Financial hardship and inclusion

The Salvation Army provided a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee Bill 2023 (the Bill).

As a major provider of social services throughout Australia, The Salvation Army is highly supportive of the establishment of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee (the EIAC), and its role in providing annual, expert advice on economic inclusion in advance of the Commonwealth budget.

Our Submission provides feedback to improve the EIAC’s membership, as well as how the EIAC will interact with government. Principally, we recommended:

• Building on the current commitment to diversity and representation to enhance representation of those experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, economic exclusion.
• Increasing transparency around functions of and expectations on the EIAC.
• Solidifying the effectiveness of the EIAC by requiring a government response to advice provided; and
• Strengthening the independence of advice by clarifying and making transparent conditions around tenure of members.

The Salvation Army appeared before the Committee on 10 November to provide additional information to the inquiry.

The Committee tabled its final report on 23 November 2023.

The final Bill was passed with several amendments which matched The Salvation Army’s recommendations to improve the tenure of EAIC members, and the publication of the final report of the EAIC.