New Commonwealth Bill for Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion
Thursday 31 May 2018 @ 11.07 a.m. | Legal Research
The Commonwealth Government has introduced the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018 (Cth) (‘the Bill’) on 30 May 2018. The Bill proposes to expand cashless debit card arrangements to further trial sites and introduce provisions related to product level blocking for restricted products such as alcohol or gambling services.
Background
In the Explanatory Memorandum of this Bill, it is stated that the background of this Bill is the Cashless Debit Card trial and its independent evaluation by ORIMA Research, published on 1 September 2017. The trial included results from the first two trial sites, Ceduna, in South Australia and the East Kimberley in Western Australia. The Bill is a follow-on from the Social Services Amendment (Cashless Debit Card) Act 2018 (Cth). More information on the Bill of that Act can be read in TimeBase’s earlier article
Main Amendments
The main amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 (Cth) (‘the Act’) are as follows:
- Insertion of Bundaberg and Hervey Bay area as designated trial areas;
- Amendment of the definition of ‘trial participant’;
- Amendment of the Act to insert a powers for the relevant Minister to make a legislative instrument to authorise a body as a community body in relation to the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay area;
- Extension of the trial duration in Bundaberg and Hervey Bay until 30 June 2020;
- Making of provisions relating to the determination of whether a person is a trial participant.
The Bill additionally proposes to make amendments related to product level blocking to restrict purchases for alcohol or gambling services.
In his second reading speech, Minister for Social Services Dan Tehan stated that the proposed amendments would allow for more understanding of the efficacy of the cashless debit card system in a larger urban population:
On the provisions related to product level blocking, Mr Tehan stated:
Media Release
In a media release, Mr Tehan stated:
Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt MP was quoted as stating the following in the media release:
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Sources:
Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018 (Cth), explanatory memorandum and second reading speech, as published on TimeBase LawOne.