Gough Whitlam delivering a policy speech in 1972, the year the DSS was established.
Precursor
The Department of Social Security followed the absolvement of the Department of Social Services which existed as an Australian Government agency between April 1939 and December 1972 under the Menzies Government and became fully operative in 1941.[4]
The department's delivery of payments and services functions was taken over by Centrelink in 1997.[6] The creation of Centrelink meant significant changes to DSS, with the department shrinking in size to approximately 700 staff who were tasked with policy formulation and advisory functions.[7]
To ensure the DSS was viewed as a legitimate department, the DSS was one of the few Commonwealth departments in Australia to publish annual reports.[3] This new method of accounting was attributed to align with the broader agenda of New Public Management in the 1970s.[8]
The DSS's appearance as a legitimate agency was stated to be critical due to two reasons. First, under New Public Management, there was an agenda to keep government structures and intervention at a minimum, thus the DSS needed to establish its necessity. Second, the DSS was responsible for distributing large amounts of taxpayer's money, requiring public trust.[8]
Cass Social Security Review
In February 1986, the then Minister for Social Security, Brian Howe, established the Cass Social Security Review.[9] The Review is named after Bettina Cass and concentrates on three aspects of social security policy:
income support for families with children;
social security and workforce issues;
income support for the aged
Under the Review, six publications were made. The publications are intended to promote debate and consultation. According to Herscovitch and Stanton, the Review refocused attention on encouraging and facilitating economic and social participation for customers, particularly those who were disabled, single parents or unemployed.[10]
Strategy and Planning
Operational Framework for Continuous Improvement in the Department
The Department of Social Security's Corporate Management Committee endorsed the Operational Framework for Continuous Improvement in the Department in September 1995. This program involved staff consultation with more than 150 Regional, Deputy Area and Area Managers. The program emphasised the creation of standards, benchmarks, applying best practices, and re-engineering.[11]
This program operated on three levels
National;
Area;
Regional
Corporate Management Committee
The Corporate Management Committee (CMC )endorsed best practices and monitors coordination of continuous improvement measures, ensuring national programs are effective at the national, Area and Regional level. The CMC also used information provided by the Pensioner concession card (PCC) regarding the DSS' proposed program of work.[11]
Pensioner concession card (PCC)
The PCC monitored the national program of continuous improvement work through program plans and filtered information on activities from Area and Regional networks. This information was presented to the Corporate Management Committee. The PCC chose activities that had national application to create a national program of work for the Department of Social Security.[11]
DSS Strategic Plan 1995–2005
DSS Strategic Plan 1995-2005 was the DSS' roadmap. The roadmap included a revised Departmental Charter which
Underpinned DSS' values
Set a benchmark for success
Identified the priorities for the DSS
Aided in developing programs and business plans
The Plan identified the importance of the application of best practice and process improvement.[12]
Access and Equity
As part of the Government's Social Justice Strategy, the Department of Social Security implemented the Access and Equity program.
Under the Government's Social Justice Strategy, each Commonwealth portfolio was required to publish a three-year Access and Equity Plan in 1988 and 1991.
The Access and Equity program provided service for individuals who may face race, language or cultural barriers or are disadvantaged by remoteness. The program's implementation resulted in a better level of service among customers and greater staff satisfaction in knowing the DSS' programs were accessible for all customers.[13]
Aboriginal People and Torres Strait Islanders and Migrants from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds were the two access and equity target groups.
The first DSS Access and Equity Plan ended in 1990. The evaluation of this Plan supported improvements for access and equity for target populations.
The second DSS Access and Equity Plan for 1990-93 implemented recommendations from the evaluation of the first plan.
