Economic Justice Australia’s Post

This week during Anti-Poverty Week, we reflect on the fact that poverty is "a political choice" (Cassandra Goldie AO). Despite Australia being one of the world's wealthiest nations, our social security payments are consistently well below minimum wage, locking entire generations into cycles of poverty — including the 750,000 Australian children estimated to live below the poverty line. Predicted rate cuts, the abolition of surcharge fees and improved economic indicators don't mean much to those who are unable to feed their families. We need to raise social security payment rates to meet the cost of living and to break our cycles of poverty. Cripplingly low social security payment rates and arduous mutual obligations policies inflicted on parents directly impact children, with 1 in 6 Australian children estimated to live in poverty compared to 1 in 8 Australians more broadly. When children are collateral damage to the financial insecurity inflicted on them by an inadequate social security system, this has long-term effects on access to secure housing, the ability to complete education, to pursue further study and to gain meaningful employment — not to mention the extreme psychological distress that comes from not being able to have basic needs met. https://buff.ly/3zYh3xv Jim Chalmers

Today marks one year since Australia voted no to constitutional recognition and a Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Australia has a long history of subjecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to controlling and punitive measures under the guise of social security. This continues today in the form of income management, cashless welfare cards, Centrepay rip-offs, unexplained debts and an overly correctional and complex employment services system. First Nations peoples continue to face systemic barriers to accessing and maintaining income support payments such as JobSeeker Payment, Parenting Payment and Disability Support Pension. This was true before the Voice referendum and remains true today. As so many continue to grieve the loss and the denial of recognition, we reiterate our solidarity with First Nations communities in their ongoing fight for sovereignty and self-determination. https://buff.ly/41llZWv

Every day our member centres field calls from people in urgent need of help with social security. Meanwhile, these centres are stretched beyond capacity due to lack of resourcing, with some having to close intake lines to deal with untenable backlogs. This is a sector in crisis. Mark Dreyfus Bill Shorten Jim Chalmers Katy Gallagher

With Robodebt back in the news and the National Access to Justice Partnership still being negotiated, we are keen to remind Government of the important role specialist social security legal services play. These services are an integral check and balance of administrative decisions – decisions that have critical impacts on thousands of vulnerable Australians. This important role played by EJA members was well noted in the Robodebt Royal Commission and is the basis for Recommendation 12.4. For our members to perform this essential social justice function, adequate funding is needed. We are asking the Government to commit $5 million per year to social security legal centres for the duration of the next agreement. Mark Dreyfus Katy Gallagher Jim Chalmers Bill Shorten

Digitisation is reshaping the social security system, affecting both its administration and the way people access Centrelink payments. Services Australia now generally expects people to claim and maintain social security payments through Centrelink online, while phone or face-to-face services can be difficult to access. This shift is underpinned by the assumption people have access to the internet, an email address they can regularly check, access to myGov via a smart phone or computer, and trust in digital systems. Yet the 2023 Digital Inclusion Index found two thirds of those surveyed experience some level of digital exclusion. "One community had one phone and one computer," EJA was told by one interviewee who works with Centrelink recipients in remote communities. "The phone was down for a week and the computer was down for 12 months with no one who could fix it. They couldn’t do things to notify Centrelink, couldn’t use income management to buy food. It is hard for Centrelink offices or people in major cities to understand this." Today we release our first briefing paper on automation and digitisation in social security. It examines the various ways the shift to online services can lock people out, and recommends means by which we can ensure no one gets left behind. https://buff.ly/3Y4ofkR