Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Jobs and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

This gives me an opportunity, Chair, to advise the Senate that the government will be supporting the amendments put forward by One Nation. It's an amendment to schedule 4. Schedule 4 of the bill closes bereavement allowance and provides support to bereaved persons through a new jobseeker payment or youth allowance from 20 March 2020. This amendment changes the formula for calculating payments to those who lose a partner, to ensure that no-one will receive less in financial support under the new arrangements than they would receive under the current system. I believe they are the people that Senator Hanson is actually referring to.

The government supports this amendment, which builds upon the government amendments to support bereaved pregnant women. This amendment ensures that no bereaved person will be worse off with the cessation of the bereavement allowance. Bereavement allowance is paid at the pension rate of payment, compared to the jobseeker payment, which will be paid at the allowance rate of payment. As the bill is currently drafted, a bereaved person claiming jobseeker payment or youth allowance will receive a one-off lump sum payment, in addition to their ongoing fortnightly payment, following the death of their partner. To ensure that no bereaved person is worse off under the new jobseeker payment, this amendment will, from 20 March 2020, change the way payments are calculated for bereaved persons to ensure that there will be no difference between what a bereaved person will receive under the jobseeker payment or youth allowance and what they would receive under bereavement allowance. Again, they are the people Senator Hanson is referring to.

I need to point out that with the removal of the potential difference in amounts between jobseeker payment and bereavement allowance, the new system provides a much better arrangement for those who are bereaved. Those who lose a partner do not have to apply for another payment as they do under the current system. Instead, they will receive an exemption from any mutual obligation requirements, to support them in their time of bereavement, and will seamlessly move into job search or other mutual obligation activities once the period of exemption ends.