Helen Haines
Indi · Independent · Australia
“on indulgence I just want to acknowledge the Leader of the House and thank you for considering this in the way of a conversation with us. I think the crossbench has become a large crossbench because of the way that we engage with legislation in a very detailed way and seek to collaborate and seek to improve legislation.”
“I move amendment (4) on sheet 1, revised 30 June 2026, as circulated in my name: (4) Schedule 1, item 92, page 35 (line 31) to page 36 (line 4), omit subsection 25A(2), substitute: (2A) Treatment may not be appropriate treatment for a person's impairment or impairments if the person's individual circumstances restrict the person from acce…”
“(5) Schedule 1, item 97, page 39 (lines 3 to 7), omit subsection 25B(6), substitute: (6) Before making National Disability Insurance Scheme rules declaring that a support is an alternative support for an impairment, the Minister must be satisfied that: (a) it is not appropriate to fund or provide a support for the impairment through the N…”
“My amendment would give them greater clarity about why decisions have been made and how the evidence they've provided has been used. Again, I hear consistently from people in my electorate that they want to understand the 'why'; they truly do.”
“by leave—I move: (6) Schedule 3, page 101 (after line 12), at the end of the Schedule, add: Part 4 — Whistleblower protections National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 18 After subsection 73ZA(2) Insert: (2A) The disclosure of the information by the discloser qualifies for protection under this Division if it is made for the purpose…”
“Now, the government's recently made improvements to NDIS whistleblower protections, and I really welcome those. But I think many Australians, in fact all Australians, would be very surprised to learn that, under this legislation more broadly across the NDIA and NDIS, whistleblowers may not legally be allowed to talk about their own situat…”
The complete record
Every one of 574 lines we hold for Helen Haines, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 12.
“Importantly, charitable donations and other non-work related deductions can continue to be claimed on top of the automatic deduction, and those with more than $1,000 in work related expenses will still have the option to substantiate them and claim them as usual. Whenever I consider legislation, I think about what it will mean for the people of Indi, what it will mean for regional Australia and what it will mean for the nation. Tax law might seem dry, but reforms like this raise fundamental questions about what's fair and about what's right. There's no objectively correct rate at which to tax capital gains, just different approaches that give effect to different priorities. There are legitimate reasons to tax capital more concessionally than labour.”
“Two hundred and fifty dollars might not have as much purchasing power by the time the WATO commences in the 2027-28 financial year, but it does provide some cost-of-living relief, and I don't think too many people in Indi will be knocking it back. The final thing this legislation implements is a new instant $1,000 tax deduction starting in the next financial year, and this will allow workers to automatically claim $1,000 in work related expenses without having to provide receipts. This was a recommendation of the 2010 review of the taxation system led by Ken Henry, and it will make things simpler for taxpayers and should knock a couple of hundred dollars off the average tax bill. I welcome it.”
“From 1 July 2027, if you'd like to negatively gear an investment property and retain access to the 50 per cent CGT discount when you sell it, well, you can. You just need to invest in a new dwelling that adds to Australia's housing supply. Of course, new houses cannot be built in a vacuum, and I welcome the government listening to my call to put money in the budget for critical enabling infrastructure so that we can get those houses out of the ground. In addition to the changes to CGT and negative gearing, this legislation implements the working Australians tax offset, a permanent annual $250 deduction. In practice it is a very small bracket adjustment. It would be preferable to commit to actual indexation.”
“Right now, investors can use the cost of owning a rental, including interest on the mortgage, to offset their overall income and lower the tax they pay. From 1 July 2027, it will only be possible to offset rental losses against income from other residential properties, not what you earn from other sources. This only applies to properties acquired after 7.30 pm on 12 May this year—budget night, when the change was announced. If you owned a property before then, you can continue to negatively gear it. In tackling CGT and negative gearing, the government is taking steps towards addressing housing inequality. The proposed reforms are ambitious, and I welcome ambition in government. Changes to both CGT and negative gearing include exemptions for new houses, to help incentivise supply.”
