The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. Stephen Parry) took the chair at 12:30, read prayers and made an acknowledgement of country.
Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017
Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017
Labor opposes removing the two out of three rule because it would achieve very little at potentially great cost - further media consolidation and a reduction in the diversity of voices across the media landscape.
… it is blindingly obvious that these pre-internet era laws are now achieving the opposite of what they were intended to do.
They are now working against a strong, viable and diverse media sector, and they must go.
… the passage of these two pieces of legislation will allow the local media players who have vested interests in local communities to compete with the internationals that are coming into the market—
… crucial for Australian jobs and our ability to continue creating great local programming that is watched by millions of Australians every day.
There has been a lot of talk about the threat to diversity if the two-out-of-three rule is repealed. We would argue that there is greater threat to media diversity if the media reform bill is not passed …
… flows through to lower wholesale costs, which should lead to lower electricity prices…
That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Attorney-General (Senator Brandis), the Minister for Indigenous Affairs (Senator Scullion) and the Minister for Regional Development (Senator Nash) to questions without notice asked by Senators McAllister, Ketter and Polley today.
That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Minister for Education and Training (Senator Birmingham) to a question without notice asked by Senator Lambie today relating to funding for higher education.
That leave of absence be granted to Senator Ruston for today, for personal reasons.
That leave of absence be granted to Senator Griff for 13 September 2017, for personal reasons.
That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the Australian Grape and Wine Authority Amendment (Wine Australia) Bill 2017, allowing it to be considered during this period of sittings.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) there has been mass bleaching of Great Barrier Reef coral from abnormally warm water temperatures in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2016 and 2017,
(ii) the 2016 event led to a mortality rate of 67% across the northern section of the reef, and 29 5 across the entire reef,
(iii) while the final figures for the 2017 event are still being tallied, it is likely that the combined mortality for the 2016 and 2017 events will be approximately 50% across the entire reef,
(iv) the Government’s Great Barrier Reef 2050 plan does not set specific climate targets despite climate change being the greatest threat to the reef,
(v) the Queensland Government’s Reef Water Quality Independent Science Panel’s 2017 Consensus Statement explained that key ecosystems continue to be in poor condition and that current initiatives will not meet water quality targets,
(vi) the Independent Science Panel also made a separate statement that the 2016 and 2017 bleaching events are likely to be unprecedented in human history and that, to protect the reef, global average temperature rises would need to be limited to 1.2° celsius;
(b) calls on all senators and members to visit the reef to see first-hand the mass coral bleaching being caused by climate change; and
(c) calls on the Government to:
(i) set specific climate objectives in the Reef 2050 plan, and
(ii) increase resourcing to the land use and water quality measures in the Reef 2050 plan.
Parliamentary Business Resources Amendment (Voluntary Opt-out) Bill 2017
That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017 to provide for members of the Parliament to voluntarily opt-out of payment of certain remuneration and allowances, and for related purposes.
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
Mr President, I am proud to present the Parliamentary Business Resources Amendment (Voluntary Opt-out) Bill 2017. This measure was a core commitment of mine to the people of Queensland and Australia, to whom I serve, after the recent outrageous pay rises of parliamentarians, coming off the back of stagnating wages growth over the last decade.
Everyday Australians would be appalled to know that not only do politicians constantly gleefully accept pay rises, but if one of their more modest colleagues wants to refuse acceptance of that pay rise they are unable to do so.
As stated in the explanatory memorandum, the purpose of this bill is to for provide Senators and Members the option to 'opt-out' of receiving any or all of their entitlements. There is currently no mechanism available for Senators or Members to opt-out of receiving part or all of their entitlements. This bill will allow Senators or Members to provide, by written notice, that they wish to no longer receive part or all of their entitlements.
Australians want a higher level of performance from their politicians. All too often the political elites let everyday Australians down. Pay is no exception.
If it is the case that the major parties want to band together and allow perpetual pay increases for politicians, so be it. However it is incumbent upon those with their snout in the trough to allow those who have respect for the Australian people to opt-out of a pay rise if they so wish.
Any politician who does not vote for this bill is sending a clear message to the Australian people that they lack respect for their fellow parliamentarians to refuse a pay rise, and what is worse, they lack respect for the Australian people.
The Australian people have the right to analyse who among those elected are the ones that want more pay, and who are the ones that are willing to take a haircut on their take home pay.
Some of us stand on the side of battling everyday Aussies, the rest will vote against this bill.
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day was held on 9 September 2017,
(ii) the day raises awareness of FASD, a lifelong disability in which children are born after exposure to alcohol during pregnancy,
(iii) this exposure primarily affects the functioning of the brain, resulting in damage to a child's motor skills, cognition, language development, memory and impulse control – this has significant implications for their future, and
(iv) FASD is preventable and we do not need new drugs or advances in safety equipment, but require a strong commitment to tackle the issue; and
(b) calls on the Government to:
(i) support those with FASD by allowing them to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme, as required, and help their parents and carers,
(ii) encourage all women to access accurate information and advice from their health professionals and support from family and friends, and
(iii) support programs for encouraging alcohol-free pregnancies.
Medicinal Cannabis Legislation Amendment (Securing Patient Access) Bill 2017
That the following bill be introduced: A Bill for an Act to amend the law relating to medicinal cannabis, and for related purposes.
That this bill may proceed without formalities and be now read a first time.
That this bill be now read a second time.
This bill will provide seriously or terminally ill patients, whose doctors believe medicinal cannabis will relieve their suffering, with rapid access to these treatments.
The bill makes two crucial amendments to the Customs Act 1901 and theNarcotic Drugs Act 1967 to give faster access to medicinal cannabis for those patients with illnesses from which they are reasonably likely to die within a matter of months, or from which premature death is reasonably likely to occur in the absence of early treatment.
This bill:
1) Allows access to Australian medicinal cannabis products through Special Access Scheme Category A; and
2) Ensures the government cannot block Special Access Scheme Category A access to imported medicinal cannabis products via import licence conditions.
The Special Access Scheme (SAS) of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) provides a pathway to provide for the import and/or supply of a therapeutic good that is not registered on the Australian Register for Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), for a single patient, on a case by case basis.
The SAS allows doctors to prescribe the most appropriate treatments to their patients even when that treatment is not yet registered.
While there are different categories under the SAS, category A only applies to those patients whose doctor believes their condition meets the definition established by the regulator, specifically "patients who are seriously ill with a condition from which death is reasonably likely to occur within a matter of months, or from which premature death is reasonably likely to occur in the absence of early treatment."
The regulatory requirements for the category A pathway involve a notification to the TGA by the doctor, and reflect the seriousness of the condition of patients who meet the eligibility criteria for this category.
Any unapproved therapeutic good can potentially be prescribed by a doctor and supplied via the SAS except drugs in schedule 9 of the Poisons Standard (where the manufacture, possession, sale or use is prohibited by State or Territory law). Schedule 9 drugs cannot be accessed through the SAS Category A process.
When the TGA rescheduled medicinal cannabis treatments from schedule 9 of the Poisons Standard to schedule 8 in November 2016, these treatments became eligible for supply via category A of the SAS for those eligible. However, the Government cynically sought to cut off this access to these terminally ill patients by blocking category A access for Australian produced medicinal cannabis in the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Act 2016, and introducing a disallowable instrument to block category A access for importation of international medicinal cannabis.
On 13 June 2017, the Senate voted to disallow the instrument blocking category A access to imported medicinal cannabis. This made it unlawful to prevent importation of medicinal cannabis via category A of the SAS. Despite this, the government wrote to all those suppliers with import licences, telling them that they would not be permitted to import under category A due to a condition in their import licence. They included in that letter a veiled threat that their licence would be in jeopardy should suppliers seek to import under category A.
This action by the government is condemned, and the first amendment this bill makes ensures that the government cannot block importation under category A by relying on conditions of import licences.
The disallowance motion that the Senate supported in June this year related only to imported medicinal cannabis treatments. In introducing the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Act 2016, the government blocked category A access for Australian medicinal cannabis treatments.
The second amendment this bill makes is to ensure that Australian medicinal cannabis, along with imported medicinal cannabis, is accessible via category A of the SAS. This not only ensures that emerging Australian medicinal cannabis suppliers are not disadvantaged; it also ensures that when Australian medicinal cannabis treatments become available, terminally ill patients will be able to access them rapidly.
This bill is about securing access to medicinal cannabis for those Australian patients who need it most, in the face of needless cruelty and red-tape from this government.
I commend it to the Senate.
That the Senate notes that on 6 September 2017, the Australian Labor Party declined to support a Senate motion calling for the development of a coherent Labor Party policy position regarding the future role of coal and coal-fired power stations in the national energy mix.
That—
(1) The Senate notes that:
(a) on 5 September 2017, the Senate agreed to an order for the production of documents directed at the Minister representing the Minister for Defence Industry for:
(i) any correspondence between the Department of Defence and ASC Pty Ltd in response to the announcement that Australian shipbuilders ASC Pty Ltd and Austal would partner to win the contract to build the $35 billion Future Frigate in Adelaide,
(ii) any correspondence between the Department of Defence and Austal in response to the announcement that Australian shipbuilders ASC Pty Ltd and Austal would partner to win the contract to build the $35 billion Future Frigate in Adelaide,
(iii) any correspondence between the Department of Defence and the three prospective design partners in response to the announcement that Australian shipbuilders ASC Pty Ltd and Austal would partner to win the contract to build the $35 billion Future Frigate in Adelaide, and
(iv) any other documentation held by the Future Frigate project that discusses Australian Industry Capability, the partnering or use of Australian shipyards, and how Techport and other Australian facilities might be used in the program;
(b) on 7 September 2017, the Minister for Defence tabled a letter in response claiming public interest immunity, and stated that release of such documents would potentially damage national security, damage international relations and adversely affect the Department of Defence's negotiation position in respect of future contracts;
(c) information on Australian Industry Capability and the partnering or use of Australian shipyards, and how Techport and other Australian facilities might be used in the program are not matters that would reasonably attract a security classification – the order for production of documents does not seek access to any documents that have been marked with national security markings, only unclassified data;
(d) the tender is restricted to three foreign companies: BAE Systems, Fincantieri and Navantia – a claim that disclosing documents passed to three commercial companies could in some way affect Australia's international relations is not a reasonable claim;
(e) the Government is seeking to negotiate a contract that prevents established Australian shipbuilders and their workers from a lead role in Australia's Continuous Naval Shipbuilding Program – this approach will have the opposite effect of a creating a sovereign capability – contract negotiations under the current tender arrangements will be harmful to Australian industry and national security; and
(f) on 16 July 1975, the Senate laid out by resolution its position with respect to public interest immunity claims – paragraph 4 of that resolution makes it clear that, while the Senate may permit claims of public interest immunity to be advanced, it reserves the right to determine whether a particular claim will be accepted.
