A Senate Estimates hearing has revealed tens of thousands of migrant families will have to live in Australia for four years before claiming any money from Centrelink, if the Turnbull government's recent savings measures pass the parliament.
Back in December, the government announced migrants who arrive in Australia from July will have to wait three years before they can access certain Centrelink payments, extending the current two-year waiting period and saving the government around $1.3 billion over the next four years.
Then in the 2018 Budget the government extended the wait again to four years, saving an extra $200 million.
The change will restrict access to key Centrelink payments including Newstart, paid parental leave, the Carers Allowance and the Family Tax Benefit.
Senators asked social services department officials how many people would be impacted during a Senate Estimates hearing on Thursday.
The bureaucrats said around 66,000 migrant families would be forced to wait the four years for family tax benefits, while 47,000 individuals will be impacted by the freeze on Newstart and the other payments.
Refugees who are found to be fleeing persecution and are given humanitarian visas will still be exempt from any waiting time, as will their families.
Newly arrived migrants who experience sudden financial loss due to a “significant change in circumstances”, including those who fall victim to family violence, will also be granted exemptions, the department said.
Department officer Shane Bennett played down concerns the proposal would prove a disincentive to migration.
"There is evidence from the OECD that reflects access to social security systems is not necessarily high on the factors people consider," Mr Bennett told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.
"There is also a Productivity Commission report from 2016 that shows non-humanitarian permanent migrants had effectively lower take-up rates of income support to the general population."
Migrant and community groups have pushed back hard against moves to extend welfare wait times, fearing it could force some new arrivals into destitution and poverty.
Exemptions will continue to apply for vulnerable groups and humanitarian entrants, while hardship provisions also will also remain in place.
In a separate budget measure, newly-arrived refugees could also be made to wait six months before accessing Centrelink's jobseeking program.
The change, which doubles the existing three-month wait, is expected to save $68 million over the next four years.
"This measure will improve the sequencing of services available to refugees ... assisting refugees to focus on settlement and improving language skills during the first 26-week period of their arrival," the budget papers said.