“I echo her call, and I was pleased to second that amendment. I've had valuable—very valuable—discussions with COSBOA and the National Farmers' Federation about the need to bring these 20-year-old thresholds into line with the present day. I'm encouraged by their feedback that the government is engaging constructively with them, and I sincerely hope that the government fix this bit, because this is a simple change that will ensure concessions remain available to the businesses they were designed to help. For farming families and for agricultural businesses it will provide certainty about longer term succession planning, and that is critical to us in rural Australia. In addition to the CGT, the bill makes changes to negative gearing.”
“For the small businesses in my electorate, I want to emphasise that this legislation does not affect any of the existing CGT concessions for small businesses, including the automatic 50 per cent discount on active assets and exemptions to help you prepare for retirement. These concessions can be used together to reduce or even eliminate the tax payable on capital gains. They are available to businesses with an aggregated annual turnover of less than $2 million or a net asset value of less than $6 million, and that actually is the vast majority of businesses in my electorate. However, these thresholds have not been updated in almost two decades. The member for Kooyong has moved a second reading amendment calling on the government to increase the amounts to $10 million in turnover and $12 million in assets, indexed into the future.”
“We saw these bills for the first time less than seven days ago, and this is a three-day sitting week. Complex reform demands good process. Australians deserve to understand how these changes will affect them, and parliamentarians must be given time to engage with their communities. So I want to say to my constituents, especially those people who've contacted me with really genuine concerns about their futures and livelihoods, I hear you. I too wish the government had done a better job at explaining these reforms. I too wish the government had taken the time to build genuine consensus.”
“I've seen the memes, and I've heard it directly from small-business owners in north-east Victoria, and I thank my constituents of Indi who have responded to my call to get in touch with me. It's understandable that there are concerns because, in the weeks leading up to the budget, the government articulated a case for tax reform that was clearly linked to housing. That was a missed opportunity for this government to be more upfront about the broader change. It's no wonder people are concerned; it took them by surprise. This legislation works alongside existing CGT concessions for small businesses, which I'll outline in a moment—and it's important to understand this. But the fact that there has been so much confusion and uncertainty only highlights the importance of not rushing these changes.”
“Any assets you sell before then are completely unaffected. For assets you sell from 1 July 2027 onwards, only the profits after that date will be affected. All the gains you accrue right up to 30 June next year will be preserved under the existing system. As drafted, the changes apply to all assets. The government has foreshadowed potential carve-outs for certain types of assets or investors. The changes apply to gains made by individuals, including partners in a trust, partnerships and trusts. Companies and superannuation are subject to different rules that will not change. The fact that CGT changes extend beyond residential property has caused considerable concern for small businesses, including from start-ups.”
“Under current arrangements, as long as you've held an asset for at least one year, there's a 50 per cent discount on your CGT. You pay tax on half of your profit, and the other half is tax-free. This legislation replaces the 50 per cent discount with a cost-base indexation method. Indexation ensures you're only taxed on your real proceeds over and above growth just from inflation. So if you spent $100,000 on an asset in the year 2000, that's the equivalent of almost $200,000 today. It's fair to take that into account. The exact amount of tax you pay on your adjusted gain will depend on how much other income you earn that year, as it does now, but the rate will be at least 30 per cent unless you receive means tested income support payments like the aged pension. Crucially, these changes won't commence until 1 July 2027.”
“Five inner city electorates enjoy more than 20 per cent between them. We have a problem. The proceeds of negative gearing flow in a similar way to older, wealthier people in capital cities. The electorates with the lowest rental losses are overwhelmingly regional. Property owners in Indi are less likely to negatively gear than the average Australian. So how does the legislation address these problems? Probably the most significant element of these bills is the changes they make to capital gains tax or CGT. CGT applies to gains made from assets. Put very simply, you pay tax on the difference in value if you sell an asset for more than it costs you to buy it. That makes sense. When you earn money, you pay tax. This delivers aged care, health care, disability services, defence, education and national infrastructure.”
