Bill
Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018
passed, as at 2018-09-21. Social Services portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Social Services
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2018-05-30
- second reading — 2018-05-30
- second reading — 2018-06-21
- second reading — 2018-06-21
- third reading — 2018-06-21
- introduced — 2018-06-25
- second reading — 2018-06-25
- second reading — 2018-08-22
- second reading — 2018-08-23
- second reading — 2018-08-23
- committee — 2018-08-23
- committee — 2018-09-11
- third reading — 2018-09-11
- other — 2018-09-11
- passed — 2018-09-11
- royal assent — 2018-09-21
Divisions
- Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018 - Second Reading - Agree with bill's main idea — 2018-06-21, House of Representatives: affirmative, ayes 76, noes 62
- Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018 - Second Reading - Put the question — 2018-08-23, Senate: negative, ayes 31, noes 33
- Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea — 2018-08-23, Senate: affirmative, ayes 32, noes 30
- The majority voted in favour of [government amendments](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2018-09-11.4.2) (1) to (5) and (8) to (11), which means they succeeded. ### What do these amendments do? These amendments would move several matters that are currently in disallowable instruments - that is, legislative instruments that the parliament is able to vote against in a single vote so they stop being law - to standard legislation that can't so easily be undone. These matters include the location of the trial sites. According to Liberal MP [Mitch Fifield](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/victoria/mitch_fifield), who introduced the amendments, *"[this will give certainty](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2018-09-11.6.1) to trial participants and local communities"*. ### What does the bill do? The [bill was introduced to](http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r6130): * *expand the cashless debit card arrangements to a further trial site, the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay area, to run until 30 June 2020;* * *specify the class of trial participants for the area and increase the total number of trial participants overall to 15 000;* * *provide for an exception from the restrictive trade practices provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 for merchants that implement product level blocking systems to identify that a cashless debit card is being used for payment and, if any restricted products are being purchased, decline the transaction; and* * *limit the use of the restricted portion of a payment to prevent the portion being used to obtain cash-like products which could be used to obtain alcohol or gambling.* — 2018-09-11, Senate: affirmative, ayes 34, noes 28
- Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card Trial Expansion) Bill 2018 - Third Reading - Pass the bill — 2018-09-11, Senate: affirmative, ayes 33, noes 32
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2018-05-30.
The bill would expand a compulsory welfare card trial to a new location, the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay area, and run until 30 June 2020.
It would set a maximum of 15,000 total trial participants and specify who qualifies in the new area.
The bill would also let merchants block certain purchases, and prevent the card's restricted funds from being used to buy cash-like items that could be exchanged for alcohol or gambling.
- Expands the cashless debit card trial to the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay area.
- Increases the total number of trial participants to 15,000.
- Introduces an exception from the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 for merchants that automatically block restricted products.
- Limits the use of the restricted portion of payments to stop it being converted into cash-like products for alcohol or gambling.
Trial participants in the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay area, merchants, and welfare recipients in the expanded trial.
Sources
em
em supp
billhome
frl act