Introduction

As the peak body for working people, we welcome the opportunity to provide our view on the Social Security Legislation Amendment (Streamlined Participation Requirements and Other Measures) Bill 2021.

The main concerns of the ACTU regarding this legislation relate to Schedule 6 which, in our view, not only further codifies an undesirable element of the existing legislation but also appears to avoid parliamentary oversight over programs which deny unemployed Australians basic protections and entitlements while they undertake work or ‘work-like’ activities. This short submission will focus primarily on our issues with this schedule but should not be considered to be an endorsement by the ACTU of the other schedules’ details or aims.

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