Explore our plan
- No one in poverty: Guaranteed Liveable Income & Raise the Rate
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Millions of Australians struggle to survive on inadequate income support payments, forced to make impossible choices just to cover bare essentials.
The Greens are working to provide everyone with a guaranteed liveable income that lifts them above the poverty line. By ensuring social security payments meet basic needs, we can create a fairer society where no one is left behind.
The Greens' plan:
- Guarantee a liveable income by raising income support payments above the poverty line, ensuring no one is forced to live in poverty.
- Make payments fairer by adjusting partner rates to 75% of the single rate and incorporating key supplements into the base rates of income support.
- Ensure payments keep up with costs by indexing them twice a year to the higher of average weekly earnings or consumer price index.
- Remove unnecessary barriers by abolishing waiting periods, liquid asset requirements, and third-party income-support verification claims.
- Continue supporting families by maintaining access to Family Tax Benefits and supplements under the current system.
- Uni Students Package
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University students are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, balancing rising rents, unpaid placements, and lower-paid jobs alongside full-time study.
The Greens are advancing reforms to create a fairer system, ensuring students receive the financial support they need to live independently and focus on their education.
The Greens' plan:
- Enable younger students to access financial support by lowering the JobSeeker eligibility age to 18.
- Provide students living independently with greater security by abolishing parental income tests for those not at home.
- These changes will increase the average Youth Allowance payment for existing recipients by $4,700 and make 68,000 young people who are currently locked out of the payment newly eligible.
- A further 76,000 Youth Allowance recipients will also become eligible for the higher JobSeeker payment, putting an average of $4,900 extra into their pockets.
- Poverty and Inequality Commission
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Millions of Australians are living below the poverty line, relying on inadequate income support or payments that fail to meet basic needs.
A dedicated Poverty and Inequality Commission will ensure the government takes informed, evidence-based action to tackle poverty.
This Commission will investigate the causes of poverty, set benchmarks, and advise on solutions to eradicate poverty in Australia.
The Greens' plan:
- Establish a Poverty and Inequality Commission to eradicate poverty by creating a legislated body with paid Commissioners and a President, modelled on the Productivity Commission.
- Ensure a clear understanding of poverty by conducting regular Antipoverty Reviews and creating a national poverty line to measure and track progress.
- Guarantee fair and adequate social security payments by reviewing payment rates and recommending minimum levels of support.
- Require the government to act on recommendations by mandating public responses to advice from the Poverty and Inequality Commission.
- Ensure accountability and independence by having the President and Commissioners approved by a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
- Return delivery of employment services to the Commonwealth
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The private employment services system is outdated, ineffective, and punitive, failing to support unemployed people and entrenching inequality.
The Greens are focused on ending the for-profit model and re-establishing the Commonwealth Employment Service (CES) to deliver tailored, accessible, and practical employment support that prioritises people’s needs and aspirations over profit.
The Greens' plan:
- End the role of for-profit providers by replacing them with a new public-sector Commonwealth Employment Service, ensuring employment services are driven by support, not profit.
- Provide accessible, high-quality employment services by making the CES universally available, conducting initial assessments, and offering voluntary face-to-face case management in every employment region.
- Strengthen local job facilitation by enabling the CES to coordinate employment opportunities, commission local services, and maintain effective online and contact centre support.
- Transition to a public system by redirecting funds from private providers to the CES as contracts end, ensuring resources are used to support people, not corporations.
- Abolish Compulsory Income Management
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Compulsory income management undermines peoples’ dignity and disproportionately targets First Nations people, with 82% of those subjected to it being Indigenous Australians.
The Greens are taking action to remove these punitive measures and ensure social security is accessible and fair for all, redirecting resources to voluntary support programs that genuinely help those in need.
The Greens' plan:
- End compulsory income management by abolishing programs like the SmartCard, BasicsCard, and all related measures, ensuring no one is forced into restrictive systems.
- Provide voluntary income management options for those who choose it, supporting people to manage their finances in a way that works for them.
- Reinvest savings from abolishing these programs into employment services and financial support, offering practical, accessible assistance to those who need it most.
- Earlier Access to the Age Pension
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Thousands of older Australians are trapped in poverty, forced to work physically demanding, low-wage jobs or excluded from the labour market entirely.
With Australia’s retirement age among the highest in the OECD, the Greens are working to ensure older people receive the support they need to retire earlier and with dignity.
The Greens' plan:
- Provide a guaranteed earlier retirement by lowering the pension age to 65, ensuring income support for older Australians who have spent their lives working on low wages.
- Deliver targeted benefits to older women, who are disproportionately impacted by poverty and precarious work in later life.
- Fund Essential Social Services
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The social services sector is a lifeline for millions of people, providing critical support for those facing poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, and other challenges.
Yet, successive governments have failed to give the sector the funding and stability it needs.
The Greens are ensuring the sector has the sustainable funding and workforce investment necessary to meet these rising needs.
The Greens' plan:
- Address service gaps by providing $40 million annually to strengthen community services, ensuring essential care and support reach those in need.
- Build long-term stability by investing $10 million over two years to establish a Commonwealth taskforce, developing comprehensive community service guarantees for sustainable funding and delivery.
- Fair Taper Rates
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The current system penalises income support recipients for finding work, reducing payments as soon as they start earning, and trapping people in poverty.
The Greens are committed to ensuring everyone can earn a livable income without being punished by an unfair taper rate. By reforming income tests, we can ensure people on income support are better supported as they seek employment.
The Greens' plan:
- Allow people to earn more while receiving income support by lifting the income-free area to $300 per fortnight, enabling greater financial stability for low-income workers.
- Create a fairer system by introducing a consistent taper rate of 60 cents per dollar across all payments, ensuring no one is penalised unfairly for earning additional income.
- Guarantee no one is worse off by applying these changes equitably across all income support payments to lift recipients out of poverty while maintaining support.
- Abolish Mutual Obligations
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Mutual obligations force people on income support into ineffective and often harmful activities, risking payment suspensions if they fail to comply. The Greens are working to end these punitive measures so people can focus on finding work and improving their well-being while redirecting resources to more effective support services.
The Greens' plan:
- Abolish mutual obligations and all conditionalities, such as the Targeted Compliance Framework and Work for the Dole, to eliminate harmful and unnecessary requirements.
- Voluntary employment assistance will remain available, providing effective and supportive programs for those seeking help to find work.
- Centrelink Staffing Initiative
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Centrelink’s current staffing levels are failing to meet the needs of people on income support, leaving claimants waiting months for approvals and hours on hold—if their calls are even answered.
The Greens' plan:
- Increase Centrelink staffing levels to ensure calls are answered promptly, reducing average phone wait times to less than 5 minutes.
- This initiative will eliminate reliance on congestion messaging and ensure people receive the assistance they need without delays or frustration.