Common terms relevant to this report are briefly described on this page. Click the term to view the full description.
Policymakers have sought to soften the perception of certain welfare policies by using euphemistic terminology that invokes benign support programs. We reject this practice. Cases where we use an alternative to standard government terminology are explained below.
First person language is used throughout the Antipoverty Centre’s work to avoid reproducing the othering effect in reports produced about the experiences of unemployed and low income people by researchers who don’t understand our lives. Where third person language is used it signifies that the statement is not relevant to the direct experience of the report authors or the people quoted.
a
- activity testing - Activities people on welfare payments must complete to continue receiving their payment. In Australia, activity testing is commonly referred to as mutual obligations. Activity testing may also be referred to as participation requirements.
c
- CDP - The Community Development Program is a racist variation of Work for the Dole that operates in approximately 1500 regional and remote communities. Around 80% of participants are First Nations people. In 2022 the Morrison government made participation in CDP voluntary. Visit the NIAA website for more information.
- Commonwealth Employment Service - Until the privatisation of employment services in the 1990s, employment services were delivered by the public sector. The public employment services provider was called the Commonwealth Employment Service.
- conditionality - A key feature of the welfare system is conditionality. This refers to requirements and restrictions on accessing income support payments. It includes activity testing, income control and tight eligibility criteria that exclude many people who need support
d
- DES - Disability Employment Services is an employment services program targeted to disabled people. There are no minimum qualification requirements to work in DES and no requirement for providers to provide training in working with disabled people. The vast majority of people in DES (around 80%) are on an unemployment payment, not the DSP. Participation is compulsory …
- DEWR - Department of Employment and Workplace Relations. DEWR oversees Workforce Australia, ParentsNext and the Transition to Work programs. Other employment services programs are administered by the Department of Social Services (Disability Employment Services) and the National Indigenous Australians Agency (Community Development Program). Where a reference is made to “the department” we are generally referring to DEWR. …
- DSP - Disability Support Pension. The working age payment for people who have been able to meet strict criteria to demonstrate a permanent disability that significantly limits work capacity.
- DSS - Department of Social Services (oversees welfare payments, Disability Employment Services and income control programs). The social services minister is Amanda Rishworth.
e
- employment services providers - Compliance with “mutual” obligations is enforced by outsourced employment services providers. Currently these providers operate a range of compulsory programs for the government aimed at different cohorts, giving them the power to cut off a person’s Centrelink payment. There are many other common terms for providers including job provider, job agency, job service provider, and …
- ESAt - An Employment Services Assessment is conducted by Centrelink. In theory, it is to measure how much work capacity a person has if they are disabled. It is used to determine the intensity of “mutual” obligations and identify whether a person should be in Workforce Australia (mainstream) or Disability Employment Services. Visit the Services Australia website …
i
- income control - The term income control is used to indicate compulsory participation in cashless welfare programs such as the Cashless Debit Card (now Smart Card) and BasicsCard, described by the Australian Government as income management programs to invoke benign budgeting or financial counselling. A significant portion of a person’s Centrelink payment is placed on a card that …
- income support - The term income support payment refers to all government allowances, including all working age payments and the age pension. This term is used interchangeably with welfare and social security. The purpose of income support should be to ensure the health and wellbeing of all – this is the meaning of “welfare”, which we use in …
m
- mutual obligations - Participation requirements welfare recipients must fulfil each month to continue receiving their payment. Due to the innate power imbalance between people imposing these requirements and those subjected to them they are not, and never can be, mutual. For this reason we use quotation marks when referring to “mutual” obligations. “Mutual” obligations apply to people in …
n
- NEIS - New Enterprise Investment Scheme, a program available to people on JobSeeker to start their own business. From 1 July 2022, the Self-Employment Assistance program replaced NEIS. Visit the Workforce Australia website for more information.
- NIAA - National Indigenous Australians Agency. The NIAA oversees the Community Development Program.
p
- ParentsNext - A “pre employment” program targeting single parents with children under the age of 6. Examples of activities include provider appointment, library and playgroup attendance. In 2023 the Albanese government made participation in the ParentsNext program voluntary. Visit the DEWR website for more information.
- poverty machine - We describe the welfare system as a whole, and the socio-political landscape it exists within, as a poverty machine. It is both the complex intersection of government policies that trap us in poverty and the people who have power to design, uphold and create social license for these policies, including politicians, researchers, bureaucrats, the media, …
q
- quasi-market - The privatisation of formerly public services is generally justified on the basis that competition will produce better outcomes for less money. In theory, replacing direct public sector provision with competing private organisations is intended to give the users of a system choice and improve service quality while reducing costs. The design of the employment services …
t
- Transition to Work - The targeted employment services program for people under 25. Visit the DEWR website for more information.
u
- unemployed people - We draw a distinction between welfare recipients and unemployed people. The latter includes anyone who does not have a paid job. Not all people who rely on income support are unemployed, and not all unemployed people are eligible for a welfare payment.
- unemployment payment - Unemployment payment refers to the two mainstream payments for unemployed people: JobSeeker (and its predecessor, Newstart) and Youth Allowance Other. These payments are activity tested. Unemployment payments may also be referred to as unemployment benefits.
w
- WfA - Workforce Australia is the mainstream employment services program. Some people may initially be placed in a fully digital self-managed system called Workforce Australia Online once they begin receiving an unemployment payment. After a 12–18 months these participants are automatically transferred to Workforce Australia Services and assigned a privatised face-to-face provider. Others are moved into face-to-face …
- WftD - Work for the Dole is a program that applies to people in the mainstream Workforce Australia employment services program. It is optional for people in Disability Employment Services. Work for the Dole is generally 25 hours per week of unpaid labour. A travel allowance of about $10 per week is provided to participants. WftD generally …
- working age payment - Parenting Payment, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment, Youth Allowance Student and Apprentice and a number of other payments are only available to people below retirement age, and are included in the term working age payment. These are not unemployment payments, however some recipients are subject to activity testing (eg parents, DSP recipients under 35). Unemployment …