Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My second question is: it looks like in the Northern Territory we're going to continue to have these two different types of income management; we'll have the enhanced card and then we'll have people on the BasicsCard. One of the differences between the cashless debit card and the BasicsCard was that there were different provisions as to how people could get off it or apply to get off it. With the cashless debit card, exemptions from the cashless debit card were if people were able to make the case that participation would pose a serious risk to their mental, physical or emotional wellbeing or if they could demonstrate reasonable and responsible management of their affairs. For the BasicsCard, the ability to get off the BasicsCard—people have told me—is much more limited. In particular, if a program participant on the BasicsCard is in the category of being a vulnerable welfare recipient, it's almost impossible for them to get off the card. So what I wanted to know is: in this new enhanced income tool, which people from the cashless debit card are being moved onto, what are the criteria going to be for people to be able to apply to get off that card?