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Bills of previous Parliaments

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of bills homepages, the authoritative sources for verifying the progress of bills are the House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings and the Journals of the Senate.

Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Bill 2017

Type	Government
Originating house	House of Representatives
Status	Act
Portfolio	Social Services

Summary

Amends: seven Acts to create a jobseeker payment to replace seven existing payments as the main payment for people of working age from 20 March 2020; 10 Acts to provide for the cessation of the widow B pension, wife pension, bereavement allowance, sickness allowance, widow allowance and partner allowance; the Social Security Act 1991 to: remove the ability of newstart allowance and certain special benefit recipients aged 55 to 59 to satisfy the activity test by engaging in voluntary work for at least 30 hours per fortnight; and remove certain exemptions for drug or alcohol dependence; the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: provide that a job seeker’s newstart allowance or youth allowance be payable from the date they attend their initial appointment with their employment services provider; ensure that job seekers are not able to use drug or alcohol dependency as an excuse for failing to meet their requirements; introduce a new compliance framework for mutual obligation requirements in relation to participation payments; and enable the Department of Human Services to require applicants to provide their tax file number at the time of a claim; the Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 to: provide that claimants receive payments from the date they lodge a complete claim; and establish a two year drug testing trial in three regions for 5000 new recipients of newstart allowance and youth allowance; the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999, Paid Parental Leave Act 2010, Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 and Student Assistance Act 1973 to enable certain information obtained in the course of an administrative action to be used in subsequent investigations and criminal proceedings; and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 to exempt three social security laws from the operation of the Act. Also: enables the minister to make rules of a transitional nature in relation to the cessation of payments; and makes consequential amendments to the Farm Household Support Act 2014, Social Security Act 1991 and Social Security (Administration) Act 1999.

Progress of bill

For committee reference information, please see the Notes section at the end of this page.

House of Representatives
Introduced and read a first time	22/06/17
Second reading moved	22/06/17
Second reading debate	06/09/17
Second reading debate	07/09/17
Second reading debate	11/09/17
Second reading agreed to	11/09/17
Consideration in detail debate	11/09/17	Amendment details: 22 Government agreed to
Third reading agreed to	11/09/17

Senate
Introduced and read a first time	12/09/17
Second reading moved	12/09/17
Second reading debate	19/10/17
Second reading debate	07/12/17
Second reading agreed to	07/12/17
Committee of the Whole debate	07/12/17	Amendment details: 15 Government agreed to Requests details: 5 Government agreed to
Committee of the Whole debate	19/03/18	Amendment details: 12 Government agreed to
Committee of the Whole debate	20/03/18	Requests details: 2 Pauline Hanson's One Nation agreed to
Committee of the Whole debate	21/03/18
Bill agreed to, subject to requests	21/03/18

House of Representatives
Consideration of Senate message	26/03/18	Details: House made Senate requested amendments

Senate
Third reading agreed to	26/03/18

House of Representatives
Consideration of Senate message	27/03/18	Details: House agreed to Senate amendments

Finally passed both Houses	27/03/18
Assent	11/04/18	Act no: 26 - Year: 2018

[Information on document types]

Text of bill

First reading
Third reading
As passed by both Houses

Explanatory memoranda

Explanatory memorandum
Supplementary explanatory memorandum
Revised explanatory memorandum
Supplementary explanatory memorandum relating to sheet JC466
Supplementary explanatory memorandum relating to sheet ES154
Supplementary explanatory memorandum relating to sheet JC488

Second reading speeches

Proposed amendments

House of Representatives

Government [sheet EU110]

Senate

Australian Conservatives [sheet 8230] BERNARDI, Sen Cory
Australian Greens [sheet 8315] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Australian Greens [sheet 8288] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Australian Greens [sheet 8260] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Australian Greens [sheet 8250] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Australian Greens [sheet 8243] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Australian Greens [sheet 8245 revised] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Australian Greens [sheet 8254] SIEWERT, Sen Rachel
Government [sheet JC488]
Government [sheet ES154]
Government [sheet JC466]
Liberal Democratic Party [sheet 8393] LEYONHJELM, Sen David
Liberal Democratic Party [sheet 8255] LEYONHJELM, Sen David
Opposition [sheet 8236 revised] CAMERON, Sen Doug
Pauline Hanson's One Nation [sheet 8398] HANSON, Sen Pauline

Schedules of amendments

Schedules of the requests by the Senate for amendments and the amendments made by the Senate
Schedule of the amendments made by the Senate

Bills Digest

Notes

Referred to Committee (22/06/2017): Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee; Committee report (06/09/2017)
Considered by scrutiny committee (09/08/2017): Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills; Scrutiny Digest 10 of 2017
Considered by scrutiny committee (15/08/2017): Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights; Report 11 of 2017
An electronic version of this Act is available on the Federal Register of Legislation (www.legislation.gov.au)

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Social Services Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform) Bill 2017

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