Single parents waiting to see if payments will be expanded in federal budget

An important cohort of Aussies could miss out or become winners in the upcoming federal budget as Labor weighs a key decision.

Single parents with older children hoping to receive more generous financial assistance are on tenterhooks waiting to find out whether the measure will feature in next month’s federal budget.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said on Sunday Labor was “deadly serious” about fixing gendered economic inequality.

But she said the government was still considering the recommendations of two expert panels to extend the eligibility of the single parenting payment.

Australians receiving this payment, who are predominantly women, are shifted to the less generous Jobseeker payment when their youngest child turns eight-years-old and lose about $100 a week as a result.

The Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce and the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee both called to raise the children’s cut-off age when they released their recommendations to government last week.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher says the government is still considering whether or not to expand the single parenting payments. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Speaking to ABC’s Insiders, Senator Gallagher refused to say if she was personally advocating for the cut-off age to be returned to 16-years-old.

The Labor frontbencher, who received sole parent payments after she was widowed as a young mother, said she wouldn’t disclose the discussions of the expenditure review committee finalising the budget.

“We are having a look at it. You know, we don’t set up these task forces to then not seriously consider the recommendations that they come forward with,” she said.

“The budget will look to do as much as it can within the responsible fiscal environment that we are in to deal with addressing disadvantage and inequality where we can”.

The former Labor government led by Julia Gillard made the controversial decision to cut welfare payments to single parents in 2012.

The government switched off the grandfathering arrangement put into place by former Liberal prime minister John Howard in July 2006.

The Howard government had stopped parents claiming the parenting payment when their youngest child turned eight.

But the grandfathering arrangement allowed those who were already receiving the payment in July 2006 to remain on the payment until their youngest turned 16.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing calls to raise the rate of Jobseeker — from a panel his government set up. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

Labor’s decision shifted more than 80,000 people on parenting payments to the lower Newstart unemployment payment, now known as Jobseeker.

The decision reportedly saved taxpayers $728m over four years but its critics say thousands of single mothers were plunged into poverty as a result.

Senator Gallagher said on Sunday the Albanese government would take steps “in every budget” it handed down to address inequality “across the economy”.

She hinted that there may be an increase to commonwealth rental assistance in the upcoming budget — something that both of the government’s economic equality panels have called for.

“The Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce makes this point. You know, we earn less. We retire with less. We have less assets, less wealth. We earn less in lower-paid jobs,” she said.

“This is the reality of 2023 for Australia’s women. And this is the work that we have started in the budget. It’s the work we’re going to continue in this budget.”

She also conceded it was hard for people on the Jobseeker payment to live even though Labor is set to reject calls from its own panel of experts to raise the rate.

The Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee recommended the “seriously ­inadequate” Jobseeker payments be substantially ­increased by 40 per cent to just under $1000 a fortnight.

Originally published as Single parents waiting to see if payments will be expanded in federal budget