(2) The Senate does not accept the public interest immunity claim made by the Minister representing the Minister for Defence Industry in relation to order for production of documents number 449 and requires the minister to table documents in full compliance with order for the production of documents number 449 by the commencement of business on 13 September 2017.
(3) If the Minister does not comply with this order for the production of documents by the specified time, the Senate requires the Minister representing the Minister for Defence Industry to attend the Senate at the end of question time on 13 September 2017, so that any senator may ask for an explanation in connection with this matter, and at the conclusion of the explanation any senator may move without notice a motion to take note of the explanation or any failure to provide an explanation.
The Senate divided. [15:57]
(The President—Senator Parry)
That the Senate—
(a) notes the significant increase in retail electricity prices in recent years;
(b) notes that:
(i) privatisation has had negative consequences in the electricity sector, and
(ii) price rises have been much higher in states where retail electricity prices have been deregulated;
(c) is concerned that in deregulated states, like Victoria, retail profit margins alone can account for up to 30 per cent of a household's electricity bills;
(d) considers that electricity is an essential service that should be run in the public interest; and
(e) supports the reregulation of retail electricity prices.
The Senate divided. [16:01]
(The President—Senator Parry)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Arthur Pieman Conservation area in the takayna/Tarkine region of Tasmania has globally-significant Aboriginal cultural heritage values,
(ii) 15 recreational vehicle tracks in the area have been closed since 2012 to protect the cultural heritage values of the site,
(iii) this decision was upheld by the Federal Court after the Tasmanian government tried to reopen three of the tracks in 2014,
(iv) despite the ban, there has been ongoing damage to these sensitive areas by illegal and reckless drivers of off-road vehicles,
(v) the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre and other Aboriginal groups oppose the tracks being reopened,
(vi) the Tasmanian government has applied to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment for approval to reopen tracks 501, 503 and 601 under the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 [Cth], and
(vii) the Tasmanian government has failed to consult with the Aboriginal community prior to making the application;
(b) agrees that:
(i) any reopening of the tracks would inevitably lead to more damage to environmental and cultural heritage values, and
(ii) it is grossly culturally insensitive for the Commonwealth to even consider the Tasmanian government's application, while flagging increased penalties for interfering with European cultural history; and
(c) calls on the Commonwealth Government to reject the Tasmanian government's application to reopen the tracks.
The Senate divided. [16:08]
The President—Senator Parry
That the Senate agrees that—
(a) the renewable energy target should not continue beyond 2023;
(b) no scheme to subsidise renewable energy generation or mandate a particular market share for renewable energy generation should replace it; and
(c) renewable energy projects not already approved by the Clean Energy Regulator be ineligible to receive subsidies via renewable energy certificates.
The Senate divided. [16:12]
(The President—Senator Parry)
That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the Liberal majority Waverley Council was defeated at the local government election held on 9 September 2017,
(ii) Ms Sally Betts, an electorate officer for the Member for Wentworth (Mr Turnbull), will no longer be the Mayor of Waverley,
(iii) the Labor and Greens councillors, who were elected to Waverley Council, stood on a platform of stopping the privatisation of Bondi Pavilion, retaining this iconic building for community and cultural activities, and genuinely consulting with the public on any planned upgrades, and
(iv) in 1987, the then-Liberal Council that was pushing similar privatisation plans for Bondi Pavilion was defeated at the council elections, also after a broad-based community campaign;
(b) congratulates the 'Save Bondi Pavilion Campaign', and actor Mr Michael Caton, for all their work to save the Pavilion as a community and cultural centre, acknowledging that Mr Caton was involved in the current campaign and the 1987 campaign; and
(c) calls on the Turnbull Government to fast-track legislation to ensure that Bondi Pavilion will be protected for current and future generations as a publicly-owned community and cultural centre.
Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:
'The devastating storms and floods that have occurred in South Asia and the Americas, and the threat posed to Australia's natural resources, call for urgent action on global warming.'
I'm mad. We climate scientists have been warning people about climate change for decades, and politicians deliberately wasted that time.
This is the time to talk about climate change. This is the time that the president and the EPA and whoever makes decisions needs to talk about climate change. If this isn't climate change, I don't know what is.
It's precisely the conversation that we should be having right now. I'm not sure what’s insensitive about that. It's really important to direct resources and funds to the crisis on the ground at the moment, of course.
Immediately afterward we've got to say 'Come on guys, let's really see if this is a harbinger of the future.' And it clearly is to those of us who have looked even generally at the issue. One should be sensitive, but not stupid.
We know that as humans, we are all too good at pretending like a risk, even one we know is real, doesn't matter to us.
When we try to warn people about the risks, there's no 'news' hook. No one wants to listen. That's why the time to talk about it is now. The most pernicious and dangerous myth we've bought into when it comes to climate change is not the myth that it isn't real or humans aren't responsible. It's the myth that it doesn't matter to me. And that is exactly the myth that Harvey shatters.
... it is not likely to be a coincidence that almost all of the ... hurricanes on record ... have occurred over the past two years.
Our position on climate change
We accept the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change … assessment of climate change science, which has found that warming of the climate is unequivocal, the human influence is clear and physical impacts are unavoidable.
Despite the commitment to limit global warming to two degrees, climate change will still cause shifts in weather patterns and increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Communities may experience weather events that they are unfamiliar with or for which they are not prepared.
Increased frequency and severity of extreme weather can damage and disrupt our infrastructure and operations.
This, in turn, can affect customer service and have wider financial, health and safety implications. We are committed to better understanding the risks posed by climate change to our infrastructure and people, and identifying action to strengthen the climate change resilience within our business.
Since the 1950s, the frequency of weather-related catastrophes, such as windstorms and floods, has increased six-fold. As climate-related risks occur more often and predictably, previously insurable assets are becoming uninsurable, or those already underinsured further compromised.
Our sector will struggle to reduce this protection gap if our response is limited to avoiding, rather than managing, society's exposure to climate risk.
Maybe it was too much to expect that scientists' warnings would really move people. ... Maybe it's like all the health warnings that you should eat fewer chips and drink less soda, which, to judge by belt-size, not many of us pay much mind. Until, maybe, you go to the doctor and he says: "Whoa, you're in trouble." Not "keep eating junk and some day you'll be in trouble", but: "You're in trouble right now, today. As in, it looks to me like you've already had a small stroke or two."
That the Senate take note of the report.
That the Senate take note of the report.
The PBO has been a successful institutional development in Australian governance. It has made a good start as an organisation, and has filled a significant gap in Australia's public policy landscape.
The PBO is regarded by stakeholders as an independent and non-partisan organisation that produces rigorous analysis relevant to public policy debate. This review has reached a similar conclusion. Notwithstanding this, we have made a number of recommendations that will help to improve the PBO's operations.
… has the capacity to further develop its longer-term analytic ability to allow consideration to be given to transferring responsibility for the next Intergenerational Report (scheduled for 2020)—
to the PBO.
That the Senate take note of the report.
… RMAC is in a unique position in the industry. RMAC is the only organisation that regularly holds discussions with a wide range of industry participants and then advocates on behalf of members directly with the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources.
At no stage did I say the following—that since the 1970s he had witnessed collusive behaviour at livestock sales, the committee might like to point out where this was said in evidence on 27th August 2015.
In my experience I have seen buyers talk to one another—just have a little whisper. I have not heard what they have said. I have no proof of it, but I have seen it. They will go up and talk to one another. One will stop bidding and then walk away, and then they will buy the next pen. I have seen that, yes.
Australian Government response to the Commonwealth Government Response to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee Report: Out-of-home care
Foreword
On 17 July 2014, the Senate referred the matter of out-of-home care to the Community Affairs References Committee (the Committee) for inquiry and report.
On 19 August 2015, the Final Report (the Report) of the Committee's Inquiry into Out-of-Home care (the Inquiry) was tabled in Parliament.
The Commonwealth Government welcomes the Report and the Committee's recommendations.
While state and territory governments have statutory responsibility for child protection and out-of-home care, the safety and wellbeing of all Australian children, including those in out-of-home care, remains a national priority.
The Commonwealth Government works in partnership with state and territory governments and the community sector under the National Framework for Protecting Australia ' s Children 2009-2020 (National Framework) to improve child safety and wellbeing, with a strong emphasis on improving outcomes and providing support for children and young people in care.
The National Framework was endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) in 2009 with the objective of improving the wellbeing and safety of Australia's children through joint action by the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and non-government organisations.
The National Framework is delivered through a series of three year action plans aimed at achieving a substantial and sustained reduction in child abuse and neglect over time.
The National Framework's Third Action Plan 2015-18 focuses efforts on areas where national leadership and collaboration can make a contribution to resolving specific issues affecting the safety and wellbeing of children and young people. Accordingly, the National Framework and its action plans are not intended to direct action at the tertiary end of the child protection system, or to be an inter-governmental vehicle for progressing agreement in areas of law or policy, or a means to address all issues affecting children and young people.
As a COAG initiative, the National Framework was initially governed by the Standing Council on Community and Disability Services (SCCDS) consisting of Community and Disability Services Ministers. The governance arrangements for the National Framework were changed following a COAG decision on 13 December 2013 to streamline its Council system from 22 Councils to eight focused on its highest priorities.
Following the cessation of the SCCDS as a COAG Council, the then Prime Minister, the Hon Tony Abbott MP, advised the Chair of the former SCCDS that Commonwealth and state and territory portfolio Ministers could continue to engage on an ad hoc basis on matters of national significance and to progress important policy work. Accordingly, the National Framework is now governed though the Commonwealth, State and Territory Community Services Ministers. Community Services Ministers are supported by:
This document represents the Commonwealth Government's response to the recommendations of the Inquiry, noting that the response to those recommendations directed at the National Framework have been developed in consultation with the Children and Families Secretaries group and all state and territory governments.
There were 39 whole of Committee agreed recommendations in total, and two additional recommendations from Coalition Senators. The response to these recommendations is categorised as follows:
The Commonwealth Government's response to the recommendations directed at the Third Action Plan recognises the tripartite partnership arrangement of the National Framework focused on a limited number of achievable actions. The Third Action Plan places a strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention and targeting assistance to those communities that have most contact with the child protection system.
For those recommendations directed at COAG, the Commonwealth Government's response reflects the support role of the Children and Families Secretaries group to Commonwealth, state and territory ministers. This joint commitment does not change the fundamental responsibilities of the different levels of government. The Commonwealth Government will bring the Report to the attention of state and territory governments through the Children and Families Secretaries group.
