EXCLUSIVE: MORE than one in four Victorians now rely on welfare, prompting renewed calls for an overhaul of the system of handouts.

A Herald Sun investigation has found at least 1.3 million men, women and children received federal payments in the past year.

And about half of those were handed more than one benefit.

The payments are part of the nation's $84.2 billion annual welfare bill, administered by Centrelink at a further cost of $3 billion a year.

For the first time the Herald Sun can reveal the full extent of welfare after being given access to Centrelink data for every postcode in the state.

More than 2.6 million "clients" are recorded in Victoria receiving some of 27 benefits administered by Centrelink.

Broadly they fall into three groups: 1.2 million who receive working-age income support, 830,000 who receive family benefits, and 540,000 aged pensioners.

In addition, 1.4 million Victorians have health care and concession cards.

In two-thirds of communities, more than half the population received some form of federal help in the past year.

In one in 14 communities, welfare payments outnumbered residents.

The findings have spurred fresh debate about Australia's welfare system.

"The sheer number of payments being made, and the number of Victorians receiving them, is astonishing," Jessica Brown, a policy analyst from the Centre for Independent Studies, said.

"We need to ask ourselves what more we can do to get people off welfare and into work."

Ms Brown said the system had become too complex and it needed to be simplified to ensure payments were going to those most in need of them.

Victorian Council of Social Service chief executive Cath Smith said the geographic distribution of payments was stark.

"This data presents decision-makers with an opportunity to focus economic development and investment in new services in the areas that are seriously disadvantaged - where people currently have less access to education, jobs and services than (those in) more affluent locations," she said.

"The fact that so many Victorians can rely on our social safety net is reassuring, yet (we) see the human faces behind these numbers every day. And we know that life is tough when you are poor or chronically ill."

Eight in 10 families nationally receive Family Tax Benefit payments, despite their being designed to focus on lower income groups.

These payments alone will cost taxpayers nearly $18 billion this year. Nearly $2 billion more will go to pay for parental leave and the baby bonus.

Treasury secretary Ken Henry last year recommended a major welfare shake-up. Among the Henry Review's suggestions was a reduction in the number of welfare payments to fewer than a dozen, better means-testing of people's true wealth, and more encouragement of single parents to go back to work.

Since then, the Federal Government has extended the welfare system, introducing 18 weeks' paid parental leave on January 1, extending Family Tax Benefits to cover children aged 16-18 at school or in training with payments of up to $4000, and providing up to $6000 for unemployed people to move for work.

The Federal Government has also promised tougher penalties for job-seekers who miss Centrelink appointments.

And middle-class welfare is expected to come under the microscope in the coming federal Budget.

Overhaul of a system of handouts?  This is our country -bugger orff, and we can rebuild the nation you illegally sold off.  The cheapest and mos prudent thing for Australia t do is overhaul the state, get rid of the banks and corporations piss them all off and start again.  

BigOl64 wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2011 at 11:50am:

no, its the workers who make this country run - the people who you sold out and we don't need corporations or globalization government around to get by believe me.  that lot are the true parasites on civilization.  I am kind of relishing the battle, every day is a step closer on the road to the High court and D day for globalist treason.

[quote author=bigol64 link=1300839953/0#8 date=1300847660]

No you are not a worker, you are a parasite, a scab, a strikebreaker, a company spy for the CEO.  Your idea of a wage increase is a productivity saving by taking a vote to sack one of your colleges and dividing up the difference.  We can do just fine in a country without corporations and neo-colonial parasite Government.  Dont flatter yourself, colonial government is not only unlawful, its unAustralian.  Such people do not belong with our race.

Prevailing wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2011 at 12:48pm:



Yeh, Im none of that, but nice try, loser. 


Remember I pay taxes, you do not, you live off welfare, I do not.

You are a parasite a bottom feeder, with little or no relevance. Get a job, then you can have a say.

BigOl64 wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2011 at 1:00pm:


I have a full time job, its fighting a rogue illegal regime that has no legal right to Govern my people, not in Australia, the UK or Ireland..