Posted
| UpdatedThe agency set up to improve online government services never worked on Centrelink's automated debt recovery system.
Topics: welfare, community-and-society, government-and-politics, political-parties, social-policy, australia
Posted
| UpdatedRight now, millions of Australians are feeling some level of job insecurity, and it's hurting, writes David Taylor.
Topics: work, community-and-society, business-economics-and-finance, social-policy, australia
Posted
| UpdatedTax breaks for property investors should be slashed and the Medicare levy lifted to pump more funding into welfare spending, according to the Australian Council of Social Service.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, industry, tax, government-and-politics, social-policy, welfare, australia
Posted
Private investors will be sought to help tackle the "wicked issue" of homelessness, with the South Australian Government hoping it can help hundreds of people who lack shelter while the investors earn a profit.
Topics: programs-and-initiatives, social-policy, states-and-territories, homelessness, government-and-politics, community-and-society, adelaide-5000, sa
Posted
| UpdatedPoliticians should accept "reasonable societal norms" and ban the burka, according to NSW MP Jonathan O'Dea, the Member for North Shore.
Topics: race-relations, state-parliament, islam, social-policy, government-and-politics, community-and-society, nsw, sydney-2000
Posted
| UpdatedChildcare benefits are in for a huge shake-up if the Government can convince the Senate to pass its new legislation, but the Greens are accusing the Coalition of trying to blackmail the Parliament to push the changes through.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, community-and-society, children, social-policy, welfare, australia
Posted
| UpdatedA charity that seeks out and helps homeless veterans is days away from running out of money, according to its CEO and founder.
Topics: homelessness, social-policy, australia
Posted
| UpdatedThe Federal Government will introduce a new bill combining streamlined childcare subsidies with cuts to family tax benefits, in an attempt to pass the repeatedly-delayed package early this year.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, community-and-society, children, social-policy, welfare, australia
Posted
As Mission Australia reports seeing a rise in young people seeking their services, the future of a successful program helping to prevent them from ending up sleeping rough hangs in the balance.
Topics: homelessness, community-and-society, youth, family, government-and-politics, federal-government, social-policy, australia, melbourne-3000, nsw, sydney-2000, vic
Posted
| UpdatedLeading economists are backing a job guarantee program over a universal basic income, to better address both inflation and unemployment.
Topics: welfare, economic-trends, social-policy, social-capital, work, australia
Posted
| UpdatedThe Federal Government will introduce changes to Centrelink's controversial debt recovery program, despite insisting it is working and dismissing calls for its suspension.
Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, social-policy, community-and-society, australia
Posted
| UpdatedThe Government knew Centrelink's debt recovery program would incorrectly tell clients they owed money if human oversight was reduced, but continued to do so in a bid to cut costs.
Topics: government-and-politics, social-policy, community-and-society, australia
Posted
| UpdatedSending Centrelink debt letters is not a good way to recover public costs, writes Erin Stewart. Developing policies which mitigate the stress of poverty and promote mental health is.
Topics: welfare, suicide, federal-government, social-policy, mental-health, australia
Posted
| UpdatedHuman Services Minister Alan Tudge says the Government will not scrap Centrelink's debt-recovery system, despite ongoing warnings over inaccuracies.
Topics: government-and-politics, social-policy, community-and-society, australia
Posted
There are fundamental differences in the way income-support and taxation systems work, and Centrelink could learn from the ATO's approach to debt recovery.
Topics: welfare, tax, social-policy, federal-government, australia
Posted
| UpdatedFor British pensioners who retire abroad, Australia is on the wrong side of a divide which sees some pensions indexed and some not, and it's costing both the pensioners and Australians.
Topics: government-and-politics, social-policy, world-politics, welfare, australia, england
Posted
For British pensioners who retire abroad, the world is split in two. Countries where UK pensions are indexed — where they rise automatically every year to keep up with inflation — and countries where they are not.
Topics: social-policy, government-and-politics, community-and-society, world-politics, welfare, united-kingdom, australia, england
Posted
| UpdatedBritish retirees living in Australia have UK pensions that never increase in value and are being eaten away by inflation, with some as little as 17 pounds per week — but campaigners say Brexit brings an opportunity for change.
Topics: government-and-politics, social-policy, community-and-society, world-politics, welfare, united-kingdom, australia, england
Posted
| UpdatedSocial Services Minister Christian Porter defends the Federal Government's new debt recovery system by Centrelink following claims some people have been mistakenly targeted.
Topics: government-and-politics, social-policy, federal-government, welfare, australia
Posted
Topics: social-policy, government-and-politics, indigenous-policy, indigenous-culture, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, community-and-society, wa, nt, australia
Posted
A national nanny pilot program aimed at helping parents juggle work and family has been slashed in the mid-year budget update, less than two years after it was introduced.
Topics: child-care, family-and-children, community-and-society, federal-government, government-and-politics, education-industry, education, scott-morrison, social-policy, australia
Posted
Australia's social housing system is unfair, uncompetitive and no longer appropriate for families struggling to enter the property market amid soaring prices, a new report has found.
Topics: housing, social-policy, community-and-society, australia
Posted
Topics: indigenous-policy, indigenous-culture, welfare, social-policy, social-capital, aboriginal, kalgoorlie-6430
Posted
| UpdatedSporting clubs in north-east Victoria are pledging support to a policy to promote respect and gender equality in their community.
Topics: health, womens-health, domestic-violence, social-policy, community-and-society, australian-football-league, wangaratta-3677
Posted
The Northern Territory government wants to close a loophole in liquor legislation to limit sales of takeaway alcohol on Sundays.
Topics: alcohol, government-and-politics, social-policy, community-and-society, darwin-0800, nt