Let's build a fairer Australia! - Report card (December 2024 update)

Notes

[1] 2022 Australian Labor Party National Platform seeks to reduce the number of children living poverty (para 35). The Australian Government has committed to developing an Early Years Strategy but has not set targets to reduce child poverty.

[2] The Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee (EIAC) Bill 2023 was passed by both Houses on 6 December 2023.

[3] The Government announced a $40 per fortnight increase to the base rate of JobSeeker and a $92 increase for single people aged over 55 years who have been on the payment for 9 or more continuous months, to match that applying to those aged 60 and over. Eligibility for Parenting Payment (Single) has been expanded for single principal carers until their youngest child turns 14 years. The EIAC has recommended that JobSeeker and working age payments rise to 90 per cent of the Age Pension.

[4] The Government has retained a biannual increase of income support payments in line with CPI only. There has been no change in policy. Income support payments should be indexed similarly to pensions, using either CPI or the Pensioner and Beneficiary Living Cost Index and then benchmarked against a percentage of Male Total Average Weekly Earnings. The EIAC has recommended that indexation of working age payments be improved.

[5] The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Supporting the Transition to Work) Bill 2023 received assent on 28 November 2023 resulting in all new pensioners over Age Pension age receiving a one-off $4,000 credit to their Work Bonus income bank.  The maximum income bank balance was also permanently increased to $11,800. The Opposition has called for an increase to the JobSeeker threshold. The Government has opposed this on the basis that it would encourage longer-term reliance on the payment. The EIAC notes that any negative effect on incentives to move into employment from an increase in JobSeeker is likely to be small.

[6] While the 2024 Budget funded an additional 29 bulk billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, more are needed. Improved indexation of the Medicare Benefit Schedule would have a positive impact on bulk billing rates. This action would alleviate cost of living pressures, improve medical outcomes (and potentially reduce more costly hospital admissions) and is not inflationary.

[7] Government funds two payments – the Crisis Payment and the Leaving Violence Program. Improvements are needed to both with respect to timeliness, payment levels, awareness of the payment and eligibility and assessment processes. 

[8] Treasury Laws Amendment (Responsible Buy Now Pay Later and Other Measures) Bill 2024 received Royal Assent on 10 December 2024.

[9] DSP impairment tables have been reviewed by the Department of Social Services, but no other changes have been made.

[10] Australia ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights almost 50 years ago which includes the right to adequate housing. The National Housing and Homelessness Plan should be legislated, and a Private Members Bill is before Parliament (Tink, 24 June 2024)

[11] The Australian Government increased representation on the proposed National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, guaranteed an annual dispersal of at least $500M per year from 2024-25, agreed to index this annual funding amount against inflation from 2029-30 and will draft a special legislative instrument to enable the Treasurer and Finance Minister to increase the yearly disbursement, if needed. In June 2023, an additional $2BN for social and affordable housing was announced. In final negotiations to ensure passage of the Housing and Future Fund Bill, the Government agreed to an additional $1BN in funding. Establishment of the Future Fund and the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, along with additional Government funding, means that work can begin on addressing the social and affordable housing crisis. In December 2024, legislation to implement the Help to Buy and Build to Rent schemes was also passed. The Society calls for the Housing Australia Future Fund to be doubled in funding (to $20 BN).

[12] Given housing supply issues and the time required to increase housing stock, taxation arrangements should be reformed to bring underutilised land and housing to the market, including introducing a tax on long-term vacant residential properties and transitioning from stamp duty to a broad-based land tax.

[13] The evidence base shows that the effective transition of people from homelessness to more permanent housing solutions must include resourcing for wrap-around, resident-led and trauma-informed support services. The housing crisis has also resulted in increased demand for specialist homelessness services.

[14] The Government has increased CRA by 25 per cent in the last two Budgets. The Society calls for further increases and supports the EIAC’s recommendations that more work must be done to address the long-term reduction in adequacy of the payment and better reflect rents currently paid.

[15] The 2023 Budget included $300 million over forward estimates for energy performance upgrades for social housing (to be matched by states and territories). A Household Energy Upgrades Fund has been established, with $1 billion provided to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to partner with banks and financial institutions to invest in household energy upgrades. $36.7 million will support the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme and Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards program to make it easier for consumers to improve their energy performance of their households. The Government is partnering with the states and territories to offer up to $3 billion of direct energy bill relief to vulnerable households and small businesses.  Recently, the Government committed a further $500 million to retrofit an additional 50,000 social housing properties with energy-efficient electric and solar upgrades. The Society supports ACOSS’ call to state and territory governments to match this funding and for similar solutions to be found for people in private rentals and low-income homeowners. This includes mandating energy performance standards for rental properties.