“I commend my colleague the member for Wentworth for the hard work she's done in bringing this issue to the national attention. Over the past 25 years, and notably since the Howard government introduced a flat 50 per cent capital gains tax discount, house prices have risen and homeownership has steadily shifted away from owner-occupiers and towards investors. It's clear that this has been driven, at least in part, by capital gains tax and negative gearing. We know that the benefits are unequally distributed. In 2022-23, 83 per cent of the value of the CGT discount went to the top 10 per cent of income earners. We know that the discount has favoured people living in capital cities over regional areas. Recent ACOSS analysis showed that, in my electorate of Indi, we share in just 0.3 per cent of the total national benefit.”
“Over the past five years, house prices have increased faster in regional areas than in capital cities. There are fewer rental vacancies, and they're becoming less affordable. Building new homes costs more and takes longer. Lack of housing is a genuine barrier to workforce supply in critical sectors like education and health care, and that has existential outcomes for us in rural and regional Australia. So this is a serious problem. Housing access and affordability are serious problems we need to address. It is urgent. We also know that the tax system in general is out of kilter, with wage and salary earners doing too much of the heavy lifting. Our tax system does need to be more efficient, more effective and fairer. Every option should be on the table.”
“Today it's closer to eight or 10. It used to take a couple of years to save for a deposit. Now it takes more than 12. Extraordinary growth in house prices has contributed to household prosperity for some, but the gap between housing costs and incomes is now so large that it's simply insurmountable for many young Australians. Those of us who got in early may have benefited financially, but we aren't crowing. We're increasingly worried that our children, our grandchildren and other people's children won't have anywhere they can afford to live, and we're seeing that playing out on our streets. I hear this consistently from my constituents. It's not just the question of intergenerational equity. I've been talking about regional housing and the regional housing crisis for a long while.”
“While it's not unusual for bills to be amended or for complex legislation to be introduced in tranches, we are being asked to vote on this legislation knowing that it likely doesn't represent the intended final operation of these reforms, because the government is currently working through potential modifications and carve outs. Frankly, this is really bad practice for legislation. It makes it truly difficult to engage with the substance of this legislation and to truly consider how it will affect the people I represent, especially given the length of time we've had with this bill, which is just one week. Homeownership has become one of the most significant generational divides in Australia. When people of my generation bought our first house, it probably cost us three to four times the average annual income.”
“The Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and related bills amend tax law to implement changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing announced at the recent federal budget, along with the $250 tax offset and the instant $1,000 expense deduction. These bills before us do not address changes to the taxation of trust income, and that's something that is of great interest and indeed significant concern to many of my constituents, who use trust structures to manage their family businesses. Neither do these bills seem to implement the exact capital gains tax changes that the government intends to proceed with. This is tranche 1 of the legislation, with more to come.”
“My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for the Environment and Water. Regional communities host renewable energy projects critical to our energy transition, and they want better engagement from developers for the vital role they play. The minister has agreed to a national environmental standard on community engagement as part of reforms to the EPBC Act. It's been six months, and we've only seen drafts of two of the five standards. Minister, when will the remaining standards be released for public consultation?”
“Just yesterday, media reporting revealed more than 100,000 people approved for home-care packages are still waiting, with delays stretching out seven to eight months. The government says it's serious about aged-care reform, but that means nothing if people can't access the care when they need it. Older Australians deserve dignity and timely support, especially for fundamental care like showering, getting dressed, mobility and eating. We need a system that works for everyone, not just for the people whose stories make it into question time.”
“Older Australians should not be stuck on a months-long waiting list for Support at Home care that they've already been approved to receive, but right now that's exactly what's happening. In question time recently I raised the case of two constituents from Wodonga aged 85 and 90, who had done everything right. They were assessed and approved for home care and then told they would wait at least nine months for their funding to begin. Nine months for people in their mid-80s and 90s—that's not just a delay; it's the very real difference between staying safely at home and ending up in hospital or worse. I asked the minister about their case, and their funding is now on its way. I'm relieved they're finally getting support, but this exposes a broader systemic failure.”
