Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

The Family Assistance and Child Support Legislation Amendment (Protecting Children) Bill 2018 introduces new No Jab, No Pay and Healthy Start for School measures along with a range of improvements to the Child Support Scheme. I thank senators who have contributed to the debate.

This bill would ensure that from 1 July 2018 children must meet immunisation and health check requirements before their families can access the full entitlement to family tax benefit part A. The current No Jab, No Pay and Healthy Start for School compliance measures will be abolished and replaced with a new measure linking immunisation and health check requirements to a family's fortnightly rate of family tax benefit part A. The new measure will serve as an immediate incentive and constant reminder for non-compliant parents by reducing their family tax benefit part A payment throughout the year rather than when their family assistance is reconciled at the end of the year. If a child does not meet their immunisation requirements after a 63-day grace period has passed, that child's fortnightly rate of family tax benefit part A will be reduced by an amount of around $28.

The intent of the measure is not about cost savings. The measure replaces and builds on the existing Healthy Start for School Policy and the existing No Jab, No Pay policy, which has already achieved significant increases in child immunisation coverage rates across Australia. The new No Jab, No Pay measure is expected to achieve further increases in immunisation compliance.

This bill also introduces a range of child support measures which demonstrate this government's clear commitment to making meaningful improvements to the Child Support Scheme. In the 2017-18 budget the government committed $12.4 million towards the implementation of three priority recommendations from the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs inquiry into the Child Support Program. This bill introduces changes which were identified as key areas in which current policies can lead to outcomes that are inconsistent with the objectives of the Child Support Scheme or which require parents to go through onerous processes to arrive at the correct outcome. Child support and family assistance legislation will be amended to provide better outcomes for parents in dispute about their child's care arrangements. These changes will help to ensure correct outcomes and improve the administration in around 90,000 to 100,000 child support cases each year. I commend the bill to the Senate.