Mal Brough (Longman, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill gives effect to several measures from the 2006 budget, as well as to various other important government initiatives, covering a wide range of portfolio matters.

The budget measures are mainly to give further support to Australian families. Family tax benefit part A is the primary financial support given by the community to low-income families. These families will now be paid more family tax benefit part A through an increase to $40,000, up from $33,361 in 2005-06, in the amount of income they can earn each year before their payment is affected. This measure will raise the part A payment of about half a million Australian families by up to $9.60 per week, delivering over $993 million in additional payments over four years.

A further significant benefit will go to families with three children. These families will have the large family supplement, currently valued at $248 annually and available only to families with four or more children, included in their family tax benefit part A.

The bill also delivers on a 2005 budget commitment to set up a maintenance income credit for family tax benefit part A. This recognises that child support payees receiving family tax benefit part A have little control over when they receive their child support payments and may be disadvantaged if they receive child support arrears in a lump sum in a year later than when they were due. This is because they do not get the benefit of the maintenance income free area for the year when the arrears were due. This measure will allow families to access their unused maintenance income free area from previous years to offset any late child support payments, thus increasing family tax benefit entitlements.

The government announced in the 2006 budget a one-off payment for certain older Australians, equal to the annual rate of utilities allowance, currently $102.80. This bonus payment will generally be paid before the end of June 2006, including to recipients of mature age, widow or partner allowance who do not currently attract utilities allowance itself. To supplement this one-off payment, this bill provides for recipients of those three allowances an ongoing entitlement to utilities allowance, which is already available to other older Australians to assist them in meeting their everyday household expenses such as gas and electricity.

Of significant community interest will be the measure in this bill that introduces a streamlined, flexible and coordinated payment, the Australian government disaster recovery payment, which could provide emergency assistance for offshore disasters, similar to the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2004 Asian tsunami and the 2005 London bombings, or onshore disasters, such as the 2005 Eyre Peninsula bushfires or tropical Cyclone Larry in 2006. The new payment will standardise the successful type of ex gratia government assistance that was provided in response to these events.

The Australian government disaster recovery payment will give the government a flexible response option for Australians affected by onshore and offshore disaster events, complementing existing arrangements and providing choice in the way the government may wish to respond to a disaster. Adult Australian residents who are affected by an eligible natural or non-natural disaster, whether within Australia or offshore, can claim the payment. Initially, a person adversely affected by a major disaster will be able to claim up to $1,000 for himself or herself and $400 for each child in his or her care.

The bill also extends carer payment to parents of children with severe intellectual, psychiatric or behavioural disabilities. Some of these parents may currently receive parenting payment and, therefore, under the Welfare to Work reforms, may be expected to work part time. However, the demands of caring for these children are often very significant, especially if the children cannot attend school, or if their behaviour is a risk to the safety of themselves or others. To recognise that these demands prevent many parents from supporting themselves through workforce participation, parents of these children may now be able to access carer payment under the expanded eligibility criteria.

A further measure in the bill will help families make private financial provision, through a special disability trust, for the future care and accommodation needs of their family members with severe disabilities. It will help to provide certainty for parents who are concerned that their family members may not have the financial support to take care of their accommodation or care needs when the parents are no longer able to do so.

This measure will allow immediate family members to establish a special disability trust for the current and future care of the severely disabled person. All trust income and trust assets up to the value of $500,000 will not affect the severely disabled person’s social security payments, such as disability support pension. Also, gifts to the trust, to a total of $500,000, from immediate family members of age pension age, will not affect the donor’s social security payments. Under the social security law and the Veterans’ Entitlements Act, there are limits to the assets a person can hold or give away without those assets affecting their entitlement to social security payments.

The bill amends the Family Law Act to implement changes to the governance arrangements of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. These changes form part of the government’s response to the recommendations of the review of the corporate governance of statutory authorities and office holders, conducted by Mr John Uhrig.

The assessment of the institute against the recommendations of the Uhrig review found that the functions of the institute are best suited to the executive management governance arrangements. The bill will enhance the institute’s governance arrangements to make them fully consistent with executive management governance arrangements. For example, the institute will become a prescribed agency under the Financial Management and Accountability Act. In keeping with the government’s Knowledge and Innovation policy announcement of 2001, the institute will remain a statutory agency separate from the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Lastly, the bill makes a small number of minor family assistance and social security refinements in line with current policy.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Gavan O’Connor) adjourned.