Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The DisabilityCare Australia Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2013 will give effect to the DisabilityCare Australia Fund Bill that was passed by parliament in the sitting week of 13 May 2013. These consequential amendments ensure that the government's commitment to provide the funding for DisabilityCare Australia through an increase to the Medicare levy can be put into operation.

On 1 May 2013 the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Disability Reform announced that the government would increase the Medicare levy by half a percentage point from 1.5 to two per cent of taxable income. The establishment of the DisabilityCare Australia Fund requires a number of consequential amendments to other pieces of legislation to establish the effective operation of the fund.

The DisabilityCare Australia Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill will amend the COAG Reform Fund Act 2008, the Future Fund Act 2006 and the Nation-building Funds Act 2008.

The matters dealt with by the bill are largely to include the DisabilityCare Australia Fund into those acts. It will enable reimbursements to the states and territories through the COAG Reform Fund and also facilitate the management of the DisabilityCare Australia Fund by the Future Fund.

This DisabilityCare Australia Fund (Consequential Amendments) Bill should be supported as it facilitates the operations of the DisabilityCare Australia Fund, which is endorsed by this parliament.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.