Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister and Cabinet) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

The Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Coronavirus and Other Measures) Bill 2020 includes a number of beneficial measures that are primarily directed at supporting people who have been impacted by the economic consequences of COVID-19. The bill provides additional assistance through two further economic support payments of $250 to around five million payment recipients and cardholders in the lead-up to Christmas and the new year, as part of the Australian government's response to COVID-19.

From 1 January 2021, amendments are made so that the six-month period between 25 March 2020 and 24 September 2020 will automatically be recognised as contributing to existing workforce independence criteria for youth allowance. This measures supports young people whose path towards demonstrating independence through work has been disrupted by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The same concession will be available to Abstudy recipients through changes to the ABSTUDY Policy Manual. The bill also creates temporary incentives in the income support system to encourage young Australians to undertake seasonal agricultural work to help address concerns across the agricultural sector about immediate workforce availability for the upcoming harvest season. From 1 March 2021, the new criteria will recognise a person who earns at least $15,000 through employment in the agricultural industry between 30 November 2020 and 31 December 2021 as independent for the purposes of the youth allowance (student), subject to a parental income threshold. The same concession will be available for Abstudy through changes to the ABSTUDY Policy Manual.

The bill will also introduce the revised paid parental leave work test period for a limited time for people who access paid parental leave pay and dad and partner pay who do not meet the current work test provisions because their employment has been affected by COVID-19. This will enable most individuals with a genuine work history prior to the pandemic to qualify for payments under the paid parental leave scheme. The bill also makes amendments to address inconsistencies in payments in relation to newborn children available to families affected by stillbirth and infant death by aligning the amount that eligible families are able to access after a stillbirth or a child's death shortly after birth or within its first year. These amendments also remove discrepancies within the payment system in respect of multiple instances of stillbirth or infant death within the same family.

Lastly, the bill makes technical amendments to child support law to allow for alternative figures to be used in place of the male total average weekly earnings trend figure and average weekly earnings trend figure for the purposes of child support assessment calculations. From May 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has temporarily suspended publications of trend estimates for all average weekly earnings series, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market. Child support law does not currently permit alternative trend figures to be used.

I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context