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

It is with pleasure that I stand to speak on the Business Services Wage Assessment Tool Payment Scheme Amendment Bill 2016. I too will refer to it as BSWAT from now on. This issue has been ongoing for a long time—in fact, for too long a time—which means that people with an intellectual disability who have been underpaid under successive governments have had to wait to get this back-pay and to get their issues around underpayment addressed.

Workers with disability have been underpaid and they have been trying for many years to get this issue remedied and addressed. In fact, they have had to take the matter to court to have it addressed. Personally, I think it is a great shame that they had to take it to court. It should have been dealt with a while ago. We have debated the previous bills, and I will come back to those bills in a minute.

People with an intellectual disability are significantly underrepresented in the workforce and it is important that we address this issue. Inclusion Australia has said that workers with an intellectual disability face large gaps in support for helping them to move into open employment, earn a real wage, and reduce their reliance on the pension. It is my contention that if they had been paid appropriate wages, and not underpaid, that would have helped people move into open employment. We do need structural change to the system and we need significant changes that will genuinely help workers with an intellectual disability. Increased participation should not occur because of reduced wages. This discrimination is unacceptable, and I am glad to see that the court system found that the BSWAT wage was discriminatory for workers with an intellectual disability.

We are deeply concerned that it has taken some time to work through various processes to get to the point that we have, but I am glad that we are finally there. Concerns were raised by a number of stakeholders, including Inclusion Australia, People with Disabilities and the AED Legal Centre about the process and about the tool being fundamentally flawed. That is why I am glad we are debating this bill today, which addresses issues around the previous bill. The earlier bill, the BSWAT Payment Scheme Bill 2014, was unacceptable. As we have just been discussing, and as Senator Moore has just been saying, people would have been forced to waive their legal rights to access payments. The bill only covered people with an intellectual disability, not other workers who might have been underpaid in the same ADE. It only offered up to 50 per cent of what was already owed. I spoke strongly against this in the parliament, and I outlined then how it was not supported by workers and advocates, who were strongly urging us not to pass that bill.

Fortunately, those fighting for justice on this issue have now been successful. The changes in this bill—given it is non-contro I hope it will succeed and pass through this place shortly—can provide the basis for a settlement. There are some key differences in the current bill from the previous version passed by this place. Payments will be calculated at 70 per cent, not the full 100 per cent but an improvement on the 50 per cent that the government previously tried to impose. This is supported by stakeholders. The bill extends the date for registering, applying and accepting under the payment scheme by 12 months, to May 2017; the payments will be provided in a lump sum which is exempt from social security income tests; and a tax offset will be available. This means that people who have been discriminated against will receive the payments they deserve. I am glad to see that the government is extending the date by which people have to enrol in the scheme. This was one of our concerns with the previous bill. Under the government's previous bill, people would not have been able to take as much time to make a careful choice, so we think extending the time frame is a good step. It will give people a little more time to make their choice.

I am also glad that people who previously received the 50 per cent payment can obtain a top-up. We understand that because of the uncertainty involved in the court case, some people accepted the government's 50 per cent payment offer—which of course was the government's intent. Fortunately the findings of the court have required a different approach. I am glad that people who received the 50 per cent payment will be able to receive an increased payment to reflect the 70 per cent rate in the settlement. The measures in this bill will depend on the terms of the settlement being agreed by the Federal Court. After this bill passes the parliament, if the Federal Court agrees, the parties can reach a settlement. This is an important step in resolving this issue. This is not the final step in the process, but it is a very important one and I am pleased the government has acted in a timely manner and that therefore we can deal with this matter in this place in a timely manner also.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, who have been running this case, have urged the parliament to support this bill. Disability Advocacy Network Australia is supportive of the bill, and People with Disability Australia said:

People with disability Australia … and the AED Legal Centre have warmly welcomed this decision by the Federal Government and hailed it as a win for employees with disability.

Samantha French from PWDA said:

We would have preferred the Government came to the table a lot sooner, rather than drag this through the courts, but we are pleased to have an outcome which sees wage justice for these employees.

The AED Legal Centre said they welcome the Commonwealth's offer, and they go on:

We think this is a great outcome for all supported employees eligible for a payment under the BSWAT Payment Scheme.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the people who have pursued this case to this point and who have put up such a strong case and kept fighting for this outcome. It has been a long and difficult court process for the employees, the lawyers and the advocates. They have done important work in supporting people with an intellectual disability through this process and in continually raising the profile of this issue. It is disappointing that governments took so long to reach this point. People who have been underpaid should not have been made to wait this long. They should not have had to fight their way through the courts. Because the government held out on paying people what they deserved, they have missed out. As I have said in this place before, imagine how much better people's lives could have been if they had had access to their proper wages, to this money, earlier. I must say this is not the only example in this country of, in effect, stolen wages—it is a bit different from stolen wages but it has the same impact on people's lives. It has taken years for the government to take action and people have had to face many challenges to recover this money. It is a very good example of when people see an injustice and discrimination and they keep fighting they get a resolution. I think people should be very proud of the work that has been undertaken and the collaborative approach that has been taken in getting this outcome.

I share concerns about progress in developing the tools that will replace BSWAT. We need to make sure that they are there for people with an intellectual disability. We will continue to keep a close eye on the process. It is good to see that people will be getting the wages and the back pay they deserve. We strongly support this bill and commended it to the Senate