Compulsory Income Management for Welfare Recipients

By Mirella Atherton and Olivia Freund

 

Conditional welfare systems refer to a form of social welfare system which requires recipients to conform to behavioural changes (eg to move away from alcohol, gambling and drugs) in order to receive income assistance.  Within conditional welfare systems, compulsory income management is a scheme that helps welfare recipients budget their welfare payments, prioritising the basic essentials (such as food and rent). Yet, it can be a form of financial control over welfare payments.  This article argues that conditional welfare systems, in general, and compulsory income management programmes, in particular, can perpetuate forms of discrimination.  For instance, compulsory income management of Indigenous welfare recipients allows the State to intervene in the lives of Indigenous Australians under the guise of protection, and the impact of this deprivation of choice disproportionately affects Indigenous women.  Where such financial control on welfare payments takes the form of cashless debit card policies, this article argues that they are incompatible with the rights of choice afforded to other consumers of financial products.  This leaves recipients marginalised and more vulnerable because they are unable to spend on education or resources that could enhance their prospects of employment.  

Compulsory Income Management for Welfare Recipients in Australia FINAL 24Nov.pdf

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