Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is delivering a long-term plan to reform income management. First Nations people and other stakeholders have called for a measured approach to reforming income management, and decisions must be made in partnership with them. I'm advised that, over the last two years, the government has consulted with about 4½ thousand community members and 250 stakeholders across 81 communities, and communities have told us that they would prefer a longer transition period to move onto voluntary income management to ensure people are well supported to make this change.

I'm also advised that the government has been working in good faith with the Northern Territory government and that the Prime Minister has had—it might have been the minister, actually; I think this is a brief from her—productive discussions with the Chief Minister. I understand that income management has not changed in the Northern Territory since the previous government, and the same rules around income management apply in the NT as have existed since 2007.