Comprehensive Analysis: Welfare Systems and Services in Australia

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the welfare systems and services in Australia, with a particular focus on Centrelink. The introduction sets the stage by highlighting the crucial role of social security in Australia, administered by Centrelink, in supporting individuals facing unemployment, disability, or retirement. The literature review explores various perspectives, including Lesley Chenoweth's view of Centrelink as a key agency, Taylor, Vreugdenhil & Schneiders' emphasis on social justice in social work, Will's discussion of the Research & Evaluation Database (RED), Hall, Boddy, Chenoweth & Davie's challenges of social work practices, Squires & Kramaric-Trojak's analysis of youth allowance allocation, and Germov & Poole's distinction between personal and social issues. The analysis section delves into the complexities of providing financial aid, the role of technological databases, and the need for sub-departments within Centrelink to address diverse needs. The report also examines deficiencies in the Australian Social Security Policy and the impact of rising housing expenses. The conclusion reiterates the importance of Centrelink's mission while suggesting the need for simplified methods to address personal and sociological issues more efficiently, aiming to build a stronger balance and help more individuals in need.

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Title: Welfare Systems & Services in Australia
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Welfare Systems & Services in Australia 1
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Literature Review.......................................................................................................................2
Analysis......................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Social security in Australia is very crucial as it is a social welfare system, which is
offered by the Commonwealth Government of Australia. This system is mainly administered
by Centrelink that is an important part of the Department of Human Services. This welfare
system is responsible for taking care of the people who cannot work as people with some
disability or who are severely sick. The Centrelink attains all its funds from the general tax
revenues and then, these funds are utilized for supporting individuals. The Centrelink also
help the people are retired from work or people who are facing unemployment. The
Centrelink also help individuals by paying their rent of houses, especially to the individuals
with dependent kids. There are many other additional allowances which are offered by
Centrelink to the individuals in need.
Literature Review
According to Lesley Chenoweth, Centrelink is considered as the second welfare
operational arm in Australia. It is a key agency that is primarily responsible for social security
and has been functioning since 1941. It is an agency of the federal government and the
services are offered on a contractual basis. The Centrelink has the main power to determine
and finalize the individuals who need the support of the organization, by analyzing the
different circumstances associated with the individuals. The Centrelink after analyzing the
individuals provides the Job Network agencies with referrals to help the individuals in need
(Chenoweth, 2009).
According to Taylor, Vreugdenhil & Schneiders, social justice is a crucial part of
social work in Australia. It is considered as a moral responsibility for social work. There are a
number of different rules, regulations, and guidelines, which are to be followed by the
organization Centrelink while allotting various allowances to different people after

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conducting a social justice on the individuals in need (Taylor, Vreugdenhil & Schneiders,
2015).
According to Will, the Research & Evaluation Database (RED) is the tool compiled
by the organization Centrelink and also by the Department of Employment to analyze
different data, which can be further utilized for employing people and also for helping
different people who are in need of any support. This recorded data has helped in conducting
efficient research and also through this the recorded information can also be utilized by the
public and private businesses. Also, the Centrelink is bound under the open data policy to
make all the data available for everyone (Will, 2015).
According to Hall, Boddy, Chenoweth & Davie, though the social work practices and
support to the people in need can create new hopes and responsibilities for the individuals,
there are certain challenges which can also create huge stress. The accessibility to vulnerable
people is one such issue, along with many issues associated with community and social life.
The organization Centrelink is also surrounded by such issues. Therefore, it is crucial for the
organization to develop a parallel innovation that is more humanizing which will offer equal
benefits to both, the organization and the community (Hall, Boddy, Chenoweth & Davie,
2012).
According to Squires & Kramaric-Trojak, with various different analysis the workers
at Centrelink also have to analyze the information of the individuals who belong to the age
group of below 18 and have applied for the “Unreasonable to Live at Home” (UTLAH), so
they could accurately allot the youth allowance to the people who are really in need of
support. There are a number of different stages that the individual had to undergo before and
after the interview process. Also, the Centrelink has various intervention models which are
brought into practice at different stages (Squires & Kramaric-Trojak, 2010).

