Federal Government Introduces Split Welfare Bills to Gain Approval for Budget

Friday 3 October 2014 @ 2.02 p.m. | Legal Research

Yesterday (2 October 2014), the Federal Government reintroduced four new Social Security Bills in order to pass the welfare savings which have been already agreed to in principle by the Labor Opposition.

Introduction of New Bills

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann raised the prospect of splitting the two welfare bills currently before the Senate, as a way to pass close to $3 billion of savings that have Labor's backing. But Opposition families and payments spokeswoman Jenny Macklin says the Government have presented an entirely new set of bills to the Lower House instead:

"It was never going to get to the amendment point, it was never going to get beyond the second reading...Labor was never going to support changes that had cuts to the pensions, these massive cuts to families, we were never going to support putting young unemployed people in the position where they had nothing to live on for six months."

Those proposed welfare changes, which do not have the support of Labor or the Greens, represent close to $10 billion of budget savings.

The New Bills

The four new bills, introduced into the House of Representatives are all currently at second reading stage except for the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 6) Bill 2014 which has already been introduced into the Senate and is up for second reading debate.

The government agreed to split its social services legislation to secure the $2.7 billion of measures Labor has promised to support which includes the tighter targeting of Family Tax Benefit B by reducing the primary earner income limit from $150,000 a year to $100,000.

But another $9 billion worth of measures remains jammed, with Labor opposing and the government unable to get crossbench backing. Apart from the dole waiting period, they include changes to pension indexation and family tax benefits and cessation of the seniors supplement, as reported by TimeBase.

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 4) Bill 2014

This Bill will reintroduce several measures previously introduced in the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 1) Bill 2014 and the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 2) Bill 2014. The reintroduced measures appear in Schedules as below:

  1. Implement changes to Australian Government payments for parenting payments and working age allowancesk indexing parenting payments and changes to the Family Tax Benefit;
  2. Implement family payment reforms from 1 July 2015;
  3. Extend and simplify the ordinary waiting period for all working age payments from 1 January 2015;
  4. Cease pensioner education supplement from 1 January 2015;
  5. Cease the education entry payment from 1 January 2015;
  6. From 1 January 2015, extend youth allowance (other) to 22 to 24 year olds in lieu of newstart allowance and sickness allowance;
  7. Require young people with full capacity to learn, earn or Work for the Dole from 1 January 2015; and
  8. From 1 January 2015, remove the three months’ backdating of disability pension under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986.

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 5) Bill 2014

This Bill will reintroduce several 2014 Budget measures in Schedules to the Bill numbered as set out below.

  1. Implement to Australian Government payments for income test free areas for pensions and income support payments; pensions indexed to the Consumer Price Index and reset social security and veterans' entitlements thresholds; and
  2. Increase the qualifying age for age pension, and the non-veteran pension age, to 70, increasing by six months every two years and starting on 1 July 2025.

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 6) Bill 2014

This Bill will reintroduce measures previously introduced in the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 1) Bill 2014 and the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 2) Bill 2014, including:

  1. From 20 September 2014, rename the clean energy supplement as the energy supplement, and permanently cease indexation of the payment;
  2. Implement changes to Australian Government payments for parenting payments and pensions;
  3. From Royal Assent, review disability support pension recipients under age 35 against revised impairment tables and apply the Program of Support requirements;
  4. From 1 January 2015, limit the six-week overseas portability period for student payments;
  5. Generally limit the overseas portability period for disability support pension to 28 days in a 12-month period from 1 January 2015;
  6. Exclude from the social security and veterans’ entitlements income test any payments made under the new Young Carer Bursary Programme from 1 January 2015;
  7. Include untaxed superannuation income in the assessment for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card;
  8. From 1 January 2015, remove relocation scholarship assistance for students relocating within and between major cities; and
  9. Implement family payment reforms from 1 July 2015.

Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (Seniors Supplement Cessation) Bill 2014

This Bill abolishes the seniors supplement for holders of the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card. Veterans who hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card or Gold Card will also no longer receive the seniors supplement. Cardholders will continue to be paid the clean energy supplement, renamed the energy supplement by the Social Services and Other Legislation Amendment (2014 Budget Measures No. 6) Bill 2014. Cardholders will receive their last quarterly seniors supplement payment in September 2014.

TimeBase is an independent, privately owned Australian legal publisher specialising in the online delivery of accurate, comprehensive and innovative legislation research tools including LawOne and unique Point-in-Time Products.

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