Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all of those who have contributed to this important debate on the Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Repeal of Cashless Debit Card and Other Measures) Bill 2022.

I appreciate that for many people this has been an emotional debate on both sides of the chamber. However, the bill delivers on our government's election commitment to abolish the cashless debit card, and is the product of ongoing and sincere community consultation. This bill not only is the first step in the transition journey away from the cashless debit card but is a significant milestone in the reform of cashless welfare in Australia.

We want to ensure that any measure we put in place as a government will help the people we are assisting. To that end, the Minister for Social Services will continue to consult with the affected communities, participants using the card and First Nations leaders to deliver a smooth and supported transition off the card. The government thanks the community leaders and the participants who so generously shared their experiences with the minister and the Assistant Minister for Social Services, the Hon. Justine Elliot MP, in Ceduna, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, the East Kimberley, the Goldfields regions, Cape York and the Northern Territory. Some of my colleagues also contributed to those consultations with the local communities. Thanks should go to Senator Pat Dodson and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, and to Marion Scrymgour MP, the member for Lingiari. Our government will continue to consult with local communities to implement solutions which communities want to see and ensure that they are supported in the transition off the CDC.

The bill before us will, firstly, remove the ability for any new entrants to be put on the card. Secondly, it will enable the more than 17,000 existing cashless debit card participants to be progressively transitioned off the card as soon as the bill receives royal assent. Thirdly, it enables the Family Responsibilities Commission to continue to support their community members by placing them onto income management where the need exists. Finally, it will allow for the repeal of the cashless debit card on a day to be fixed by proclamation or a maximum of six months after royal assent, allowing for the necessary time to support staged transition off the card.

I note the report delivered by the Senate community affairs committee and thank the senators and the committee secretariat staff involved for their work, particularly the work of Senator Marielle Smith who is the chair of that committee.

Other senators have referred to the report during this debate and to the evidence heard by witnesses at the public hearings in Bundaberg, Alice Springs, Darwin and Canberra. I would like to thank these witnesses for their time with the committee and all those who submitted written submissions. The report noted the strong support for the abolition of the CDC program and the concerns of many stakeholders about the lack of evidence supporting the CDC, as well as the negative impacts of the program on individual participants and communities. The hearings heard directly from participants who were forced to use the card; social policy researchers; providers of the CDC in the Traditional Credit Union; the Family Responsibility Commission in Queensland; and other stakeholders, such as organisations delivering CDC support services.

Taking into account all evidence provided in the hearings and the written submissions, the committee report made two recommendations, which the government has carefully considered in our approach to this bill. The first recommendation was:

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government work with the Queensland Family Responsibilities Commission to address the concerns raised, including considering possible amendments to the bill, to ensure that the Commission can continue to operate effectively in accordance with its statutory responsibilities.

The second recommendation was:

Subject to recommendation 1, the committee recommends that the bill be passed.

In response to recommendation 1, the government will introduce amendments to this bill to ensure participants are supported through their transition off the card in the most safe and structured way. These amendments will, in summary, further affirm the role of the Family Responsibilities Commission in the Cape York region to allow them to continue referring people to income management, with an improved technology offering allowing access to more merchants compared to the BasicsCard and delivered by Services Australia. This same technological offering will be available to the CDC participants in the Northern Territory who will remain on income management following the repeal of the CDC. Finally, it will allow CDC participants in the remaining site of Bundaberg, Ceduna, Hervey Bay, the Goldfields and East Kimberley to also volunteer for this enhanced card, with more access to merchants and with all client interaction through Services Australia.

The government is also providing a suite of measures that will ensure CDC communities are better off. These include an updated income management technology solution with an enhanced card delivery, delivered by Services Australia; continuation of current community support services and addition of new services; delivering $14.9 million for additional alcohol and other drug treatment services and support in the cashless debit card trial sites; and, finally, providing $17 million for community led and designed initiatives to support economic and employment opportunities in selected cashless debit card sites. This is all funding the former government already had but did not deliver to the communities. We will deliver this.

We will also provide additional front-of-house staff from Services Australia and cashless debit card program sites over the transition period. Staff, including Indigenous service officers and community engagement officers, will support community engagement activities, and additional remote servicing visits will be arranged. More financial information service officers will also be available to work with individuals to improve their financial work capability, foster self-sufficiency and help them make informed decisions about their finances. Social workers will be available to work with individuals with more complex issues.

The Albanese Labor government remains committed to making income management voluntary over the long term for those 24,000 people on income management nationally. During the minister's recent community consultation in the CDC communities she's been discussing what voluntary income management could look like and whether there may be circumstances in which a community decides how they make income management voluntary for individuals. During these consultations it was clear that communities are starting to think about what voluntary income management in their community may look like and if it could be something that is decided at community level, such as the arrangements under the FRC.

The government will work closely with communities in CDC regions to continue addressing entrenched disadvantage in communities and to determine where and how support services can best be deployed. Understanding local issues for the services needed in each region is a priority for the government. The minister's consultations with First Nations leaders, CDC participants, community organisations and service providers will be the first step of a comprehensive and thorough consultation process.

I will detail our government's amendments further in consideration of this bill in the committee of the whole. With these amendments, and our commitments to communities through these additional support services, the government will have addressed the recommendations of the report. In line with the second of the committee's recommendations, I recommend that the bill be passed.