Penny Allman-Payne (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I'm also foreshadowing that I'm going to move an amendment on sheet 3489. This amendment seeks to remove the phrases 'knowingly' and 'justified' in relation to the debt waivers for debts caused by instances of domestic violence and financial coercion. This is off the back of advice received from Economic Justice Australia and other advocates. They have significant concerns about the inclusion, particularly, of the phrase 'justified in the circumstances'. To take from Economic Justice Australia's submission in relation to this bill, they say:

The concept of an action being "justified" is not common within the social security law, so there is very little Our concern is that this will, in time and with relevant jurisprudence, become an additional hurdle for victim-survivors attempting to access waiver in circumstances of family and domestic violence, contrary to the intention of these reforms.

Economic Justice Australia recommends repealing paragraph A from each of the special circumstances waiver provisions. They say:

… repealing paragraph (a) would not likely lead to debts being waived in circumstances of fraud or other dishonesty. While waiver may be a legally available option in those circumstances, a decision maker would still be required to weigh the circumstances as a whole, and a finding of fraud is likely to significantly weigh against the exercise of a waiver. Guidance to this effect could be provided in policy documents, including the Social Security Guide.

In their submission to the Senate inquiry, Economic Justice Australia gave case studies of where the inclusion of these phrases, 'knowingly' and 'justified' could in fact lead to adverse outcomes for people experiencing family and domestic violence.

So my question to the minister is this: given that Economic Justice Australia, single-parent advocates and others have highlighted their serious concerns about this aspect of those debt waiver provisions, will the government agree to this amendment to make sure that there are no potential adverse outcomes for women seeking debt waivers who are experiencing family and domestic violence?