Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

Firstly, I would like to thank those senators who have contributed to this debate. Schedule 1 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 3) Bill 2021 amends the Medicare Levy Act 1986 and A New Tax System (Medicare Levy Surcharge—Fringe Benefits) Act 1999 to increase the Medicare levy low-income threshold for singles, families, and seniors and pensioners, consistent with the increases in the consumer price index. This will ensure that low-income thresholds keep pace with increases in the costs of living. The amendments to the Medicare levy low-income thresholds apply to the 2020-21 year of income and future income years.

Schedule 2 of the bill will enable the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation to provide 10,000 family home guarantees over four years, commencing on 1 July 2021, to single parents with dependants, predominantly women, seeking to enter or re-enter the housing market sooner. The Family Home Guarantee recognises the importance of housing and providing a foundation for social, economic and emotional wellbeing. By establishing the Family Home Guarantee, the government is providing a pathway to homeownership for single parents with dependants who have struggled to save enough for a deposit while paying rent and/or restarting their lives, allowing them to purchase a modest home sooner, subject to the individual's ability to service a loan.

Schedule 3 of the bill will exempt eligible payments made by the Australian government to thalidomide survivors from income taxation and from the social security and veterans' entitlement income test. As announced in the 2020-21 budget, the Australian government will provide $44.9 million over four years and $3.9 million per year ongoing to thalidomide survivors.

Schedule 4 of the bill provides an income tax exemption for qualifying grants made to primary producers and small businesses affected by the February and March 2021 storms and floods, which had a devastating impact on communities in Australia. The schedule provides qualifying grants—category D grants—under the joint Commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements of 2018, where those grants relate to the storms and floods in Australia that occurred due to rainfall events between 19 February 2021 and 31 March 2021. These include small business recovery grants of up to $50,000 and primary producer recovery grants of up to $75,000. These grants provide support in addition to other assistance that the Australian and state government have provided to assist communities as they begin to build and recover following these devastating events. Impacted small business and primary producers are encouraged to apply for these grants. Further information on disaster recovery assistance is available on the Disaster Assist website.

Schedule 5 of the bill amends the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to allow members of the public who donate to the Alliance for Journalists' Freedom Ltd, the Andy Thomas Space Foundation Ltd, Youthsafe, the RAS Foundation Ltd, the Judith Neilsen Institute for Journalism and Ideas, the Great Synagogue Foundation trust, the Centre for Entrepreneurial Research and Innovation, and the Sydney Chevra Kadisha to claim a tax deduction. The government is supporting these organisations in their provision of valuable community services by granting them deductible gift recipient status.

I commend this bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.