted a 50 per cent payment under the scheme.

While this bill still precludes people from taking future legal action if they accept payment under the scheme, this is common with the resolution of legal claims. Importantly, people with disability have now been able to exercise their legal rights through the class action. This bill gives effect to the settlement reached in December 2015 between the Commonwealth and the applicant in the class action, proceeding on the basis that eligible supported employees receive compensation worth 70 per cent of the alleged loss under the Commonwealth's payment scheme, instead of 50 per cent. Labor welcomes the outcome of the class action, which has brought about a greater focus on ensuring a fairer wage deal for people with disability. And, now that people with disability have reached a settlement to finally receive wage justice, we support the legislation to give effect to the terms of the settlement.

In relation to this matter I, and my Labor colleagues, have always said and been guided by the wishes and views of the stakeholders in the disability sector—by the people living with disability, by their carers and loved ones and by the people advocating on their behalf. I have a number of ADEs in my electorate and a number of organisations that provide respite services for people living with disability and the families and carers. I value and cherish their feedback on important reforms such as this, and that has gone into the decision I have made in respect of this bill. These are the people who know best the challenges and the many, many skills of people with disability. Labor respects and acknowledges their wonderful work in helping to reach this outcome.

Funded by the Department of Social Services, Australian disability enterprises seek to employ and support people with disability in commercial environments. Currently, there are around 20,000 people with moderate to severe disability employed by ADEs, and they commonly undertake work including packaging, assembly, production, recycling, screen printing, plant nursery, garden maintenance, landscaping, cleaning services, laundry services and food services.

As I have mentioned, I have a number of these ADEs in my electorate. One of them was a pacesetter in many respects for these types of businesses—and that is Windgap Foundation Limited. Led by CEO Serhat Oguz and COO Hercules Kotsornithis, Windgap has been supporting people with disability through residential and day program services and work support since its inception in 1953. It was one of the first such businesses operating in this space. Windgap has a terrific reputation for increasing quality of life for members while doing great work to promote the importance of a truly inclusive society that embraces the ability of those living with disability. I have been delighted to visit the wonderful people of Windgap on a number of occasions. In November last year I was honoured to bestow upon the Windgap choir, which is well known in our community, a Kingsford Smith community service award for their work in volunteering at community functions and events and for their outstanding service to our community. I am tremendously proud to have such a wonderful organisation in our community. I am thankful for the work they do.

I say to businesses in our community: consider Windgap and other ADEs that do this sort of work when you are next looking at contracts, particularly around those services I mentioned earlier, because you do get great quality employees or work from ADEs and you are doing a great thing for our community and our nation.

We support the passage of this bill. We do call on the government to work quickly to fulfil its promise to develop and put into operation a new non-discriminatory wage assessment tool. As I mentioned earlier, this legislation today goes part of the way to resolving the uncertainty that still exists for ADEs and their employees and families and friends throughout the country.

The government does need to get on with the job of avoiding further uncertainty to ensure that people living with a disability and working with a disability can do so with confidence and with certainty about receiving a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.

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