Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill is the government’s legislative commitment following the report of the task force for the Carer Payment (child) Review.

The report of the task force, titled Carer payment (child): a new approach, was released last year, finding primarily that the qualification criteria for carer payment paid in respect of a child are too restrictive and the assessment process overly rigid and producing inequitable outcomes.

The government is committed to improving significantly the level of assistance for carers of children with disability or severe medical conditions. This bill delivers on that commitment, making substantive changes to be implemented from 1 July 2009.

The changes in this bill are the latest in a series of recent support initiatives that have extended to carers. The 2008 one-off payment legislation delivered $1,000 to carer payment recipients and certain other pensioners with a caring role, and carer allowance recipients were generally paid $600 for each person cared for. Then the economic security strategy legislation of late 2008 provided $1,400 to carer payment recipients and, generally, $1,000 to carer allowance recipients for each person cared for.

These new measures are part of an $822 million package from the 2008 budget to support and recognise carers. As well as the 2008 one-off payments, and the amendments to the carer legislation included in this bill—worth about $273 million over five years—the government set aside $100 million for supported accommodation facilities for people with disability whose ageing parents can no longer care for them at home and $20 million for carers who have experienced a catastrophic event involving a young child.

This bill makes amendments in relation to carer payment paid in respect of a child. Carer payment is an income support payment for carers who, because of the demands of their caring role, are unable to support themselves through substantial participation in the workforce.

Due to the narrow set of medical and behavioural criteria currently determining eligibility for the payment, the payment is currently received by the parents of just under 7,000 children. The amendments will deliver a new, fairer set of qualification criteria for carer payment paid in respect of a child, based on the level of care required, rather than the rigid medical criteria currently used to assess qualification for the payment. As a result, the department estimates around 19,000 more carers will have access to carer payment from 1 July 2009.

The new assessment will be known as the Disability Care Load Assessment (Child) and it will improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of assessments even in complex cases such as where children have multiple carers, where carers have multiple care receivers, and where there is care required for an adult with disability at the same time as a child with disability. Administration will be improved, with better claims processing and capacity for the more complex claims to be handled by a dedicated complex claims assessment team.

The Disability Care Load Assessment (Child) will be established by a legislative instrument. The instrument will allow a test, comprising a carer questionnaire and a treating health practitioner questionnaire, that will be used to assess the functional ability, behaviour and special care needs of children under 16, and the level of care provided by their carers. The process will accommodate assessment of eligibility for carer payment across a wide range of household situations, including situations where there is more than one child or more than one carer involved in the qualification process. This test will provide a method for determining a qualifying rating for the carer based on the level of care associated with caring for a child or children with severe disability or a severe medical condition.

For the first time, there will be access to carer payment paid in respect of a child on a short-term or episodic basis. Episodic care will cover care required for recurring conditions where the care recipient is aged under 16 years and each episode is expected to last at least three months and less than six months. This could include, for example, treatments for medical conditions such as cancer, brain injury or mental illness.

Short-term care will apply if the care recipient is aged under 16 years and has a condition that is expected to be short term (at least three months and less than six months) from a one-off incident. For example, an accident resulting in multiple broken limbs, a serious illness, or a surgical intervention may necessitate constant care in the short term but that care need is not expected to recur. Some short and intensive treatments for childhood cancer may also fit this category.

There will be more generous arrangements for carers of children who are in hospital so the carers can keep their carer payment and, if payable, their carer allowance, while the child is in hospital. This means that the current limit on payment in these circumstances of 63 days in a calendar year will no longer apply and will be replaced by a 12-week review cycle.

The qualification rules will also be relaxed in the tragic situation of a person caring for a child with a terminal illness. The current criteria require a medical professional to certify that the child has a terminal condition and will not live for substantially longer than 12 months. This will be replaced with a process that assesses the average life expectancy for a child with the same or a similar condition and provides for payment on that less intrusive basis.

The bill also amends some of the carer allowance provisions in the social security law. Carer allowance is an income supplement for people who provide daily at-home care and attention to an adult or child who has a physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability that is permanent and likely to affect the person for an extended period. Carer allowance is not means tested and may be paid in addition to an income support payment.

A person in receipt of carer payment in respect of a child will become automatically eligible for carer allowance.

In conclusion, these measures will provide a more flexible and accessible income support payment for Australians facing some of the toughest circumstances—caring for a child with severe disability or a severe medical condition. Parents providing the extra care and support needed by these children are often restricted in how much time they can be available to perform paid work—the hospitalisation of a child with a serious illness or the diagnosis of a disability can often mean one parent has to stay home to take on the caring role, which can therefore mean the loss of an income. For many single parents in this circumstance, it may be impossible to sustain full-time work and provide the care needed. Parents like these who meet the usual income and assets tests associated with income support payments will now be able to access this payment based on their caring load.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Lindsay) adjourned.