The Commonwealth Government response to the recommendations calling for a national approach to out-of-home care with regards to adoption and permanency acknowledges the recent jurisdictional reforms to provide improved certainty, stability and timeliness of permanent placements for children in out-of-home care. The Commonwealth is working with jurisdictions to continue these improvements, and supports national collaboration on this important issue to ensure that all children across Australia have access to a safe, secure and stable environment.
Recommendations directed at COAG regarding the National Framework and its Third Action Plan
The Commonwealth Government notes the above recommendations.
The National Framework is a structure to guide collaboration among Commonwealth Government jurisdictions and the non-government sector on activities designed to keep Australia's children and young people safe and well. Through a tripartite partnership arrangement involving the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the non-government services sector, it identifies and progresses areas of common interest, where there is consensus among parties that action is required and as to the appropriate way forward.
Work under the National Framework is guided by three-year action plans, which are necessarily focused on a limited number of achievable actions in areas ripe for reform. It recognises that children and young people are supported by a number of interlocking systems, including health, education and justice. However, it focuses efforts on areas where national leadership can make a contribution to specific issues affecting the safety of children.
The National Framework is not:
The Third Action Plan was developed under the tripartite agreement, with all parties represented on the National Forum. The non-government sector is represented by the Coalition of Organisations Committed to the Safety and Wellbeing of Australia's Children (the NGO Coalition) which consists of over 160 non-government organisations.
The National Forum held a series of consultations with stakeholders on the development of the Third Action Plan 2015-2018 between March and June 2015. Seventeen consultations were held across the country, including a session with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and representatives from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, as well as sessions with children and young people. Additional consultations were held with people and families living with disability and representatives from the culturally and linguistically diverse community. The consultations were attended by over 300 participants and included representatives from peak organisations, service providers, researchers, children and young people. The Department of Social Services (DSS) also received 27 written submissions in response to its discussion paper. The feedback from consultations and written submissions formed the basis of the Third Action Plan which was developed and agreed through the National Forum.
The development of the Third Action Plan took into account the findings of the Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee Inquiry into Out-of-Home Care (the Report). It was recognised that whilst many of the recommendations in the Report are for action of state and territory governments as they have statutory responsibility for child protection, many of the recommendations are supported by activities more broadly within the National Framework. This includes a commitment under the Third Action Plan to examine how to continue the full implementation of the existing National Standards for Out-of-Home Care.
The Third Action Plan was released on 9 December 2015 by the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Christian Porter MP, following endorsement by state and territory ministers. The focus of the Third Action Plan is to identify and implement early intervention and prevention strategies that require joint action by Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the community sector. The Third Action Plan focuses on three strategies:
Strategy 1: Early intervention with a focus on the early years, particularly the first 1000 days for a child.
Strategy 2: Helping young people in out-of-home care to thrive in adulthood.
Strategy 3: Organisations responding better to children and young people to keep them safe.
Third Action Plan — Strategies
The three overarching strategies and two cross-cutting focus areas that form the basis of the Third Action Plan have been endorsed by all stakeholders as having national significance and requiring prioritised effort to improve the wellbeing of children and young people.
Actions under Strategy 1: Early intervention with a focus on the early years, particularly the first 1000 days for a child, has a particular focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, and families dealing with multiple issues including mental health issues, alcohol and other drug misuse, or family and domestic violence.
In the 2016-17 Budget, the Commonwealth Government allocated $1.23 million over four years to the implementation of the Building Capacity in Australian Parents trial. TheBuilding Capacity in Australian Parents trial will work to build parenting skills in the first 1,000 days of a child's life. It will focus on vulnerable families where parents have mental health issues, are in jail, or face significant disadvantage. Under the trial, a local area coordinator will improve the coordination of support services for parents and train service staff to help new parents become more effective in their parenting role.
The Third Action Plan will bring a renewed focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities aimed at reducing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people needing child protection services. All parties to the National Framework recognise the importance of ensuring that children and young people in out-of-home care remain connected with their family, community and culture. Under the Third Action Plan all jurisdictions committed to continuing to fully implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle.
A new commitment under the Third Action Plan is agreement to adopt a broader definition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. The intention is to ensure that the five domains of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (prevention, partnership, placement, participation and connection) are applied to the implementation of all strategies and actions identified in the Third Action Plan.
The Third Action Plan Strategy 2: Helping young people in out-of-home care to thrive into adulthood is of relevance to the issues raised in the Report. This strategy recognises that research consistently points to the poor social and economic outcomes for many young people in out-of-home care.
This strategy seeks to provide intensive support and priority access to key services, including housing, to assist these young people transition well into adulthood. It will explore data sharing links between Commonwealth and state and territory governments to inform policy development, better tailor services and drive innovation in service delivery for young people leaving care.
In the 2016-17 Budget, $3.87 million was provided to fund the Towards Independent Adulthood (TIA) Trial to be delivered under Strategy 2 of the Third Action Plan of the National Framework. The aim of the trial is to increase the wellbeing and future economic and social outcomes of young people transitioning out of care and reduce the likelihood of their reliance on welfare later in life.
The Trial will deliver intensive mentoring and targeted supports over three years to up to 80 young people aged 16 years, as they transition from formal care to adulthood.
The TIA Trial is due to commence in mid-2017 and conclude mid-2020. The Trial will be independently evaluated, with the findings to be available to state and territory governments to guide future interventions for young people.
Strategy 2 also includes examining 2014 reforms to the Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA) to ensure that it reaches to those who need it most. In April 2016, DSS published its 2015,Review of the Transition to Independent Living Allowance. DSS implemented the majority of the recommendations of the review including improving communications, simplifying administration and driving demand for TILA. DSS streamlined administration by removing the first step of the two-step application. Case workers have been able to make one TILA application directly to the Unified Government Gateway (UGG) where previously caseworkers first applied to the DSS TILA Office for approval. This has reduced red-tape and has increased the speed of payment to recipients by a minimum of one to three business days. DSS implemented a communication plan by producing guides for caseworkers and young people on how to apply for TILA and providing accurate web content for state and territory departments and non-government organisations.
The work under Strategy 2 also includes an evaluation of policies and legislation in each jurisdiction that relate to transitioning young people from 00HC into adulthood with a view to identify a possible national approach to extend supports for young people in OOHC beyond the age of 18 years.
The actions under Strategy 2 include working closely with young people, encouraging participation in decision-making processes and ensuring their needs are met. By extending access to services, the Commonwealth seeks to improve health, education, employment and housing outcomes for young people transitioning from care.
Strategy 3: Organisations responding better to children and young people to keep them safe will provide a more comprehensive and cohesive national approach to strengthening the capacity of organisations and systems to increase child safety and facilitate information exchange between services. Cultural awareness will be an important component of all child safe organisation approaches under the Third Action Plan to ensure activities respect diversity in cultures and child rearing practices and help to foster cultural competency within the organisations. It will reduce the risk of a child being harmed and foster environments that empower children and young people to speak up, and recognise and appropriately respond to threats to children. This strategy will also consider the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (the Royal Commission) and actions to support these findings.
Actions under Strategy 3 include the review of the 2005 National Framework for Creating Safe Environments for Children-Organisations, Employees and Volunteers (2005 Child Safe Framework) to take into account the work of the Royal Commission and current child safe standards, reforms and resources across government and non-government organisations. On 11 November 2016, Community Services Ministers from all jurisdictions, including the Commonwealth, agreed to the development of a National Statement of Principles for Child Safe Organisations (the National Statement of Principles), to be endorsed by COAG. This Strategy 3 work will now be part of work on the National Statement of Principles.
Drawing from the Royal Commission, the National Statement of Principles will drive implementation of a child safe culture across all sectors to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and young people across Australia and be used to support cross-sectoral jurisdictional child safety policy making, funding and investment decisions and legislation and compliance regimes.
Given the extent and scope of work, Community Services Ministers agreed to a phased approach for the development of the National Statement of Principles over an 18 month period for COAG endorsement in mid-2018. This work will be further supported through a national cross-sector engagement process, development of child safe organisation resources and a communication strategy.
Further actions under Strategy 3 include examination of the effectiveness of existing practices and identification of barriers and opportunities to improve information exchange between government and non-government organisations and other key stakeholders to support child safety and wellbeing.
Sharing information nationally is one of five challenges announced by the Minister of Industry, Science and Innovation, on Wednesday 17 August 2016 as part of the Department of Industry, Science and Innovation's Business Research and Innovation Initiative. This challenge is asking small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop a digital solution that supports state and territory child protection agencies to share information across borders in order to better identify and understand potential risks to children.
Successful applicants were announced by the Minister of Industry, Science and Innovation on 14 March 2017, and the feasibility study is expected to be completed by mid-2017.
Improved Governance and Accountability Mechanisms
The National Framework is a structure to guide collaboration and implementation among government and non-government sectors; connect related major initiatives; and support funding initiatives. The Third Action Plan includes improved governance and accountability mechanisms and linkages with relevant frameworks.
The National Framework has cooperative and flexible governance arrangements to support the Committee's recommendation. Current arrangements transcend government and non-government boundaries to achieve the aims of the National Framework.
The Children and Families Secretaries group consists of senior officials from relevant government departments and will support Ministers to implement the National Framework including the Third Action Plan. It will ensure whole of government involvement with the National Framework by engaging and partnering with departmental colleagues within jurisdictions and at a national level.
Commonwealth, state and territory ministers for portfolios such as family, community, disability, children and young people, child protection and social welfare are responsible for agreeing to the national strategies and actions and will oversee the progress and overall direction of the National Framework.
Under the Third Action Plan there is work currently underway to link the implementation of actions with activities under the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022.
The Commonwealth contributes funding each year to support the actions under the National Framework.
Voices of Children and Young People
The Third Action Plan has a strong commitment to engaging with young people and children to ensure their views are considered in the implementation of the Third Action Plan.
The National Children's Commissioner was established under the First Action Plan of the National Framework. The role of the National Children's Commissioner includes continuing to support education initiatives to improve awareness amongst the broader community of children's rights.
The National Children's Commissioner will facilitate consultation with children and young people on issues identified by the National Forum and, in collaboration with state and territory Children's Commissioners and Guardian.
The Commonwealth has provided funding to the CREATE Foundation to conduct focus groups on topics relating to the strategies and actions under the plan. The CREATE Foundation and the National Children's Commissioner will convene the sessions, liaising with state and territory Children's Commissioners and Guardians, peak bodies and other non-government organisations.
Early intervention and Prevention Focus
The National Framework's early intervention and prevention aim is specifically highlighted in the Third Action Plan through actions under Strategy 1: Early intervention with a focus on the early, years particularly the first 1000 days for a child.
