Cost of Living in Tasmania COMPANION REPORT 2 - IMPACTS AND RESPONSES

OCTOBER 2011

afford affordable age areas believe cars charges cheap city closures community

cost costs due education efficient electricity enterprises entry ever every

everyone expensive facing feel food form free fuel further future gas get getting

giving good government health heating help here high home homeless

house of houses housing important include income installation issues just

keep less life like live living low make may money most must my

need new night north of off oil old one outcome over owned panels particularly pay people

place poor population power price prices provide reduce safe school

services solar think transport use utilities volunteers water

Cover image:

Over 5 000 Tasmanians participated in the community consultation process for the

Tasmania Together 10 Year Review, which was held between September and December

2010. The cover image is a cloud tag, which documents the frequency of words that were

used in community responses on the theme of cost of living. The larger the word in the cloud

tag, the greater is the frequency of use of this word in survey responses received.

3

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 4

IMPACTS ................................................................................................................. 6

Households ................................................................................................ 8

People ........................................................................................................ 16

Places .......................................................................................................... 24

RESPONSES ....................................................................................................... 32

Increasing productivity ...................................................................... 32

Building financial capability .............................................................. 37

Strengthening consumer protection .......................................... 44

Building networks of support ........................................................ 48

Strengthening the safety net .......................................................... 53

Appendices Appendix 1 Flanagan, J and Flanagan, K, 2011 The price of poverty: cost of living pressures

and low income earners, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Appendix 2 Fudge, M. 2011 Local voices: enquiry into community assets in Circular Head,

Tasmania. Hobart: Relationships Australia Tasmania.

Appendix 3 Dare, M, Kimber, J and Schirmer, J, 2011 Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project,

Hobart: University of Tasmania and JS Consulting.

Appendix 4 Community Inclusion Workers, Child and Family Centres Project 2011

Community consultation report for the Social Inclusion Unit, Department of

Premier and Cabinet.

Appendix 5 Council on the Ageing Tasmania, 2011 A sense of belonging: social inclusion

issues for older people in Tasmania, Hobart: COTA Tas.

4

Introduction This report examines the impacts of cost of living pressures on particular households,

population groups, and places. It provides additional detail to that contained in A Cost of

Living Strategy for Tasmania, regarding a selection of responses to cost of living pressures

facing Tasmanian communities.

Individuals and households can be more included or excluded from social and economic

participation depending on the level of cash and non-cash resources available to help them

manage costs and sustain a decent quality of life1. The question of which groups are most

affected by cost of living increases is determined by the complex interplay of price increases,

household expenditure and the resources that households have available to absorb price increases.

There are a variety of methodologies available to determine the groups most affected by

cost of living increases and depending on the methodology a different ordering of groups is likely to result. A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania uses the Relative Price Index (RPI) as

the principle methodology for determining groups most likely to be impacted as this

approach provides current Tasmanian specific data that accounts for the differing expenditure patterns of household groups2.

This report considers data and analysis from a variety of qualitative and quantitative sources

in relation to the vulnerability or resilience of various households, people and places

experiencing cost of living risk.

Cost of living risk is defined in A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania as risk of electricity

disconnection, housing eviction and homelessness, food insecurity, ill health due to inability

to afford health services, debt and financial pressures, and presentations to emergency relief services. Factors that contribute to cost of living risk include income adequacy, the

affordability of essential goods and services, information about the products and prices

available in the market, access to support networks and emergency buffers to cope with

price shocks, and individual skills and capacity including physical and mental health.