Welfare Systems & Services in Australia 4
According to Germov & Poole, there is a huge difference between the importance of
personal troubles and social issues of the society. Thus, it is crucial for the students to
identify this difference and also utilize their personal sociological problems of their life and
the problems of the communities in which they live and strike a balance between both these
issues. Australian society has to adapt to new theories and innovative approaches to develop
this balance for a better future (Germov & Poole, 2019).
Analysis
The process of offering financial aid to the people in need include a number of
different rules and regulations, which has to be followed by the organization Centrelink, this
aspect exhibit the fact that the organization have to undergo a set of different stages for
analyzing the different circumstances and issues of the individuals and the society, before
providing them with the payments and allowances. The new technological database is of huge
importance as it helps in storing data but it surely slows down the research work, as
maximum time is consumed in analyzing the large volume of data.
The Centrelink is a social security organization which serves a diverse range of
people, therefore, it becomes really difficult for the organization to analyze the different
individuals or groups information on the various basis and in accordance to the rules of
specific allowances followed by the organization. The main aim of the welfare system is to
support and help the people in need, but due to the diverse people and the different rules, it is
crucial that in the organization Centrelink, the allowances should be separately examined as
there is a need for sub-department in Centrelink (Maidment & Egan, 2016). This is also
important due to the certain deficiencies in the Australian Social Security Policy, due to
which the payment of allowance to the people in need has reduced and have become very

Welfare Systems & Services in Australia 5
less. It is also due to the growing gap between the pension payments and other payments
schemes of Centrelink, which is enhancing the problem.
According to the scholars, there is a huge difference that lies between the personal
problems and problems of social life. Therefore, it is a known fact that the organization
Centrelink will be more drawn towards the problems of social life, as it concerns a large
audience (Hudson & Kelly, 2015). This has resulted in increasing complexity in the welfare
system, Centrelink. According to the current reports, the main concern for Centrelink lies in
its employment schemes and also, there has been a huge downfall in the payments made to
the single parents. The other problems which are emerging at the welfare system are due to
the hike in the housing expenses, especially for people who have low incomes, this has forced
the organization Centrelink to make bigger payments which have disturbed the other
allowances immensely (Kiely & Butterworth, 2013).
Also, one aspect which also creates issues is the intersection of different schemes and
allowances. For instance, an individual can adapt to the allowance which is offered to him as
he is below 18 and stays at home. Also, the parents of the same individual who have low
financial income can acquire the allowance for their kids for better development. Thus, this
intersection of two different allowances in the Centrelink increases the level of complexity
(McKenzie, McHugh & McKay, 2016).
Conclusion
Thus, from the different information provided by the scholars and the analysis
conducted above, this can be concluded that though the organization Centrelink has the prime
motive of helping the people in need, which it successfully fulfills. But, with the growing
gaps between different schemes and social issues, the system is becoming complex with the
passing time. Therefore, it is crucial for the organization to build more simplified methods

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which help in addressing the personal and sociological issues more efficiently, with the main
aim of building a strong balance in the organization and helping more people in need.

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References
Chenoweth, L. (2009). Redefining Welfare: Australian Social Policy and Practice. Asian
Social Work And Policy Review, 2(1), 53-60.
Germov, J., & Poole, M. (2019). Public sociology (4th ed.). Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Hall, G., Boddy, J., Chenoweth, L., & Davie, K. (2012). Mutual Benefits: Developing
Relational Service Approaches Within Centrelink. Australian Social Work, 65(1), 87-
103.
Hudson, P., & Kelly, J. (2015). Subscribe to The Australian | Newspaper home delivery,
website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps. Retrieved from
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/welfare-systems-face-1bn-upgrade/
news-story/fb242f38414701df1d334c2eea75a53c
Kiely, K., & Butterworth, P. (2013). Social disadvantage and individual vulnerability: A
longitudinal investigation of welfare receipt and mental health in Australia. Australian &
New Zealand Journal Of Psychiatry, 47(7), 654-666.
Maidment, J., & Egan, R. (2016). Practice skills in social work & welfare (3rd ed.). Crows
Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin/RHYW.
McKenzie, H., McHugh, C., & McKay, F. (2016). Life on newstart allowance: a new reality
for low-income single mothers. Journal Of Family Studies, 25(1), 18-33.
Squires, J., & Kramaric-Trojak, N. (2010). Centrelink: how social workers make a difference
for young persons. A model of intervention. Australian Social Work, 56(4), 293-304.
Taylor, S., Vreugdenhil, A., & Schneiders, M. (2015). Social Justice as Concept and Practice
in Australian Social Work: An Analysis of Norma Parker Addresses, 1969–
2008. Australian Social Work, 70(sup1), 46-68.

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Will, L. (2015). Centrelink Payments Data. Australian Economic Review, 48(4), 436-441.