The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services has reiterated its grave concerns, alongside over 100 legal experts and community groups, to the Federal Government's Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment Bill which is back before the Senate.

On Monday, NATSILS noted that it and more than 40 other organisations have spoken out about Schedule 5 of the bill, which seeks to grant police and ministers new powers to withhold Centrelink payments for people accused of certain offences before they have had access to legal assistance or appeared before a court.

A letter signed by more than 100 legal experts and community organisations criticising the bill is also expected be tabled in Parliament on Monday by Senator Lidia Thorpe.

NATSILS acting chair Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, said that the Bill, if made law, "will have a disproportionate and grave impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people".

"Access to social security should never be determined through a policing approach. There is clear evidence that policing in Australia is not experienced equally. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately subject to racial profiling and over-policing practices," she said.

"This measure effectively introduces policing powers into the social security system. This represents a significant and concerning policy shift that requires full public scrutiny.

"We are deeply concerned that this proposal was developed without any consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations, or the broader legal assistance sector.

"We continue to call on the Government to withdraw this controversial legislation."

Following strong criticism — including Independent MP Andrew Wilkie's argument that Labor was contradicting the findings of the Robodebt Royal Commission, which warned against punitive Centrelink practices — federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek dismissed the concerns as "madness".

"Unbelievably, we have people in the Senate and in the Australian community who are saying, 'oh no, they should continue to get their JobSeeker or DSP or pension, whatever'," she told Sky News.