Tasmanians are facing financial difficulty as a result of cumulative cost of living impacts. As a

consequence of financial difficulty, people adopt one or more ‘coping’ strategies such as:

Substitution;

1 The debate about adequate living standards generally occurs with reference to concepts such as ‘absolute poverty’ and

‘relative poverty’. Absolute poverty refers to a minimum standard below which no one anywhere in the world should ever

fall and which is the same in all countries and does not change over time. Relative poverty refers to a standard which is

defined in terms of the society in which an individual lives and which therefore differs between countries and over time –

minimum standards can rise and fall if and as a country becomes richer.

http://www.poverty.org.uk/summary/social%20exclusion.shtml

Recent research on poverty in modern Australia (2006 and 2010) has found that the majority of Australians consider the

following items to be essential for a decent life – i.e. that no-one in Australia should have to go without: warm clothes and

bedding, if it’s cold; a substantial meal at least once a day; computer skills; a decent and secure home; a roof and gutters

that do not leak; secure locks on doors and windows; heating in at least one room of the house; furniture in reasonable

condition; a washing machine; a television; up to $500 in savings for an emergency; home contents insurance;

comprehensive motor vehicle insurance; regular social contact with other people; a telephone; presents for family or

friends each year; a week’s holiday away from home each year; medical treatment if needed; able to buy prescribed

medicines; dental treatment if needed; children can participate in school activities and outings; an annual dental check-up

for children; a hobby or leisure activity for children; new schoolbooks and school clothes; a separate bed for each child;

and a separate bedroom for children aged 10 and over. See Saunders, P, and Wong, M, 2009 Still doing it tough: an update

on deprivation and social exclusion among welfare service clients, Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, p.10; and Saunders,

P, and Wong, M, 2011 Social impact of the Global Financial Crisis, Newsletter No. 108, Sydney: Social Policy Research

Centre, p.6. 2 See Companion Report 1 for further information about the Relative Price Index.

5

Rationing;

Seeking increased resources through personal, family or community actions;

Falling into the social safety net; and/or

Simply going without the basics.

The Anglicare Report The price of Poverty (Appendix 1) provides a current picture of the

impacts of current cost of living pressures for low income households. It identifies a number of ways in which low income Tasmanians are subject to an additional cost in

money, time or health which they incur in their attempts to purchase basic goods and

services (poverty penalty). It suggests that affordability of essential services is approaching crisis point.

The Relationships Australia Report Local Voices (Appendix 2) identifies community assets

and strengths that support a regional community’s resilience and capacity to recover and

recreate in the face of economic challenges. It shows the importance of strong social

connections and relationships, formal and informal institutions and infrastructure to support

and foster participation, as well as the skills and capacities of local people and their

willingness to work together to support each other in practical ways and with emotional support.

The Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project (Appendix 3) highlights the interactive nature of

drought impacts and drought initiatives in farming communities, and how it impacts people in different ways depending on their circumstances. It identifies three key forms of support

that families and communities need to survive the negative impacts of drought (including

cost of living impacts) – emotional and social support, financial support and the support of

farm production (their means to make a living).

The Community Inclusion Workers’ Community Consultation Report (Appendix 4) provides

insights into how people in rural and urban communities are coping with cost of living

pressures, and how they think cost of living issues should be tackled. While some people offered suggestions and good practice ideas, it reports that many people have given up and

are simply trying to survive – they are weary and resigned to ever increasing costs and a

bleak future.

The Council on the Ageing Tasmania (COTA Tas)’s report A Sense of Belonging outlines the

result of consultation with older Tasmanians about being connected to community and key

issues as they age. Although money and cost of living were not raised as key issues, this

report featured the cost of activities or being involved, including telecommunications and

cost of transport. Key issues were transport and availability of information.

6

Impacts The extent to which cost of living pressures become a significant issue for people can

depend on how quickly prices increase over time (pace of change) and by how much (rate of change) relative to the income and resources of individuals and households. Cost

pressures can be exacerbated when people face an increase which is more than expected,

a number of bills hit at the same time and exceed the capacity of regular household income

and economic resources to respond, or unexpected and unbudgeted expenses arise

because of an emergency or catastrophic event. The resilience and capacity of households,

people and places to cope with shocks is a key factor in the level of financial hardship they

experience.

Faced with too many price shocks (i.e. the number of price rises and their amount) people

are finding it increasingly difficult to absorb these within the family budget.

It’s pretty tough ... for instance this month we had registration on the vehicle which was $409; new muffler and service on the vehicle – another $200

odd ... and we pay a pretty high rent of $170 a week. So it doesn’t leave

anything for any luxuries. Age Pensioner Couple, North West Coast3

Got to constantly juggle bills just to get by.