“I'll keep working with AusNet, the AER, Strathbogie Shire Council, the chamber of commerce and the residents of Euroa to secure an urgent fix while also working towards a sustainable, long-term solution. Energy insecurity of this scale is unacceptable in 2026, and I'm so pleased that we have the energy minister here today listening to this speech because it is absolutely fundamental to rural Australians. I will keep fighting until Euroa gets the reliable power it deserves. (Time expired)”
“Now, that line would not have solved every power issue, but it would have provided critical power backup when the existing line went down. Last month the Australian Energy Regulator rejected that proposal, and instead approved AusNet to spend $5.6 million to install covered conductors on that line. I have met with AusNet and I've met with the Energy Regulator to understand why the feeder line was rejected, and what this alternative will deliver for Euroa instead. They both acknowledge the urgent need for better security for energy in Euroa, and they say they want practical, effective solutions. Well, so do I. They are engaging productively with me on this issue, and I really thank them for that. But this decision does not mean that we pack up and wait in hope for another five years for AusNet to return to the AER with a new proposal.”
“Repeated unexpected outages forced business owners to drop everything and scramble to switch on generators and risk losing valuable stock. People lose all the food in their freezers. The outages leave people worried about elderly neighbours and families with young babies whose health could be at risk without air conditioning or refrigeration during sustained heatwaves. This January, during the Victorian bushfires, people in Euroa lost telecommunications, including access to the Victorian emergency services app, while the Longwood fire burned just kilometres away. Unreliable power is a business killer and, in an emergency, it could be fatal. AusNet recognise the need to strengthen power security in Euroa. They put a proposal to the Australian Energy Regulator to build a new feeder line along the same route from Benalla to Euroa.”
“The town of Euroa in my electorate of Indi is plagued by repeated power outages and brownouts. This problem has been decades in the making, and it's one I've spoken about repeatedly in this place before. Euroa's electricity is supplied by the BN 11 feeder line from Benalla. It's the single-longest feeder line in AusNet's Victorian network, stretching 1,216 kilometres and serving around 4,800 customers. These customers are families, older residents, small- and medium-sized businesses, local health services, GP clinics, farmers and more. In 2025, the BN11 feeder line recorded around 76 unplanned sustained outages, and, while not every outage affected every customer, each outage had a real impact on people who depend on reliable electricity.”
“It may seem easy for the government to cut small ag programs like this, but—mark my words—they have a huge impact on local communities. The government might ask how I would fund the policies that I put forward. Let me just add my voice to the millions of Australians who say that one clear opportunity is to tax our gas exports and use that revenue to invest in regional Australia. (Time expired)”
“Many are not-for-profit operators already under strain, so the falling away of the government's support could not come at a more challenging time, and it truly puts centres across Australia at risk of closure. It's a nightmare for parents and carers struggling to balance parenthood and work and for the centres in thin markets. As I finish, in the agriculture portfolio, I want to call out that savings are being scrapped from a number of programs that are critical to my electorate, including the wine tourism cellar door program and the pest and disease preparedness and response program. These are critical. The wine tourism cellar door program has benefited 15 wineries across Indi. We in Indi know that outbreaks of things like avian influenza are just devastating.”
“The reality is that funding for roads infrastructure is largely stagnant at an aggregate level under this government. However, you don't need to comb the budget papers to know this; you just need to take a ride down a regional road. Another glaring hole in this budget—the biggest pothole you might ever see—is the lack of further funding for early education and care wages. The government has been touting its 15 per cent wage rise for early educators, but it's now leaving the sector in the lurch, with no clarity on how future wage rises determined by the Fair Work Commission will be funded. For smaller rural providers of child care in my electorate, it's keeping them awake at night.”
“What is necessary is meaningful action between the Commonwealth and the states to sustain regional councils to put them on a more stable footing for the long term, because, without financially sustainable councils, we can't hope to build the strong regions for our future nor address the core needs of these communities. One of these core needs, I have to say, is the upkeep of our roads. I know the government loves to spruik increased funding for the Roads to Recovery Program, but the problem is the government is giving in one hand and taking away in the other. The planned growth in Roads to Recovery funding in the next financial year is significantly outweighed by the winding down of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, representing a more than $400 million shortfall between this financial year and the next.”
