ACOSS

Joint statement from EJA and @ACOSS rejecting any suggestion organisations were consulted on Schedule 5: buff.ly/3xoCatz @SenKatyG @SenatorPennyQld @SenatorThorpe @DavidPocock @DavidShoebridge @TammyTyrrell

EJA and ACOSS confirm that, from the first notification from the Government about the proposed Schedule 5, both organisations have made clear we oppose the Schedule 5 amendment. We continue to urge all parliamentarians to reject Schedule 5 in its entirety.

Both EJA and ACOSS would like to make clear that we were at no point consulted on the Schedule 5 amendment.

@ej_australia and ACOSS rejects any suggestions that organisations were consulted on Schedule 5: acoss.org.au/media-releases…

🚨 1,000+ orgs from over 100 countries tell #COP30 governments: stop treating climate action like a numbers game and make a #JustTransition happen. Put people before profit. climatenetwork.org/2025/11/10/100… #JustTransitionRising #BAM

Read more in Jenna Price opinion piece for The Canberra Times: canberratimes.com.au/story/9106075/… Read ACOSS joint response with @ej_australia to the Home Affairs Minister: acoss.org.au/media-releases… See the response from @NATSILS_ here: linkedin.com/posts/natsils_…

Changes will have devastating impact on First Nations communities. Prof Thalia Anthony at UTS notes: "First Nations men, women and young people will be disproportionately affected by these laws because they are more likely to be over-policed and suspected of committing offences."

We urge the Federal Government to scrap Schedule 5 of the Social Security and Other Legislative Amendments (Technical Change No 2) Bill that could see innocent people have their social security payment cancelled.

@UNSW @SPRC_UNSW @JesuitSocialSer @SSI_tweets @savechildrenaus @MissionAust @SmithFamily_org @LWBAustralia @ACFinspires @davidmorawetz

The latest report from the ACOSS/UNSW Poverty and Inequality Partnership shows that 3.7m people are experiencing poverty. That number represents 1 in 7 people. Read the report at bit.ly/povertyovervie…

Read more: smh.com.au/politics/feder…

ACOSS agrees. Interest rates that remain too high for too long are pushing more people into financial stress. There are already 50,000 more people unemployed since the start of the year. Without immediate rate cuts, we will only see that number grow.

“Cutting rates again isn’t without its risks, but the risks of keeping them too high appear more damaging right now.” – @CallamPickering, Senior Economist at @IndeedAU.

We need: - #RaiseTheRate of income support payments like JobSeeker - Fix the punitive employment services system - Invest in social housing - Expand energy efficiency programs to lower household bills

Underlying inflation remains well within the RBA’s target range. There is no justification for maintaining interest rates at punishingly high levels. Interest rate cuts alone won’t resolve the ongoing living standards crisis.

There are now two people unemployed for every job vacancy - the highest ratio since 2021. Rising unemployment means more people on brutally low-income support payments, and more people trapped in a failing employment services system: acoss.org.au/media-releases…