Summary

Edit

The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bill in the Senate in its amended form. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read the bill for a third time.

This means the bill will now return to the House of Representatives, where our MPs will decide whether they agree with the amendments. If so, it will be made into law.

What does this bill do?

The bills digest provides the following key points that explain what the bill does and why it was introduced:

  • There are two schemes for income support recipients that aim to limit spending on harmful goods such as alcohol, illicit drugs, and gambling. One is the cashless debit card (CDC) program and the other is income management.
  • The CDC program currently operates in six areas around Australia — Ceduna (South Australia), Kununurra and Wyndham in the East Kimberly (Western Australia), the Goldfields region (Western Australia), the Bundaberg and Hervey Bay region (Queensland), the Northern Territory, and Cape York (Queensland). In June 2022 it applied to 17,382 people.
  • The Bill will abolish the CDC program in line with the Government’s 2022 election commitment.
  • The abolition will occur in two stages.
  • Certain people who are currently participating in the CDC program may be moved to income management. Others may decide to voluntarily participate in income management.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (92% turnout) 11 Yes 0 No
Penny Allman-Payne Queensland Yes
Dorinda Cox WA Yes
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Barbara Pocock SA Yes
Janet Rice Victoria Yes
David Shoebridge NSW Yes
Jordon Steele-John WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Lidia Thorpe Victoria Absent
Australian Labor Party (72% turnout) 18 Yes 0 No
Carol Brown Tasmania Yes
Anthony Chisholm Queensland Yes
Raff Ciccone Victoria Yes
Don Farrell SA Yes
Katy Gallagher ACT Yes
Nita Green Queensland Yes
Jenny McAllister NSW Yes
Malarndirri McCarthy NT Yes
Deborah O'Neill NSW Yes
Fatima Payman WA Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Louise Pratt WA Yes
Tony Sheldon NSW Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Jess Walsh Victoria Yes
Murray Watt Queensland Yes
Linda White Victoria Yes
Tim Ayres NSW Absent
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Patrick Dodson WA Absent
Karen Grogan SA Absent
Marielle Smith SA Absent
Jana Stewart Victoria Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price NT Country Liberal Party No
Andrew McLachlan SA Deputy President No
David Pocock ACT Independent Yes
Jacqui Lambie Network (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Yes
Tammy Tyrrell Tasmania Yes
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland No
James McGrath Queensland No
Liberal Party (67% turnout) 0 Yes 16 No
Alex Antic SA No
Wendy Askew Tasmania No
Claire Chandler Tasmania No
David Fawcett SA No
Sarah Henderson Victoria No
Jane Hume Victoria No
Kerrynne Liddle SA No
Matt O'Sullivan WA No
James Paterson Victoria No
Marise Payne NSW No
Gerard Rennick Queensland No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Paul Scarr Queensland No
Dean Smith WA No
David Van Victoria No
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Andrew Bragg NSW Absent
Slade Brockman WA Absent
Michaelia Cash WA Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania Absent
Hollie Hughes NSW Absent
Jim Molan NSW Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
Ross Cadell NSW No
Perin Davey NSW No
Susan McDonald Queensland No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (50% turnout) 0 Yes 1 No
Malcolm Roberts Queensland No
Pauline Hanson Queensland Absent
Sue Lines WA President Yes
Ralph Babet Victoria United Australia Party No
Totals (78% turnout) 33 Yes – 26 No