“It absolutely beggars belief that the government have not put the investment towards this on the back of the summer bushfires that we've just had and on the back of everything that we have learnt, through Black Summer, through cyclones and through devastating floods. I'm never going to let up on this. The government has to invest in regional telecommunications in a way that is meaningful and in a way that will actually save lives. Local governments face serious and systemic financial sustainability issues, yet this budget offers no long-term certainty nor any confidence for the hundreds of rural shires and city councils. The bringing forward of Financial Assistance Grant payments is a welcome short-term measure, but it's an accounting fix, and it shouldn't be necessary.”
“On the essential role of telecommunications and the absolutely critically essential role they play in regional Australia, despite this, this budget not only fails to announce any new funding for regional telecommunications, but, in fact, it has reprioritised millions in funding previously allocated to the Regional Connectivity Plan. In this budget, regional communications have actually gone backwards, and this absence of action on regional telecommunications is why I introduced a private member's bill earlier this week to strengthen our communications in natural disasters. This one just beggars belief to me.”
“There's a compelling case for the government to expand the Commonwealth paid prac program to include all allied health and medical students. These students are required to complete hundreds, often thousands, of hours of unpaid placement. It is critical and important unpaid training, and it puts many students in the most precarious of financial situations. As a result, students are skipping meals, delaying their degrees and, in some cases, considering dropping out altogether because they simply can't make ends meet. Expanding prac payments is a targeted non-inflationary reform that invests in the future productivity of our country, and the success of schemes like Thriving Kids will rely on a strong allied health workforce, and that workforce depends on students being supported through their training, not pushed into placement poverty.”
“Importantly, it does not address the pressing need for investment in infrastructure for rural and regional hospitals. Last year, I moved a motion calling on the government to deliver a $2 billion building rural and regional hospitals fund, a fund that would provide an open, transparent and needs based program for health services—like Albury Wodonga Health, Alpine Health, Corryong Health, Mansfield health—to apply for infrastructure funding that they absolutely desperately need. It's not too late to address the fundamental issues driving disquiet in rural and regional Australia and nor too late for action on the very real frustration that's felt by underinvestment in the most fundamental of things—health care infrastructure. If the government would do this, it would show communities that they are actually listening.”
“Regional Australia consistently demonstrates strong productivity outcomes with a track record of outperforming our share of the population. The deputy speaker knows this. To realise our full potential, we need strong health services, we need sound infrastructure, and we need policy choices that back in the ambition of regional communities and invest in our future. Health care remains the No. 1 concern right across the length and breadth of the electorate of Indi, and, indeed, I know it is a key concern right across rural and regional Australia. While this budget touted an extra $25 billion for hospitals, let's be clear eyed about this. This is predominantly made up of the increased base funding agreed with states and territories last year. This is not new funding over and above what the Commonwealth has already agreed to pay.”
“One positive for farmers in Indi is the $7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility. I hear directly from primary producers that rising costs and uncertainty about supply of both fuel and fertiliser are making it difficult to sustain their operations. With the sowing season for broadacre crops well underway, access to fertiliser is critical to the success of this year's harvest. I welcome the government's recognition of this vital input and its inclusion in this facility. While I acknowledge the government for some of these reforms, they can and they should do more to address the deep-rooted inequities facing regional and rural Australia. This is not just a question of fairness. It's about setting our nation on a path to greater productivity and long-term prosperity.”
“At the last election my costed policy reflected the need for, in fact, $2 billion in enabling infrastructure investment for the regions alone. There is a gaping hole out there. While there's plenty more to do, it's good to see that the government have now committed one quarter of the local infrastructure fund to the regions. It remains incumbent on the government to ensure this funding is fairly distributed to regional communities. I welcome further funding allocated to the Growing Regions Program. However, the decision to bundle this funding announcement with a suburban program, without certainty on regional allocations, raises a really key concern that a program that's been relied upon by local communities as a merit based, competitive funding stream will be lost to metropolitan priorities. I'm really concerned about this one.”
“I've spoken in detail about the serious concerns that I have—in particular, the ones that have really been brought to my attention by my constituents. I've consistently pushed this government to invest further in the critical enabling infrastructure that unlocks housing. I welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement of the Housing Support Program in 2023, one week after I met with him to make my case for this funding. In this budget, a further $2 billion is allocated through a new local infrastructure fund. That's designed to help councils and utility providers roll out the paths, the poles and the pavements that are holding back new housing and, most particularly, holding back new housing in regional electorates such as mine. I have argued long and hard for a fair share of housing investment for regional Australia.”