Derwent Valley community consultation4

If I get one unexpected bill we will go under and cannot feed ourselves.

Geeveston community consultation5

Recent research by the Commonwealth Bank has found that many Australians are worried

over pressure on household budgets, and a high proportion would struggle to cope with an

unexpected expense6. It found that 53% of respondents said they would have difficulty

finding $5 000 to fund an unplanned expense, with regional respondents facing even greater challenges. It also found that 58% of women compared to 48% of men said they would

have difficulty raising $5 000 in an emergency7.

Anglicare Tasmania recently asked low income Tasmanians about their expenditure on essential services and products, and the decision making that drives their budget8. It found

that the most significant budget strategy employed by households is to prioritise the

payment of rent or mortgage costs, followed by electricity and telecommunications9. This

entails trade-offs that include food rationing, compromises on electricity consumption, withdrawal from social participation, and the use of credit to pay for essential purchases.

Juggling bills and using the money made available through delaying payment of bills is also an

important financial management strategy. Some research participants, for example,

reported that they delayed bill payments to purchase food and a cycle of small loans from

family members. If unable to reduce their electricity usage but also unable to afford the cost

3 TasCOSS, 2009 Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes, p.15 4 Community Inclusion Workers, Child and Family Centres Project 2011 Community consultation report for the Social

Inclusion Unit, Department of Premier and Cabinet 5 Ibid 6 Commonwealth Bank & NATSEM, September 2010. Economic Vitality Report, Issue 2. 7 Ibid 8 Flanagan, J, and Flanagan K, 2011 The price of poverty: the cost of living for low income earners, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania. 9 Ibid keeping a phone connected was considered important for emergencies; being available to children, families and

schools, being accessible for casual work, and staying in contact with Centrelink and community services.

7

of what they use, age pensioners cut back on their food intake, while families accrue arrears

and use emergency relief as a coping strategy

Yeah I get what I need first because if I got food first I would go overboard, and then I wouldn’t have money for what I need. So I get what I need and

then I can see if I need extra loaves of bread.

21 year old part-time carer and student (New Start Allowance)10

External shocks on a household can include emergency events such as the breakdown of a

car or whitegoods, or as a result of transition in lifecycle (e.g. extra school costs when a

child starts high school).

For many people, it only takes one incident – a medical emergency, the

need for car repairs, an essential appliance breaking down, an unexpectedly large bill or a number of bills arriving at the same time – to tip them over

the edge and to make a manageable situation unmanageable.11

The availability of No Interest Loans to Tasmanians on low incomes is an important way in

which the Tasmanian Government is helping vulnerable households to meet the cost

pressures associated with these kinds of price shocks. The decision by the Commonwealth Government to provide school uniform and other school cost rebates is another example

of the kind of support governments can provide to help offset cost pressures.

If an emergency arises you have no money to put aside. You never get on top. You end up having to borrow and the cycle goes on. If your kids get

sick it has to be on pay day, otherwise you can’t afford it, then you have to

borrow and you have to pay it back. North East Tasmania12

10 Flanagan and Flanagan 2011 11 TasCOSS, 2009, p.30 12 Ibid, p.31

8

HOUSEHOLDS

Companion Report 1 identifies households that are disproportionately impacted by the

increasing costs of living, including:

Low income households

Unemployed households

Other households dependent on government pensions and allowances as the principle source of income

Lone person households

Single parent households

Community sector reports and other data show that these households are more likely to

experience multiple cost of living risks in relation to food security, electricity usage, transport

disadvantage, housing, health risk factors and insurance. However, it is also important to

note that these households also have cost of living strengths including resourcefulness and being good managers with the resources they have. A common misconception is that

poverty is due to poor money management, when in fact most low income households are

very good at managing their finances on a day-to-day basis13.

