Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Income Management Reform) Bill 2023

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with amendments introduced by Brisbane MP Stephen Bates (Greens), which means they failed.

What do the amendments do?

Mr Bates explained that:

Amendments (1) through (5) on the sheet set out an approach to ensure that we do not have compulsory income management. Because of the limited time between the introduction of this bill and its debate we have had limited time and have drawn on the approach used in the government's bill to repeal the cashless debit card...

As I set out in my second reading speech, we fundamentally oppose compulsory income management. We think it is a flawed and a failed approach. This amendment would enable people who are subject to compulsory income management to exit. That is why it is so important. It is important that we are respecting an individual's human rights and ensuring that there is free, prior and informed consent. This amendment reflects what we've heard from so many people—that compulsory income management is disempowering and harmful. It runs directly to the principle of free, prior and informed consent. This amendment would enable people who are subject to compulsory income management—either the BasicsCard or the Indue card—to request an exit. The secretary would need to respond, confirming their exit within a week.