The Australian Government is committed to reforming the welfare and family assistance payment system to foster responsibility and to provide a platform for people to move out of welfare dependency.
Governments have a responsibility, particularly in relation to vulnerable and at risk citizens, to ensure income support payments are beneficial and contribute to individual wellbeing. These payments are designed so people can pay for life’s essentials and meet the needs of children.
The Government has been progressively developing a national reform agenda in relation to welfare recipients in disadvantaged regions that extends beyond the Indigenous policy domain. The Government has implemented the following measures:
- Income management
- Cape York Welfare Reform and
- Improving School Enrolment and Attendance through Welfare Reform Measure (SEAM)
In the 2011-12 Budget, the Australian Government announced the extension of income management to five new sites from 1 July 2012 as part of the Building Australia's Future Workforce package. The initiatives in the package are aimed at assisting vulnerable families and children, and enhancing opportunities for people to enter or return to the workforce.