Date Time Cuts to social security a heavy blow to migrants Tuesday’s Federal Budget delivered a heavy blow to migrants and permanent residents, increasing the time they must wait to be eligible for social security safety net payments by four years. This is despite the fact that the Budget relies heavily on migrants for much of the heavy lifting of economic recovery, in terms of population and economic growth, as well as for meeting critical skills shortages. In the Budget the Morrison Government has announced that new Permanent Residents will have to wait four years to be eligible for social security safety net payments. These include: