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

I have some more questions on that, but I'm aware we need to keep moving and so I'll move my first amendment. I move Greens amendment (1) on sheet 8882:

(1) Clause 2 , page 2 (table item 1 ), omit the table item, substitute:

1. The whole of this Act

As follows:

(a) if this Act receives the Royal Assent before 1 September 2020—1 September 2020;

(b) if this Act receives the Royal Assent on or after 1 September 2020—the first day of the first calendar month that occurs after the end of the period of 2 months beginning on the day this Act receives the Royal Assent.

I will be very brief. During the Senate inquiry it was raised by a number of stakeholders that they don't think the actual process is quite ready after the testing process—we have been through that—and also they are concerned about ensuring that people get the first transition. As I articulated earlier, there are two transitions. There is the transition on 1 July and then there's the start of the STP. What was recommended during the inquiry was that we delay the start of this. While everybody was in support of this in principle—we are all clear about that—stakeholders are concerned that mistakes will be made. So their recommendation was to delay the start. I've subsequently checked with stakeholders and, from some of them, there is still a very strong feeling that their members, the people they represent, won't be ready and the system isn't ready. So they have still maintained that this should be delayed by another quarter. That's why we seek to delay the start of the legislation to 1 September.

I have thought very long and hard about it. I understand the issues that the government has articulated in terms of how there's the potential for people to make more mistakes like robodebt, which I have some troubles sucking up given the problems we have now. The government wants people to learn and get used to using this new system. I think, then, if you look at the flip side, you have two new systems that people are going to have to learn doing it this way. If Single Touch Payroll is ready by the beginning of September and this comes in it'll be one transition period rather than two transition periods. On balance, we consider it is better to delay it by a quarter to enable the system to be much more rigorously tested before it starts.