Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Boswell for the supplementary question and I am trying to assist him. This initiative is expected, with the others, to deliver savings in the FaHCSIA portfolio of about $250 million over four years. The number of families affected is about 3½ per cent of the 2.2 million families who are in receipt of the family tax benefit. So it does affect a small but significant number of people. We regard it as closing a loophole, bringing this cohort into line with the rules that the previous government applied to the self-employed and to pensioners. I also want to stress that this starts on 1 July 2009. The changes that are going to affect people from 1 July this year are the changes delivered in the Howard budget brought down for 2006-07.