Category Archives: Welfare

Labor drops plan to reduce access to disability pension for drug and alcohol-related conditions

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Albanese government backs away from controversial change as part of once-in-a-decade review of disability pension eligibility criteria

The Albanese government has backed down from a controversial proposal that would have made it harder for people with drug and alcohol-related conditions to get access to the disability support pension.

But it is still facing calls to do more to address longstanding problems with the design of the disability pension, amid record levels of people on jobseeker living with a disability.

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Australia politics live: Albanese accuses Dutton of ‘dog-whistling’ over Cop27 climate damage fund

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Buy now, pay later review has been coming for a while

The last time the issue was examined, under the previous government, it was decided the industry could regulate itself.

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UK must act over poverty, housing and and equal rights, says UN body

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Human rights council makes more than 300 recommendations, with many coming from less well-off countries

The UK must tackle rising poverty, the United Nations human rights council has said in a report that includes demands from less well-off countries for the British government to act.

Amid worsening financial prospects for millions, the member states of the UN body also demanded action on housing to prevent homelessness, better food security for young children, and equal rights for people with disabilities.

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Angola urges UK to take new measures on poverty

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Call over protecting most vulnerable citizens comes before UN review of Britain’s human rights record

Angola has urged the UK to adopt an emergency poverty strategy to protect its most vulnerable citizens from the cost-of-living crisis.

The call – from a country where more than half of its population of 34 million people live on less than $2 (£1.75) a day, on behalf of citizens of one of the world’s richest – was among several concerns raised before a UN review of the UK’s human rights record today.

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Robodebt inquiry hears officials were under pressure to come up with budget savings

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Former Department of Human Services official Scott Britton tells royal commission his team looked at whether they could use data to streamline compliance

A former Australian government official involved in the creation of what became the robodebt scheme has told a royal commission his Department of Human Services team was under significant pressure to come up with budget savings.

The royal commission is investigating the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme, which ran from July 2015 until November 2019 and which the inquiry heard continued despite internal legal warnings, culminating in a $1.8bn settlement with hundreds of thousands of people.

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‘Watered down’ legal concerns included in robodebt briefing for Scott Morrison, inquiry hears

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Earlier document warned proposed debt recovery measures would have ‘fundamental impacts on social security policy and legislation’, royal commission told

Legal concerns over what became the robodebt scheme were “watered down” but still included in briefing documents prepared for Scott Morrison, a royal commission has heard.

The inquiry into the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme has previously heard the Department of Social Services in late 2014 held damning internal legal advice warning the key method used to raise those debts may be unlawful.

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Robodebt went ahead, despite legal doubts, after earning Scott Morrison’s backing, inquiry hears

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The then social services minister wanted Centrelink debt recovery proposal worked up for 2015 budget process, royal commission told

The social services department received “catastrophic” draft legal advice warning the robodebt scheme was unlawful from a top private law firm in 2018, a royal commission has heard.

The inquiry is investigating the failed debt recovery scheme, which ran from July 2015 until November 2019 and culminated in a $1.8bn settlement covering hundreds of thousands of people issued unlawful Centrelink debts.

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Robodebt: key public officials and debt collectors to appear as royal commission kicks off

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Inquiry into botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme starts its first round of hearings on Monday

Officials from key government departments embroiled in the robodebt scandal and two private debt collection agencies are expected to be grilled when a royal commission kicks off this week.

The inquiry into the botched Centrelink debt recovery scheme will start its first block of hearings on Monday, investigating the establishment, design and implementation of the unlawful program.

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Government to crack down on NDIS provider fraud amid warning scheme will soon cost $50bn annually

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Bill Shorten says $126m earmarked in Labor’s October budget will help protect national disability insurance scheme ‘from crooks’

The federal government is creating a “fraud fusion taskforce” to try to claw back nearly $300m from national disability insurance scheme providers, amid warnings the NDIS could cost more than $50bn annually within four years.

The new body, which will replace the existing NDIS fraud taskforce, will target “fraud and serious non-compliance” with the help of law enforcement, regulatory and intelligence agencies.

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Labor hints at more controls on energy sector – as it happened

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We will be breaking into the political coverage today to keep you updated on the floods as well:

Overnight, residents of the north west NSW town of Narrabri have been ordered to evacuate due to flooding, with the SES issuing the warnings for the town’s industrial and residential areas.

The rivers are very, very full and, of course, our dams are mostly at full capacity at present. So, even the smallest rainfall can cause an elevated risk of flash flooding and riverine flooding. We will see rivers decline, but the risk is real.

We are bracing for another wet weather system into the state on the weekend.

He is a friend of Australia as the UK is a friend of Australia. We congratulate him on his elevation to the Prime Ministership. The UK, like Australia, has no shortage of challenges and no shortage of economic challenges.

So, we wish Rishi Sunak well. Some of us had the opportunity to work with him briefly when we first came to government. I was able to exchange messages with him when he was unsuccessful in the last leadership ballot. I think it says something about his commitment and his persistence, the way that he conducted himself in the interim. I don’t think it’s insignificant that a country like the United Kingdom has its first Prime Minister of colour.

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Inflation and inadequate welfare fuelling Australia’s food insecurity crisis, Foodbank finds

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The charity’s annual Hunger Report estimates about 500,000 households on any given day struggle with getting enough to eat

The cost-of-living crisis and inadequate welfare payments are fuelling a rise in food insecurity in Australian households, according to a new report.

