Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Albanese Labor government is working for all Australians, and with our measures in this year's budget we are providing responsible cost-of-living relief that eases pressure on people and doesn't add to inflation. The measures in the bill I am introducing today are complemented by our new power bill relief, cheaper medicines, the extended freeze on social security deeming rates, strengthening Medicare and, of course, the delivery of a tax cut for every Australian taxpayer on 1 July this year.

The Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (More Support in the Safety Net) Bill 2024 is part of this broader plan and delivers targeted assistance to further strengthen Australia's social security safety net.

It builds on the government's safety net measures in the 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.

Together with last year's investments, the measures in this bill represent an additional $11.5 billion investment in the social security system, providing more assistance to Australians on some of the lowest incomes.

In 2024-25 alone, it is estimated that over $143 billion will be spent on social security and family payments.

The government knows that access to secure and affordable housing has significant social, economic and personal benefits. And, in the current context, we recognise many people are still struggling with high rental costs.

That is why, as part of this bill, the government will increase Commonwealth rent assistance maximum rates by a further 10 per cent, providing recipients with more support to manage rental pressures. This builds on our increase in the previous budget, providing the first back-to-back increases to rent assistance in over 30 years.

This further increase means that, combined with the indexation, by 20 September 2024, when this measure is due to commence, maximum rates of rent assistance will have increased by over 40 per cent since the Albanese government was elected in May 2022.

And regular indexation will be applied on top, on the same day.

Rental assistance is the most effective policy lever the government has to target and provide immediate assistance for low-income households in private rentals. This latest measure will help address the pressure associated with housing costs for close to a million households.

The second measure delivered by this bill will extend eligibility for the higher rate of JobSeeker to single recipients who have been assessed as only being able to work up to 14 hours per week due to a physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment. This higher rate is currently $816.90 per fortnight and goes to single recipients with dependent children and single recipients aged 55 and over on payment for nine or more continuous months.

Through this measure, additional assistance will be targeted to recipients with a significantly reduced capacity to work, recognising the barriers they face to supplement their income with earnings from work and the financial strain this can create.

This measure will bring around 4,700 additional recipients onto the higher rate of the JobSeeker payment, better reflecting their needs and circumstances and supporting them with their daily living costs.

On average, recipients with a partial capacity to work of up to 14 hours remain on payment for almost twice as long as those without a partial capacity to work and are less likely to experience the benefit of work, with only nine per cent reporting earnings on average each fortnight.

Of those who will benefit from this measure, 36 per cent are women, 34 per cent live in regional and remote Australia and 14 per cent are First Nations people.

Combined with a higher rate of energy supplement, these recipients will receive an additional $54.90 per fortnight before indexation.

Subject to the passage of this bill, this measure will commence from 20 September 2024. This is the same day as regular indexation of the JobSeeker payment, which means the actual increase will be higher.

This measure builds on our changes to payments in the last budget, including the $40 per fortnight base rate increase for working age and student payments and extending the higher rate of the JobSeeker payment to single Australians aged 55 and over who have been on the payment long term, down from 60.

Expanding eligibility for the higher JobSeeker rate to these cohorts is designed to strengthen the system, by better targeting support to people based on their age, stage and circumstances.

Since the government was elected in May 2022, the base rate of the JobSeeker payment has increased by $120 per fortnight, or 18.7 per cent, providing over $3,100 in additional support each year. This is the largest nominal increase in a two-year period ever and the largest two-year increase in real terms—7.4 per cent, in more than 40 years.

And for those cohorts moving from the base rate to the higher rate, they are over $4,500 a year better off since May 2022.

Alongside this targeted increase in income support, the government remains committed to our workforce participation agenda.

The third measure of this bill—to introduce more flexibility for carer payment recipients to manage their work commitments and caring responsibilities—aligns with the government's road map in the employment white paper to remove barriers to employment and improve workforce participation.

This includes provisions to change the 25-hour-per-week participation limit for carer payment recipients to instead allow up to 100 hours over a four-week settlement period, effective from 20 March 2025.

Changes will also be made to ensure education and volunteering activities will no longer be counted in the participation limit. Travel time will also be removed through related policy changes.

Currently, the carer payment can be cancelled if the 25-hour limit per week is exceeded. As well as greater flexibility, this measure also introduces a six-month suspension period for recipients who work over the new flexible limit, meaning if their circumstances change they won't need to reapply to access the carer payment. They will also retain their pensioner concession card during this period.

Policy changes will also provide for the use of single temporary cessation of care days, providing for one-off or occasional instances of exceeding the participation hours limit. Currently, carers receive 63 of these respite days—which they can use for any purpose. But they are required to use them in seven-day blocks where these days are used to cover exceeding the participation limit. This change means that they can opt to use only a single day.

Combined, these changes are designed to give carers—who are predominantly women—greater flexibility and choice to structure their work, study or volunteering commitments around their caring responsibilities. This is expected to particularly benefit people who care for those with episodic or fluctuating conditions.

The removal of travel time from the participation limit will particularly assist carers who live in regional and remote areas and are more likely to need to travel further for work.

Around 31,000 carer payment recipients currently report employment earnings and may benefit from these changes.

This measure responds to recommendations in the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee's 2024 report and the 2020 Productivity Commission inquiry into mental health. The changes have also been called for by stakeholders, advocacy groups and recipients of carer payment.

As a result of this bill:

These measures provide responsible relief, including to some of the most vulnerable in our community, and help to remove barriers to work for carers.

The Albanese Labor government believes in a strong and sustainable social security system, and with these measures, we are providing more support in the safety net.

I commend this bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.