Experts calling on the government to abandon Schedule 5

Last updated on 24 November 2025. A list of public statements from the below organisations can be found at the end of this page.

READ:Academic & Legal Experts’ Statement

Schedule 5 was added as a late amendment to the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025, introduced by Minister Plibersek on 28 October 2025. It is unrelated to the original bill and does away with the right to due process for welfare recipients accused of a serious violent or sexual offence by granting police and ministers new powers to stop Centrelink payments before a person has had access to legal assistance or appeared before a court. More background information is available here.

The below civil society organisations representing welfare recipients, First Nations people, survivors of family violence, disabled people and legal advocates support the call for the government to remove Schedule 5 from the bill:

1. ACT Mental Health Consumer Network

2. Anglicare Australia

3. Antipoverty Centre

4. Anti-Poverty Network SA

5. Australian Autism Alliance

6. Australian Council of Social Services

7. Australian Federation of Disability Organisations

8. Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union

9. Basic Income Australia

10. Children and Young People with Disability

11. Community Legal Centres NSW

12. Community Mental Health Australia

13. Community Restorative Centre

14. Consumers of Mental Health WA

15. Council of Single Mothers and their Children

16. Disability Advocacy Network Australia

17. Down Syndrome Australia

18. Economic Justice Australia

19. Everybody’s Home

20. First Peoples Disability Network

21. Health Justice Australia

22. Human Rights Law Centre

23. Inclusion Australia

24. Justice and Equity Centre

25. Justice Reform Initiative

26. Law Council of Australia

27. Mental Health Legal Centre

28. Mental Health Lived Experience Peak Qld

29. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS)

30. National Advocacy Collective - including 22 additional organisations supporting the rights of parents with intellectual disability

31. National Ethnic Disability Alliance

32. National Mental Health Consumer Alliance

33. NSW Council for Civil Liberties

34. People with Disability Australia

35. Physical Disability Australia

36. Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion

37. Single Mother Families Australia

38. Social Responsibilities Commission of the Anglican Diocese of Perth

39. South-East Monash Legal Service

40. Tenants’ Union of New South Wales

41. Western NSW Community Legal Centre

42. Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre

43. Women with Disabilities Australia

To add your organisation to this list or for media enquiries contact media at antipovertycentre.org

• Welfare rights and community sector advocates, 30 October

• Australian Council of Social Services and Economic Justice Australia, 3 November

• Aboriginal legal services, 4 November

• Law Council of Australia, 5 November

• Joint statement from disability peak organisations, 6 November

• Australian Federation of Disability Organisations, 6 November

• Anti-Poverty Network South Australia, 7 November

• Antipoverty Centre responding to comments from Minister Plibersek, 7 November

• National Advocacy Collective - supporting the rights of parents with intellectual disability, 21 November

• Joint statement from 116 academic and legal experts, 24 November

• National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), 24 November

• Economic Justice Australia, 24 November

• Australian Council of Social Services, 24 November

• Joint statement from ACOSS and EJA responding to comments from Minister Gallagher, 24 November