Peter Whiteford

In Australia’s cost-of-living-crisis, even lawyers are forced to rely on food banks One in five households earning $91,000 or more experienced food insecurity in the past 12 months, a report has found

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

Aged care at home is changing. Here’s what you’ll pay for and how to plan A contested component of the new system is that older Australians will pay for more of their non-clinical care, such as showering, cleaning and meal delivery.

Very clear explanations: Aged care at home is changing. Here’s what you’ll pay for and how to plan theconversation.com/aged-care-at... via
@ConversationEDU

Australia's fertility decline: Evidence and policy experience e61.in/how-financia...

The latest report from the ACOSS/UNSW Poverty and Inequality Partnership shows that 3.7m people are experiencing poverty. That number represents 1 in 7 people. Read the report at bit.ly/povertyoverv...

Screenshot of the public hearing program

Draft program for the Senate Community Affairs Committee public hearing on the Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2025 tomorrow from 9am - www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...
In Canberra but will be streamed: www.aph.gov.au/News_and_Eve...

When a partner has a health shock, our study shows what happens to work, chores and fun Research shows exactly how entire families adjust when a partner’s sick.

When a partner has a health shock, our study shows what happens to work, chores and fun
theconversation.com/when-a-partn...

‘The social engineering of shame’: Rick Morton’s Mean Streak exposes the populism behind the unlawful robodebt scheme Rick Morton brings complex evidence into an accessible format for the public – and policy makers – to understand.

My review from 2024: ‘The social engineering of shame’: Rick Morton’s Mean Streak exposes the populism behind the unlawful Robodebt scheme theconversation.com/the-social-e...

The more in favour of welfare you are, the more likely you are to support cycle lanes Findings show that the most political people have the strongest views on green transport infrastructure, potentially skewing the debate.

The more in favour of welfare you are, the more likely you are to support cycle lanes
theconversation.com/the-more-in-...

And if you’d like the whole ebook (or any of the 27 chapters) completely free, it’s always just a one-click download from @LSEPress here press.lse.ac.uk/books/e/10.3...

Happy to say that the paperback book edition of “Australia’s Evolving Democracy” can be purchased for less than £11 from Amazon UK. Great value for 600 pages. www.amazon.co.uk/Australias-E...

Survey of Income and Housing 2023-24 Review Report The paper provides additional background on the decision to not release statistics from the Survey of Income and Housing

The ABS has released an Information Paper on why it did not release results from the 2023-24 Survey of Income and Housing www.abs.gov.au/statistics/d...

New OECD report shows Australia has the fourth lowest share of revenue from income taxes and social security contributions in the OECD in 2022.

Does Australia rely too much on taxes on incomes?

Tax Policy Reforms 2025 This is the tenth edition of Tax Policy Reforms: OECD and Selected Partner Economies, an annual publication that provides comparative information on tax reforms across countries and tracks tax policy ...

Rising health expenditures and population ageing prompted OECD governments to increase social security contributions in 2024, reflecting a broader trend towards increasing revenues to strengthen the long-term sustainability of social protection systems. www.oecd.org/en/publicati...

1 in 8 households don’t have the money to buy enough food Food insecurity is widespread and shaped by disadvantage – and has serious health consequences.

1 in 8 households don’t have the money to buy enough food (in 2023) theconversation.com/1-in-8-house...

We can’t fix what we don’t track. That’s why Australia needs an official poverty measure Some estimates say up to one in seven people are living in poverty, but Australia doesn’t properly measure it. Here’s how we could.

We can’t fix what we don’t track. That’s why Australia needs an official poverty measure
theconversation.com/we-cant-fix-...

Job Vacancy at the University of Nottingham: Research Fellow (Multiple positions, fixed term) We are now recruiting 2 full time Research Fellows to work with Stephen Farrall and colleagues at Warwick (Emily Gray) and Queen Mary College, University of London (Maria Grasso) on their research int...

New jobs here! I'm on the Advisory Board of this Leverhulme Trust-funded project investigating 'The long-term impact of New Labour’s social and economic policies', and there are two Research Fellowship posts available: jobs.nottingham.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...

The robodebt class action settlement may be the biggest in Australian history – but the trauma isn’t over | Peter Whiteford Class action members will have the option of individualised assessments, which means some will receive more than others

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre... An overview of yesterday’s announcement

Using my first Bluesky post to share that Marsha Wood & I have a new article out! 🎉

We take a gendered street-level look at how Universal Credit policies shape parents’ everyday realities of navigating work, care & welfare.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The Australian concept of a ‘fair go’ is a furphy – especially when it comes to tax, education and care For years, policymakers and politicians thought they could square the circle: a market-driven economy with a robust social safety net. But that has become harder

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Fifty Years Beyond the Henderson Inquiry: Rethinking Poverty Measurement for Australia: Australian Economic Review: Vol 58, No S1 Click on the title to browse this issue

Australian Economic Review: Volume 58, Issue S1
Fifty Years Beyond the Henderson Inquiry: Rethinking Poverty Measurement for Australia (free) at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14678462...

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