Groups identified as experiencing barriers to services
Individuals subject to emotional, physical and sexual violence;
Vulnerable persons (e.g. a child, or an adult who is unable to protect themselves against exploitation);
Indigenous Australians;
Deaf;
Mobility and access restriction;
Blind or low vision;
Hard of hearing;
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD);
transgendered, queer or intersex (LGBTI)
Support Network for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Parents (SNAP) Program
Announced in the 1989 Federal Budget, the SNAP Program aimed to better coordinate and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the range of government assistance programs available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.[14]
The SNAP Program had two main objectives. The first objective was to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families received their DSS entitlements. Providing correct entitlements to these families was fundamental to raising their standard of living.[15]
The second objective was to improve the knowledge of the range of family and child-related services and funding programs available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and link family and community groups.[15] To improve this knowledge, the SNAP Program aimed to actively involve families and community groups in identifying their needs and the solutions to them by using appropriate funding programs and community action.[16]
Evaluation of the SNAP Program
In 1993, the House of Representatives Standing Committee conducted an inquiry into the Implementation of the Commonwealth's Access and Equity Strategy by Commonwealth government agencies. The inquiry produced a report titled 'Rhetoric or Reality?'.[17]
The Report found that the SNAP Program empowered communities through the intervention of SNAP Officers in their lives.[14] These communities found SNAP Officers provided practical and tangible assistance by responding to expressed needs and ongoing involvement and commitment. Staff from other agencies who had worked with SNAP Officers also supported these officers.[15]
The report also stated that the SNAP Program successfully met its initial objectives and established a model for efficient and effective coordination, delivery and implementation of government programs to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to deal with the effects of long-term poverty and disadvantage.[17]
Recruiting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Staff Within the DSS Network
The DSS aimed for a minimum of 2% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait representation in regions with high proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers.[18]
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Liaison Officer (AILO) Scheme
The AILO Scheme was established in 1975 as a conduit between the DSS and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.[19]
Conduct fieldwork in urban and remote communities to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders claim social security payments and maintain entitlements to these payments;
Promote knowledge of DSS programs;
Assist to DSS staff in more complex dealings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within Regional Offices
Between 1992 and 1993, a review of the AILO program found improvements are required but found an essential role of AILOs in assisting the Department's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.[16]
Ethnic Community Services
The migrant services section (MSS) was part of the DSS' national administration and was responsible for coordinating programs for those from people non-English speaking backgrounds.[21]
The MSS aided in establishing the vision for DSS's policy, programs and services and developing and monitoring the priorities under the Access and Equity Plan.
The migrant services units (MSUs) supported the MSS in each state by providing feedback on the impact of DSS policies, programs and services and consulting with ethnic organisations, government agencies and service providers to improve the DSS's delivery of services and effectiveness to migrants.[22]
Consultations with Migrant Communities from Non-English Speaking Backgrounds
There are three levels at which consultation is conducted[22]
National level: the Minister or seniors DSS officers consulted with the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA)
State and Territories: each state and territory had a Migrant Advisor Committee which meets four times a year. The MAC provides a forum for ethnic communities to raise issues with the DSS
Community: community seminars were established to explain changes in social security programs
Evaluation
Under the 1993 Portfolio Evaluation Plan, an evaluation of the second DSS Access and Equity Plan for 1990–91 to 1992-93 was conducted. The evaluation examined the performance of the Access and Equity Plan against strategies relating to the delivery of information, language services and community consultation.[12]
Main recommendations from the Evaluation concerned:[23]
Correcting existing programs and services;
Increasing staff knowledge of specialists in planning and management of Access and Equity in the DSS;
Special programs for target groups;
Language and information services;
Special client groups;
Consultations with Access and Equity target groups
Projects
Adequacy Project
In 1995, the DSS established the Adequacy Project. The project commissioned the Social Policy Research Centre to create standards for income support payments using a budget standards methodology.[24] These standards were created successfully but were not government endorsed. The lack of endorsement and incorporation is attributed to the entrance of the new Liberal government that had new priorities.[25]
Budget Standards Project
Released in May 1995, Developing a Framework for Benchmarks of Adequacy for Social Security Payments: Policy Discussion Paper No. 6 was the department's first attempt to assess conceptual and methodological issues in assessing the adequacy of social security payments.[26]
The report resulted in the Budget Standards Project. The Budget Standards Project was a two-year exploratory project that began in 1995 with the financial support of the DDS, conducted by the Social Policy Research Centre (SPRC) of the University of New South Wales. The Project identified indicative income requirements of different households.[27]
The Project was based on focus groups of low-income people and using ABS surveys using middle income households.[28] This information was used to create a standard of spending from the different demographics through compiling a list of items people were most likely to purchase or needed to purchase.[26]
Living Standards
In the mid-1990s, the DSS with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on a 'Living Standards' approach. The 'Living Standards' approach focused on client outcomes.[29]
The DSS commissioned Peter Travers and Frances Robertson from Flinders University to survey 110 DSS recipients.[30] The researchers assessed the incidence of deprivation among DSS clients and explored the relationship between levels of relative deprivation and other factors such as DSS payment type, full or part-rate benefit and demographics.
The ABS developed and incorporated 16 indicators of financial stress into its regular Household Expenditure Survey.[citation needed] Questions in the financial stress module asked survey participants about their possession of household 'essentials', participation in social activities, their ability to pay bills, raise money for emergencies.
Their study concluded that:
Income was a poor indicator of deprivation;
Aged recipients were less deprived than other social security recipients;
Unemployed on full-rate payment were most deprived
The study consisted of focus groups that had a three-fold role. First, to provide comment on the composition of the preliminary budget standards and to suggest areas of improvement. Second, to discuss the costed budget standards and to advise where amendments were required, and third to guide aspects of the customisation of the basic standards.[31]
Disability support pension
The disability support pension was the primary source of income support for disabled people who could not support themselves with paid employment.[32]
Initially introduced under the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act 1908 in 1910 as the Invalid pension, the pension provided income support for those who were 16 years and over and permanently incapacitated for work.