[16] The Government announced a Housing Accord with incentives for superannuation funds and institutional investment in social and affordable housing. While a replacement for the National Rental Affordability Scheme has not been identified, other market incentives have been announced. These include increasing the Government guaranteed liability cap of the National Housing and Finance Investment Corporation by $2BN to $7.5BN (thereby increasing low cost loans to community housing providers); expanding the eligibility of the Home Guarantee Scheme and Regional First Home Buyer Scheme (now includes any two eligible borrowers), and for build to rent projects - increasing the capital works tax deduction (depreciation) from 2.5 per cent to 4 per cent per year and reducing the final withholding tax rate on eligible fund payments from managed investment trust (MIT) investments from 30 per cent to 15 per cent. Incentives for private market and institutional investment in rental housing must be prioritised by the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council.

[17] First Ministers agreed that Housing Ministers would develop a proposal for National Cabinet in the second half of 2023 outlining reforms to strengthen renters’ rights across the country (28 April 2023). In August 2023, National Cabinet agreed to A Better Deal for Renters to harmonise and strengthen renters’ rights across Australia. This includes a consistent approach to genuine reasonable grounds for eviction, moving towards limiting rent increases to once a year and phasing in minimum rental standards. It is essential that this work be expedited to provide more certainty for both renters and landlords and improve the living arrangements and wellbeing of over six million people in the private rental market. The Society has signed on to National Shelter Australia’s joint statement on priority areas for rental reform. These include better protections against no-cause evictions, stronger protections and fair limits on rent increases, basic energy efficiency standards and accessibility, better support for tenant self-advocacy, penalties for non-compliance, a landlord registration (or licensing) scheme, and access to free tenancy advice, assistance and advocacy.

[18] Recent Parliamentary Budget Office figures found that total tax revenue foregone in the 2023-24 year due to negative gearing deductions and the capital gains tax discount on residential investment properties was $10.92 billion. It is projected to increase to $165 billion by 2034-35. Both should be reviewed to inform the much-needed debate on taxation reform and housing. For instance, a modest reduction in the capital gains tax discount from the current 50 per cent to 37.5 per cent would cover the costs of increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 25 per cent.

[19] The Referendum on The Voice occurred on 14 October 2023.

[20] A Joint Council on Closing the Gap, Coalition of Peaks and Federal and State Ministers are working together on policy. The Closing the Gap data report (July 2024) shows that some progress has been made with five of the 19 targets now on track, compared to four last year. A further five targets show improvement but are not on track to be met, while progress towards four targets is worsening. Most concerningly, targets are not on track to reduce the rates of adult imprisonment, children in out of home care, suicide or children commencing school not being developmentally on track. To date, Government has committed $2.4 BN over 5 years and $4BN (jointly with NT Government for housing) (2024 Budget), $1.9BN over 5 years (2023 Budget), $424M to support the second Closing the Gap Implementation Plan (February 2023), and $1.2 BN announced in October 2022.

[21] The Standing Council of Attorneys-General has formed an Age of Criminal Responsibility Working Group. Communiques are accessible here. The ACT and Tasmania have committed to lifting the age to 14 years. Progress elsewhere is slow and, in some jurisdictions, the progress made has been rescinded. Victoria’s Cabinet had previously approved the decision to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years but changed this recently to 12 years. The newly elected Queensland Government has committed to strengthening youth justice laws by repealing detention as a last resort and enacting ‘adult crime, adult time’. The newly elected Northern Territory Government rescinded recent changes made in August 2023 to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 years. The Age of Criminal Responsibility Working Group Report (September 2023) has been publicly released and the Attorneys-General have noted that reforms to raising the age of criminal responsibility must be conceived as part of the broader continuum of approaches that seek to mitigate the drivers of justice system contact among children and their families, and that jurisdictions must prioritise reforms in these approaches, alongside reforms to raising the age of criminal responsibility. The National Children’s Commissioner has also called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised, along with other recommendations contained in Help Way Earlier! (2024). The Society also supports the Justice Reform Initiative.

[22] The Australian Government committed $69 million over four years to establish a National Justice Reinvestment Program to support up to 30 communities to establish locally tailored justice reinvestment initiatives. We fully support the ongoing commitment of $20 million per year, from 2026-27. We expect that these community-led services will generate positive outcomes and call for a review and extension of funding to other communities over time. We call all governments to provide ongoing funding to support changes to child protection services and the provision of parenting programs, alcohol and drug rehabilitation and mental health support for families.