“It shows yet again that, when communities speak up and their voices are championed by the crossbench, we can find meaningful change. I congratulate the government on changing their mind on that particular element of the aged-care reform. This budget provides $1.7 billion over five years and $110.9 million ongoing to deliver a really important plank of what we seek from government in looking after the most vulnerable in our community, and that's the 'securing the NDIS for future generations' package. It's important to note that this is not new funding. It's not. This is a reallocation of unspent funds. Following the budget, the government introduced legislation to implement this package. I've spoken in detail on the National Disability Insurance Scheme Amendment (Securing the NDIS for Future Generations) Bill 2026.”
“If ever there's a potential remedy or some way of addressing misinformation, then surely bringing people along through consultation and genuine engagement is part of that remedy. It's important to consider the full impact of these changes. It's particularly important to understand what the full impact is for small businesses and primary producers. I'm reaching out to my electorate, and I'll be listening carefully to the feedback I receive. On aged care, I was pleased to see the government reverse its stance on personal care services. When the government introduced its aged-care reforms in 2024, I raised serious concerns about the co-payment. Basic care, like help with showering, eating and getting dressed, is not a luxury. It is, essentially, clinical care that underpins dignity, health and quality of life. This is the right outcome.”
“The tax changes announced in the budget will go beyond the expectations the government set in the lead-up to the budget and beyond the original framing of these measures as part of a housing response. Tax reform, of course, requires careful design and very detailed consultation. I urge the government not to rush these changes but to undertake a genuine and comprehensive process through parliament and with stakeholders so that the legislation works as well as possible and avoids unintended consequences. This will help Australians understand these changes, whether and how they will be affected, and how the government sees these reforms delivering a fairer and more effective tax system in the future.”
“I was less tactful on budget night when I said it could have been a post-it note. But the truth is that it contains an awful lot of repackaged information and very little new spending or dedicated support for regional Australia. This does very little to address the deep satisfaction felt towards governments by the third of the population living in regional Australia—the third of the population who are so often the last to get and the first to lose. In this budget, the government has taken steps towards addressing intergenerational inequality and housing accessibility. I welcome the government committing to action, and I acknowledge the ambition it reflects. At the same time, though, there's no doubt that further work is needed.”
“Across regional Australia, including in my electorate of Indi, people are experiencing growing challenges, from access to health care, housing and child care to infrastructure and disaster recovery following devastating bushfires and floods. At the same time, global instability is causing tidal waves domestically for supply chains and uncertainty for key industries like agriculture, manufacturing and construction. Together, these pressures are being felt acutely in the hip pockets of everyday Australians. That's why the key message from the people of Indi was that, in these uncertain times, the budget needs to respond with targeted investment and meaningful reform. I want to touch on the regional budget statement, because, once again, sadly, I was underwhelmed by it.”
“I rise to speak on the bills that give effect to the government's fifth budget. These bills facilitate appropriation for government expenditure. They do not, of themselves, implement the policy and legislative changes announced in the budget, and that's important to remember. However, in bringing the budget into effect, these bills reflect the priorities of the government and how it will fund the delivery of essential services and investments against revenue. Every year, I work with local governments, health services, tourism bodies and others to develop a budget submission for Indi, which I take directly to the Treasurer. I want to acknowledge the many individuals and organisations across Indi who contributed to this budget's submission.”
“The NDIS has transformed lives in Indi and across the country, and it deserves and needs reforms that strengthen its foundations—and I'd like to the parliament to work collaboratively to achieve that. I encourage the government to consider my amendments to ensure the scheme remains responsive to the needs and dignity of people with disability. I expect there will be a number of reasonable, constructive amendments to the bill, and I very much hope the government will give them serious thought.”
