Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move Greens amendment (2) on sheet 5101 revised:

(2)    Schedule 1, item 1, page 68 (after line 19), at the end of Part 5, add:

Division 10—Modelling and analysis of the assessment formula in this Part

79A Modelling and analysis of the assessment formula in this Part

        (1)    The Minister must:

             (a)    cause an independent review of the combined impacts of the welfare to work provisions and the assessment formula for child support to be completed nine months before the commencement of this Part; and

             (b)    establish an independent review committee to oversight the review in paragraph (a)

        (2)    The review committee established in subsection (1) is to consist of:

             (a)    a departmental representative from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations; and

             (b)    a departmental representative from the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; and

             (c)    3 members from community based organisations with expertise in family law, community services and child welfare; and

             (d)    2 academics with expertise in community services and economic modelling.

        (3)    The review committee must:

             (a)    conduct an analysis of the combined impacts of welfare to work provisions and the assessment formula for child support in this Part; and

             (b)    use the services of a reputable economic modelling agency with relevant skills and experience to undertake economic modelling and analysis pursuant to paragraph (a); and

             (c)    make recommendations to the Minister, with reasons for the recommendations, about possible support measures for those disadvantaged as a consequence of the interactions between the child support assessment formula and the welfare to work provision; and

             (d)    report on its findings to the Minister by 1 July 2007; and

             (e)    to consider any additional matter referred to it by the Minister and make recommendations to the Minister on that matter with reasons for the recommendations.

        (4)    The Minister must cause copies of the review committee’s report to be laid before each House of Parliament within 15 sitting days of that House after the Minister receives the report.

I think this is where the government and the Greens part company, so hopefully some of my reputation is saved. This amendment goes to some of the issues that Senator Evans just touched on—that is, looking at the impact of the formula on low-income families. It requires some modelling to be done and for that to be taken into consideration when the formula is being worked out. As I outlined in my speech during the second reading debate, the Greens have a great deal of concern about the fact that modelling was not carried out on the combined impact of the Welfare to Work provisions and the new assessment formula for child support. We have some concerns about, as I also articulated in my speech during the second reading debate, some of the impacts of the new formula and the fact that it will be lowering incomes for some families. We are talking about families who are already on low incomes and therefore the impact could be quite severe.

When you combine this with the lowering of income through Welfare to Work, there were a number of submissions—for example, the National Council of Single Mothers and Their Children—that pointed out that this could have a significant impact on low-income families. So we believe that there is time to carry out modelling of the combined impact and, given that this has an 18-month lead time and the final formula will not be implemented until 2008, to look at the new formula, to look at the impact on clients receiving child support by implementing the formula and to see if something can be done to redress those issues. We believe this amendment is important to facilitate that modelling through an independent review, getting some experts on modelling and making some recommendations to the minister on implementing the formula.

As I understand it, the Child Support Agency will be calculating the reformulation before 2008—they told us that during the committee inquiry. So I see no reason why the modelling could not be carried out and for the new formula and its interaction with Welfare to Work to be considered, as it is reapplied to all child support agencies, to see which families will be significantly affected and make adjustments for that.