Michael Klapdor
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mklapdor.bsky.social
Michael Klapdor
@mklapdor.bsky.social
760 followers 630 following 560 posts
Social policy researcher at 🇦🇺 Parliamentary Library, Canberra
Mostly welfare, social security, family payments, child care, veterans
Personal account | Impersonal observations
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mklapdor.bsky.social
JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients as at October 2025: 991,540 (up from 988,745 in September).
Average duration on JobSeeker is about 173 weeks.
JobSeeker recipients' average duration on any payment is 255 weeks (Sept '25 data)
data.gov.au/data/dataset...
Line chart showing the total number of JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients from March 2019 to October 2025
November 14, 2025 at 5:01 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
The delayed report still missed out on the High Court granting special leave to the appeal in the Chaplin case last week
Quote from section on income apportioment in the financial statements section of the annual report, p. 172 - 'In August 2025, 2 special leave applications were filed in the High Court of Australia concerning the Chaplin Case. The applications were made by NSW Legal Aid (as intervener) and Victoria Legal Aid (representing Mr Chaplin) and they challenge the Full Federal Court’s decision in the Chaplin Case. A special leave application is a procedural step before the applicants can argue a substantive appeal before the High Court; it is too early to assess any impact. In the meantime, the Full Federal Court decision in the Chaplin Case is binding and is the law to be applied in relation to the calculation of debts. Unless and until the special leave applications are accepted by the High Court, there is no change to financial risk. This matter is disclosed as a legal contingency in Note 7.1.
November 13, 2025 at 5:06 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
gross that it was wet. It's good they're back though so these little pygmy possums don't go extinct
November 13, 2025 at 1:27 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Parl Library has updated the Bills Digest to include analysis of these proposed measures (section at the end): www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
The proposed changes are likely to raise similar concerns to those raised by stakeholders in response to security notice provisions in 2014. The Bills Digest for the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014 noted issues raised by welfare groups, human rights organisations, academics and the former Independent National Security Legislation Monitor Bret Walker (pp. 48-49). These include: • unequal treatment of people who have not been charged or convicted of any crime • human rights infringements, including a lack of review rights • the measures may be seen to be targeting marginalised groups • the undermining of key principles in Australia's welfare system. The key principles the 2014 and the current amendments risk undermining (pp. 48-50) are: • that all those who meet the eligibility criteria and need support are eligible for assistance from the welfare system unless they have been gaoled • that ministers cannot make decisions regarding eligibility for social security on a case-by-case basis and • that individuals be given reasons for decisions and have clear avenues for review and appeal. The proposed amendments may raise additional concerns including the increased risk of criminal activity by alleged violent offenders when they lose financial resources.
October 31, 2025 at 9:23 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Parl Library has updated the Digest for the Social Security Technical Changes No. 2 Bill to include analysis of the new measure allowing Home Affairs Minister to stop payments to persons subject to an outstanding warrant for a serious violent or sexual offence: parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/dow...
Screenshot of text on p. 18 of Bills Digest: 'Cancelling payments for fugitives Government amendments to the Bill, proposed and made in the House of Representatives on 29 October 2025, added new Schedule 5 to the Bill. The Schedule will enable the Minister responsible for the Australian Federal Police (AFP)—currently the Minister for Home Affairs—to issue a notice to the Minister for Social Services which requires the cessation of certain social security, family assistance, and parental leave payments as well as concession cards where a person is subject to an outstanding arrest warrant for a serious violent or sexual offence. The measure was not previously announced.
October 31, 2025 at 4:41 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Government amendments providing new powers to stop welfare payments to fugitives subject to a warrant for a serious violent or sexual offence have been added to the Social Security and Other Leg. Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 prior to passing Reps. parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sea...