“Real sustainability means investing in workforce and service delivery so that participants can access the supports they need. The reality on the ground is already difficult. In Indi, around 5,600 people are on the NDIS. Plan utilisation across most of Indi is below the state average. In Strathbogie, package utilisation is 63 per cent. In Murrindindi, it's 65 per cent. And that's not because demand is low; it's because the workforce is not there to meet people's needs. I'm not convinced the bill will address these problems for my constituents. While it's clear that the NDIS is too important to fail, it's also so important to get these reforms right.”
“But we are being asked to vote on this bill with only the barest of road maps for how all the blanks will be filled in, and by whom and when. What's most apparent to me in reading this bill is that it does not address the reality of life with disability in an electorate like mine. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the new definition of 'appropriate supports', which explicitly says that it does not matter if you can't access a support because of where you live or how much money you earn. I'll move an amendment to rectify that particular subsection, but its inclusion speaks volumes about how little thought has been given to regional Australia. A sustainable NDIS should not be built on the inaccessibility of services.”
“It's not clear how the CEO might satisfy themselves as to the objectivity of a decision or what safeguards will be in place if the computer gets it wrong. At first, automated decision-making will apply to a limited set of provisions in the act, but that list can be expanded at any time in the legislative instrument. A striking feature of this bill is how much it doesn't say. There is so much crucial detail that is left to be addressed in rules determined by the minister or considered by the technical advisory group that the government has said it will establish but about which little else is known. The NDIS is incredibly complex, and I accept there is a lot of detail that may not be appropriate to capture in primary legislation.”
“But I'm worried about automated decision-making—not data-matching or calculations but substituting a computer program for a human being making a judgement, exercising a discretion or forming a state of mind. These are described in the bill as 'evaluative actions' and they are categorically allowed to be automated. To its credit, the bill establishes very clear requirements for the development of standard operating procedures, setting out exactly how this will occur. Decisions can only be automated where the CEO is satisfied the circumstances are sufficiently objective that their existence or non-existence can be ascertained by a computer program. But we don't have an opportunity to see these operating procedures.”
“The minister may act reasonably on that advice, but without transparency it'll be difficult to build trust in the use of this power. I'll therefore move an amendment to require the NDIA's advice to be tabled in the parliament. I'll also support others' reasonable amendments that expand on what the minister must consider in making a pricing determination, including its impact on thin markets and regional areas. Schedule 3 also deals with automated decision-making. I'm not opposed to harnessing technology to improve efficiency. There are hundreds of thousands of NDIS claims every single day, and we should be looking for every opportunity to streamline, operationalise and optimise how they're processed.”
“The bill includes a definition of 'functional capacity', a new concept that will be central to the operation of new eligibility requirements. However, the definition is just a shell. It's subject to rules that may set out any matter whatsoever. There's almost no point in discussing it, because it will mean whatever the government says it means in the rules. Schedule 3 includes amendments in relation to scheme governance, pricing and automated decision-making. The bill would allow the minister to set the prices that providers charge for NDIS supports, and the bill explicitly provides for pricing to be differentiated based on location and remoteness. While the NDIA must provide pricing advice, there is no requirement for that advice to be made public.”
“I'll be moving an amendment to require the minister to consider whether an alternative is reasonably available and accessible. The bill introduces new considerations when assessing reasonable and necessary supports, largely to do with cost comparisons and value for money. However, in relation to whether a support is likely to be effective and beneficial for a participant, the bill establishes a hierarchy of evidence that makes it a statutory requirement to give greater weight to general evidence than to evidence of the participant's own outcomes using that support in the past. In fact, it goes on to enable certain kinds of evidence to be ignored completely. I'll move an amendment to remove these provisions. Where evidence is available, it should be considered and weighed up on its merits.”
“In fact, new subsection 25A(2) explicitly states that a treatment might still be appropriate for someone whose geographical or financial circumstances actually prevent them from accessing it. So, of course, I'll be moving an amendment to reverse this provision and provide clarity that supports may not be appropriate if there are none nearby or if they're completely unaffordable. The bill clarifies that a person won't be eligible for the NDIS in relation to an impairment for which they have access to an alternative scheme. These include work cover and state and territory motor vehicle compensation schemes, and I've no objection to that. But the bill goes on to enable the minister to prescribe any other alternative. It's not clear what the government has in mind or whether something prescribed would be a genuine alternative to the NDIS.”