Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

This can be particularly difficult for people who might work shift work or do casual work. This can often lead to misreporting, both underestimating and overestimating, what people earn. What this legislation proposes is that instead of people having to go through that complex calculation, we're seeking to have them report what they earned, what they actually received, what they were paid, and not to have them make a calculation to estimate what they have earned. What we are doing here is ensuring that reporting of income is actually as it currently occurs and welfare recipients will report income as it is paid, as opposed to when it is earned. Changing the way employment income is reported simplifies this process for recipients. What we are doing is taking the guesswork out of the process.