WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton described social security indexation as "wasteful spending".
OUR VERDICT
False. The opposition leader did not say social security indexation was wasteful spending.
AAP FACTCHECK - Senior Labor government ministers have falsely accused Peter Dutton of describing indexation of social security payments as "wasteful spending" and of wanting to end the practice.
While the opposition leader has accused the Albanese government of overspending, he did not say that the indexation of JobSeeker or pensions was "wasteful spending" in evidence provided by Labor.
AAP FactCheck could not find any record where Mr Dutton has said this, and the opposition has confirmed that cuts to the indexation of pensions or JobSeeker payments are not on its agenda.
Indexation is an adjustment of social security payments to the inflation rate so people relying on income support can keep pace with living costs.
Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Treasurer Jim Chalmers made the claim in a joint press release on March 11.
"The biggest risk to Australians on low and fixed incomes is Peter Dutton," the ministers claim in the statement.
"He describes the indexation of pensions and payments as wasteful spending."
Ms Rishworth claimed in another release a few days earlier that the coalition would cut indexation, picking up on a theme in Dr Chalmers' September 2024 press release.
When asked for evidence of the latest claims, the treasurer's office pointed AAP FactCheck to an interview Mr Dutton gave on ABC Insiders in February 2025, where he was asked about planned spending cuts.
The transcript shows Mr Dutton referred to "wasteful spending" but not in relation to social security indexation. Rather, he referenced federal public servants and the NDIS.
Dr Chalmers' and Ms Rishworth's offices also cited an earlier ABC interview with Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, where he was similarly asked about spending plans.
In their interviews, Mr Dutton and Mr Taylor accused Labor of overspending, using a calculation that compared projected payments under the coalition's 2022 pre-election budget.
The coalition claimed there was a $347 billion difference between budget payments projected before the last election and what was forecast in the latest budget update in December 2024.
But experts previously told AAP FactCheck that the coalition's claims omit key context and use a measurement of spending that does not accurately capture the effects of Labor policy.
The $350 billion figure uses the broadest spending category in the budget - including more than $100 billion in spending related to economic conditions such as indexation, not just policies.
The calculations rely partly on medium-term budget projections and economic forecasts from 2022 that significantly underestimated actual inflation rates.
Labor claimed the coalition's use of the $347 billion figure was evidence that they intend to cut indexation.
But Mr Dutton has never said this would be the case.
He told the ABC's Insiders program that when the coalition identified wasteful spending in the budget, it would seek to cut it, but he did not reference the $347 billion figure as a scope for potential reductions.
Bruce Bradbury, a social policy expert at the University of NSW, said he couldn't see Mr Dutton referencing indexation as wasteful spending in the ABC interview.
"He mentions 'wasteful spending', but it does seem to be in relation to staff numbers," Associate Professor Bradbury told AAP FactCheck.
Peter Whiteford, an Australian National University social policy expert, said the interviewer David Speers pointed out that the spending figure Mr Taylor was using included indexation.
But Mr Taylor's response to the question referenced a smaller $45 billion figure, which included policies from the 2024-25 budget that the coalition opposed, not including indexation.
"I would interpret this as avoiding the point being made by David Speers that the number the Opposition used for the additional spending includes the legislated indexation increases, rather than saying that they wouldn't index payments," Professor Whiteford told AAP FactCheck.
Mr Taylor's office confirmed to AAP FactCheck that the $45 billion figure did not include social security payments, but rather Labor government programs such as the Housing Australia Future Fund.
Opposition social services spokesman Michael Sukkar's office said the coalition had not proposed cutting the indexation of pensions or JobSeeker payments.
"Indexation has been a long-term feature of the social security system, including during the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison Governments," a spokesperson told AAP FactCheck.
"This longstanding position has not changed."
Dr Chalmer's office also pointed AAP FactCheck to reporting on Mr Dutton's 2023 budget reply, in which he withheld support for Labor's $40 per fortnight Jobseeker boost.
However, the opposition leader's speech did not reference any intention to cut indexation for social security.
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