Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026
Ms PLIBERSEK (Sydney—Minister for Social Services) (18:09): I want to thank all the members who have participated in this debate. The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026 strengthens our social security safety net by ensuring there is legislative clarity on how the social security, family payment and child support systems work.
It builds on the significant improvements the government has made since the 2022 election, restoring fairness and adequacy for many income support and family payment recipients. We've raised the rate of working-age and student payments, providing real increases in support for low-income Australians. On 20 September, we'll see those rates rise again.
Age and disability support pensions will have increased by $6,502.60 since we came to government. The JobSeeker payment will have increased by $4,737.20 since we came to government. The parenting payment single will have increased by $4,908.80.
Those are just some examples. Commonwealth rent assistance maximum rates on 20 September will have increased by over 53 per cent since we came to government because of our real increases in 2023 and 2024, as well as indexation. We've made sure that support is going to those who need it with our changes to parenting payment single eligibility, which has benefited around 200,000 single principal carers since September 2023.
We've led a major expansion to paid parental leave. Our changes mean that new parents have more time. Parents welcoming a new baby will be able to access a full six months of paid parental leave.
They'll receive more money. Parents receiving paid parental leave are now receiving over $1,000 a week, and superannuation has been paid since 1 July last year on paid parental leave and more people are eligible. There's more flexibility for mums and dads too.
Thanks to Labor's changes, families accessing the full entitlement will receive almost $30,000 across their paid parental leave. That's more than double the entitlement that they received before Labor returned to government. Last year, we started paying superannuation on that leave, which means that the retirement income gap for working parents will also be reduced.
Many speakers on this bill have raised concerns about the child support system. I couldn't agree with them more about the vital need for continuing reform in this area. I am absolutely determined to make the child support system work better for parents and, most importantly, for the children who rely on it.
The system currently has loopholes that allow some parents to hide income so they owe less and get away with not paying what they owe. These people are selling their own kids short. That is completely unacceptable.
The numbers are staggering. There are currently 200 child support debts over $150,000, and one debt is more than $2 million. In total, there's almost $2 billion of unpaid child support.
In keeping with the nature of this present bill before the House, it contains minor technical fixes in schedule 5 that will mean child support payments are updated more quickly when income changes. But the government has separately announced the most significant reforms to the child support system in decades. This year's budget invests $183 million to make that system safer, easier to navigate and more effective.
Our reforms will close loopholes of weaponisation and abuse, will catch people who understate their income, will prosecute people who don't lodge their tax returns in order to evade child support assessments and will go after people who don't pay what they owe, with child support withheld automatically from wages in suitable circumstances and travel bans for anyone with a large child support debt and a history of travel.
I will shortly introduce additional distinct child support bills to give effect to these reforms, and I look forward to the support of all members in this parliament. This bill is part of our routine efforts to ensure the technical elements of our systems are up to date and working effectively. It aims to give Australians confidence in the integrity of our social security system and the supports they rely on.
It is a technical bill reflecting the need for regular updates to ensure legislation remains up to date. It enables the efficient and fair administration of payments for the benefit of people who are supported by our systems through a number of measures. The bill provides a legislative basis for the swift delivery of advance payments.
It improves review processes for certain social services decisions before the Administrative Review Tribunal. It clarifies the use of pre-issue income data for the Child Support Scheme, family tax benefit and child care subsidy. It ensures the effective administration of paid parental leave and superannuation payments, and it simplifies the operation of urgent payments in the social security system.
In addition, as the House would be aware, the government has moved an amendment to section 85GA of A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 for the purposes of clarifying how grants related to child care should be made. The Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the bill found that there was general support for the measures and recommended the bill be passed.
The Australian government is committed to supporting those most in need. This bill is part of our efforts to ensure continued access to vital sources of support for some of the most vulnerable people in our community. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Sharkie ): The original question was that this bill be now read a second time.
To this the honourable member for Curtin has moved as an amendment that all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting other words. The immediate question is that the amendment be agreed to. Question negatived.
Original question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation for the bill, and message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation for the proposed amendment, announced.