The Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has released its latest report, which provides 10 recommendations to inform the Government’s decision-making for the 2025-26 Federal Budget.

The 2025 report focuses on several important issues:

  • It confirms improving the adequacy of JobSeeker and related payments remains the number one priority and that doing so would deliver significant economic and social benefits.
  • It calls for further increases to the CRA to acknowledge the hardship caused by rising rents in a tight housing market.
  • It calls for Remote Area Allowance to be increased, indexed and more closely targeted to where it is most needed.
  • It presents evidence on the extent to which social security arrangements for victim-survivors of family and domestic violence – particularly those with intersectional experiences of disadvantage – may be unintentionally discouraging victim-survivors from leaving or not returning to violent relationships.
  • It renews the Committee’s call for the adoption of official measures of poverty, noting that the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Henderson Report is a fitting moment to adopt this vital policy tool.
  • It calls for systemic change to begin in Australia’s employment services and early childhood development services – notably the replacement of Workforce Australia and the introduction of a comprehensive early childhood development framework.

The committee is chaired Jenny Macklin. Its members include Jeff Borland (University of Melbourne), Robert Breunig (Australian National University), Emily Carter (Marninwarntikura Women’s Resource Centre), Kay Cook (Swinburne University of Technology), Matthew Cox (The Bryan Foundation), Cassandra Goldie (Australian Council of Social Service), Angela Jackson (Impact Economics and Policy), Travers McLeod (Brotherhood of St. Laurence), Sally McManus (Australian Council of Trade Unions), Ben Phillips (Australian National University), Leah van Poppel (Chair of Victorian NDIS Community Advisory and a member of the NDIS Independent Advisory Council) and Peter Whiteford (Australian National University).

 

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