Screenshot of p. 3 of the Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum. BACKGROUND TO NEW SCHEDULE 5 The objective of this measure is to ensure people who are subject to an outstanding arrest warrant for a serious offence, can no longer be supported through the social security and family payments systems. Social security payments are not payable to a person who is in gaol or incarcerated on remand. It is not appropriate that a person wanted for a serious offence, including a person who is evading arrest by the police, should be able to benefit from Government payments or concession cards through the Social Security Act , the Family Assistance Act and the Paid Parental Leave Act. However, there is currently no lawful authority to cancel a person’s payment or concession card on this basis. Under these amendments a person’s payments and concession cards can be stopped, provided such a request must be made by an appropriately senior member of the relevant police force, and the extent to which the person is likely to be a threat or danger to the community, and the likely effect on the person’s dependants, must be considered.
October 29, 2025 at 8:41 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 down for debate in Reps today.
Includes higher ed measures + retrospective validation of potentially unlawful Child Care Subsidy start day determinations.
Parliamentary Library analysis here: www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
Screenshot of Key Points section of Bills Digest: 'Key points The Education Legislation Amendment (Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 (the Bill) amends: - the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000 (the ESOS Act) to introduce new measures aimed at regulating the quality and integrity of the international education sector - the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Act 2011 (the TEQSA Act), to allow TEQSA to authorise and regulate the provision of higher education courses outside Australia - the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to introduce demand driven Commonwealth Supported Places in medicine to eligible Indigenous students - the A New Tax System (Family Assistance) (Administration) Act 1999 (the FAA Act) in relation to the collection and use of early childhood education and care providers’ information, and to retrospectively validate potentially unlawful determinations relating to Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlements since July 2018. The ESOS Act amendments replicate most of those in the Education Services for Overseas Students Amendment (Quality and Integrity) Bill 2024 (the ESOS Bill), with some changes, most notably removing measures to limit international student enrolments. Amendments to the ESOS Act in the Bill include: - providing Ministerial power to suspend provider registration and cancel courses - stricter regulations and requirements in relation to education agents and commissions, and the provision of higher education to overseas students. No information has been provided as to the number of people affected by the potentially unlawful CCS determinations, some of whom will have been underpaid. At the time of writing, the Bill had not been referred to or reported on by any parliamentary committees'
October 27, 2025 at 10:45 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Good morning from Woden town
Photo of Woden valley from Mount Taylor looking north at sunrise. Buildings in the town centre peek above the trees and Black Mountain/Telstra tower are in the distance.
October 20, 2025 at 8:33 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients in September 2025: 988,745. Up slightly from 987,955 in August.
data.gov.au/data/dataset...
Line chart showing JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients from March 2019 to September 2025
October 20, 2025 at 8:12 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Around 2.3 million debts worth $1.5 billion from the period July 1991 to Sep 2003 potentially affected by income apportionment.
2,044 people have outstanding debts worth $14 million from this period
Largest outstanding debt is $151,369.
Debts from this period not eligible for the resolution scheme.
Screenshot of Answer to Question on Notice IQ25-000022: 'Answer: It is currently estimated that around 2.3 million debts may have been potentially impacted by income apportionment between 1 July 1991 to 19 September 2003. These debts belonged to around 1.6 million people and had a total value of around $1.5 billion. There is around $14 million in outstanding debt from this period, held by 2,044 people. The largest outstanding debt is $151,369. It is critical to note that changes to social security law were made in September 2003. From this date, income apportionment was clearly unlawful for most payment types. Prior to 2003, the legal status of income apportionment is less clear. In recognition of this, the scheme is open to debts accrued after September 2003. This data is for debts identified as potentially impacted by income apportionment. It is not possible to know whether a debt is actually impacted by or a result of income apportionment without manual investigation of the debt by Services Australia. The Government remains committed to implementing an appropriate response to recommendation 18.2 of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.
October 19, 2025 at 8:24 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Some income apportionment data from Committee QoN's.
- around 1.7 million people with debts from Sep 2003 to Dec 2020 worth $2.3 billion potentially affected
- $737 million is outstanding with recovery paused
- around 76,000 people have outstanding debts worth $636 million more than 6 years old
Screenshot of Answer to Question on Notice IQ25-000023 'Answer: As at October 2024, the Department of Social Services estimated up to around 1.7 million people with debts potentially impacted by income apportionment between 20 September 2003 to 6 December 2020. The total value of these debts is approximately $2.9 billion. There is around $737 million in outstanding debt raised after 20 September 2003 affected by the pauses on debt recovery due to income apportionment. Many of these debts were in the process of being repaid prior to the recovery pauses. Outstanding debts totalling around $636 million held by around 76,000 people are now more than six years old. The above data is for debts identified as potentially impacted by income apportionment. It is not possible to know whether a debt is actually impacted by or a result of income apportionment without manual investigation of the debt by Services Australia. As stated elsewhere, many debts were calculated in favour of the debtor. In most cases, income apportionment affected debts only marginally.'
