Welfare System in Australia: Case Study and Welfare Measures

This essay discusses the welfare system in Australia, focusing on a case study and the legal and policy measures in place to address the issues. It explores welfare systems for domestic violence, rehabilitation of women leaving troubled marriages, unemployment benefits, and job opportunities for qualified individuals. The essay also highlights the resources and support available for the target group.

Running head: WELFARE SYSTEM
WELFARE SYSTEM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Background
Just as there are laws and measures which seek to penalize the ones guilty of a crime,
and secure justice to one who has been wronged, there are also welfare measures which seek to
help people out on whom situations of distress has befallen. Justice is not just punishing the
wrong doings of the persons but are also concerned with providing the needy ones with
assistance if they land up in situations which make them helpless. Since such welfare measures
are not possible for the governments to deliver to the people directly, as governmental
procedures take a lot of time, hence there are specialized agencies which have been designed
specifically for dissemination of such welfare services, and they act as extensions of the
governing body of the nation.
Statement of Purpose
In this particular essay a case study shall be discussed with special focus on providing an
account of the welfare measures that are present in Australia to provide a remedy to the problem
situation as described in the case study. The focus of the discussion shall be based on the legal
situations and the policy measures that are there in Australia. In the following sections of the
essay, a summarized view of the case study shall be provided and on the basis of it the issues
shall be identified and the welfare measures tackling the issue shall be provided. Not just the
legal and policy related matters but also the resources that are in the nation aimed a dealing with
the issues shall also be discussed.

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Synoptic View of the Case Study
This particular case study deals with the issue of a woman named Laura who has been
rendered a single mother of two children as a result of she leaving her violent marriage. On
leaving her marital abide she had sought shelter with her friends who had been benevolent
enough to stay at their place, however she keeps on changing the address of her residence from
time to time adding to the instability and the shares of troubles in her life which already existed.
On one hand she could not stay in the houses of her friends, and on top of that her application for
renting apartment was getting rejected time and again without any definite reason. As a result of
the failed marriage, the custody of the children had fallen on Laura and the constant pressure to
keep on changing locations was not just creating problems in her professional life but also
creating trouble for the education of her children. Naturally the financial and the emotional
problems were the main causes that were causing her trouble. Laura had an abusive husband who
not only used to inflict physical torture on her but he also used to cause emotional torture on her,
for a prolonged period of ten years. The husband of Laura was the sole person in charge of the
financial affairs of the household and he controlled the mobility and the actions of Laura to a
great extent. Laura was qualified as a nurse however she was unable to pursue her dreams of
becoming a professional as she was restrained by her husband from pursuing a career. Years of
living as a housewife she felt that her skills had been wasted and she had been rendered useless.
Naturally, after she had finally gathered the courage to leave her marital abode and seek a new
life the challenges which she was facing was quite an obvious outcome.
From the narration of the case of Laura the issue areas shall be identified and the
discussion in the following sections shall be based on the policy and legal measures present in
Australia to deal with the issues. The issue or the problem areas which demand intervention are

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the necessity to deal with: women suffering from domestic violence; rehabilitation of women
leaving their troubled marriage; unemployment benefits and provisions for providing jobs to the
ones having the necessary qualifications yet unemployed. Thus these are the issue which could
be derived from the preset case study.
Welfare Systems relevant to the Case Study
In this particular section of the essay, the discussion shall be focusing upon finding the
appropriate welfare systems present in Australia to deal with the issue areas identified. The issue
areas identified fall under the purview of the legal provisions of:-
- Social Security Act 1991 and the Family Assistance Act 1999 which jointly seeks to
address the issues faced by the persons involved in an abusive relationship by means of
protecting the vital information of the ones seeking assistance from the state. This
particular welfare measure is oriented towards the provision of the legal protective
measures to the ones seeking help to escape an abusive relationship ("HOW WELL
DOES AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF
FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?", 2018).
- National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children: 2010-2022 which
aims at supporting women escaping troubled relationships instead of encouraging
reconciliation of the spouses, and also providing the necessary aid to help the needy one
to rebuild themselves. The welfare scheme not just aims at helping out the spouse leaving
an abusive relationship and seeking to build a new life but also takes into account the
interests of the children ("HOW WELL DOES AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY
SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?", 2018).

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Welfare system to deal with women suffering from domestic violence
According to the National Social Security Rights Network (NSSRN) the economic
interests are supposed to be safeguarded by providing the spouses escaping domestic violence
with adequate amount of financial aid. However the condition is that the supposed to file for
claiming the benefits within seven days of leaving the spousal abode ("HOW WELL DOES
AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF FAMILY AND
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?", 2018).
Welfare system to deal with rehabilitation of women leaving their troubled marriage
The legal provisions as discussed in the above sections seek to criminalize men who do
not share the income with their female spouses and children, who steals the money of the female
spouses, delaying the tax returns meant for Child Support payments apart from physical and
mental torture related issues ("HOW WELL DOES AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY
SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?", 2018).
Welfare system to deal with unemployment benefits
The scheme of ‘crisis payment’ seeks to help the victims suffering from the problem but
the condition is that the separation has to be permanent and the payment is only meant to last for
two weeks at a rate of 501 dollars, and a rent allowance of 124 dollars as per the decision of the
Fair Work Ombudsman, 2013 and Department of Human Services 2014. The unemployment
benefit which is claimed as a result of loss of job is not applicable in this case ("HOW WELL
DOES AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF FAMILY
AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?", 2018).

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Welfare system to deal with providing jobs to the ones having the necessary
qualifications yet unemployed
As such there is no scheme by which the government seeks to provide help to the victims
directly, but by indirect means, unemployment is removed by means of creating more jobs
through dishing out government projects ("HOW WELL DOES AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL
SECURITY SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?",
2018).
Resources and Support for the Target Group
Thus from the previous discussion it becomes clear that the government provides both
financial and legal aid to the ones suffering from domestic abuse. The government is quite
proactive in providing the necessary support to the ones suffering from domestic abuse and has a
well drafted plan to extend the benefits to the needy ones.

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References
HOW WELL DOES AUSTRALIA’S SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SUPPORT VICTIMS OF
FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.nssrn.org.au/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/NSSRN_Report2018_FamilyVi
olence_SocialSecurity_sm.pdf