Submission to Social Security (Subsequent Child Policy Removal) Amendment Bill 2021
Posted May 19, 2021
- The Salvation Army supports the objectives and intentions of this Bill to remove one part of the sanctions included in the Social Security Act 2018. We call for urgent further progress to implement wider reform of social security legislation to achieve the aim of significantly reducing poverty and hardship in this country. We also urge the Government to urgently prioritise further changes to the Social Security Act 2018 to achieve its stated vision that people may have adequate income and standard of living. This Bill is a lamentably small step towards this goal.
- Recommendation: That the Select Committee make an urgent recommendation to Parliament to fully remove the obligations and sanctions regime from the Social Security Act 2018 and replace it with a fairer approach using a framework of mutual expectations and responsibilities as recommended by the WEAG report 2019.
- Recommendation: That the Select Committee request Ministry of Social Development to supply an analysis of the data monitoring the frequency with which sanctions for non-compliance with obligations are applied to people with subsequent children to support assessment of the impact of the changes proposed in this legislation.