October 19, 2025 at 8:24 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
It's tricky comparing Services Australia's telephony performance over time - lots of caveats.
2024-25 saw far fewer congestion messages and the intro of call-back services on some lines. However, there were about 11.7 million fewer calls to the social security lines in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24.
Column chart showing Services Australia telephony data from 2020-21 to 2024-25 including handled calls, answered calls, terminated calls and congestion messages.
October 17, 2025 at 4:54 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
There was decline in the number and value of social security debts raised in 2024-25: 1.4 million debts raised worth $2.4 billion (down from 1.5 million debts worth $2.5 billion raised in 2023-24)
Table 44 from the Services Australia annual report showing debts and amounts raised from social security recipients from 2022-23 to 2024-25
October 17, 2025 at 4:33 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Services Australia again did not meet its performance target of 70% or more customers served within 15mins. Was 58.6% of customers in 2024-25.
Only around 39.5% of social security calls were served within 15 mins (this excludes calls receiving congestion messages)
Screenshot of table on p. 20 of the Services Australia annual report showing performance against measure 4: customers served within 15 minutes. Screenshot of Table 1.4 on p. 21 of the Services Australia annual report showing performance against measure 'customers served within 15 minutes' bu channel (face-to-face or telephony) and program (e.g. social security, health and child support).
October 17, 2025 at 4:26 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Scanlon Foundation's Mapping Social Cohesion survey report out today. Some big, rapid shifts in views towards migration levels (proportion saying the number of migrants is too high at record high of 51%) scanloninstitute.org.au/research/map...
Screenshot of line chart (Figure 4 in linked report) tracking attitudes to the number of immigrants accepted into Australia from 2007 to 2025.
October 16, 2025 at 5:32 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Dept of Education has been making incorrect Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlement decisions - says ICT system does not align with the law. Some people have been over or underpaid CCS for up to 2 weeks.
Bill will retrospectively validate previous decisions: parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sea...
Screenshot of text from p. 7 of the Explanatory Memorandum for the Bill: "However, the dates of effect in the CCS system for three types of decisions concerning the reconciliation of CCS entitlements do not align with the dates of effect under the Family Assistance Administration Act. As a result of the discrepancy, individuals who have failed to meet the deadlines have either been over or underpaid CCS for up to two weeks. The retrospective amendments ensure that the relevant decisions for CCS reconciliations were validly made. The amendments waive any debts that may have arisen as a result of the misalignment. This prevents the need for recovery action to be taken against families who were overpaid. The amendments also mean that families were not underpaid as a result of the discrepancy. To mitigate any potential adverse impact on individuals, the amendments provide a mechanism for individuals to seek compensation if they can show that the retrospective amendments resulted in an acquisition of their property other than on just terms."
October 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Reminder that Services Australia is now in the Finance Portfolio so will be up tonight at Senate Estimates at around 750pm in the Finance and Public Admin Committee - after the Future Fund and before the ASC (formerly Australian Submarine Corporation). Can watch here www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Eve...
October 7, 2025 at 7:51 PM
mklapdor.bsky.social
e61 Chief Executive Michael Brennan writing on the decline in cash transfer spending and the rise in spending on in-kind benefits. Expresses concern at a shift away from means-testing toward universal supports.
Does not discuss poorly targeted tax concessions. www.afr.com/politics/fed...
Screenshot of AFR article text: 'Here is a stark fact: while the size of government has grown since the late 1970s and early 1980s, the amounts spent by government on direct cash transfers – to pensioners, the unemployed and low-income families – is actually lower as a share of GDP than it was then. Bigger government is not due to rising welfare dependency. It is due to the significant expansion of in-kind services: areas such as health, aged care, childcare and NDIS, where government pays for services on our behalf. Research by e61 and UNSW shows that these in-kind social assistance benefits rose from 0.8 per cent of GDP in the 1960s to 6.8 per cent today.'
