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

by leave—I move Greens amendments (23), (26), (27) and (1) on sheet 5655 revised 2.

(23)  Schedule 1, item 1, page 17 (after line 4), at the end of section 42U, add:

Homelessness

        (3)    A determination under subsection (1) must provide that, in deciding whether a person has a reasonable excuse for the matters listed in that subsection, the Secretary must take into account whether the person is homeless or is at risk of becoming homeless and, if so, whether that circumstances has affected the person’s capacity to meet the person’s obligations under this Division.

Note:   homeless has a meaning affected by section 19DA.

(26)  Schedule 4, page 61 (after line 4), before item 1, insert:

1A  After section 19D

Insert:

19DA Homelessness

        (1)    For the purposes of the social security law, homelessness and homeless have meanings affected by this section.

        (2)    The following are objectives of the social security law:

             (a)    the need to give people a sustainable pathway out of homelessness; and

             (b)    the need to minimise the risk of people becoming homeless.

        (3)    When assessing the social security entitlements and social security benefits of any person, in circumstances in which the Secretary is required to consider the residential status of the person, hardship provisions which may relate to the person’s circumstances or the ability of the person to meet obligations imposed by the social security law, the Secretary must have regard to the objectives set out in subsection (2).

        (4)    In applying a definition of homelessness, the Secretary must have regard to the following categories of homelessness, drawn from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Australian Census Analytic Program document, Counting the Homeless:

             (a)    primary homelessness, which accords with the common sense assumption that homelessness is the same as ‘rooflessness’ and includes all people without conventional accommodation, such as people living on the streets, sleeping in parks, squatting in derelict buildings, or using cars or railway carriages for temporary shelter;

             (b)    secondary homelessness, which includes people who move frequently from one form of temporary shelter to another and includes people staying in emergency or transitional accommodation, including hostels for the homeless, night shelters and refuges, and also including people residing temporarily with other households because they have no accommodation of their own;

             (c)    tertiary homelessness, which refers to people who live in boarding houses on a medium- to long-term basis, operationally defined as 13 weeks or longer, whose accommodation situation is below the minimum community standard.

(27)  Page 67 (after line 33), at the end of the bill, add:

Social Security (Reasonable Excuse) (DEWR) Determination 2006

15  Paragraph 4(2)(a)

Omit the paragraph, substitute:

             (a)    the fact that the person is homeless or is at risk of becoming homeless at the time that the failure or refusal occurred;

(1)    Clause 3, page 2 (lines 7 to 11), omit the clause, substitute:

3 Schedule(s)

        (1)    Each Act, and each determination, that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.

        (2)    The amendment of any determination under subsection (1) does not prevent the determination, as so amended, being amended or repealed by the Secretary.

These amendments relate to inserting a definition of homelessness into the Social Security Act that is based on the ABS census definition of cultural homelessness. They also provide for the determination made with respect to a reasonable excuse in reference to this definition of homelessness and amend the current determination to that effect.

We believe the current definition of homelessness in the determination is completely inadequate. This series of amendments ensures that homelessness has a recognised place in social security law. The issue came up during the Senate inquiry a number of times. There was a slipperiness around the definition of homelessness and the way it was applied previously. We heard an example where someone was homeless but had a regular homeless address—in other words, it was known where the person was sleeping out of doors. They were classed as not coming under the definition of homeless because they could be contacted. That is an absolutely ridiculous interpretation of homelessness. This interpretation was not brought about by the current government—I definitely acknowledge that—it was put in place by the previous government, but this example highlighted very clearly why we need a clear, consistent definition of homelessness. So the Greens are seeking to include it in this legislation and then make a series of amendments that would reflect that definition.