Judith Adams (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of answers given by Senator Kemp. I would like to speak about the Welfare to Work reforms and the effect of Welfare to Work on families and children. The Welfare to Work reforms are aimed at helping parents to enter the workforce and providing support services to encourage increased economic and social participation. The best form of welfare for families is a job, and the positive role models of working parents will always be good for children.

Changes to income support arrangements, participation requirements and employment services will support parents of school aged children to become less dependent on welfare and to participate in the workforce. There will be more practical support to parents to help them prepare for employment and to assist with child care, including 84,300 extra outside school hours care places, 2,500 extra family day care places and 1,000 extra in-home care places. Parents will not be required to accept a job offer if they have a good reason for declining, such as suitable child care not being available or if the cost of care would result in a very low or negative financial gain from working.

From 1 July 2006, all parents on income support whose youngest child is aged six or over will have an obligation based on their capacity to seek part-time work of at least 15 hours per week. Parents receiving parenting payment prior to July 2006 will be able to remain on parenting payment until their current entitlement expires—that is, until their youngest child turns 16. Existing recipients of parenting payment will have a 12-month grace period before new obligations commence, with their obligation commencing from the latter of 1 July 2007 or their youngest child’s seventh birthday. If these parents go off parenting payment for more than 12 weeks and need to reapply for income support after 1 July 2006, they will be treated as new applicants.

Parents applying for an income support payment on or after 1 July 2006 will receive parenting payment until their youngest child is six years old for partnered parents and eight years old for single parents. Single parents on Newstart or youth allowance will also be eligible for pharmaceutical allowance, pensioner concession cards and telephone allowance. Parents newly claiming income support whose youngest child is aged from six to 15 will be required to work part time, search for part-time work or undertake suitable activities to prepare them to return to work. Requirements will be tailored to the individual and family circumstances. Single parents receiving Newstart allowance who are suitably involved in providing and supervising home schooling or distance education, who have large families—four or more children between the ages of six and 15—or who are active and registered foster carers will receive Newstart allowance at an amount always equal to parenting payment single. This higher rate of payment recognises that some single parents are involved in significant ongoing tasks over and above the normal tasks associated with parenting and other caring responsibilities.

Parents, both partnered and single, who are involved in home schooling, distant education or foster caring will also receive automatic exemptions from participation requirements. Parents in these groups will still be able to access the full range of employment services on a voluntary basis, including the new service, Employment Preparation.

I would also like to speak about the claims that single mothers will not benefit from work and that changes announced in the budget are unlikely to encourage women to enter the workforce. Mothers moving from welfare to work benefit enormously from working. The budget provides even more incentives for mothers to re-enter the workforce. A mother in part-time work can get up to $365 per year extra due to the increase in the low-income tax offset. If she has three children, she will now be eligible for the large family supplement of an extra $248 per year. Mothers will also benefit by the increase in the lower income threshold level to $40,000 to receive full rate family tax benefit part A, up from $33,361. (Time expired)