Morrison praises final Welfare System report
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The Review was conducted by an independent Reference Group chaired by Patrick McClure, former chief of Mission Australia, which also included Sally Sinclair and Wesley Aird.
Speaking at the launch of the final report, Minister for Social Services Scott Morrison expressed his praise for the Review and thanked McClure and his team.
“This report points to the need for a simpler welfare system that focuses on supporting getting people into work, helping those who need our assistance most while respecting the taxpayers who have to pay for it.
“One of the key recommendations is a major redesign of Australia’s welfare payment structure to address the costly, confusing and inequitable elements of our current system. This is a worthy goal and provides a positive vision of how our welfare system could work more effectively in the future,” commented Morrison.
The current welfare setup, as explained by Morrison, consists of around 20 various income support payments as well as 55 additional payments. The report’s recommendation is to reduce these to just five payments: “Tiered Working Age Payment, Supported Living Pension, Child and Youth Payment, Carer Payment and the Age Pension”.
According to the report, the proposed five payment types more accurately reflect people’s circumstances as well as covering basic living costs and providing support to jobseekers.
“The report also examines how the system could better support people to find work, including initiatives that increase workforce participation for disadvantaged people to ensure all Australians gain the benefits of employment growth,” Morrison said.
The Review was commissioned in 2013 and the Reference Group received over 250 public submissions from organisations and individuals and over 200 public comments in this time.
