Submissions

More than half of our members deliver services to people with a disability, and are committed to continue building the capacity of individuals with a disability, their families and communities under the NDIS. This submission draws on the extensive experience of the CSSA NDIS Network Group operating across urban and rural Australia, who together offer a vast range of services under the NDIS.

CSSA regards the Budget as the primary vehicle for the Government to communicate its commitment to supporting all members of our community and providing a safety net for the most vulnerable.

In our submission CSSA focuses on our opposition to Schedules 1 and 2 of the Bill – Social security amendments and Family assistance amendments. These schedules seek to legislate mandatory deductions of payments of rent and specified other costs from the social security or family tax benefit payments of social housing tenants.

This Bill proposes the expansion of the Cashless Debit Card to further sites and the extension of arrangements in current trial sites. CSSA’s position on income management is that it is not a substitute for measures that promote self-reliance. Our position has been that income management could be justified if it is a community led initiative or a voluntary measure. Otherwise it should be contemplated only on a case by case basis. The overall aim of any form of income management should be to enable individuals and families to take control of their own lives including with assistance from trusted, local services that can provide “wrap around” support. Blanket application of income management to recipients who do not need it can be wasteful and counterproductive.

More than half of CSSA's members deliver services to people with a disability, and are committed to continue building the capacity of individuals with a disability, their families and communities under the NDIS. This submission draws on the experience of the CSSA NDIS Network Group consisting of 19 member agencies located across Australia, who offer a vast range of services and have experience both in trial sites as well as more recently transitioning to the NDIS. CSSA and its members are strongly committed to the objectives of the NDIS, and have identified a number of issues which must be addressed to ensure the success of this reform.

Overall, CSSA supports this Bill which will implement vital protections for people living with a disability who (as highlighted in the Senate and Victorian inquiries) can be particularly vulnerable to unsafe practices and abuse. However, CSSA has a number of concerns regarding this Bill which may limit the protection of participants and capability of providers.

This is a joint submission from Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) and Catholic Health Australia (CHA). Our comments are made in association with the detailed submission of St Vincent’s Health Australia, the forefront hospital and health provider in the treatment of drug addiction, and a member of CHA. Both CSSA and CHA are strongly opposed to compulsory drug testing in trial sites (Schedule 12) and measures that target people with drug and alcohol addiction (Schedule 13 and 14). We also oppose the punitive measures proposed under the targeted compliance framework (Schedule 15).

The ACBC appreciates the opportunity to make a submission in response to the discussion paper issued by the Treasury, Tax Deductible Gift Recipient Reform Opportunities (Discussion Paper). The ACBC supports initiatives to simplify the rules and administrative arrangements for Deductible Gift Recipients (DGRs). Given the extent of reform to the sector in recent years, the ACBC believes that reform should be pursued only if it creates efficiencies for the sector or is necessary to address a distinct and material problem.

CSSA is concerned that the rate of poverty is growing with an estimated 2.5m people or 13.9% of all Australians living below the internationally accepted poverty line.2 The explanatory document accompanying the Payment Integrity Bill provides no analysis of the financial impact on families and individuals, nor consideration of the other recent changes to payments. Overall, the proposed Payment Integrity Bill would save the government more than $800m over the forward estimates period – money taken away from those that can least afford it.