[23] The Jobs and Skills Summit was held and the Secure Jobs and Better Pay Bill was passed by Parliament. The Government backed a wage increase for Australia’s lowest-paid workers (March 2023). The 2023 Budget included funding to cover the 15 per cent increase to award wages for aged care workers. A 15 per cent increase for the early childhood workforce also came into effect from December 2024 (for two years). The 2024 Budget saw a further wage increase for the aged care sector and and payment of superannuation on paid parental leave. The Society supports the Australian Government’s White Paper on Jobs and Opportunities (Sept 2023). We welcome the passage of seven key pieces of legislative reform and while the Closing the Loopholes legislation covers gig-economy workers performing digital platform work, we support amendments to cover all gig economy workers.

[24] The Select Committee’s Final Report on Workforce Australia Employment Services was released on 30 November 2023. In its media release of 1 December 2023, the Society supports the Committee’s recommendations including an end to automated suspension of payments; an overhaul of the employment services sector with the establishment of Employment Services Australia and an Employment Service Quality Commission; reforming the mutual obligation framework; a national wage subsidy and work experience scheme for the long-term unemployed; increased employment and training of Services Australia staff and increased funding and use of specialist providers, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse service partners. The Society supports the recommendation that participation requirements be maintained but that the mutual obligation system be reformed, with individual tailoring of plans (new Participation and Jobs Plan), and Work for the Dole only used as a last resort. While the Australian Government has acknowledged that reform is necessary, it also states that designing and implementing large-scale changes will take time. It has taken some small steps in the 2024 Federal Budget, including improved safeguards and transparency, a new complaints mechanism and processes to better recognise individuals’ circumstances through changes to mutual obligation rules. Further detail on the plan for employment services reforms, including the phasing and priority for implementation, have not yet been released.

[25] The Australian Government’s response to the Select Committee’s Final Report acknowledges that reform is necessary, it also states that designing and implementing large-scale changes will take time. It has taken some small steps in the 2024 Federal Budget, including improved safeguards and transparency, a new complaints mechanism and processes to better recognise individuals’ circumstances through changes to mutual obligation rules. $54M will also be committed to two new pilots of paid work placement programs for job seekers with barriers to work, connecting them with new opportunities in businesses and social enterprises. Further detail on the plan for employment services reforms, including the phasing and priority for implementation, have not yet been released. The Society would like to see more done to assist the long term unemployed including a national wage subsidy and work experience scheme for the long-term unemployed and possible reinstatement of the Sickness Allowance and identification of eligibility for a Disability Support Pension for people who are long term unemployed.

[26] The major Resolution of Status Visa implementation is in progress with a nominated completion date of February 2024 but family reunion processes still need to be reformed. The reform issue is discussed in point 5.5, so we have declared this item green. 

[27] The Status Resolution Support Service has been cut 95 per cent since 2015-16 (from $300M to $17M) due to restricted eligibility criteria, reducing the number of recipients from 13,000 to around 1,500. Costs have been shifted from the Commonwealth to state and territory governments and the not for profit sector. The 2024 Budget made no provisions to increase work rights, study rights or access to mainstream social support, including Medicare. The Government has also chosen not to scrap the fast-track process, with thousands of people seeking asylum still suffering under this process. However, the Government has abolished the Immigration Assessment Authority when the Administrative Appeals Tribunal was replaced by the Administrative Review Tribunal on 14 October 2024 ($1BN over five years), which may deliver fairer outcomes. Allocations for immigration compliance and deterrence measures again far outstrip funding for support and assistance. Overall, the continued ignoring of the ALP National Platform the Government took to the election has shifted this assessment to red.

[28] Although the ALP National Platform would suggest that the Society’s ask is within its scope, the Government has made clear that it now no longer considers the people remaining in PNG as its responsibility – a position which is inconsistent with the Platform. However, the Australian Government is now negotiating with PNG to provide ‘further capability support and funding to PNG to assist its continued independent management’ of these people. That said, it is unclear when these negotiations will be completed and what improvements, if any, will result for the people concerned. Therefore, the policy is listed as amber. 

[29] This has changed to amber because although there have been no changes to policy, the Minister used his discretionary powers more often and more sympathetically in line with the High Court’s decision on 8 November 2023 regarding the constitutionality of detention (NZYQ). Numbers have reduced from 1,400 in May 2022 to around 1,000 in November 2023. No commitment has been made to reduce processing to 90 days.

[30] The Government has made an initial increase for 2023-24 to 20,000 which was the Society’s short term ask and the ALP has renewed its commitment to the 27,000 figure in its 2023 National Platform but it has no apparent plan to reform family reunion.  The Refugee and Humanitarian Program will remain at 20,000 places in 2024-25. So, both policy and implementation are amber.