Senator RUSTON (South Australia—Minister for Families and Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:58): Thank you very much, Senator Davey, for your question and your ongoing interest in managing our social security system. We are absolutely committed to making sure that our social security system is accurate, fair and simple for the people who need it. As part of this commitment, the government is introducing legislation that will be making it simpler for welfare recipients who report their income to do so and will improve the accuracy of the payment system. At the moment, 1.2 million Australians will report that they earned income other than the money that they receive through their income support payments. Those 1.2 million people are required to report that to the Department of Social Services every fortnight. Currently, they have to undertake quite a complex calculation to report their partner's or their own income over that fortnight. Senator O'Neill: They were doing that. The PRESIDENT: Senator O'Neill! Senator RUSTON: This can be particularly difficult for people who might work shift work or do casual work. This can often lead to misreporting, both underestimating and overestimating, what people earn. What this legislation proposes is that instead of people having to go through that complex calculation, we're seeking to have them report what they earned, what they actually received, what they were paid, and not to have them make a calculation to estimate what they have earned. What we are doing here is ensuring that reporting of income is actually as it currently occurs and welfare recipients will report income as it is paid, as opposed to when it is earned. Changing the way employment income is reported simplifies this process for recipients. What we are doing is taking the guesswork out of the process. The PRESIDENT: Senator Davey, a supplementary question?