Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 3:26:07 to 3:32:56
The agency explains its decision to absorb credit card surcharges for child support and social security debt repayments. Officials discuss the financial impact of this policy and the coordination with Treasury regarding the RBA's surcharge ban.
Topics: Social services, Government spending, Procurement
Speakers: Randall Brugeaud, Senator The Hon Jane Hume, Speaker 18, David Hazlehurst, Senator The Hon Katy Gallagher, Chris Birrer, Senator Karen Grogan
>> I might ask some questions on notice about that. I don't think we need to get into semantics. We could be here all night. I do want to ask you some questions though about um payments and use of the credit of credit cards for payments and services Australia. So, can you tell me what payment services Australia accepts by card? Does it accept for instance child support payments, repayments of overpayments? Um when are cards used with services Australia?
>> We can Senator colleagues will join me
Uh so Senator Randle Br again, chief operating officer. Um in terms of um what we had accepted uh in terms of um uh credit card payments uh with and without search charges. We'll talk about the uh the removal of the search charge child support program. Um uh we allow um uh GB easy pay um merchant [clears throat] service fees and um uh payments on the child support program to um uh be paid to the agency using uh credit and debit cards. Um we also have uh social security and welfare um programs. Uh and we have a very small um uh number of payments that we have for some administrative or departmental uh invoices such as uh FOI and subpoena um uh processing.
>> And have you charged search charge fees before?
>> Uh so uh we had been charging sir charges for um the child support program uh from the 1st of October uh 2026. Um we have been uh absorbing these costs um for um the social security and welfare program. We have always been obser absorbing merchant fees um and uh uh for the departmental costs. It's a very small proportion 5% of the total uh card sir charges um they um ceased um to be passed on from the 1st of October.
>> What what's the dollar figure of what the search charges would be that you're
now absorbing? Um so to give you um for 2526 for the social security and welfare program uh the total um for um uh search charges was $872,95460. Um uh that was um uh absorbed historically. Uh and for the child support program the total um uh sir charge was $452,600.37.
>> Okay, that's not a small amount. Have you sought the same sort of transitional arrangements that the ATO has sought from government?
>> Uh no Senator
Senator just um on that like with social security welfare which was the largest figure we we had not previously or also had any search charge. People had always been able to use uh a credit card to repay a um a social security debt that that they owe the government.
Okay. Um, the assistant treasurer said that the government became aware in July that the ATO could stop accepting cards. When did Services Australia or or or I suppose you you minister first consider that the impact of um the search charge ban on services Australia's operations?
>> So I think it's the same as the answer I gave in finance. I think there was a letter uh to me which would have been from the assistant treasurer. Uh I would have to check the date of that but that's kind of where we were um given insight into what was h the decisions the RBA was was taking and some of the discussions that were being had.
>> Uh sorry go ahead. Uh so um based on the information that uh I have 21st of January uh 2026 uh the Treasury requested information um on um uh the costs
>> back in January. >> Okay. >> Yes. Um, obviously potentially knowing this is coming, Services Australia must have had an assessment of the impact of people in hardship, people who rely on credit cards for cash flow. And was that a decision or was there a brief to the minister on this particular issue? What the impact would be if sir charge um charging was removed? Did you was this something that you were had sort of a heightened awareness of and responded to knowing that it might come?
>> So this was managed through the treasury. So we'd provided input. We um had uh um uh the uh input that we'd provided to the request, but we were not involved in the um uh the policy
discussions. So knowing that you were going to have to absorb that new cost, was that something about which you briefed your minister before the 1st of October?
>> Yeah, I'll hand to our CFO.
>> Um, uh, Angela Diamond, chief financial officer. Uh, uh, I did not brief the minister on the actual, uh, requirement to absorb these, uh, fees. uh it was a decision by the organization to make sure that we are uh providing the services that we do in the proper manner. Uh I am not sure whether the minister was briefed from a program point of view but from a budget management point of view I did not brief the minister noting that within our $6.1 billion you know budget this is something that we felt that we could absorb uh for the greater good.
>> mindful senator that the that we we're already absorbing the cost the larger cost we always have in relation to social security and in relation to child support these are costs associate these are the transfers of money between two parents >> and so it we we felt that that was a call we could make >> um we didn't brief the minister
>> okay thank you thanks chief
Thank you very much. Um we do appreciate um the late night fun and frolics in the Senate. So thank you for coming.