The National Network condemns in the strongest possible terms the Albanese Labor Government’s continued attempts to sneak unprecedented police-driven welfare cancellation powers into a technical amendments bill, an act that represents a profound erosion of human rights, due process, and the foundational principle of innocent until proven guilty.

We further condemn both Labor and Liberal Senators for voting against Senator David Pocock’s motion to subject these extreme new powers to basic parliamentary scrutiny. While the bill is yet to pass the Senate, the Coalition has made clear it will hand Labor the numbers it needs to allow police to trigger the cancellation of Centrelink payments, giving the government the green light to fast-track the criminalisation of already marginalised people under the guise of “community safety”.

A Dangerous Expansion of Police Power

Schedule 5 would enable the Home Affairs Minister to cancel the welfare payments of people who are merely accused of serious offences and who police claim are “evading arrest”, even if a person has no idea a warrant exists, even if they are fleeing violence, even if they rely on their payments to keep a roof over their head or feed their children.

‘This is punishment without trial. It is policing by poverty. It is state-sanctioned coercion targeted squarely at those already over-policed, over-surveilled and struggling to survive,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

‘Labor’s plan inserts police discretion directly into the welfare system. It creates a two-tier justice system: one for people with money, and another for people relying on income support, who can now be punished based on untested allegations alone,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

Sneaking Through a Punitive Measure in the Shadows

The amendment was quietly tacked onto an unrelated bill intended to fix an unlawful Social Services calculation error. 

‘There was no announcement, no transparency, and no public consultation. The government waited until after parliamentary inquiries had concluded to insert this extraordinary power, an unmistakable admission that the measure would not survive scrutiny,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘Labor and Liberal’s joint refusal to send Schedule 5 to an inquiry betrays the public’s right to democratic oversight. Senator Pocock and Senator Lidia Thorpe are correct: if Labor truly believed this was justified, they would introduce it openly as stand-alone legislation. Instead, they’ve chosen secrecy and speed,’ said Tabitha Lean.

Punishing Innocence, Endangering Lives

Schedule 5 violates fundamental rule-of-law protections and will disproportionately harm:

• First Nations peoples
• Survivors fleeing domestic and family violence
• People with disability
• People deliberately misidentified by police as perpetrators
• Parents and their children

‘Under Schedule 5, a woman fleeing domestic violence could be (deliberately) misidentified as the offender, have a warrant issued, and, while hiding for her life, have her payments cut off, forcing her into homelessness or back into harm. Her children would lose their income overnight. There is no safeguard, no appeal mechanism before the cancellation, and no guarantee of back-payment if she is cleared. This is not a safety measure. It is structural violence,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

A Deepening Criminalisation Agenda

This amendment must be understood within a broader trend: governments across Australia turning to policing, punishment, and deprivation rather than addressing social harm with genuine solutions. From Robodebt to youth curfew laws to expanded police surveillance powers, the message is clear, Labor is choosing law-and-order populism over justice, safety, and care.

‘Cutting someone off from food, medication, shelter, or their children’s essentials does not keep communities safe. It pushes people into desperation. It undermines every principle of fairness in our legal system. And it hands police unprecedented power with no meaningful accountability,’ said Tabitha Lean.

Our Position

The National Network calls for:

• Immediate removal of Schedule 5 from the Social Security bill.
• Full public consultation with affected communities, legal experts, and welfare organisations.
• A parliamentary inquiry into the human rights, legal, and safety implications of such a measure.
• An end to punitive poverty-based policing masquerading as community safety.

‘Australia must not become a country where police can effectively starve someone into compliance. Social security is a right, not a bargaining chip for law enforcement,’ said Tabitha Lean.

‘Labor’s attempt to collapse the distance between accusation and punishment is a dangerous assault on the presumption of innocence and a direct line to increased criminalisation, homelessness, and harm,’ said Debbie Kilroy.

The National Network will not be silent as governments build new pathways to punish the poor.

For further comment, please contact Debbie Kilroy on 0419 762 474 or Tabitha Lean on 0499 780 226