Victoria’s worst postcodes for long-term welfare revealed

THE number of Victorians receiving welfare for at least five years has soared by more than 35,000 over the past half-a-decade, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. SEE THE LIST

THE number of Victorians stuck on long-term welfare has soared by more than 35,000 in five years, costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

New figures, obtained by the Herald Sun, reveal 184,897 people in Victoria have been on Newstart, Youth Allowance or the Disability Support Pension for more than five years.

St Albans, Kealba, Sunshine, Craigieburn and Werribee top the list for long-term welfare in Victoria, which has risen by a quarter in five years.

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The continuing failure to get the long-term jobless off the dole comes as the total number of working-age welfare recipients is falling.

A parliamentary inquiry has been created to tackle the crisis of intergenerational welfare, and will look at why so many are “trapped” in the system.

The growing number of Victorians on long-term welfare is costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Welfare groups will tell the inquiry the Newstart payment should be immediately raised, while public and social housing needs to be drastically increased with 500,000 more homes needed within a decade.

The new data from the Department of Social Services also reveals changes to DSP ­eligibility, which came into ­effect in 2012, are still forcing thousands off the disability payment and onto the dole.

There has been a fall of 73,899 in DSP recipients over past five years, but a 54,505 rise in the Newstart payment.

Social Services Minister Dan Tehan said welfare dependency cost taxpayers billions of dollars but it was an “even greater cost to the people who are stuck on welfare”.

“The children of welfare ­dependent parents can pay a heavy price,” he said.

“We know that children who grow up in unemployed households can have a lifetime of disadvantage. After record jobs growth, the proportion of working-age Australians now dependent on welfare has fallen to 15.1 per cent — the lowest in more than 25 years.”

Postcode 3214, which includes Corio in Geelong, is among the top postcodes for long-term welfare.

Despite this decline, the number of long-term welfare recipients in Victoria has grown as more people stay on the dole for at least five years.

He said the Turnbull Government’s changes — effective on July 1, and which crack down on those gaming the system — would encourage people off welfare and into work.

Asked whether the government would introduce the cashless welfare card in Victoria, Mr Tehan said the priority was to pass a law to establish a trial in the Queensland seat of Hinkler, “before looking to expand this successful program”.

Victorian Council of Social Service acting CEO Mary Sayers said Victoria and Australia were failing to combat chronic poverty with the right policies.

She said she feared the parliamentary inquiry would be a “smokescreen” for “grubby ideological attacks” on people who receive welfare. “It should come as no surprise when people in some suburbs need help to afford the basics, just as their parents did,” she said.

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TOP POSTCODES FOR LONG-TERM WELFARE

3021 (St Albans, Kealba, Albanvale, Kings Park) — 947

3020 (Sunshine, Sunshine West, Sunshine North, Albion) — 700

3064 (Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, Mickleham, Kalkallo, Donnybrook) — 585

3030 (Derrimut, Point Cook, Werribee, Werribee South, Cocoroc, Quandong) — 546

3214 (Corio, Norlane, Geelong city centre, North Shore) — 501

*Postcode breakdown of total recipients in Victoria who have been on Newstart and/or Youth Allowance for five years or more, Department of Social Services

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