Peter Whiteford

And one on housing policy www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

Research Research

Brand new publication type from the Parliamentary Library - Policy Brief. Here's the first batch: www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

DSS statement here: www.dss.gov.au/news/update-...
Ministerial media release: ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releas...

Screenshot of Fed Court decision para 172: '172 The Tribunal erred in law in concluding that all of Mr Chaplin’s income was earned on Sundays when, according to the Tribunal, a legal entitlement to the week’s income first arose. It thereby misdirected itself and reached a conclusion which was not open on the facts. Whilst it depends on the terms of the relevant contract (and any other instrument or law affecting the terms of employment), generally casual employees earn wages as the service for which they are entitled to be paid is provided. Contracts for casual employment usually provide for service by the hour, shift or day, and so casual employees usually earn income by the hour, shift or day upon the rendering of that service. Wages are not “earned” only when a legally enforceable right to payment arises on the express or implied terms of the contract.'

Importantly, the Fed Court rejected the AAT's interpretation of when income is first 'earned'. The AAT's interpretation overturned how DSS/Centrelink had assessed earnings for decades and would have created a lot of issues for calculating pre-December 2020 debts

Federal Court decision in Chaplin v DSS Secretary (test case relating to method used to recalculate unlawful income apportionment debts) - accepts DSS' preferred method for assessing income where there is insufficient info on when the income was earned. www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Ju...

This appears to be actually legal - but is it good public policy to pursue debts based on calculations in a system that was so complex that the administration got it wrong.

Social Services cleared to pursue historical welfare debts Court backs DSS use of tax data to pursue paused welfare debts, drawing a legal line between robodebt and evidence-based recovery.

Social Services cleared to pursue historical welfare debts www.themandarin.com.au/295770-dss-c...

Synergy to repay $2.29 million after overcharging for power WA's main electricity bill utility Synergy overcharged nearly 2,850 vulnerable customers on their electricity bills dating back to 2009, with the total amount owed equalling $2.29 million.

Synergy to repay $2.29 million after overcharging Centrelink customers for power www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

Blog - Shedding Light on the Use of Tax Expenditures for Social Spending - Social Policy Association By Flurim Aliu and Agustin Redonda, Council on Economic Policies, Zurich, Switzerland. — Keywords: tax expenditures, social spending, fiscal policy, government transparency  When we think [...]

A new blog co-authored by Agustín Redonda has just been published by @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social on tax expenditures. These are tax reliefs designed to pursue social or economic objectives - a welfare policy often overlooked in policy debates.

Read more 👇

social-policy.org.uk/spa-blog/blo...

Jonathan Bradshaw at the symposium on his legacy in Social Policy in the 21st century #York2025 @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social

Conference lanyards on a table

#York2025 about to start! ECR and PGR session already on the way and now getting ready for delegates to arrive for a Yorkshire lunch & our first plenary from Sophia Lee @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social

About to get underway with the first plenary of the EASP SPA 2025 conference #York2025

archive.is/2025.06.12-0...

The recent history and future prospects of the UK welfare state Abstract. This article examines how the UK welfare state was significantly retrenched, reshaped, and selectively expanded in the era of austerity and Covid

The UK welfare state: recent history & future prospects.

New essay by me & @iprnickp.bsky.social for @oxrepjournal.bsky.social on the economic, political & demographic forces reshaping our welfare state.

academic.oup.com/oxrep/articl...

Robodebt dampening public servants' AI enthusiasm Public servants are reflecting on past government tech failures when considering the risks and benefits of using AI for policy development.

Robodebt dampening public servants’ AI enthusiasm www.themandarin.com.au/293399-robod...

Wealth & the Welfare State Reducing inequality of incomes and combating poverty are commonly regarded as the central objectives of welfare states (Saunders, 2021). Most analysis of impacts of the welfare state focus on effects ...

📢 Next week: join our next seminar "Wealth & the Welfare State"
Prof. @peterwhiteford.bsky.social (The Australian National University) will discuss how welfare states shape wealth distribution ⬇️
Location: In person and online
Date: 10 June
🔗Register: talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/952...

As you know we have compulsory voting and transferable voting but the extreme are now arguing that this is undemocratic because their side got about the same first preferences

Don’t know if you are following the recent election results here but we have an astonishing amount of denial from the losing side .

About 50 years ago an Opposition Leader here said “We didn’t lose the election, it’s just that we didn’t win .”

Screenshot of Figure showing Australian Government social spending programs and whether they have an income and/or assets test

Parliamentary Library Issues and Insights article looking at ‘Universal access versus targeting of social services and welfare’.
This graphic shows the main social spending programs - each income and assets test symbol represents a different means test
www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

Govt should defuse NZ's social timebomb – but won't

Analysis from the University of Auckland: New Zealand is hurtling towards a sharply divided country of extreme wealth and extreme poverty with an insecure middle class

"It would therefore seem that it is young men who have who have most acutely felt the post-GFC ‘dog days’ (Garnaut 2013): effects have been concentrated on full-time employment for young men without university qualifications, and on wages for young men with university qualifications." 2/2

Very interesting paper from @RogerWilkins_au "Have changes in the Australian labour market this century contributed to rising voter disaffection?" melbourneeconomicforum.com.au/wp-content/u... 1/2

‘Such a clear message’: homeless community kitchen told to move last-minute during Sydney’s Vivid festival Exclusive: Organisers say alternative sites proposed by City of Sydney are unsuitable, leaving them nowhere else to go

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The share of Australian households with income from government payments is at a 25 year low. Those with zero or less than 1% of their income from social security has increased from 41 to 58%.

The War on Government Statistics Has Quietly Begun What the elimination of an obscure advisory committee on economic data says about the administration’s commitment to relevance and accuracy.

The War on Government Statistics Has Quietly Begun: Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick disbanded the Federal Economic Statistics Advisory Committee. Bloomberg www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti... (paywall)

Do Australians pay too much income tax? 6 charts on how we rank against the rest of the world Compared with other OECD nations, Australians pay much less tax than some headline statistics suggest.

Q: Do Australians pay too much income tax? A: Its because we have a social security system that is different from just about anywhere else
theconversation.com/do-australia...

While the government’s improvements to CRA are commendable, the situation remains troubling. In December 2024, more than 200,000 CRA recipients (15% of total recipients) were spending over half their income on rent. This indicates that more action is urgently needed. 2/2

The Impact of Australian Government Assistance on Housing Stress www.austaxpolicy.com/budget-forum...
Since March 2022, maximum CRA rates have risen by 45%, including regular indexation every six months. Additionally, the government raised base rates of JobSeeker and YA by $40 per fortnight. 1/2

Despite recent increases, Australia remains near the bottom of OECD advanced economic nations when it comes to the adequacy of out-of-work payments for the short-term unemployed.
johnmenadue.com/despite-rece...