Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Supporting the Transition to Work) Bill 2023. I'm pleased to be following the member for Dobell, and I certainly commend her for that speech and echo much of the sentiment that she and many other speakers have shared about the immense benefit of the changes that this bill brings for a whole host of people. It's one that this government is very proud of, in terms of the very practical measures that it makes, particularly for our seniors but also for a lot of people that are in receipt of different pension payments as well, and I will get to all the details of that.

As the Assistant Minister for Social Services, I'm very proud to be speaking on this very critical bill, which sets out the smooth transition between income support and employment. It has a lot of benefits. As the member for Richmond, I also have a large proportion of seniors in my electorate—as the member for Dobell spoke about—and I'm very fortunate to have many senior Australians in my area. As I often say, these are the people that built our nation and we should always be cognisant of serving their needs whatever they may be. A lot of the changes in the bill are ones that have echoed what they have told me over a period of time.

In terms of our government, the Albanese Labor government's No. 1 priority is helping all Australians, ensuring that no-one is left behind or held back and are provided with the support and changes that they may need. We've certainly seen that in a whole host of our cost-of-living initiatives, which, particularly in terms of our seniors, have been of great benefit—whether that be cheaper medicines, energy bill relief or our absolutely huge investment in Medicare, in terms of tripling the bulk billing rate, which has been absolutely crucial for our seniors, who rely on those particular services. We are also very focused on job creation and driving employment, and that's vital in regional economies too to ensure we have strong economic growth through employment in our regions.

The changes in this bill will permanently enhance the pension work bonus and also extend, very importantly, the employment income nil rate period for those on income support. The bill will give people the support they need to be able to work. Following on from last year's Jobs and Skills Summit, the Albanese Labor government has undertaken a number of measures that focus on inclusion and reducing some of the barriers to employment. This includes our work bonus boost, the Carer Inclusive Workplace Initiative and the development of the Career Pathways Pilot for people with a disability.

Through our landmark employment white paper released in September, we set the road map for a more dynamic and inclusive labour market—one that will deliver sustainable employment, underpinned by job security and wages growth. It's so important to have all that in place. We really want to continue to ensure that older Australians have the option should they wish to take up more work and do more work. I certainly hear that from many of my local constituents as well. Some of them are keen to do that and pursue it and have the capacity to do it. That's what this bill is allowing. This bill really does represent the very immediate actions we're taking to deliver on many of the objectives of that white paper.

The changes to the pension work bonus will enable our older Australians who choose to work—and only if they want to—to earn more income from working before their pension is affected, and that could be through a variety of different forms of employment at times of the year when different circumstances arise. They want to be able to have that flexibility.

This builds on the temporary work bonus measure the government announced at the Jobs and Skills Summit, which gave all eligible pensioners a one-off $4,000 upfront credit in their work bonus balance and increased their work bonus income balance from $7,800 to $11,800. This temporary measure was in place from 1 December 2022 to 31 December 2023. But now, with this bill before the House, we will permanently extend these changes, from 1 January 2024, to all eligible new recipients who are of age-pension age, who will commence with a work bonus balance of $4,000 from day 1 instead of starting with zero. We're making this particular objective permanent. It's wonderful that that will be in place. It gives people certainty for the future they are planning as well. Throughout this bill we will retain on a permanent basis the maximum income balance of $11,800 for all eligible pensioners and veterans to accrue in their work bonus income bank. It's a massive change that will assist many of our seniors and our veterans.

In addition to enhancing the work bonus, from 1 July 2024 this bill will also double the length of the employment income nil rate period from 12 to 24 weeks and extend access for people who start full-time work. Of course, the employment income nil rate period is available to people on a whole range of different payments, including the JobSeeker payment, youth allowance, Austudy, the ABSTUDY living allowance, the parenting payment, the disability support pension and the carer payment. Having that in place will make such a huge difference, because people on these particular pensions won't be penalised or have their pension affected if they are working for that period of time. As we all know, once people gain employment, they have to see whether it does actually work out and if it meets the objectives that they and the employer had hoped for. Having those 24 weeks gives a certainty for all involved, particularly to those people who are in employment and making sure that it is exactly the course that they want to take. Of course, having to go off those pensions and then come back on, for many people, is a very lengthy process. To have the opportunity for choice gives a real certainty and a security to those people as well, just having that extension of time to 24 weeks.

There are two very important parts to this bill. We understand, as a government, not only the substantial benefits for older Australians and the broader community, with older Australians returning to work in response to the changes in the bill, but also the economic benefits to that as well. When we look at our older workers, we know they have a wealth of experience and highly skilled working backgrounds to contribute, if they are able and want to be able to do that. I hear from many of my older constituents about the extensive experience and great wealth of knowledge they have that they'll be able to use in a whole variety of employment settings. I know a lot of employers are very keen to hire older workers purely because of that reason. It gives them an opportunity to do that and to be able to fit in employment with whatever they have in their busy lives as well.

This bill will ensure that more than 195,000 senior Australians who commence getting the pension each year will be given added incentive to maintain their connection to the workforce and have that choice. It is important, and, of course, absolutely invaluable when it comes to both our labour market and our local economies to have those people working as well.

The maximum income bank balance of $11,800 also means pensioners who are not working regularly are able to accrue credits with this higher maximum balance, allowing them to earn more, if they do take up some work, before their pension is even affected. It also means pensioners who haven't used their one-off $4,000 credit will be able to keep it in their income bank to use at a later date. Together, the higher maximum income bank balance limit and the starting balance are targeted and effective changes that really will deliver benefits to those pensioners who do choose to work. By doubling the length of the employment income, it will allow people to be more involved in the system and retain these benefits for longer when they first get back into work.

We know that to improve employment outcomes, it's critical that people are not disincentivised from taking on short-term or ad hoc opportunities that could and may turn into longer term work. The changes to the income nil rate period are expected to benefit about 138,000 people each year, particularly those receiving JobSeeker and youth allowance, and it really is a game changer particularly for those younger people, to have the time to really see that they are settled in that employment environment. All of that allows us to provide more support for people to get back into work, without the fear they would obviously have if that social safety net wasn't there if they do need it again; they know it is there, over that period of time, and that is so incredibly important.

In conclusion, the Albanese government is committed to giving many Australians more choice and flexibility to participate in the workforce, particularly older Australians with the work bonus. These changes deliver on our commitment of building on a really strong social security safety net that protects our vulnerable Australians and doesn't stigmatise people for needing help. We are very proud of our history of doing that. Our suite of safety net measures includes additional support for working age and student payment recipients. We would have seen, too, our increases to the Commonwealth rent assistance and expansion of the parenting payment, as well, providing that targeted support when it is required. The importance of this bill is that it really does work to overcome barriers to employment and broaden opportunity by reducing disincentives in the social security system and supporting more people to take up work. The measures in this bill will provide a broad range of support to many more Australians, and I commend the bill to the House.

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