Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Australian government is committed to achieving fair and equitable access to payments supporting carers, allocating around $9 billion per year to over 620,000 Australians who receive carer payment and /or carer allowance to care for a family member or friend with disability, a medical condition, mental illness, or who is frail due to age.

The Social Security Amendment (Improvements to the Child to Adult Transfer Qualification) Bill 2022 ensures all carers have a smoother transition when moving from the child to the adult stream of carer payment and carer allowance.

This bill will ensure, from 1 April 2023, all carers retain equal access to carer payment and carer allowance until their care receiver turns 16 years and three months. At this time, they can transfer to the adult stream of payment if they are assessed as eligible.

This removes a current anomaly where carers who choose not to submit an adult claim, continue to receive payments until the care receiver turns 16 years and three months of age. Yet, in contrast, carers who complete and lodge the adult transfer forms on time, but who are assessed as ineligible, will have their payment cancelled somewhere between the child turning 16 years and 16 years and three months of age, depending on when the assessment is completed.

This bill also ensures that carers who submit their claim documentation for the adult stream before their care receiver turns 16 years, but have not been assessed by the time the care receiver turns 16 years and three months, will remain eligible for payment until their claim is assessed.

The standalone carer allowance healthcare card currently cancels when the care receiver turns 16 years of age. Under this measure, qualification for the standalone healthcare card would align with carer allowance, meaning all standalone carer allowance healthcare cards will continue until the care receiver turns 16 years and three months of age.

A part of enhanced communication to carers, this bill includes writing to this cohort nine months before their care receiver turns 16 years and three months, rather than the current six months.

I commend this Bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.