The Conversation

'I don't want anybody to see me using it': cashless welfare cards do more harm than good

25-02-2020 Author: Greg Marston, Head of School, School of Social Science, The University of Queensland

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The Australian government touts compulsory income management as a way to stop welfare payments being spent on alcohol, drugs or gambling.

The Howard government introduced the BasicsCard more than a decade ago. About 22,500 welfare recipients now use it, mostly in the Northern Territory. Now the Coalition government has big plans for a...

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