Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (More Support in the Safety Net) Bill 2024. The Albanese Labor government is committed to responsible cost-of-living relief for Australians, delivering targeted support for pensioners and income support recipients.

In the 2024-25 budget, the government is investing $2 billion to provide more support in the social safety net, with changes to income support. We want to reduce disadvantage and build a strong and sustainable social safety net that provides relief to those most in need when they need it. The government is committed to providing more support where it can to those most in need, where it is responsible and affordable to do so.

This bill is part of our broader plan and delivers targeted assistance to further strengthen Australia's social security safety net. The measures in this bill include: $1.9 billion to increase the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance by 10 per cent; $41.2 million to extend the higher rate of JobSeeker payment to single recipients with a partial capacity to work fewer than 15 hours per week; and $18.6 million to change the 25-hour-per-week participation rule for carer payment recipients to allow 100 hours over a four-week settlement period.

These build on the measures in our last budget which increased working-age and student payments by $40 a fortnight, expanded eligibility for the higher rate of JobSeeker, expanded parenting payment single to parents until their youngest child turns 14 and increased the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance by 15 per cent. This bill provides an increase in the maximum rate of Commonwealth rent assistance by 10 per cent. It's the second consecutive rise under this government, and that's the first time in more than 30 years. We know rental markets are becoming more expensive, particularly for those on low fixed incomes. There is a whole other debate about why that is, but it's particularly because of 10 years of inaction by those opposite in terms of leaving the housing market to the market and not doing nearly enough to get more housing supply into the country.

The Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee endorsed an increase in Commonwealth rent assistance as the best way to address rental affordability while at the same time ease cost-of-living pressures. By increasing rental assistance, the government is providing targeted, effective assistance for low-income households in private rentals. We are addressing the pressure associated with housing costs for close to one million households. In my electorate of Lyons, thousands of families will be better off, with more than 5,200 households in my electorate set to benefit. When this increase takes effect later in the year, it will mean, combined with indexation, that rent assistance will have increased by more than 40 per cent since the Albanese government was elected two years ago.

This bill will also extend eligibility for the higher rate of JobSeeker to single recipients who have an assessed partial capacity to work of under 15 hours per week. We recognise that barriers faced by this cohort of not being able to work as much as they might want to and the financial strain this can create. Around 4,700 people will benefit from at least an additional $54.20 a fortnight, better reflecting their needs and circumstances and supporting them with their daily living costs. This is particularly important for people who are not eligible for disability support payments, for example, but who otherwise face barriers to full-time employment.

This is exactly the case for Paul, who called in to my Perth electorate office recently for some advice on social security payments. After a recent injury, Paul requires several weeks of physio and his capacity to work has been reduced while he recovers. The higher payment rate will assist jobseekers like Paul to support themselves to a greater extent while still pursuing work with social and economic benefits.

The bill also allows for more flexibility in the hours that carer payment recipients work, study or volunteer over a four-week period. Specifically, the government is providing $18.6 million over five years from 2023-24 to change the 25-hour-per-week limit to instead allow up to 100 hours of work over a four-week settlement period. Recent figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that the number of people receiving carer payments has increased steeply over the past two decades. About one in 10 Australians provide unpaid care for a friend or family member and, as of March last year, more than 300,000 people were receiving carer payments. And I'd just like to give a quick little shout out to every carer in Australia. They do amazing, incredible work.

The majority of carers, 80 per cent in fact, were aged 16 to 64, representing 1.5 per cent of our working-age population. The change will improve the ability of these carers to structure their work commitments, education and volunteering activities around their caring role. I know that this measure has been well received in my home state, which has the highest rate per capita of carers in the country: 15½ per cent of the population. This is certainly reflected in my own electorate. During the most recent mobile member days that I've held across Lyons, many of the constituents I met with told me about their own experiences as carer for a loved one. For example, I heard from Matthew from Bridgewater. He cares full-time for his mum. Liz, from Fingal recently took on caring responsibilities for her father. And a young mum from Midway Point is supporting her husband through an illness. Some were already receiving carer payment and others were seeking information about what support might be available to them. I was so pleased to be able to tell these constituents that, under the Albanese Labor government, they will have the flexibility and support to better structure their commitments around their role as a carer, whether those be work, study or child care. The Tasmanian Council of Social Services welcomed the ability for carers to work more flexibly and to 'live their own lives without their payments being impacted'. ABS data has shown that Tassie carers earned $190 a week less than noncarers, and are also less likely to be engaged in paid employment than their non-caring counterparts. This measure will assist in removing some of the barriers to employment faced by Tasmanian carers, supporting them to better structure their work commitments, education and volunteering activities around their caring role.

In conclusion, the Albanese government is committed to providing more support, where it can, to those most in need. Taken together, the 2023-24 and 2024-25 budget measures represent an $11.5 billion investment to strengthen the social security safety net. This bill delivers targeted and responsible relief to some of the most vulnerable in our community. This is in addition to our government's broader cost-of-living measures: our energy bill relief for every household, capping the health indexation rate, the extended freeze on social security, paying superannuation on paid parental leave, cheaper child care, cheaper medicines, strengthening Medicare and, of course, a tax cut for every taxpayer from 1 July, including bigger tax cuts for most. I'm proud to be part of a government that's committed to a strong and sustainable social security safety net, while also running a strong, sustainable and responsible economic management program. I commend this bill to the House.

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