As lobbying heats up before the May budget, the Australian Council of Social Service says it has identified a range of “wasteful” spending and tax “loopholes” that could help pay for better services.



The group’s chief executive, Cassandra Goldie, said on Monday that closing loopholes that allowed the wealthy to pay less tax should be a key priority for the government.



ACOSS said some of the money saved should be used to increase the Newstart allowance for single people and increase the payment in line with wage growth, rather than inflation, at a cost of $2 billion.



On superannuation, she identified “churning” of income through super by workers over 55 who were paying the top tax bracket. By sacrificing part of their salary into super, then paying themselves an equivalent super benefit, these workers could reduce their tax rate without making any additional saving for retirement, she said.



ACOSS also said some health care rebates had become too generous to people on higher incomes.