Welfare groups warn punishing individuals for previously claiming welfare is deeply unfair and a ‘concerning departure’ from Australian principles

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Ethnic and welfare groups have warned a government plan to restrict pension access for elderly migrants is harsh, deeply unfair and takes the “unprecedented” step of punishing individuals for receiving welfare earlier in life.

The federal government hopes to save $119m over the forward estimates by tightening requirements for older migrants seeking to access the pension.

Currently migrants can access the pension after being an Australian resident for a total of 10 years, five of which must be continuous.



The changes, however, would require 15 years of continued residence in Australia, or 10 years if migrants have either spent five years of their working life in Australia, or have not claimed other forms of welfare for five years.

The legislation would effectively punish migrants who have previously claimed forms of activity tested welfare – Newstart, for example.



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The National Social Security Rights Network’s executive officer, Matthew Butt, has warned such a step is “unprecedented” in the history of Australia’s social security system.

Butt said punishing individuals for previously claiming welfare constitutes a “really concerning departure” from a core principle of Australia’s safety net and edged Australia slightly towards a US-style scheme time limiting welfare payments.



“We think the proposal that’s in the budget is harsh and unfair,” Butt said. “The particular reason it’s unfair is because some of the people affected by it will be in severe hardship through no fault of their own, and/or have their access to the pension delayed through no fault of their own.”

A spokeswoman for the social services minister, Christian Porter, said the measure would target only a small group of people and 98% of pension recipients would remain unaffected.

She said those migrants who are ineligible for the pension will still receive a payment named the “special benefit”. That payment is effectively a backstop, poverty level payment meant for short-term relief.

“The community expects that migrants to Australia should be self-sufficient or rely on family members for support and should not expect to be supported by Australian taxpayers, particularly if they arrive close to retirement age or have been a long-term recipient of an activity tested payment, such as Newstart allowance,” the spokesman said.



But the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Council of Australia has warned the changes will disproportionately hurt a highly vulnerable and low-income section of society.

The council’s director, Emma Campbell, has written to Porter to express her concern at the changes.

“The reason you get welfare is because you’re vulnerable,” Campbell said. “So to then penalise people again in later life because they either found themselves [acting] as a carer or struggling to find work at a particular time of their life is deeply unfair – and particularly for migrants, who are determined to work but face additional barriers.”

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The council is also concerned about changes that would see pension supplement payments stopped if a person spends more than six weeks overseas. That would hurt older migrants who were seeking to maintain family or community ties abroad, Campbell said.

“We’re really concerned about the changes because a disproportionate number of people receiving the aged pension are people who are not born in Australia,” she said. “So these measures will disproportionately affect people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.”

The changes are currently before parliament but have been referred to the Senate community affairs legislation committee for scrutiny.

The reforms take Australia closer to the arrangements in some other OECD countries, including Spain, where migrants are required to make a minimum contribution to the country of 15 years before becoming eligible for pension.

Humanitarian entrants will be exempt from the changes.