Australian Greens Senators' additional comments

1.1The Greens support the establishment of the Commonwealth Workplace Protection Order scheme. All workers deserve to feel safe at work and should have access to protections against experiencing aggression and violence in their workplaces.

1.2On behalf of the Greens members, I want to thank the Chair for the committee's report, it is a detailed summary of the bill, and the sentiment raised in the nine submissions received by the committee. I would like to add my support to the points raised but also voice concerns for vulnerable services users who may be impacted by these changes.

1.3Many individuals in receipt of income support payments (via Services Australia) are trapped in poverty due to the inadequacy of payment rates and face punitive treatment by the social security system more broadly, including due to mutual obligations and debt recovery mechanisms.

1.4As Basic Rights Queensland says in their submission, people receiving payments 'often do so at times of crisis and can present with several complex vulnerabilities which impact their engagement with employees'.[1]

1.5Both major parties have contributed to the deterioration of capacity at Services Australia, resulting in delayed claim approvals and long call wait times. This understandably causes frustration for those experiencing financial pressure, and who may be struggling with other chronic challenges, which can impact their engagement with service providers. This of course is not the fault of workers at Services Australia, it is a consequence of Government policy.

1.6The Greens have long called for a commitment to increasing staffing levels to reduce call wait times, processing claims and addressing backlogs which continue to be a source of deep frustration and anger for individuals.

1.7The Greens have raised concerns during this inquiry about the safeguards for service users to ensure continued access to the critical services provided by Commonwealth workplaces. It is important to note that under this legislation courts are required to ensure that individuals still have access to services when making a protection order.

1.8The 'operation and effectiveness' of the Act will be reviewed in three years from its commencement, which will give us the opportunity to scrutinise the impact on vulnerable service users.

Senator Barbara Pocock

Greens Senator for South Australia

Footnotes

[1]Basic Rights Queensland, Submission 8, p. 4.