Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026

Ms AMBIHAIPAHAR (Barton) (12:57): I rise to speak on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026. Before I was elected into this place, I spent over a good 10 years as an employment industrial relations lawyer. I also spent a couple of years working at the St Vincent de Paul Society, in New South Wales specifically, as a regional director.

In that capacity, I was looking after Vinnies support centres, van services and membership across a large pocket of New South Wales. In those two capacities, I did see first-hand what happens when the system that people rely on to keep a roof over their head and food on the table doesn't quite work out in the way that it was meant to. I recall seeing the anxiety in particular in the people that I was assisting with my team when a payment didn't arrive when it should have or when a debt notice landed with no clear way to have it looked at properly.

That experience shapes how I think about this bill in particular. It is, yes, a technical bill. But 'technical' does not mean 'trivial.' 'Technical' means the difference between a family in Kogarah getting their family tax benefit reconciled in time and, if it's done wrong, having to claw back a debt from people who can least afford it.

The bill resolves a series of legacy legal and compliance issues that have built up over time in our social security family payment and child support systems, many of them stretching back well before this government came to office. It is the fifth piece of legislation in about two years addressing these historical issues. This is exactly the kind of work that really restores trust in the foundation upon which the whole safety net rests.

Without it, people will stop believing the system is there for them and they will stop reaching out for help when they actually need it the most. Let me start with schedule 1, on advance payments. For people in my electorate of Barton, from Hurstville to Kingsgrove, Rockdale, Kogarah, Bexley and Carlton, advance payments are often the difference between meeting a large, unavoidable cost— Debate adjourned.