October 3, 2025 at 3:50 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Draft program for the Senate Community Affairs Committee public hearing on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 tomorrow from 9am - www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
In Canberra but will be streamed: www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Eve...
Screenshot of the public hearing program
October 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
More than 200,000 debts raised under the Robodebt scheme didn’t rely on the averaged ATO data. They were not refunded or zeroed. Many of these lawful debts would have been calculated using a different, unlawful method - income apportionment. This Bill will retrospectively validate that method
Screenshot of Bills Digest text: ‘The use of averaged Australian Taxation Office (ATO) data to raise a debt under the Robodebt scheme was declared unlawful by the Federal Court (p. 6). Robodebts—those raised wholly or partially using the averaging of ATO data—have been refunded or reduced to zero. Other debts raised as part of the same compliance programs, but calculated without using ATO data, remained subject to recovery. Some individuals responded to the notices issued as part of the Robodebt programs or sought reviews and submitted information such as payslips and bank statements (pp. 4–6). These individuals had their payment rates recalculated using this information rather than averaged ATO data. Debts raised using this information were not ‘Robodebts’. Services Australia’s sampling indicates that the majority of historical debts involving employment income are affected by income apportionment (p. 3). It is therefore likely that many of the debts raised under Robodebt programs using payslips and bank statements relied upon income apportionment.’
October 1, 2025 at 11:50 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Parliamentary Library analysis of the Social Security +Other Leg. Amdt. (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 has been published. The Bill validates historical use of income apportionment, establishes a resolution scheme and changes debt waiver provisions. parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/dow...
Screenshot of Key Points section of Bills Digest.
October 1, 2025 at 3:25 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
There are just over 370,000 JobSeeker Payment recipients with a partial capacity to work of <30 hours a week - around 42% of recipients.
Sources: data.gov.au/data/dataset... and data.gov.au/data/dataset...
Line chart showing JobSeeker Payment recipients with a partial capacity to work from January 2012 to August 2025 - chart has 2 vertical axes. Purple line on the left-hand side axis shows total number of JobSeeker Payment recipients with a partial capacity to work. Dotted-blue line on the right hand side axis shows this number as % of the total number of JobSeeker Payment recipients.
September 19, 2025 at 3:11 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Number of JobSeeker and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients up slightly in August 2025 to 987,955 (from 986,090 in July). data.gov.au/data/dataset...
Line chart showing the total number of JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (Other) recipients from March 2012 to August 2025
September 19, 2025 at 3:04 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
all future correspondence to me should open like this
Screenshot of email. Header in dark red text reads: Why are you so amazing? This is followed underneath by email introduction in black text: 'Hi Michael'
September 18, 2025 at 3:17 AM
mklapdor.bsky.social
Yeah - department can't say why they started calculating debts using a method with no basis in the legislation. This was DSS General-Counsel in November 2024 - from p. 100 parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/dow...
Screenshot of Senate Estimates transcript: 'Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: Considering that that predates section 1073B, what's the department's view on the source of the potential unlawfulness of income apportionment? Mr Flavel: Maybe I should get the chief counsel to answer that question, sorry, Senator. Ms Worswick: We have done a fairly extensive amount of research and looking back over the legislation. We don't necessarily know that there's a point in time that we can attribute to the commencement of the practice. What we do know is that there were challenges in understanding how to properly apportion employment income in a period, and we're still, really, investigating and trying to understand where we've got to. All the legislation has been reviewed. We've looked back over various amendment acts. Officials who have been working in Services Australia for many, many decades have been interviewed. We've also spoken to all of the major academics and senior commentators who've had evidence and who spoke, for example, in the robodebt royal commission, to understand what knowledge they might have of the origins of the practice. No-one has really been able to tell us about a specific point in time or a specific rationale for how it has emerged, but we are still continuing to make those investigations as new information comes to light.'
September 3, 2025 at 3:08 AM