If you currently receive the Clean Energy Supplement think yourself lucky as those who are granted an Age Pension after 20 September 2016 will not receive this additional payment.
Ending the Clean Energy Supplement
Since the removal of indexation to the payment in 2014, the Clean Energy supplement is paid at the flat rate of $14.10 for singles and $10.60 for couples. While existing recipients will continue to receive the payment, those granted welfare payments after 20 September 2016 will not get this extra payment.
This measure is expected to save $1.3 billion over five years.
Clamping down on Disability Support Pension
To encourage participation in the workforce, over the next three years up to 90,000 recipients of the Disability Support Pension (DSP) will have their capacity to work reviewed.
A third of these reviews will include a Disability Medical Assessment for those considered being at high risk of losing their payment.
Consolidation of dental schemes
To ensure that better dental services are delivered to those who need them most, the Government will scrap the Child Dental Benefits Schedule and Adult Public Dental Services currently funded under National Partnership Agreements (NPA) with states and territories.
Savings from these schemes, as well as funding of $1.7 billion over four years, will fund the new Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme which will also be delivered under a National Partnership Agreement.
As these services will be delivered by states and territories, the details have yet to be agreed and finalised.
What about you? Do you think that stopping the Clean Energy Supplement is a good move? Do you think dental services will improve under the new scheme?
Correction: ‘welfare payments after 20 September 2016’ replaced ‘welfare payments after 1 July 2017’.
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