Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I wish to continue with my remarks on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 1) Bill 2026. As I was saying, the coalition accepts that there must be a lawful and transparent framework to ensure that payments are being received appropriately, however we have questions on how the removal of an annual cap will operate in practice and what safeguards will exist to prevent people from a cycle of repeated urgent payment requests and ongoing financial hardship.

The coalition welcomes measures such as access to financial counselling, social work services and alternative payment services including Centrepay. We are concerned however that removing the annual cap on urgent payment requests risks encouraging greater reliance on what was previously a limited and tightly controlled program. Without effective safeguards, this change may deepen financial distress rather than relieve it.

We cannot consider these changes to urgent payments in isolation from the broader economic environment in which Australians are currently living. Under this Albanese government, Australians are paying more for everything. Insurance costs have increased by 39 per cent. Energy costs are up by 38 per cent. Rent is up by 22 per cent. Health costs are up by 18 per cent if you can get in. Education costs are up 17 per cent, and food costs are up 16 per cent. These are not discretionary or optional expenses. These are not luxuries. These are fundamental costs of everyday life that all Australians use daily.

Against this backdrop, it is hardly surprising that many welfare recipients are experiencing persistent financial stress and may be increasingly relying on urgent payments and other emergency measures simply to get by. We know, troublingly, that in 2024-25 alone 440,000 social security payment recipients were granted approximately one million urgent payments. That figure alone should prompt serious reflection by the Albanese government about the impact on Australians from its failed economic policies. Australians are hurting, and Labor has no viable plan to change that. This impact should lead to serious consideration of whether urgent payments are being used to fuel the systemic gaps in financial stability rather than serving their intended purpose as an emergency measure.

As highlighted in the government's own explanatory memorandum for this bill, urgent payments are primarily accessed by vulnerable people. Of all recipients of urgent payments, 45 per cent are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people even though only around six per cent of all income support recipients identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. With this evidence of daily struggle, it is clear that closing the gap is also becoming out of reach. This raises serious and legitimate questions about how these changes will operate in practice, particularly in vulnerable and remote communities. The government must explain what concrete measures it has implemented to prevent urgent payments from being exploited or diverted towards harmful activities, including gambling and excessive alcohol consumption, especially in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It must also explain how it will ensure that the promised support, including financial counselling and access to social work service, will be available to all Australians who need them, regardless of where they live. The coalition calls on the government to guarantee that the changes in this bill will not have a negative impact on our most vulnerable Australians, particularly those living in rural and remote communities.

Schedule 3 of the bill amends the Social Security Act to clarify how employment income is attributed when calculating a person's rate of social security payment. It expressly provides that income attribution rules may apply to the attribute employment income paid to the social security recipient or their partner for the purposes of working out the recipient's rate of pay regardless of whether the relevant payment is a social security payment or a benefit and whether the partner receives a social security payment. It also ensures that the attributed income continues to apply for the full attribution period, including where a payment is cancelled or suspended. The coalition accepts that clarity in income attribution rules is essential for both recipients and the administrators. Clear language and certainty will reduce errors, disputes and administrative complexity and help ensure the payments are calculated consistently and lawfully.

Taken together, these three schedules are designed to provide legal clarity, certainty to practices and policy intentions that have existed for some time. However, notwithstanding our decision to not oppose the bill, we will continue to scrutinise the government's approach, particularly in relation to schedule 2. Urgent payments are being used at scale because people are struggling under the weight of the economy and a government that's failing them. They are being accessed disproportionally by vulnerable Australians and are being relied upon in an economic environment where the cost of living continues to rise. The government must demonstrate that it has put in place robust safeguards to ensure that this change does not unintentionally or inadvertently increase financial stress or hardship for people who are already doing it tough. It must also demonstrate that it has effective systems in place to identify repeat use, emerging risk and patterns of vulnerability and that it is actively intervening with appropriate support, not simply processing a higher volume of advance payments.

The opposition recognises the broader intent of the legislation and the need to clarify technical aspects of the social security and child support frameworks. For that reason the opposition will not be opposing the passage of this bill. We do, however, put the government on notice: the government must follow through on its commitments. It must ensure that robust safeguards are implemented. It must ensure that financial counselling and social support services are accessible, timely and available to individuals and families who rely on them during periods of financial stress. And it must guarantee that the changes to urgent payments do not entrench disadvantage, deepen vulnerability or create new risks for the very Australians our social safety net is meant to protect.

Australian's welfare must strike the right balance between supporting vulnerable Australians and remaining sustainable, responsible and fit for purpose so it can maintain public confidence and long-term viability. That is the expectation of the coalition and that is the benchmark to which the Albanese government must be held.