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

Once again, Senator Kitching, as I have said in the answers to the principal question and the first supplementary question, I will not be making any comments in relation to this matter because it is currently before the courts.

However, as I said, I was attempting to advise the Senate of some very positive initiatives that have been put in place in the last 12 months in relation to making sure, first and foremost, that people don't incur debts in the first place. Using technologies such as Single Touch Payroll and the change of assessment model—which, sadly, won't be able to come into play on 1 July, but hopefully we'll get it in in August—helps make sure that Australians who are reporting income are reporting their income accurately because we give them the tools to do so. By simplifying the model by which people are able to report income, we hope to be able to reduce the amount that people are incurring in debts.