Areas of action under this strategy include improving access to evidence-based family support services by examining, developing and trialling best practice place-based models of service delivery, particularly to better meet the needs of vulnerable expectant parents and the parents of young children. There is also an action to implement joined up responses for families with young children, across agencies and sectors, with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This will include supporting the integration of child care, maternal and child health, and family support services in a number of disadvantaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities through the Community Child Care Fund.
The implementation of the Third Action Plan will prioritise efforts on prevention and early intervention and highlight action on critical areas of children's wellbeing, including children living with a disability.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People
Specific and sustained attention will be paid to improving the way we work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities to ensure a central voice and address underlying factors, aimed at reducing the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people interacting with child protection services. This will include collaboration with, and support for, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations.
All parties to the National Framework recognise the importance of ensuring that children and young people in out-of-home care remain connected with their family, community and culture. All jurisdictions are committed to continuing to fully implement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle with regard to children and young people who come into contact with the child protection system. A new commitment under the Third Action Plan is agreement to adopt a broader definition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle. The intention is to ensure that the five domains of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle (prevention, partnership, placement, participation and connection) are applied to the implementation of all strategies and actions identified in the Third Action Plan.
Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors
The Commonwealth Government agrees in principle with this recommendation.
The Commonwealth has statutory responsibility for Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors (UHM), for whom the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection is the legal guardian.
Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors Program
The Commonwealth Government currently works with state and territory governments through the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's UHM Program to support UHMs and their families to this end.
The UHM Program facilitates the provision of relevant care, accommodation, supervision and support services to certain unaccompanied minors who have been granted a visa under Australia's offshore Humanitarian Program, or granted a Protection Visa in Australia. The UHM Program has been providing support to unaccompanied refugee children in Australia for over 40 years and, while numbers fluctuate, the Program is currently delivering care and support services to over 200 unaccompanied refugee children, as young as five years old.
The UHM Program is based on principles similar to out-of-home care, utilising the experience of State/Territory Government Child Welfare Authorities (SCWAs) as well as child welfare specialists and experienced carers from non-government organisations (NGOs).
UHMs supported by SCWAs most commonly live in the community with either an adult relative, an assessed and approved unrelated adult caregiver, or an adult caregiver who has customarily adopted the child in their country of origin. Young people of an appropriate age, maturity and independence are also supported in independent living. Further, a small number are placed with caregivers who are specifically recruited, assessed and approved by the state for the purpose of caring for UHMs.
In the context of contracted services, the UHM Program delivers the following services:
Where a UHM's care arrangement irretrievably breaks down, through its partnerships with SCWAs, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection can facilitate a small number of placements in out-of-home care arrangements. These may include placement with an approved family or state-accredited foster family. if it is in the minor's best interests, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will support the UHM's care and welfare through a residential care placement with a Department of Immigration and Border Protection-contracted service provider.
Also, in the case of UHMs who are strictly unaccompanied, where it is in their best interests the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will work with child welfare authorities and relevant NGOs and community groups to look for alternative long-term placement options for the minor, including foster care, adoption or a family law order.
Transition to Independent Living Allowance
Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors are eligible for the Transition to Independent Living Allowance (TILA). TILA is an allowance of up to $1,500 per person designed to help young people exiting formal care make a successful transition to independent living by helping meet some of the costs associated with housing, employment or study.
The Commonwealth Government would welcome the opportunity to continue to enhance the support arrangements for UHMs and international kinship care placements, together with SCWA, and NGO partners.
Commonwealth Government ' s response to other recommendations directed at COAG
The Commonwealth Government notes these recommendations involve various Commonwealth and state and territory government agencies with specific policy and program responsibilities. The Commonwealth Government will bring the Report to the attention of state and territory governments through the Children and Families Secretaries group. The Children and Families Secretaries group comprises heads of Commonwealth and state and territory departments responsible for children and families.
Commonwealth Government ' s response to recommendations directed at state and territory governments
The Commonwealth Government notes these recommendations and acknowledges that these recommendations are for the consideration of the state and territory governments.
Commonwealth Government ' s response to recommendations calling for national approach to Permanency /Adoption
The Commonwealth Government supports these recommendations in principle, and recognises that children under long-term care should have the opportunity for permanency, including adoption and guardianship orders, where appropriate and in the best interests of the child.
The Commonwealth Government notes that approaches around local adoption arrangements within the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) community that may affect unaccompanied minors and UHMs, including those who fall under the auspices of the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 14 1946 (IGOC Act), and for whom the Minister of Immigration and Border Protection is the legal guardian, is of a particular interest for the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth Government acknowledges that the issue of permanency planning is best dealt with by Commonwealth, state and territory ministers with portfolio responsibility for child protection, children and families. In April 2016, the Children and Families Secretaries group agreed that the Commonwealth and Victoria jointly lead work on identifying factors common across jurisdictions that support more effective approaches to achieving permanency and for a working group to be established to progress work on permanency.
The Commonwealth Government acknowledges approaches to permanency for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care will need to be considered separately and carefully, given the additional challenges faced by some disadvantaged Indigenous communities and historical policies of removal.
Outcomes achieved through the Permanency Reform Working Group will be discussed at future meetings of the Children and Families Secretaries group and meetings of the Community Services Ministers.
Commonwealth Government ' s response to recommendations directed at Commonwealth
Data projects
The Commonwealth Government notes these recommendations align closely with areas already identified by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) as priorities for further development, and AIHW is continuing to consult with state and territory data providers on how to enhance the Child Protection National Minimum Data Set (CP NMDS) in these areas.
Existing governance arrangements for data management
The CP NMDS consists of data extracted from state and territory child protection administrative data sets according to nationally agreed definitions and technical specifications. The AIHW then uses these data to report statistics on children and young people under child protection, including those in out-of-home care, in the Child Protection Australia report series and associated products. The AIHW is funded by state and territory departments responsible for child protection services to both collate and report CP NMDS data.
The CP NMDS work program is overseen by the Children and Families Data Network (CAFDaN), a sub-committee of the Children and Families Secretaries group, both of which include representatives from relevant state and territory departments and DSS. The CAFDaN regularly reviews the data set and agrees upon changes in accordance with identified information requirements, available resources and collection feasibility.
Work in progress
AIHW is working with states and territories through CAFDaN to enhance national reporting of permanent care arrangements for children and young people in out-of-home care. As part of this DSS-funded work, current known-carer adoption and permanent care order data collections are being reviewed and the feasibility of reporting more complete national data on permanent care arrangements is being explored.
The AIHW has strengthened its data linkage capability for welfare services and has successfully linked data on children in care with youth justice, education and specialist homelessness services data sets. The AIHW is also collaborating with the NSW Treasury to link their out-of-home care leaver data with AIHW held data.
More broadly, the Commonwealth in consultation with all jurisdictions, has undertaken a scoping data sharing project for Children and Families Secretaries group. This project considered existing data sharing work and prioritised key policy areas where more needs to be known about the pathways and trajectories of vulnerable children and families including children and young people who have left care. This work has been undertaken by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and is based on an earlier proof of concept trial undertaken by DHS.
AIHW have agreed to lead the second phase of an out-of-home care data linkage project started by the Department of Human Services. The first phase of the project was a "proof of concept" that linked state and territory out-of-home care data with Commonwealth income support payments data to look at the welfare outcomes of young people with a care experience. The scope of the second phase of the project is currently under consideration.
Planned new projects
The CP NMDS includes data items on children and young people with disability, children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and the relationship between children and young people and their kinship carers. However, given these data items are currently not well reported, AIHW is reviewing in collaboration with CAFDaN further work to improve the completeness and quality of these data and to assess the feasibility of using alternate reporting arrangements.
While the CP NMDS includes data on the primary type of abuse reported for each child, it does not include data on the reasons that children are placed in out-of-home care. AIHW has proposed for CAFDaN consideration, a project to assess the feasibility of including a data item to collect the reasons children are placed in out-of-home care.
Opportunities and barriers to support recommendations
The recommendations highlight the priority of achieving improvements in these key areas and provide an opportunity to build consensus for these improvements. Changes to the CP NMDS are subject to agreement by state and territory governments, which fund much of the AIHW's work enhancing the data collection and need to be able to extract the revised data from their administrative systems.
The recommended changes will need to be carefully developed and field-tested prior to implementation in data collection practices and associated information systems of all eight state and territory governments. The complexity involved in changing and aligning these information systems means that implementation of revised data items and subsequent data collection and reporting can take a number of years.
Identity documents
The Commonwealth Government notes this recommendation on the basis that Commonwealth Government policy already exists to establish a person's identity, including verifying the identity of children.
In relation to establishing a person's identity, the National Identity Proofing Guidelines (the Guidelines), developed by the Attorney-General's Department on behalf of all Australian governments, provides a flexible, risk-based approach to identity verification, consistent with international standards.
The Guidelines allow agencies to choose from one of four sets of identity proofing requirements, informed by a risk assessment, depending on the level of confidence or assurance required in a person's identity.
Chapter 5 of the Guidelines provides for an exceptions process where a person is unable to provide the necessary evidence of identity documents to an agency and the agency determines that an alternate proofing process is acceptable. The chapter outlines that in seeking to verify the identity of a child, agencies should verify the identity of the child's parent/s or legal guardian to the required level of assurance; and establish a documentary link between the child and the parent/s or legal guardian.
The Guidelines can be viewed on the Attorney-General's Departments website at: https://wvvw.ag,gov. au/RightsAnd Protections/IdentitySecurity/Pages/Identity-security-guidelines-and-standards.aspx
The Department of Human Services has processes in place to assist children in out-of-home care to access Medicare services. Where a child is a state ward or a foster child, the state child protection agency, with appropriate authority, can apply for access to Medicare services and be issued a Medicare card for the child.
There is a provision for the child to receive medical treatment without being enrolled in Medicare. Under the health care agreement with the hospitals, it is the responsibility of hospitals and the relevant state's child protection agency to provide health care and assistance in these circumstances.
In relation to the issuing of travel documents to children, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issues documents to children in accordance with provision of the Australian Passports Act 2005 (Passports Act) and theAustralian Passports Determination 2015. The Passports Act applies to all Australian child passport applicants, including children in out-of-home care. If a child meets the identity, citizenship and consent requirements as outlined in the Act, they are entitled to be issued Australian travel documents.
There are provisions in the Passports Act 2005 (Cth) and theAustralian Passports Determination 2015 (Cth) to allow a delegate of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to approve the issue of a travel document where consent from all parties with parental responsibility cannot be obtained. A specific provision exists for children who are the subject of a child welfare order and the Passports Office regularly exercises this provision when determining passport applications.
