Division Description Changes — Bills — Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020; Third Reading — 9th Dec 2020

Change	Division
senate vote 2020-12-09#25 Edited by mackay staff on 2020-12-18 10:19:05	Title Bills — Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020; Third Reading Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Continuation of Cashless Welfare) Bill 2020 - Third Reading - Pass the bill Description ~~<p class="speaker">Scott Ryan</p>~~ ~~<p>The question is that the remaining stages of this bill be agreed to and the bill be now passed.</p>~~ <p>Bill read a third time.</p> The majority voted in favour of a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2020-12-09.326.1) to pass the bill in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, the majority voted to read the bill [for a third time](https://www.peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/). This means that the bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives so that our MPs can decide whether they agree to the Senate amendments. If they agree, the bill will become law. ### What does the bill do? The [bill was introduced](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd033) "to establish the [Cashless Debit Card](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashless_Welfare_Card) (CDC) as an ongoing program rather than a time-limited trial". The CDC program is controversial for many reasons, not least the [limited evidence](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-16/little-data-cashless-debit-card-effective-unisa-researcher-says/12887258) that it is benefiting the communities where it is currently in operation. Read more about the program and what the bill does in the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd033).

~~Scott Ryan~~
~~The question is that the remaining stages of this bill be agreed to and the bill be now passed.~~
Bill read a third time.
The majority voted in favour of a [motion](https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2020-12-09.326.1) to pass the bill in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, the majority voted to read the bill [for a third time](https://www.peo.gov.au/understand-our-parliament/how-parliament-works/bills-and-laws/making-a-law-in-the-australian-parliament/). This means that the bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives so that our MPs can decide whether they agree to the Senate amendments. If they agree, the bill will become law.
### What does the bill do?
The [bill was introduced](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd033) "*to establish the [Cashless Debit Card](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cashless_Welfare_Card) (CDC) as an ongoing program rather than a time-limited trial*". The CDC program is controversial for many reasons, not least the [limited evidence](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-16/little-data-cashless-debit-card-effective-unisa-researcher-says/12887258) that it is benefiting the communities where it is currently in operation.
Read more about the program and what the bill does in the [bills digest](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd2021a/21bd033).