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

I thank Senator Chandler for her question. The Morrison government is absolutely focused on supporting all Australians as we fight our way through this incredible pandemic and as we reopen the economy. Over the course of this year the government has provided leadership and support to the community. We have tried to cushion the blow from the pandemic with enormous fiscal and economic support through programs such as the JobKeeper program and the JobMaker program in the budget, and through enhanced measures across the income support system.

This week, the Prime Minister and I announced that we will extend temporarily this enhanced support through the social security system for a further three months, as economic confidence builds and as momentum builds across the economy. We're spending $3.2 billion in the first three months of next year to extend the supplement from 1 January to 31 March. Importantly, our extended temporary measures go much, much further than just the supplement. For an additional three months, we'll be expanding the eligibility for these payments. These measures will enable about 185,000 people who otherwise would not be eligible for payment to access payments during these uncertain and challenging times. That includes such things as the extension of the partner income taper test so that people will be able to access some payments where their partner earns less than $80,000 a year. We'll also be extending eligibility to people like sole traders, people who are self-employed, people who have been stood down, people who have to isolate and people who are looking after somebody who has had to isolate as a result of the COVID pandemic. We'll also extend the nil rate period, which basically means that people will be able to retain their concession cards as they return to the workforce, to provide additional confidence, security and certainty to them as they make that very, very important transition back to work.

Through these extensions and the new measures, like the one-off payment to pensioners, we will stand side-by-side with all Australians as we recover from the pandemic.