Knox Class Action (Facilitation) Bill 2026

Ms PLIBERSEK (Sydney—Minister for Social Services) (17:52): I want to thank members who have spoken on this bill. I thank the member for Lindsay for informing us that the opposition will be supporting the bill, and I thank the members for Isaacs, Barton, Sturt, Melbourne, Forde, Pearce and Griffith for the extraordinary way they have spoken, with the compassion that they have spoken with, today, about the victims of robodebt and about the families of those victims, especially the mothers who have lost their children to robodebt related suicide.

They are the constituents of these members. They are Australian citizens who have been impacted by robodebt. Today, this legislation is designed to, in a small way, right one of these most profound wrongs.

I want to thank members for their cooperation on the swift passage of this important bill through the House, which will ensure victims of the illegal and immoral robodebt scheme receive the compensation owed to them under the Knox class action settlement in full. It bears repeating that robodebt was a shocking and deliberate case of maladministration perpetrated knowingly by ministers of the former coalition government.

It caused profound pain and trauma for more than 400,000 people. This must never happen again, and it's up to us to ensure that those who suffered because of robodebt are not retraumatised by the system that caused them harm in the first place. In recognition of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding robodebt and the findings of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, the government has resolved to exempt Knox settlement payments from the tax income testing and statutory recovery arrangements that ordinarily apply to lump sum compensation payments.

We could not accept a circumstance where someone loses their pension because they're being compensated as a robodebt victim. We also will not allow a situation where a robodebt victim has a debt raised against them because they have received a compensation payment through the settlement. The government will progress complementary exemptions relating to Medicare and aged care through regulations, and an exemption from income tax will be included in separate legislation before the end of the 2026-27 tax year.

Together, these measures will ensure recipients receive the full benefit of the compensation intended for them under the Knox settlement and are not disadvantaged through interactions with other Commonwealth laws and programs. This bill is another important step in the process to deliver justice for those affected by robodebt. I hope all parties will continue to demonstrate their commitment to the speedy passage of this bill, ensuring that robodebt victims get the compensation that they deserve.

Question agreed to. Bill read a second time. Message from the Governor-General recommending appropriation announced.