Uniting Communities welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs regarding the inquiry into the Social Security(administration) Amendment (Income Management to Cashless Debit Card Transition) Bill 2019.

In summary, the Bill proposes that people who are currently subject to income management in the Northern Territory and the Cape York trial, will be transitioned onto the Cashless Debit Card (CDC), and that these locations will be treated as trial sites, in addition to the existing four trial sites.

This submission raises key concerns regarding the Bill. In addition, we wish to point the Committee to previous Uniting Communities’ submissions provided to Senate Inquiry Committees regarding the Cashless Debit Card and its impact on communities.