Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This bill will reintroduce the seniors supplement budget measure, which was originally introduced, as senators will recall, in an earlier budget bill. As introduced, the measure would cease payment from 20 September 2014 of the seniors supplement for holders of the Commonwealth seniors' health card or the Veterans Affairs' gold card; however, other benefits will remain available to cardholders, such as discounts on medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. In conjunction with this change to the seniors supplement, the bill will ensure that cardholders who formerly received the clean energy supplement in association with their card will now receive the renamed energy supplement maintained at current levels through the permanent removal of indexation.

Amendments will be moved to the bill to update the measure in light of delayed passage. This will remove schedule 1 and update with schedule 4 from the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Fair and Sustainable Pensions) Bill 2015 in its entirety. In particular, the implementation date will be moved to 20 June 2015, meaning the last quarterly payment of the seniors supplement will generally be one made on 20 June 2015. I am content to leave my remarks there.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.