Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, , 9:27:39 to 9:30:25
Debate over the use of partner income testing as a work incentive for Disability Support Pension recipients with limited work capacity.
Topics: Social services, Employment
Speakers: Michael Lye, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, Unknown Speaker, Ellie Whiteaker
Um in Minister Plebisek's response to the end partner income testing petition, the minister justified partner income testing as a work incentive. Um why then are disabled people who are accessing the disability support pension who's been assessed as having little or no capacity to work subjected to partner income testing?
I don't think Senator that we would not want to put a ceiling on the aspirations of people with disability just because of an assessment that's that essentially allows them to qualify for that payment. Um and that's a concern for the department that we not make a judgment on that person's behalf about what they can do just because we have a assessment for the benefit of them getting a payment that that does that. Um so I think it's a really important principle that that and we should be trying to facilitate the aspirations of people with disability while we are recognising that they may have barriers to to participation and not and not and not making life harder for them in that regard.
Final question.
What evidence is the department sorry Senator Allman Payne?
I'm just about I'll rotate the call after this question.
Yeah, it's my last one. I I'm actually watching the time for a change, Chair.
Well done.
Um what evidence does the department rely on that shows that reducing a person's social security payment because they're in a relationship leads to them getting a
I mean, the the principle in the Social Security Act around partner income is is principally around that the economies of scale that families have access to or part couples have access to that a single person doesn't, that they are able to share uh those resources. That's the part of the principle around the uh partner income test that recognises that capacity. Um but also in circumstances where you know what one person is is working and the other person isn't working, that that it's a long-standing principle of the social security system that's taken into account. It's part of the means testing arrangements that we have.
I guess I guess the position that many experts are making is that we've evolved as a society and domestic and family violence in particular is not it's not going down, it's going up, and this is one mechanism that they have identified to give people particularly women financial security, but I'm conscious of time and I'll leave it there for this block. Thank you.