Labor has covertly extended the life of its racist and failed compulsory income management regime today, joining with the Coalition to kill off a Greens attempt to put an end to this cruel program.
In April 2022, federal Labor made an election commitment to scrap compulsory income management. Two elections in, and Labor has instead extended compulsory income management indefinitely. The Government also refuses to release the documents from the apparent consultation they’ve been conducting since 2023.
The Greens’ disallowance, moved by Senator Allman-Payne, sought to oppose the Social Security (Administration) Legislation Amendment (Income Management and Enhanced Income Management) Instrument 2026 (the Instrument). Labor’s Social Services Minister, Minister Tanya Plibersek, registered the Instrument on 24 June 2026 which removed the self-repealing clauses for four income management determinations that Labor made in 2023, effectively extending compulsory income management indefinitely.
Senator Allman-Payne is chairing the current Community Affairs References Committee’s review into the Instrument. As of 7 September, the majority of the submissions to the committee oppose the deeply unfair and targeted compulsory income management scheme and call for a transition to a voluntary system.
As stated by Greens spokesperson on Social Services, Senator Penny Allman-Payne:
“Labor has today extended a failed, racist and coercive policy indefinitely, despite pledging to abolish it.
“Labor won’t release their own consultation because it’ll tell them what they already know: that compulsory income management doesn’t work, that it harms people, and that it must be abolished and replaced with a truly voluntary system.
“Compulsion, fear and racism should never be part of a genuine safety net. Social security must instead champion equality, human rights and the right to choose what income management works for you.”
