Teenagers on dole: Government views idea to curb purchase of alcohol, drugs and porn

TEENAGE welfare recipients would be given a new debit card that bans spending on illicit drugs, booze, pornography and cigarettes under a government proposal.

Federal Human Services Minister Alan Tudge joins recruits in western Sydney on a program designed to train young people so they are off welfare. Picture: Renee Nowytarger/The Australian

• Welfare con: Thousands reject job offers to stay on dole

TEENAGE welfare recipients would have their income quarantined for ­essentials under a plan to issue a new debit card that bans spending on illicit drugs, booze, pornography and cigarettes to under 18s.

The Turnbull government is ­examining options to extend income management to teenagers on the dole after years of trialling the policy in ­indigenous communities.

The Healthy Welfare Card can ­restrict up to 80 per cent of under 18s Youth Allowance for life’s essentials, including rent, food and bills.

Teenagers fraternise on a weekend night during schoolies week in Byron Bay. About 76,000 teenagers receive Youth Allowance welfare.

The cashless welfare card operates similar to any other credit card but cannot be used to buy cigarettes, pornography or alcohol or to get cash for ­illicit drugs. About 140,000 teenagers receive some form of welfare.

The largest group is around 76,000 unemployed people aged between 16 and 20 receiving Youth Allowance. There are also 21,000 people under 20 on the Disability Support Pension and 10,000 single parents who rely on parenting payments.

Human Services Minister Alan Tudge has long championed income management to stop welfare cash being used to buy booze and drugs that fuel family violence.

Mr Tudge refused to be drawn on the government’s future plans to roll out the cashless welfare card to under 18s, confirming only the current ­arrangements.

“We have made no ­decisions about any possible extension of the cashless welfare card beyond the trial sites in Ceduna and East Kimberley,” Mr Tudge said.

“We have places where welfare is a major part of the local economy and the welfare dollar is fuelling gambling, alcohol and drug abuse.”

But Coalition MPs are understood to be enthusiastic about the idea and Mr Tudge remains a passionate advocate for the extension of the scheme, previously hailing the measures to help the unemployed “get their lives back on track”.

In August 2015 Mr Tudge wrote: “The logic is inescapable. We have places where welfare is a major part of the local economy and the welfare dollar is fuelling gambling, alcohol and drug abuse.”

Mr Tudge has pushed for an ­expansion of the scheme: “It’s not just that individuals are wasting welfare payments, but welfare abuse is ­destroying the lives of women and children.”

Until now the reforms have proven expensive and complicated to manage with the government spending over $1 billion on the income management trials.

The federal budget ­already includes funding for an extension of ­income management until 2017, ­including a new debit card that provides a cheaper method of income management.

First introduced a decade ago under the Howard government’s so-called Emergency Response in the Northern Territory, it was at first used only in indigenous communities.

The package of welfare reforms and law enforcement crackdowns was aimed predominantly at protecting Aboriginal children from sexual abuse and family violence.

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