Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying earlier today, Australian taxpayers are not in a position—and are not willing—to gift 270,000 former welfare recipients a further $3,220. The government considers it entirely reasonable for people who owe debts to Australian taxpayers to make the necessary arrangements to repay that debt in full and within a reasonable amount of time. We have a responsibility to protect the financial interests of our employer, financier and major shareholder: Australian residences and businesses.

This bill also introduces the legislative amendments required to remove the six-year statute of limitations on the recovery of social welfare payment debt, which will allow Centrelink to recover the social welfare payment debt regardless of the age of the debt. It is worth noting that as at the end of 2014-15 there were 36,834 debts worth $131.2 million that will reach their expiry date before this legislation is passed. That is right—more than $130 million can no longer be recovered because of the statute of limitations. There are also 54,200 debts worth $166.81 million that have already reached their expiry date and cannot be recovered by compulsory means—for example, by withholdings, tax garnishee, garnishee of salary or civil action. So that is more than $165 million that we cannot recover either. There were also a further 4,595 debts worth $12.96 million that were permanently written off over the 2014-15 financial year because they were past the statute date.

The write-off process is not automatic. The Department of Human Services periodically checks the statute of limitations date for an outstanding debt and writes off debts that have passed the six-year limit in which no recovery action has been taken. This bill will make the social welfare debt system consistent with those that currently operate in the tax and child support systems. The government encourages people with debts to talk to staff at Centrelink about their ability to pay off their debt over time. In cases of severe financial hardship, a thorough review of their capacity to repay will be undertaken and debtors will be given a fair amount of time to repay their debt.

However, we also know that some debtors deliberately avoid their obligation to repay their debts to the Commonwealth by not entering into acceptable repayment arrangements and, in extreme cases, heading overseas beyond Australia's jurisdiction. The bill before us will allow the secretary to issue a departure prohibition order to prevent targeted social welfare debtors from leaving the country, as currently applies to child support and taxation debtors. We know that this operating principle works, because 4,551 new departure prohibition orders were issued between 2005 and 2015, resulting in the collection of $52 million in outstanding child support payments.

If a local resident in my area lent a neighbour $3,220 because they are going through tough financial times, but then that neighbour went on an overseas holiday, that resident who lent them the money in the first place would obviously ask for their money back. Again, as the old adage goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.' Why should Australian taxpayers by default be forced to delay public services and infrastructure delivery so that someone who has a debt with Australian taxpayers can go on an overseas holiday? The government considers it is not appropriate for an individual to travel overseas when they have the means to fund that travel but have not set up an appropriate arrangement to repay their outstanding debt to the taxpayer.

However, the government is mindful of reasons people may be required to travel overseas, and procedures will be put in place to allow people, subject to departure prohibition orders, to travel in specified circumstances. Obvious humanitarian reasons include to attend to an ill relative, to attend the funeral or cultural ceremony of a deceased relative or where international travel is a condition of employment.

Unrecovered social welfare debt is taxpayers' money that could have been better used to provide other public services or better targeted services for those who need more help to help themselves—for the vulnerable in our community. Those who can work should work. There should be no excuses. Those who have accumulated a welfare debt to the taxpayer by claiming and then spending welfare money to which they were not entitled should be forced to repay this debt. This bill will enable the Department of Human Services to recover debts from current and ex-recipients of social security and family assistance payments. I commend the bill to the House.

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