Providing evidence of Australian citizenship is a legislated requirement to be eligible for an Australian passport. If a lodging person/entity does not have access to the relevant documents (evidence that the child's parent was an Australian citizen at the time of the child's birth), they will need to apply for evidence of citizenship from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection as the responsible agency for determining citizenship. Where the child is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, the Passports Office will consider proof of Aboriginality documents in lieu of other documentation (where it is not available) on a case-by-case basis.
The Passports Office has developed two guides to assist persons who are lodging travel document applications for children in out-of-home care arrangements, Child Welfare or Protective Agencies: a guide to lodging child passport applications andLodging Australian Travel Document Applications for Unaccompanied Humanitarian Minors — A guide for Guardians. Both of these documents are available on the passports website at www.passports.gov.au.
In a small number of cases, the decision to issue a child passport represents significant risk due to the possibility of child abduction to or from Australia. A strong legislative framework, combined with targeted policy and processes exist to mitigate these risks, acting more as a safeguard than a barrier to passport accessibility.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection will continue to ensure non-citizen children in out-of-home care have access to appropriate Commencement of Identity credentials, that is, credentials which provide evidence of the child's identity commencing in Australia, which are often required for identity verification processes in accordance with the National Identity Proofing Guidelines. This includes eligibility for an ImmiCard, free of charge, to assist with settlement and care placements.
Children in out-of-home care may engage with the Department of Immigration and Border Protection when they wish to obtain Australian citizenship or evidence of Australian citizenship.
A new Form 1499, 'Declaration of parentage to support ImmiCard application' has also been implemented to allow a parent to submit an alternative form of evidence where official documentation to prove lineage is unavailable. This includes, for example, acceptance of written support from a religious leader or school principal. This approach recognises many Refugee and Special Humanitarian visa holders arrive in Australia as infants or children and were issued a Document for Travel to Australia (DFTTA) or an ImmiCard. The facial recognition assessment undertaken as part of any subsequent request for a new ImmiCard is often inconclusive due to either the dramatic change in the older child's appearance or the poor quality of the original photo.
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection would be concerned about any proposed relaxing of required evidence of identity for non-citizen children in out-of-home care.
The Department of Human Services currently provides Alternative Identity Confirmation processes, which ensure recipients who do not have the required identity documentation can still access government services. The Department is also currently working to implement a single identity enrolment process across all relevant payments and services. As part of this work, the Department is also seeking to improve services provided to recipients who have not had their birth registered or do no possess a birth certificate. Application of similar processes could be considered by other agencies to assist in the identity proofing of children living away from home.
An Identity Documents Working Group (IDWG) was established to facilitate discussion between the Commonwealth, jurisdictions and key academics to collectively identify practical solutions for assisting children involved in statutory child protection services to access their identity documents. DSS, in partnership with the National Children's Commissioner, Megan Mitchell, chair the IDWG which will report to the Children and Families Secretaries Group. The IDWG intends on preparing a report to be considered by the Children and Families Secretaries Group in mid-late 2017.
Medicare Items for children in out-of-home care
The Commonwealth Government disagrees with this recommendation.
The Department of Health has considered the Committee's recommendation to introduce a separate Medicare item for children in out-of-home care to improve access to health assessments and treatment, including mental health.
A health assessment gives a medical practitioner the opportunity to undertake a holistic and systemic assessment of a child's health status and to consider actual or potential ongoing health or developmental care needs. However, on its own, a health assessment cannot guarantee that a child who needs follow-up care will receive that care, or that the provision of care will be coordinated rather than piecemeal. For very vulnerable patients, such as children in out-of-home care the need for effective care co-ordination is crucial. Therefore, this recommendation is not supported.
State and territory governments are best placed to provide such care by employing expert, multi-disciplinary case managers to operate out of local public hospital units or other appropriate publicly funded centres. The case managers are required to have substantial skills in organising appropriate, coordinated health care and other services for the children. Just how complex the needs of these children can be is reflected by the fact many jurisdictions have established their own specialist services for children in out-of-home care that include child abuse assessment and treatment units that co-ordinate health services including forensic medical services, paediatric developmental assessments, psychosocial assessments, health screens, education, consultation and counselling.
Transition to Independent Living Allowance
The Commonwealth Government notes this recommendation.
In June 2009 the Commonwealth Government increased the TILA payment from $1,000 to $1,500. From 1 January 2014, DSS introduced reforms that refocused eligibility back to the original target group of young people leaving formal care, with an additional requirement that there is a transition to independence plan in place and a case worker is involved. TILA can be paid in instalments so that the caseworker and young person can agree to receive smaller payments at appropriate times during their transition to independent living. TILA is now integrated with state and territory governments' leaving care supports so that it is complementary to the support that young people are receiving in living out of care from their jurisdiction.
The DSS review, conducted in 2015 and published in April 2016, aimed to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the new operational arrangements which commenced on 1 January 2014: In the main, the review found that the sector appreciated the 2014 reforms and the streamlining of the administration of TILA.
The recommendations of the review called for improved communications, simplifying administration, driving demand for TILA, and amending Department of Human Services' payment notifications. The review also found that not all eligible young people exiting care claim TILA payments or claim the full amount. The average amount applied for is $1,350. DSS has been raising awareness of TILA amongst young people, caseworkers and jurisdictions through a communication strategy.
DSS has also made administrative adjustments to the TILA application process, clarified eligibility of young people and implemented a communication plan, all designed to increase awareness and uptake of TILA payments and payment notifications. The two step application process required caseworkers to first seek approval from DSS of the goods and services to be bought with TILA funds then a second application for payment to be made through the Department of Human Services' Unified Government Gateway (UGG). The main administrative change reduced red tape in applications through the removal of the first step application to DSS so that caseworkers now apply for a TILA payment directly to the UGG. DSS will consider a modest increase to the maximum TI LA payment as part of ongoing administrative reform to TILA.
While post-care support programs are the responsibility of state and territory governments, the Commonwealth Government is working in partnership with state and territory governments and the community sector under the National Framework to improve the safety and wellbeing of Australia's children, including those who have entered and are transitioning from the child protection system.
DSS, on behalf of the Commonwealth, is leading Strategy 2 under the Third Action Plan which focuses on developing and strengthening support for young people in care transitioning to adulthood and improving priority access to support services. Under this strategy, a number of signature actions are being, or will be, implemented over the next three years, such as evaluating the impact of jurisdictions' policy changes to extend statutory responsibility and access to services to young people who exit out-of-home care over the age of 18 years.
Some of the other signature actions include:
Family Support Services
The Commonwealth Government notes this recommendation.
The Commonwealth Government is already investing just over $1.2 billion* from 2016-17 to 2020-21 under the Families and Children (FaC) Activity of the Families and Communities Program to support families to improve the wellbeing of children and young people to enhance family and community functioning, as well as increasing the participation of vulnerable people in community life.
Under the FaC Activity, the Commonwealth Government funds a number of programs that support children and families, including children and young people at risk of entering, and in, out-of-home care such as Intensive Family Support Services (IFSS), Children and Parenting Support (CaPS), and Communities for Children Facilitating Partners (CfC FP).
IFSS is an evidence-informed and outcomes based service focused on reducing child neglect and increasing the capacity of families to support their children to be safe, nurtured and thriving. IFSS provides the most vulnerable families in identified communities in the Northern Territory and South Australia with practical parenting education and support. This support is provided to parents and caregivers in their communities and homes for up to 12 months, to help them improve the health, safety and wellbeing of their children.
Through CaPS, the Commonwealth Government funds a range of prevention and early intervention services including peer support groups, parenting education services, web-based resources and support services, playgroups, and school readiness programs.
The CfC FPs aim to deliver positive and sustainable outcomes for children aged 0-12 and families in disadvantaged communities throughout Australia. CfC FPs are place-based and develop and facilitate a whole of community approach to support and enhance early childhood development and wellbeing through services such as parenting programs and group peer support.
*based on 2017-18 Portfolio Budget Statements
Access to Legal and Other Advice
The Commonwealth Government supports this recommendation in principle.
The Commonwealth Government's commitment to legal assistance over the five years from 2015-2020, totals over $1.7 billion across legal aid commissions, community legal centres (CLCs) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS). This includes an additional $55.7 million the Commonwealth Government committed as part of the 2017-18 Budget from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2020, for community legal centres ($39 million), for family law and family violence related services, and for ATSILS ($16.7 million).
Child protection, including funding legal assistance related to child protection matters, is the responsibility of state and territory governments. However, in recognition of the importance of protecting children, under the National Partnership Agreement on Legal Assistance Services 2015-2020 (the Agreement), Commonwealth funding for legal aid commissions can be used in state law matters relating to the safety or welfare of children where the matters are connected with family law matters. The Agreement also includes Commonwealth funding for CLCs and allows this funding to be used for assistance in state law matters, including matters relating to the welfare of children. In addition, children, Indigenous Australians and people experiencing, or at risk of, family violence or homelessness, are priority clients for legal assistance services funded by the Commonwealth.
The Government continues to be the primary funded of ATSILS through the Indigenous Legal Assistance Program, ATSILS ensure Indigenous Australian clients and their families receive high quality, culturally appropriate legal assistance services, with respect to criminal law, children's care and protection, family law and civil law. Individual funding agreements with ATSILS include children and people experiencing, or at risk of, family violence or homelessness, as priority clients.
The Government is committed to doing what it can to ensure that vulnerable people receive the legal assistance they need to address their legal problems. This is demonstrated through the Government's provision of $45 million for front-line legal assistance and family law services as part of the $100 million Women's Safety Package and the $100 million Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022. It also complements the Commonwealth Government's commitment of $3.4 million in the 2017-18 Budget to expand the pilot program for specialist domestic violence units.
The Commonwealth also funds 23 organisations to deliver Specialised Family Violence Services (SFVS) through 27 outlets across Australia under the Family and Relationship Services (FaRS) Sub-Activity. SFVS contributes to the strategic vision of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 that "Australian women and their children live free from violence in safe communities". SFVS delivers specialised services that support individuals, couples, children and families who are experiencing, or at risk of, family or domestic violence.
Services may include individual or couple broad-based counselling and dispute resolution, education for individuals who are violent or abusive, support for individuals affected by family violence, and support for children who have experienced or witnessed family violence.