Under the DSS, the Disability Reform Package was created to assist people with disabilities into employment rather than place them on long-term income support.[33]
The reforms were announced in the 1990-91 Federal Budget and changed the name from ‘invalid pension’ to the ‘disability support pension’. The eligibility criteria for the pension also changed. Previously the pension required the individual to have 85% permanent incapacity work. In contrast, under the reforms, the individual must be unable to work at least 30 hours per week at total award wages for a minimum of two years due to physical, intellectual or psychiatric impairment, and a minimum impairment threshold of 20%.[32]
Other programs
Jobs, Education and Training (JET) program for sole parent pensioners began in 1989;[34]
Jobsearch/Newstart programs for unemployed people;[15]
Child Support Scheme for the administrative assessment and collection of non-resident parents’ liabilities for the support of their children from 1988 and 1989
Criticism and abolishment
Submissions regarding the DSS's flaws in policy and procedure for information release regarding child abuse or ‘reasonable grounds for concern’ resulted in changes to departmental channels to change the Social Security provisions for release of information. The change from the Labor Government to the Liberal Government in 1998 saw the service delivery function of the DSS transferred to the statutory agency, now named Centrelink. Centrelink overtook some of the functions of the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) and other Federal Government services.[8]
Minister for Social Security
The following were appointed as Minister for Social Services, managing the Department of Social Security.[35][36]
Secretariat Branch, Department of Social Security (1987), One big family: a short history of the Department of Social Security, Department of Social Security
Fuery, Michael (1994). "The Department of Social Security's Support Network for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Parents Program". Journal of Social Security.
Davis, Nicholas (2017). "The annual reporting practices of an Australian Commonwealth Government department: An instance of deinstitutionalisation". Accounting History.
De Gail, Tony (1994). "Migrant services". Social Security Journal.
Neville Banks, C.; Kratochvil, Roman (1986). "Causes Of Blindness in Australia: Analysis of Pensions Granted by the Department of Social Security on the Ground of Blindness For the Year Ending 30 June 1984". Australian and New Zealand Journal of Ophthalmology.
Nicolaou, Loucas (1998). "introduction: Recent Poverty Research and DSS - an overview of the Adequacy Project". Strategic Analysis and Evaluation Branch Department of Social Security.
Baban, Tom (December 1994). "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Services". Social Security Journal.
Thomson, David (1994). "Living Decently: Material Well-being in Australia". Policy.
Brown, Philip; Rowlands, David (1996). "Implementation of policy: some perspectives from recent experience in the Department of Social Security". Journal of Social Security.
Cheryl, David (1996). "Best Practice and Continuous Improvement in the Department of Social Security". Journal of Social Security.
Palma, Manny (1995). "Where We've Come From and Where We're Going: The Key Directions for the Department of Social Security in Access and Equity". Journal of Social Security.
Henman, Paul (1998). "Making real the assumptions of the Budget Standards Project: the strengths and weaknesses for policy work". Journal of Social Security.
Saunders, Peter; Chalmers, Jenny; McHugh, Marilyn; Murray, Colette; Bittman, Michael; Bradbury, Bruce (March 1998). Development of Indicative Budget Standards for Australia(PDF) (Report). Assisted by Roisin Thank, Denise Thompson and Sally Doran. University of New South Wales. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
Office of Multicultural Affairs (1992). Access and Equity: Evaluation Summary(PDF) (Report). Australian Government Printing Service. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
Cooke, M.K.; Martin, K.L. (2008). "Change from within? social work proposals to change centrelink policy in cases of suspected child abuse". Australian Social Work.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) (1990–2005) was the Australian Government body through which Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were formally involved in the processes of government affecting their lives, established under the Hawke government in 1990. A number of Indigenous programs and organisations fell under the overall umbrella of ATSIC.
A disability pension is a form of pension given to those people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work due to a disability.
The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the unemployed, families, carers, parents, people with disabilities, Indigenous Australians, students, apprentices and people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and provides services at times of major change. The majority of Centrelink's services are the disbursement of social security payments.
The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), established as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (AIAS) in 1964, is an independent Australian Government statutory authority. It is a collecting, publishing, and research institute and is considered to be Australia's premier resource for information about the cultures and societies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, also known as the Cape York Institute, is an Australian public policy organisation which researches and implements welfare reforms to reduce social inequalities between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous peoples living in Cape York. The Cape York Institute was founded by lawyer, academic and Indigenous welfare advocate Noel Pearson. Established in July 2004, the organisation was developed in collaboration with the people of Cape York and Griffith University. The Institute prepares reports and submissions to the Australian Federal Government, identifying priority areas of welfare and economic reform to restore social norms within the Cape York communities. To deliver welfare and economic reform, the Institute engages with a number of partner organisations including the Cape York Partnerships, Family Responsibilities Commission, Balkanu Cape York Development Corporation and the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy. The Cape York Institute receives Commonwealth and Queensland State Government funding to support Welfare Reform Projects in areas of Indigenous education, employment, families and housing.
