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Articles on Income management

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The Cashless Debit Card trial disproportionately targets Indigenous people, despite what the government says. AAP/Richard Milnes

As costs mount, the government should abandon the Cashless Debit Card

That the Cashless Debit Card continues to be pursued exposes a dogged obsession with implementing punitive policy at the expense of vulnerable people.
What do Ceduna and the other trial sites for the Healthy Welfare Card have in common? All are country towns with a mix of Indigenous and non-Indigenous residents. Wikimedia Commons/Nachoman-au

Healthy Welfare Card begins here … where next?

Income management was first applied to Indigenous communities before being implemented more widely. The Healthy Welfare Card policy appears to be on this same path.
The government has promised increased funding for services to gain community consent for its welfare card trials. AAP/Dan Peled

Why the ‘cashless welfare card’ trial will leave us none the wiser

How can it be determined whether any improvements that may occur as part of the 12-month “cashless debit card” trial are the result of the card or increased funding for services, or a mix of both?
Since the NT Intervention a large body of evidence has built up showing that income management does not achieve its stated goals. So why does it continue? AAP/Dean Lewins

A $147m budget saving missed: income management has failed

Various studies, culminating in the final evaluation report of income management in the Northern Territory, have found such programs don’t achieve the claimed benefits. Why did the budget extend them?
Real and sustained engagement with Aboriginal people should be the starting point in rethinking Indigenous welfare policy. AAP/Marianna Massey

Income management doesn’t work, so let’s look at what does

In recent years, Tangentyere Council Research Hub has undertaken data collection in Alice Springs town camps as part of a longitudinal study of income management. The final report of around 300 pages was…
In the seven years since the Northern Territory Intervention, a large body of evidence has been built up showing few if any benefits from compulsory - as distinct from voluntary - income management. AAP/Terry Trewin

Government that ignores evidence sets up welfare policies to fail

The mess of federal budget negotiations has taken over the limited space for social policy debates. However, we are due to get final reports on a range of inquiries. These include the McClure report on…
While social services minister Kevin Andrews focuses on welfare spending data, there is precious little evidence for the efficacy of his policy approach. AAP/Alan Porritt

When job seekers outnumber jobs 5 to 1, punitive policy is harmful

The prime object of welfare reform should be to increase the well-being of people rather to reduce public expenditure. Good policy should be able to achieve both goals over the longer term. Too many current…
Howard government minister Mal Brough first proposed part-quarantining welfare payments in the lead-up to the Northern Territory intervention. Now it could become a mainstream welfare policy. AAP/Tracey Nearmy

Creeping spread of income management must be challenged

One of the bizarre bipartisan policy overlaps between the Coalition and Labor is in the area of income support known as welfare payments. Labor has been seen as the party that cared about the poor and…
It seems the Coalition will expand the compulsory income management scheme, which has little evidence backing up its worth. AAP/Dan Peled

Income management: more evidence-free policymaking?

For a brief moment, it looked as though the Coalition would be better than the ALP on welfare policy. It appeared that the new government would listen to evidence for policy changes in its newly retitled…
There’s no evidence to suggest that the government’s income management program is working. So why is it being expanded? AAP

Government remains deaf to the data on income management

If Finance Minister Penny Wong is serious about delivering budget savings to Australians, perhaps she should rethink the government’s commitment to its contentious income management program. By cutting…

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