National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA)
The Commonwealth Government supports this recommendation.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is an insurance approach and sustainability of the Scheme is continually monitored by the Scheme Actuary under the NDIS Act 2013. The NDIA's Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) Approach was released in February 2016 and is essential element to the success of NDIS. The approach is designed to ensure that parents or primary caregivers are able to provide young children (0-6 years) who have developmental delay or disabilities with experiences and opportunities that help the children gain and use the functional skills they need to participate meaningfully in the key environments in their lives. Each child's ECEI program will be developed and delivered by Early Childhood Partners who are experienced in Early Childhood Intervention. Outcomes for children and families achieved through the early childhood intervention approach will be recognised through:
Children who become participants of the scheme can access early childhood intervention supports in keeping with the National Guidelines Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention developed by Early Childhood Intervention Australia (ECIA).
For children in OOHC, where return to the family home is the participant's goal, a focus of the plan is the supports required to support the family to return the child to the home. Where the child is at risk of having to leave the home, support focuses on maintaining them in the home where it is safe to do so. In these cases, the ECEI partner works with the Agency to develop a plan to facilitate this. This plan also considers the supports provided by the mainstream services.
The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) works with families and individuals on a plan individually designed for their specific needs. The plan is based on the participant's goals and takes into account the views of parents and carers. The types of supports provided will vary depending on the needs of the participant. The ND1A provides resources for core supports (e.g. day to day supports), capacity building (e.g. training, skills development) and capital (e.g. equipment). The NDIA uses a strength based approach to planning which includes where possible, strengthening and building capacity of families and carers to support participants who are children. Support coordination can be funded in the participant's plan to assist in achieving this outcome and to assist them to access family support services to assist children remaining at home in the care of their parents.
The ECEI Approach is for children 0-6 years with developmental delay or disability. Early Childhood Partners must adhere to the National Guidelines Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention developed by ECIA. In working with the family, the Early Childhood Partners will apply family-centred and strengths-based practice, which is a set of values, skills, behaviours and knowledge that recognises the central role of families in children's lives. The guiding principles state:
Children who become participants of the NDIS will receive funded early childhood intervention supports, and where needed, a care supports to maintain or return them to the family home. A key component of best practice early childhood intervention is the Key Worker model. The Key Worker is the primary contact for the family and has a role in coordinating the early childhood supports going into the home along with linkages to mainstream and community services.
Both the Early Childhood Partner and the NDIS funded Key Workers will work collaboratively with mainstream and community services including Family Support Services.
The NDIA is mindful of its market stewardship role and is always seeking to improve the capacity and capability of the market to ensure high quality service provision.
Through the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), the Commonwealth Government already subsidises early intervention services to children with a disability and children with autism: Helping Children with Autism (HCWA); andBetter Start for Children with Disability (Better Start) programmes. Children in out-of-home care have access to these programmes in addition to relevant general practitioner (GP) and specialist MBS items as required.
The HCWA programme provides early intervention services for children undergoing diagnosis/assessment or treatment for autism or any other pervasive developmental disorder (POD). The Better Start programme provides access to Medicare items for the early diagnosis and treatment of children with an eligible disability. The list of eligible disabilities is outlined in the MBS.
Children with autism or any other PDD or with an eligible disability are eligible for up to a total of four allied health assessment services per child (diagnostic and contribution to a management plan) and up to a total of 20 allied health treatment services per child.
Medicare rebates are available for the assessment/diagnosis items only when:
Under the HCWA and the Better Start programmes, assessment services must be accessed prior to a child's 13th birthday and treatment and management plan services must be accessed by a child's 15th birthday.
Children can access the HCWA Medicare services provided they have not already accessed the Better Start Medicare services and vice versa, in addition to meeting the requirements of each service.
As the NDIS is rolled out across Australia, children supported through the HCWA or Better Start will transition to the NDIS. Medicare items are not in scope for the NDIS and will remain available to families.
That the Senate take note of the document.
Australian Border Force Amendment (Protected Information) Bill 2017
Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Bill 2017
That these bills may proceed without formalities, may be taken together and be now read a first time.
That these bills be now read a second time.
AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCE AMENDMENT (PROTECTED INFORMATION) BILL 2017
The Department of Immigration and Border Protection, including its operational enforcement arm, the Australian Border Force, supports a broad range of activities that are vital for the prosperity and security of our nation. Facilitation of international trade, the supply of skilled labour for our domestic economy, business relationships, revenue collection, law enforcement and national security outcomes, travel and tourism and community protection are all important elements in building a strong and cohesive society.
To carry out these functions, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection obtains information from individuals, industry, other sectors of government and foreign partners. Some of this information is highly sensitive and must be carefully managed. The Department must ensure that it is only used and disclosed for legitimate purposes.
The Australian Border Force Amendment (Protected Information) Bill 2017 clarifies the secrecy and disclosure provisions in theAustralian Border Force Act 2015 (the ABF Act) to reflect the policy intent of those provisions.
Part 6 of the ABF Act establishes these important secrecy and disclosure provisions, similar to provisions that were in place within the former Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and a range of other Commonwealth agencies. These protections prohibited the unauthorised making of a record or disclosure of information. Breach of these requirements is punishable by imprisonment for two years.
This bill will clarify Part 6 and related provisions to reflect the original intent of the legislation, which is to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of information that could cause harm to the national or public interest.
Mishandling of information can cause significant damage to our national security, public safety, law enforcement capability or our economy. Individuals can also suffer serious detriment where personal and sensitive information is inappropriately disclosed.
The secrecy and disclosure provisions in Part 6 of the ABF Act were adapted from the model in place for the former Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. However, this model has not kept pace with the developments in the modern border environment. This environment is complex and dynamic, and updated legislative settings are required to facilitate the evolving work of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
The aim of the measures in this bill, therefore, is to ensure that Immigration and Border Protection information is provided with the necessary level of protection, in a targeted manner, but is also able to be disclosed when it is appropriate to do so.
As not all information obtained by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection requires protection, the definition of the information to be protected has been refined to include only certain kinds of information, such as that relating to: the security, defence and international relations of Australia; prevention, detection and investigation of offences; protection of public health and safety; or sensitive personal and commercial matters.
There must be a balance between the competing interests of transparent, open and accountable government with the necessity of protecting certain information from disclosure which would lead to identifiable harm.
The prohibition in the ABF Act on disclosure of certain kinds of information is balanced by the exceptions to this prohibition that allow for authorised disclosures. This is why the bill includes measures to remove unnecessary and cumbersome administrative overlays. Streamlining the operation of the secrecy and disclosure provisions will allow more efficient sharing of information for legitimate purposes without removing important oversight and accountability measures.
The bill provides assurances for the Australian public, business, government and foreign partners that sensitive information provided to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection will be appropriately protected, without unnecessarily restricting informed public debate. The retrospective application of the bill (back to the date the Australian Border Force Act was enacted) will provide the necessary certainty that only information which could harm the national or public interest if disclosed is to be protected, and will be regarded as ever having been protected, under the ABF Act.
This will reassure individuals who may otherwise believe they have committed an offence, in circumstances which would not have amounted to an offence under these amendments.
In conclusion, this bill will clarify the intent and refine the operation of the secrecy and disclosure provisions that govern the management of information in the Immigration and Border Protection portfolio. It illustrates the fine balance that must be struck in protecting sensitive information while upholding a commitment to open and accountable government. This bill underscores that commitment and will enable the Department of Immigration and Border Protection to more effectively manage information in service of our nation.
SOCIAL SERVICES LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (WELFARE REFORM) BILL 2017
With this Bill, the Government is embarking on a comprehensive reform of Australia's working-age welfare payments; making the system simpler, more sustainable, and focussed on supporting people from welfare into employment.
Introduction
The Bill introduces a new, single JobSeeker Payment, which will replace or consolidate seven existing payments in order to simplify the working age payment system. It will also strengthen welfare conditionality for jobseekers with drug and alcohol abuse issues and better encourage and support them to pursue treatment.
The Bill also sees a streamlining of administrative processes and the introduction of a new targeted compliance framework which will better identify and support vulnerable people and ensure that wilfully noncompliant jobseekers face appropriate penalties.
The Bill demonstrates that the Government is completely committed to improving the integrity of the welfare system and ensuring that recipients receive the necessary support and incentives to address barriers to employment, to look for work and to take a suitable job when it is available. This will benefit not just the jobseekers themselves but also their families, the wider community and the Australian economy.
Jobseeker Payment measures
From 20 March 2020, this bill will introduce a new, single JobSeeker Payment, which will replace seven existing payments as the main payment for people of working age.
Newstart Allowance, Sickness Allowance, Wife Pension, Bereavement Allowance, and Widow B Pension will cease from 20 March 2020. Existing Bereavement Allowance recipients will continue to receive Bereavement Allowance for the remainder of their bereavement period following 20 March 2020, but there will be no new grants of Bereavement Allowance from 20 March 2020.
Widow Allowance will close to new entrants from 1 January 2018 and will cease on 1 January 2022, when all recipients have moved to the Age Pension.
Partner Allowance will also cease on 1 January 2022 when all recipients have moved to the Age Pension.
These multiple working age payments are a product of many years of ad hoc changes and dated policy decisions, which have created a system that is difficult to understand, navigate and administer.
Creating a new JobSeeker Payment will ensure a single set of rules and rates for people of working age with the capacity to work. It will also firmly entrench long-term employment as the desired outcome for working age Australians who receive income support.
Under these changes, approximately 800,000 existing Newstart Allowance recipients are expected to transfer to the new JobSeeker Payment in 2020. A further 20,000 recipients of other working age income support payments are expected to progressively transition to the JobSeeker Payment, or other payments such as the Age Pension and Carer Payment where eligible.
The eligibility rules and payment rates for the JobSeeker Payment will be based primarily on the existing rules and rates for Newstart Allowance. Eligibility will be broadened to include access for people who are temporarily sick or injured and unable to return to their work or study, rather than having to shift onto a different payment.
Bereavement provisions will also apply within the new JobSeeker Payment for people who would have otherwise claimed a Bereavement Allowance. Bereaved JobSeeker Payment recipients and claimants will receive a triple upfront payment, acknowledging the high upfront costs associated with losing a partner or spouse. Recipients will also receive temporary exemptions from mutual obligations requirements during their time of grief. Bereaved people will also be exempt from a number of conditions that would normally apply to jobseekers; ensuring that they get access to the payment when they need it the most.
Transitional arrangements will be put in place for Wife Pension recipients who move to the JobSeeker Payment to ensure that their nominal rate of payment is not reduced as result of these changes.
Replacing seven existing payments with one working age payment is a critical step in reforming our welfare system and will firmly entrench long-term employment as the desired outcome for Australians who enter the welfare system in a moment of need.
The simplification of working age payments is based on the blueprint provided by Patrick McClure after the significant work done by him and his reference group on welfare reform.
Amend the activity test for persons aged 55 to 59
This bill will also strengthen the employment focus of mutual obligations and better connect mature age jobseekers with the labour market, while still recognising that volunteering can be a valuable stepping stone into paid work.