The charity Foodbank’s annual Hunger Report, to be released on Monday for Anti Poverty Week, surveyed more than 4,000 Australian adults, finding the problem extended beyond those on fixed incomes and was affecting many people in work.

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One in five families in Liz Truss’s seat would lose out under real-term benefit cuts

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Research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation shows impact of increasing benefits in line with earnings, not inflation

At least one in five working-age families in most UK constituencies – including in Liz Truss’s seat – would lose out by hundreds of pounds on average if real-terms benefit cuts go ahead, a study has found.

The scale of the impact of a below-inflation rise on already struggling households and by extension, local shops and businesses, is revealed in a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). It would amount to the biggest-ever real terms cut to benefits in a single year.

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Almost 200,000 robodebt cases to be wiped as Albanese government condemns ‘shameful’ scheme

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Amanda Rishworth cites need for a welfare system that is ‘not punitive’ as she confirms reviews will be scrapped

Nearly 200,000 Australians will have their robodebt reviews wiped as the federal government scraps investigations that were put on hold for three years under the unlawful welfare scheme.

About 124,000 people were told they were under review for social security payments they had received, while 73,000 were never informed they were being assessed for potential debts under the data-matching program.

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Liz Truss on verge of major U-turn on real-terms benefits cut

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Exclusive: Tory MPs warn PM she would lose vote on increasing benefits only in line with earnings rather than inflation

Liz Truss is teetering on the edge of performing another big U-turn as Tory MPs warned she would lose a vote on delivering a real-terms cut to benefits while new research showed the move could push an extra 450,000 people into poverty.

Despite desperate pleas for party unity from senior ministers after weeks of bitter infighting, the row over welfare threatened to overshadow the prime minister’s attempt to reassert her authority when the Commons returns from recess on Tuesday.

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Liz Truss meets European leaders in Prague as Irish deputy PM says NI protocol ‘a little too strict’ – as it happened

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This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest political coverage here

In his interview with LBC Jake Berry, the Tory chairman, was asked if he was channelling When Harry Met Sally when he described Liz Truss as the “Yes, yes, yes prime minister” in his speech to the conference yesterday. (Robert Hutton is very funny about this, and much else, in his sketch for the Critic.) Berry said he was referring to Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister when he delivered that line.

In the same interview, Berry revealed that his joke-making has not improved since yesterday. Talking about the conference in general, Berry said:

I think colleagues saw yesterday that when the going gets tough, the Truss gets going.

I do think my language was a bit clumsy in that regard and I regret it.

The point I was making ... is that the government needs to go for growth to ensure that it can grow the economy and Britain can get a pay rise. You don’t have to tell me how hard people graft in this economy. I know how hard people work.

We’ve got to wait until those figures are available … You simply cannot make a decision on figures you do not currently have.

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Liz Truss refuses to rule out real-terms benefits cuts

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PM facing fresh battle with MPs as she declines to commit to raising benefits in line with inflation

Liz Truss has refused to commit to raising benefits in line with inflation, amid a fresh battle with MPs over cuts to spending including concern from among her cabinet.

The prime minister said pensions would rise in line with inflation, having committed to the pensions “triple lock” during the leadership campaign. But she said people on welfare benefits were in a “different situation” and said they were more able to look for more work.

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Kwasi Kwarteng set to address Tory conference with authority on the line after 45% tax rate U-turn – UK politics live

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Chancellor expected to give changed address after confirming plan to axe top rate of income tax has been scrapped

Q: Where does this leave your credibility?

Kwarteng says he has been in parliament for 12 years. He says ministers do sometimes change their minds.

I decided, along with the the prime minister, not to proceed [with the policy].

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Clare O’Neil suggests Labor may legislate fines after Optus data breach – as it happened

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The Nationals want to get back to their roots – the regions.

The country party are launching a “regional listening tour” to find out what is affecting people in the country.

Migration is not the only solution to the challenges our regions are up against,” Littleproud said.

We need to look at what can be done now to help those Australians that are already in town.

We know distance is one of the greatest barriers to opportunity. So we’re coming to your town to create this opportunity to share your concerns and help us come up with the solutions.

For example, would a Regional University Centre stop our children from leaving town? Or could paying their HELP debts be the incentive they need to stay where we need them?

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Australia’s cashless debit card to become voluntary from 4 October, Labor says

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Legislation to end mandatory scheme delayed by death of Queen Elizabeth II but now expected to pass next week

People on the cashless debit card will be able to leave the program from early October after legislation to abolish the mandatory income management program was delayed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Albanese government announced the updated timeline late Friday, along with the details of a new “enhanced” card which people who choose to remain on the income management program will be able to use. They also announced $67m in additional social supports for communities transitioning off the card.

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Disabled woman wins legal challenge against DWP over automatic benefit deduction

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High court rules DWP scheme to deduct money without consent is illegal and breaches ‘obligation of fairness’

A disabled former police officer has won a legal challenge against the Department for Work and Pensions over its policy of allowing utility companies to automatically deduct hundreds of pounds a year from individuals’ benefits without their consent.

Helen Timson, 51, of Leicester, argued it was unlawful and immoral that the DWP enabled water and energy firms to draw down up to 25% of a claimant’s monthly benefit income at source without undertaking any form of check with the claimant. Hundreds of thousands of claimants are understood to be subject to the deductions.

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