The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between January 2006 and December 2007. The department which preceded the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs was the Department of Family and Community Services (1998–2006).
An outstation, homeland or homeland community is a very small, often remote, permanent community of Aboriginal Australian people connected by kinship, on land that often, but not always, has social, cultural or economic significance to them, as traditional land. The outstation movement or homeland movement refers to the voluntary relocation of Aboriginal people from towns to these locations.
The Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC), formerly the Department of Health, is a department of the Australian Government responsible for health research, funding, promotion and regulation in Australia. Primary health care and aged care services are overseen by DHAC, while tertiary health services are administered by state and territory governments. The department is responsible for programs such as Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and agencies such as the Therapeutic Goods Administration and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is a department of the Australian Government with broad-ranging responsibilities; notably, intergovernmental and whole of government policy coordination and assisting the prime minister of Australia in managing the Federal Cabinet. The PM&C was established in 1971 and traces its origins back to the Prime Minister's Department established in 1911.
The Australian National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy (AEP) is a national policy adopted by the Government of Australia by each State and Territory government. The policy was first introduced in 1989 and is the foundation of education programs for all Indigenous Australians.
Social security, in Australia, refers to a system of social welfare payments provided by Australian Government to eligible Australian citizens, permanent residents, and limited international visitors. These payments are almost always administered by Centrelink, a program of Services Australia. In Australia, most payments are means tested.
In Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, humbug is a slang term referring to making unreasonable or excessive demands from one's family or other connections.
The Hawke–Keating government is an all-encompassing term to describe the duration of the Hawke government and the Keating government, which together spanned from 11 March 1983 to 11 March 1996. Both governments were formed by the Australian Labor Party, and were led from 1983 to 1991 by Bob Hawke as Prime Minister, and from 1991 to 1996 by Paul Keating as Prime Minister, with Keating serving as Treasurer throughout the Hawke government. During the Hawke–Keating government, the Labor Party won five successive federal elections, its most electorally successful period to date; the 13-year uninterrupted period of government also remains the Labor Party's longest spell in power at the federal level.
A community legal centre (CLC) is the Australian term for an independent not-for-profit organisation providing legal aid services, that is, provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. They provide legal advice and traditional casework for free, primarily funded by federal, state and local government. Working with clients who are mostly the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in Australian society, they also work with other agencies to address related problems, including financial, social and health issues. Their functions may include campaigning for law reform and developing community education programs.
The Hawke government was the federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1983 to 1991. The government followed the Liberal-National Coalition Fraser government and was succeeded by another Labor administration, the Keating government, led by Paul Keating after an internal party leadership challenge in 1991. Keating was Treasurer through much of Hawke's term as prime minister and the period is sometimes termed the Hawke-Keating government.
Austudy Payment is a Commonwealth Government of Australia income support payment for students above the age of 25 years of age, paid under the Social Security Act 1991. It commenced operation on the 1 July 1998. Students below the age of 25 years are paid Youth Allowance. Austudy is adjusted on January 1 in line with 12-month changes in inflation.
The Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) was an initiative by the Australian Government for the employment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people It provided a flexible basic income support.
The Department of Reconciliation and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs was an Australian government department that existed between January and November 2001, concerned with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the government policy of reconciliation in Australia.
The Closing the Gap framework is a strategy by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments of Australia that aims to reduce disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians on key health, education and economic opportunity targets. The strategy was launched in 2008 in response to the Close the Gap social justice movement, and revised in 2020 with additional targets and a refreshed strategy.
The Cashless Welfare Card, also known as the Indue Card, Healthy Welfare Card or Cashless Debit Card, is an Australian debit card, trialled by the Australian Government from 2016 onwards, which quarantines income for people on certain income support payments to "encourage socially responsible behaviour" by not allowing the owner to purchase alcohol, gamble or withdraw cash. The cards are attached to a separate account managed by Indue into which 80% of the income support payment is paid. In addition, the cashless welfare card only allows users of the card to buy products at approved sellers, that support electronic Mastercard or Visa payments. It cannot stop users from buying restricted goods at shops that sell both restricted and approved goods, such as supermarkets that sell alcohol. Bill payments are set up by Centrelink to automatically be paid by the card. An earlier income management card, the BasicsCard, was trialled in the Northern Territory.
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