Changes will be made to current activity test arrangements, to help ensure Newstart Allowance and Special Benefit recipients aged 55 to 59 years experience greater workforce participation and increase their chances of finding work.
Presently, Newstart Allowance and Special Benefit recipients aged 55 or over can satisfy the activity test and meet their Annual Activity Requirement through 30 hours per fortnight of approved voluntary work, paid work or a combination of both.
Whilst volunteering obviously has a range of benefits, participation in paid work and reduced reliance on income support should be the ultimate goal for jobseekers.
Under this measure, from 20 September 2018, Newstart Allowance and Special Benefit recipients aged between 55 and 59 years of age will have satisfied the activity test if they are engaged in at least 30 hours per fortnight of paid work, or a combination of paid work and up to a maximum of 15 hours of voluntary work.
The 2017-18 Budget included changes to mutual obligations requirements for jobseekers in other age groups. This includes aligning Activity Requirements for jobseekers aged between 30 and 49 years of age with those for jobseekers aged under 30 and introducing Annual Activity Requirements for jobseekers aged between 60 and the Age Pension age.
Changes to participation requirements for these other age groups can be achieved through jobactive guidelines alone. No legislative amendment is required.
The Australian Government is also complementing these changes by investing over $100 million to increase the skills and experience of mature age jobseekers from 1 July 2018.
Faster connection to employment services
The bill also supports the introduction of the Work First: Faster connection to employment services measure.
This measure makes changes to the RapidConnect arrangements to encourage jobseekers to connect more quickly with employment service providers (like jobactive and Transition to Work).
From 1 January 2018, jobseekers subject to RapidConnect will have their Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance (other) payment commence from the date they attended their initial appointment with their employment service provider, instead of the date the recipient first contacted the Department of Human Services or lodged their claim.
Transition to Work and jobactive providers will continue to be contractually required to have appointment times available for people to attend within two business days. If an appointment is not available or the jobseeker misses an appointment due to a reasonable cause, they will not be penalised.
Connecting jobseekers more quickly with employment services will improve the jobseeker's chances of finding work faster.
The Government has moved amendments to ensure that where a job seeker is subject to RapidConnect and the one week ordinary waiting period, their waiting period will commence on the same day as for job seekers who are not subject to RapidConnect. This will ensure that the ordinary waiting period applies consistently as intended for all job seekers, irrespective of whether they are subject to RapidConnect.
Removing Intent to Claim
Through this bill, social security claimants will receive payments from the date they provide all material necessary for them to claim and to be assessed that is within their control, rather than from the date of first contact with the Department of Human Services.
This measure will encourage social security claimants to provide the information required for their claim in a timely manner, in line with government and community expectations that individuals take personal responsibility for their own affairs.
The measure will apply to all new claims for social security payments. It will not affect current recipients, unless they claim another payment.
Substance Misuse Measures
In addition, this bill introduces three measures designed to strengthen requirements for jobseekers who may have substance abuse issues and to provide improved pathways for them to pursue appropriate treatment.
The community has a right to expect that taxpayer-funded welfare payments are not being used to fund drug and alcohol addiction and that jobseekers do all that they can reasonably do to find a job, including addressing any barriers which have prevented them from doing so.
Data shows us that substance abuse is a more significant problem for people on welfare payments and is directly impacting the ability of many jobseekers to undertake activities to get them into employment:
While there are some existing mechanisms in place for identifying jobseekers with substance abuse issues and assisting them to seek treatment, the data clearly shows that much more needs to be done to help these individuals.
The measures in this bill will provide better pathways for jobseekers who are having difficulties meeting their mutual obligation requirements because of drug or alcohol misuse so that they can pursue the treatment they need.
Importantly, the measures in this bill are complemented by other measures that do not require legislation. This includes, for the first time, ensuring that all jobseekers are able to undertake drug or alcohol treatment as an approved activity in their Job Plan.
This bill will also establish a modest two year trial of drug testing for 5,000 recipients of Newstart Allowance and Youth Allowance (other) from 1 January 2018.
While drug testing is currently used in Australia by many employers and, of course, by police and law enforcement, and it has also been used overseas in relation to welfare recipients, there is little comparable evidence available to tell us whether this sort of intervention would be effective in the Australian welfare context.
That is why this measure has been specifically designed as a trial – to build that evidence base and assess the value of drug testing as a way of identifying those for whom drug misuse is a barrier to work, and as a means of supporting them to undertake treatment.
The trial will operate in three locations. The selection of these locations will be based on evidence and data about drug use in Australia to ensure the trial is targeted at supporting regions with a high incidence of drug use. The availability of treatment services and the ability to apply a welfare quarantining mechanism will also be key factors in determining trial locations.
Under this trial, from 1 January 2018, people claiming Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance (other) in the trial locations will be required to acknowledge that they may be subject to drug testing as part of the claim process.
Drug testing will coincide with Department of Human Service' appointments and will be administered by a contracted third party drug testing provider.
There will be comprehensive rules set out in a legislative instrument relating to the trial locations, the illicit drugs tested for and the protocols for conducting the drug tests, including safeguards to ensure that testing is conducted appropriately and in accordance with relevant standards. This legislative instrument will provide the flexibility to ensure that the expert advice of the contracted testing provider and the drug and alcohol sector can be taken into account in developing these protocols and safeguards.
There will be appropriate consequences for people who deliberately miss an appointment without a reasonable excuse or for people who refuse a drug test in order to avoid a possible positive result.
Jobseekers who test positive to a drug test will have their payments placed on Income Management for 24 months. This is designed to restrict their access to cash and, therefore, limit their ability to use payments to fund further harmful drug use. Jobseekers who test positive will also be subject to a second drug test within 25 working days and may also be subject to further subsequent tests. This will help to identify those for whom drug misuse is an ongoing problem which may require treatment and which is creating a barrier to employment.
Jobseekers who test positive to more than one drug test during the trial will be referred to a Department of Human Services contracted medical professional with experience in drug and alcohol treatment who will assess their particular circumstances and identify appropriate treatment or support options.
If the report from the medical professional recommends treatment, the jobseeker will be required to participate in one or more treatment activities to address their substance abuse as part of their Job Plan. This could include, for example, activities such as rehabilitation, counselling or case management.
This trial is not about penalising jobseekers with drug abuse issues. It is about finding new and better ways of identifying these jobseekers and ensuring they are referred to the support and treatment they need.
This bill will also make changes to mutual obligation exemptions to better support and encourage jobseekers with substance misuse issues to remain actively engaged and pursue treatment.
Currently, jobseekers can be granted an exemption on the basis of temporary incapacity due to drug or alcohol dependency. Exemptions can also be granted in other circumstances that may be related to drug or alcohol abuse.
This allows jobseekers to be exempt from all mutual obligation requirements with no expectation that they will undertake appropriate activities to address the underlying problem – their substance abuse.
This is why, from 1 January 2018, jobseekers will no longer be able to be exempt from their mutual obligation or participation requirements if the circumstances affecting their ability to meet their requirements is primarily due to drug or alcohol dependency or misuse.
This measure reflects that jobseekers who do have substance dependency or misuse issues that prevent them from looking for work should be taking active steps to address their issues rather than being exempt from all requirements.
It is estimated that around 11,000 exemptions per year will no longer be granted under this measure, noting that some jobseekers may currently get more than one exemption in a year related to their substance misuse.
Jobseekers who are no longer eligible for an exemption will instead remain connected to their employment service provider and actively engaged in appropriate activities tailored to their particular circumstances and barriers to work, including their substance misuse issues.
The Government is investing $28.8 million to ensure that jobseekers receive this tailored support from their provider during the period they would previously have been exempt.
This bill will also tighten the reasonable excuse rules to provide an incentive for jobseekers, who are having difficulty meeting their requirements due to drug or alcohol dependency, to undertake treatment as part of their mutual obligation requirements.
Jobseekers on income support negotiate a Job Plan with their employment service provider. It is based on their individual circumstances and capacity and is designed to help the jobseeker move towards supporting themselves through paid work.
If jobseekers do not undertake the mutual obligations that are agreed to in their Job Plan, they can face financial penalties. To avoid unfairly penalising recipients, a penalty cannot legally be applied if the jobseeker has a reasonable excuse for failing to meet their requirements – that is if jobseekers miss an appointment or cannot attend an activity for reasons beyond their control.
Currently though, there are rules which allow jobseekers to repeatedly use drug or alcohol dependency as a reasonable excuse without making any effort to address their circumstances.
From 1 January 2018, the Government will amend the reasonable excuse criteria so that jobseekers will not be able to repeatedly use drug or alcohol dependency as a reasonable excuse unless they are seeking treatment, if it is available and appropriate. This measure targets those who are unable to meet their mutual obligation requirements due to drug or alcohol related reasons, and will encourage those recipients into available treatment.
Following a first instance of noncompliance due to drug or alcohol dependency, jobseekers will face no penalty but will be given the option of voluntarily undertaking treatment for their dependency (if that treatment is appropriate and available) or continuing with their normal mutual obligation requirements as managed by their employment services provider.
For jobseekers who choose treatment, participating in this treatment will reduce, or in some circumstances fully meet, their mutual obligation requirements.
If a jobseeker refuses to participate in available and appropriate treatment, they will no longer be able to continue to use their drug and alcohol conditions as a reasonable excuse for future noncompliance. If they again fail to meet their requirements due to drug or alcohol use, they may then face a financial penalty.
This measure will provide stronger incentives and better support for jobseekers to pursue the treatment they need to overcome their substance dependency and move towards supporting themselves through paid work.
Together, these measures recognise that supporting jobseekers to address their substance abuse issues through appropriate treatment is a critical first step on the path to employment.
Targeted Compliance Framework
This bill will create a simpler, fairer, more targeted and certainly more effective jobseeker compliance framework to ensure that all jobseekers are meeting their mutual obligation requirements.
We know that almost two thirds of jobseekers attend all appointments or miss only one at most in any six month period, and that payment suspension is sufficient to ensure re-engagement in the majority of cases.
At the other extreme, there is a small core of jobseekers who appear to be gaming the system by only attending appointments which reactivate suspended income support payments. Those jobseekers have no underlying reason for their persistent noncompliance.
The current framework does not differentiate between these groups of jobseekers and, critically, it does not always provide the support necessary to those who need help to meet their requirements.
The new targeted framework is designed to change the behaviour of non-genuine jobseekers, while supporting the majority of jobseekers who are absolutely genuine in their efforts to find work.
Jobseekers who wilfully and repeatedly fail to comply with their agreed job plan requirements, with no underlying cause, will face real penalties, with graduated loss of income support payments culminating in payment cancellation and a four week non-payment period for the most recalcitrant jobseekers.
