A Bill that is set to be debated before Senate contains a dangerous amendment that has drawn strong opposition from Economic Justice Australia, as well as by legal and civil society organisations from across Australia who represent First Nations people, people with disability, victim-survivors of family violence and social security recipients.
More than 30 key advocacy groups, including Economic Justice Australia, have written statements to voice concerns about the Government’s inclusion of the Schedule 5 amendment within the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No.2) Bill 2025 (the Bill). This amendment would grant police power to cancel someone’s social security payment if they have been charged with — but not yet convicted of — a serious crime.
“The Australian legal system is predicated on procedural justice and the right of all people to fair and equal treatment before the law. The presumption of innocence until proven guilty is a foundational principle of a just legal system,” says EJA CEO Kate Allingham. “Legislation that allows punishment to be meted out only to social security recipients before they have had the chance to sit through a fair trial is an undemocratic erosion of these principles, and represents a legislating of prejudice.”
EJA is also concerned that any involvement of police advice in matters related to social security would disproportionately be used to target members of our community who are routinely over-policed.
Schedule 5 contains no safeguards to prevent misuse. It does not allow access to merits review or procedural fairness. There is no requirement to revoke the cancellation of payment or to provide backpay if the person is acquitted of the crime for which they were charged. The amendment was added to the Bill only after it had already passed the House of Representatives, so its deep flaws were not subjected to proper Parliamentary scrutiny. This exacerbates the already high levels of risk inherent to Schedule 5.
As Parliament resumes today, EJA reiterates its urgent concerns about the dangers Schedule 5 poses to the community. We call on Government to remove this unjust amendment from the legislation.
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Media contact: Kirsty Sier | 0435 075 085 | kirsty@ejaustralia.org.au