This submission combines the insights of consumer organisations with the cases seen from our work helping people in financial stress. The regulatory settings for financial markets should be designed to help Australians to finance a purchase of a property that they can afford, and to ensure as many people as possible can maintain that property in times of hardship or stress.
Joint consumer submission_ Senate Committee Inquiry into Financial Regulatory Framework and Home OwnershipSubmission – Financial Regulatory Framework and Home Ownership
Related Projects
Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry: Response to (Round 7) Interim Report
Submission to: Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
ParentsNext: examination of Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements – class of persons) Instrument 2021
Submission to: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights
We echo the concerns of our colleagues across the community sector about the punitive aspects of ParentsNext. The program can exacerbate the financial issues facing single parents. Between July 2018 and February 2021, over 52,000 parents had their payments suspended, for an average of 5 days. Just over 1,000 parents had their payments cancelled. Many of these people would have faced a financial crisis as a result. This increases demand for emergency relief services, including food. Some people will have gone into debt to cover the financial shortfall, including high cost payday loans. The problem is that ParentsNext is a one size fits all program. Instead what is needed is targeted, strength-based support.
We echo the concerns of our colleagues across the community sector about the punitive aspects of ParentsNext. The program can exacerbate the financial issues facing single parents. Between July 2018 and February 2021, over 52,000 parents had their payments suspended, for an average of 5 days. Just over 1,000 parents had their payments cancelled. Many of these people would have faced a financial crisis as a result. This increases demand for emergency relief services, including food. Some people will have gone into debt to cover the financial shortfall, including high cost payday loans. The problem is that ParentsNext is a one size fits all program. Instead what is needed is targeted, strength-based support.