Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Senator Siewert. I think what you raise here is the specific nature of dealing with many of these issues on a case-by-case basis. Going to the analogy you've just made: nobody's going to get a bad credit rating for paying their bills a bit late; you only get a bad credit rating if you don't pay your bills at all and you fall into default and you end up, through the process, getting put on a reach. So, I take very clearly your point on the degree to which financial management imprudence is interpreted. Looking at the holistic suite of issues, as part of this legislation we'd be seeking for someone to be able to demonstrate—I clearly take on board your point about the interpretation of financial management and the necessity for the person who's making the determination within the department to take on board the issues you raised about low-income earners and how they manage their money. So I suppose what I can say is that I believe that for this to be able to work it needs to be able to have the level of nuance that you're referring to, and case-by-case management. There will be a whole heap of people who will tick the box on every occasion and it will be fine, but there will just need to be a level of leniency provided for the demonstration of the example you just gave.