Under the new framework, all jobseekers will commence in a demerits phase. Every time a jobseeker misses a requirement, their payment will be suspended then back paid when they re-engage. They will also accrue a demerit if they do not have a valid reason for their failure.
If a jobseeker accrues four demerits within six months they will enter the three strikes phase, where they will face stronger penalties, beginning with the loss of half their fortnightly payment the first time they miss a requirement without a reasonable excuse. They will lose all of their fortnightly payment the second time they do not meet a requirement and after a third failure they will face payment cancellation for four weeks.
To ensure that genuine jobseekers who are simply having difficulty meeting their requirements do not enter the three strikes phase, their provider will assess their capability and requirements after their third demerit and the Department of Human Services will also do so after their fourth. At either point, if a jobseeker is found to be unable to meet their requirements because of some underlying capability issue, those requirements will be adjusted, their demerits reset, and they will remain in the demerits phase.
Once a jobseeker is in the three strikes phase, they can still avoid any penalties by simply meeting all their requirements. Those who remain fully compliant for three months will return to the demerits phase and have their demerits reset to zero. This will provide a strong incentive for jobseekers to change their behaviour and start to comply with their requirements.
Jobseekers in either phase who refuse an offer of suitable work or fail to start in a suitable job without a reasonable excuse will have their payment cancelled and will then face a four week non-payment period before they can receive payment. This penalty is identical to that imposed on jobseekers who have reached three strikes. It recognises the seriousness of refusing work and the importance of reducing reliance on welfare wherever reasonably possible.
Jobseekers who voluntarily leave a suitable job or are dismissed due to misconduct will also face a four week non-payment period.
Waivers will no longer be available for refusing or failing to accept an offer of suitable employment, so that jobseekers who have proven time and again that they are unwilling to meet their requirements or accept work will actually serve a penalty. However the penalty for these failures is reduced from eight weeks to four weeks to reflect the detrimental impact that long periods without payment can have.
The new compliance framework will be considerably simpler than the current system. This will make it easier for jobseekers to understand the consequences of noncompliance, and will reduce unnecessary red-tape and administration for providers.
No penalty will be applied to any jobseeker if they have a reasonable excuse for any failure to observe a mutual obligation.
Before a jobseeker enters the three strikes phase, they will be subject to capability interviews and assessments to identify any underlying issues that may be preventing them from meeting their requirements.
Only those jobseekers who wilfully and systematically do not comply with requirements will reach the point of having their income support payments cancelled.
A jobseeker can request that the Department of Human Services review a decision to apply a financial penalty and if they are unhappy with the outcome, they can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Jobseekers will not be paid pending the outcome of the appeal and will be back paid in full if the appeal is successful.
Streamline Tax File Number Collection
Under current arrangements, claimants for social security payments have 28 days to provide a Tax File Number to the Department of Human Services after a claim has been made. This bill will streamline administrative processes in the Department of Human Services by requiring individuals who make a claim for payment, or an income‑tested health care card or seniors health card, to provide their Tax File Number, and relevant third-party Tax File Numbers, as part of their claim. Applicants who do not have their Tax File Number on hand can choose to have the Department of Human Services obtain it from the Australian Taxation Office directly on their behalf.
Information Management
From 1 January 2018, the requirement for the Department of Human Services to obtain information twice (once for administrative purposes, like raising a social welfare payment debt, and then again to pursue criminal prosecution) will be streamlined under this bill to reduce the administrative burden of welfare fraud prosecution referrals.
The need for the Department of Human Services to obtain admissible material by search warrants pursuant to section 3E of the Crimes Act 1914, will be significantly reduced. The Department of Human Services currently requests around 1,000 of these warrants annually.
These amendments will reduce the significant burden not only on the Department of Human Services and the Australian Federal Police, but also on the parties subject to the search warrants and the courts.
Aligning Social Security and Disability Discrimination Law
The Government fully supports the vital role the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 plays in protecting people with disability from unfair treatment and promoting equal rights, opportunity and access.
Certain pieces of Commonwealth legislation are exempt from coverage of the Disability Discrimination Act. This includes the Social Security Act 1991 , theVeterans ' Entitlements Act 1986 and theMilitary Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 . The exemption of these Acts enables pensions, allowances and benefits for people with disability to be appropriately targeted according to the purpose of the payment.
The Social Security Act has been exempt since the Disability Discrimination Act was first introduced in 1992. At that time, the Social Security Act included a range of provisions that are now included in separate pieces of legislation – the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and theSocial Security (International Arrangements) Act 1999 . When the social security law was split into three separate Acts, however, the Disability Discrimination Act was not updated to reflect this.
This bill will address this inconsistency by also including the Social Security (Administration) Act and the Social Security (International Agreements) Act, and legislative instruments made under the Social Security Act 1991 and the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 in the list of exempt legislation for the Disability Discrimination Act.
This will ensure consistent treatment across social security law and similar legislation relating to pensions and allowances. Importantly, these changes will not affect the broader protections that the Disability Discrimination Act provides to people with disability.
Conclusion
The Government is committed to building a fairer, more efficient and more effective welfare system that is focused on employment outcomes.
This bill will deliver a simpler system for people receiving working age payments; provide more encouragement for people transitioning to work; provide greater support for people along the path to employment; and provide stricter compliance to ensure the integrity of our welfare system is appropriately maintained.
These changes will make the income support system stronger and more sustainable over the long term, and will ensure that the welfare system continues to be supported by the broader community.
Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No. 2) Bill 2017
Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017
Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017
It is vitally important to maintain local content in delivery of media services to country areas. It is a little bit like if I went to go to Sydney I would find the news there very alien to me. And if you came to Corowa, I am sure you would find the media that we dish out fairly alien to you. It is vitally important that the content is applicable to the audience that is going to receive it.
…we have committed to a local news bulletin in Western Australia, where we had no licence requirement to do it, says that we are not looking to cut back the amount of local content. We would much prefer to produce more local content.
From a practical perspective, if you as a broadcaster are going to go to the trouble of putting a cameraperson or a journalist … into a market to capture that footage to be locally relevant, why would you give it a reduced amount of time? It is good content. If you are going to invest in the capturing of that content to get that video content, you would not reduce the amount of minutes …
We welcome the removal of broadcast licence fees for the 2016-17 financial year. It will allow radio to invest more in Australian jobs and content. However, we continue to call on the parliament to support the total media reform package which provides much needed long-term relief for local Australian radio.
Medicinal Cannabis Legislation Amendment (Securing Patient Access) Bill 2017
The first time he took me out of school during the day he informed the teacher that I had a dentist appointment. He would show up in his police uniform, police car including his police revolver. All the kids thought it was cool. All I could think about was this is not going to end well. I did not get to the dentist that day. I was taken home where I was abused, raped and threatened to be killed with his police revolver which was pointed at my head. He got off on pretending to kill me more than the sex I think, as it soon became his habit to have the gun resting on my temple. I was then made to have a shower and redress for school and I would be dropped off like a piece of meat at the front gates to walk back to the office and then on to class. This became a regular occurrence and a ritual for nearly 4 years of my primary school. I was always being picked up in the cop car or divvy van. Sometimes we would not head back to the house but to the tennis courts. No one questioned why a cop car would be there. Actually, no one questioned anything as to why I was seeing so many doctors or dentists.
There were many times I prayed that I would not wake up in the morning. That somehow during the night my heart would just stop beating and all the hurt and suffering would be over. But it did not. I would hope and pray that I would not have a visitor come into my room and I would be saved from one night of terror and torture.
… potentially deter mature-age students. As I said, they're the ones who are juggling work, family commitments, and often studying online or part-time …
But it's also students from low socio-economic backgrounds, potentially school leavers, who may also think twice.
The changes are described variously as modest, they're not modest at all.
The financial impact on the university sector will be profound.
… will have a negative impact on the quality of the education that … can be provided.
We've not had something on this scale here in many years. Our teams are seeing streams of people arriving destitute and extremely traumatised, and who have had no access to medical care …
Labor is deeply concerned at reports of human rights abuses in Myanmar … The government of Myanmar must do everything in its power to protect all its citizens …
Labor offers our full support for efforts to achieve sustained peace and genuine reconciliation.
Labor supports the concerns expressed by the Foreign Minister and urges the Australian government to continue speak out on human rights in Myanmar.
My name is Asma, I am 14 and I am a Rohingyan refugee from Burma. I am writing because what's happening in Burma is something I should not be experiencing or seeing. My people should not be experiencing this.
When I see the news I see my people being tortured, abused and women being raped. Children being slaughtered and burned alive in front of their families. This is something happening to people I know and love as well. My cousin and her husband and child and their whole village were burned alive. I have also lost all of my childhood friends. They have been killed.
My dad has been crying while he is praying. I have never seen him cry before. This breaks my heart.
This rips me inside and out. I don't understand. We are all people. Religion and race don't matter.
I want Rohingyan people to be free. They have been treated wrongly for so long just because they are Muslims.
When I first found out about the genocide I wrote this poem to try and express how I feel.
"Seeking the future we have lost
The place where we all used to share our dreams
The place where we truly knew ourselves
The place where we go when we are hurt or sad
The place where our parents, grandparents and their ancestors grew up in
The place where we, the Rohingya Muslim minority have been living on for centuries"
All we want is freedom.
Our Rohingya brothers and sisters are being massacred as we speak here today. Thousands of civilians: men, children and women, are being: raped, hacked with machetes, shot, burned alive with petrol, and their charred remains are being desecrated and thrown into mass graves. Rohingyas have been massacred and villages razed in over 183 villages from Rathedaung to Buthidaung and Maungdaw. This massacre is being conducted by the Myanmar Army and Rakhine extremist militias acting in concert, and the world remains silent. Australian citizens and residents have been receiving reports from survivors that their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters are being slaughtered with knives and guns. They have received recent photographs and videos of their friends and families being murdered and their bodies desecrated with fire. This … is being conducted in the crematoria that is the killing fields of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung. The burning of the victims by the Myanmar Army and the Rakhine extremists serve their twin goals of the regime to instil terror in the survivors and to dispose of the evidence of Genocide.
However, each victim of these atrocities have a name and a family and the Rohingya community will remember them, and record their names, and document the way that they were murdered and desecrated. The Myanmar Government hides these mass killings from the international community. But the survivor reports show that the Myanmar Army has sought to destroy the Rohingya people by massacring village after village and seeking to extinguish all evidence that they ever lived on this earth. More than 300,000 people have fled in anguish through minefields, mortar and machine gun fire, knowing they will be murdered and desecrated if they remain.