Food insecurity14

The 2009 Tasmanian Population Health Survey found more than one-quarter (28.4%) of

Tasmanian adults claimed cost as the reason for not buying the quality or variety of

preferred food. 42.5% of adults in the least affluent households cited being unable to buy the quality or variety of preferred food due to cost, compared to only 14.0% in the most

affluent households. Compared to the state average of 5%, 10% of adults in the lowest

income households reported they ran out of food in the last 12 months and could not

afford a replacement.15

I pay my rent, my power, and other bills...food comes last, if there isn’t

anything left I don’t eat for days...sometimes I ration so I eat every third day.

Geeveston community consultation16

The 2009 Tasmanian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey found that 4% of households with

children aged 12 years and under had experienced an occasion in the last 12 months when

their household had run out of food and could not afford to buy more17, while 6% had

experienced financial stress leading to difficulties with food security and education

expenses18. Tasmanian households where food insecurity was more likely to have occurred

included sole parent households (9%), those with annual incomes below $40 000 (18% of

13 Landvogt, K, 2008 Money, dignity and inclusion: the role of financial capability. Collingwood: Good Shepherd Youth and

Family Service. 14 Draft Tasmanian Food Security Strategy (unpublished). Food security is defined by the Tasmanian Food Security Council

as “the ability of individuals, households and communities to acquire food that is sufficient, reliable, nutritious, safe,

acceptable and sustainable”. Food insecurity can be a consequence of the cost and availability of food, as well as access to

food supplies. Cost and transport can be critical issues, particularly for people on low incomes. People experiencing food

insecurity may substitute or ration food, compromising on the quality and/or quantity of food. In some cases meals may

be missed altogether, or the support of emergency food relief may be sought. 15 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), 2009 2009 Tasmanian Population Health Survey, selected findings,

Menzies Research Institute. 16 Community Inclusion Workers, 2011 17 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2009, Tasmanian Child Health and Wellbeing Survey: report of survey

findings, North Melbourne: The Social Research Centre, p.28 18 Ibid, p.6

9

those earning less than $20,000 and 14% of those earning from $20 000 to less than

$40 000), jobless households (10%), and those located in the North region (10%).

A 2009 Anglicare survey of financial hardship among emergency relief clients found that three-quarters (76.8%) of participants always or mostly worried about whether they could

afford to buy enough food19. A shortage of money had resulted in three-quarters (75.1%)

of participants going without meals in the previous year20, while more than one-third

(36.2%) had needed to seek assistance because of the cost of food21. The vast majority of

emergency relief clients were people dependent on Government pensions and allowances,

and many of these were long-term recipients of social security payments22.

A 2009 TasCOSS Report found that people hardest hit by cost of living pressures consistently go without food in order to meet other basic living costs, such as housing,

utilities, medical expenses and transport. They regularly forgo adequate or nutritious food

to make the money stretch further23:

“My kids went to school with no lunch today24.”

“Food will be the last thing. They’ll make sure that everything else is paid and they’ll

just make do on next to nothing for groceries or access emergency relief to get them

by25.”

Anglicare’s 2011 report on the cost of living for low income earners points to the cost of

food as one of the most problematic expenses for low income households. For many

research participants, food was a notional priority in the disposable income they had left

after housing and a number of other costs had been met26. Many participants described

rationing food by either buying less food in general, or less fresh food than they wanted of

felt they needed27.

Electricity usage

At 1 August 2010, one in three residential customers received an electricity concession to

help with the cost of their power bills28.

Low income households are more likely to use Aurora Energy’s prepaid electricity service,

Pay As You Go (APAYG)29, which is available to Tasmanians as an alternative to standard

19 Anglicare surveyed 411 clients of emergency relief and financial counselling services from around Tasmania between 20

April and 1 May 2009. Emergency relief clients are people who need to seek assistance from welfare organisations as a

result of financial difficulty. See Flanagan, K, 2009 Hard times: Tasmanians in financial crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p. 59 20 Flanagan, 2009 pp.50-51 21 Op.cit, p. 65 22 Anglicare Australia 2010, In from the edge: state of the family report, October, 2010, p.2 23 TasCOSS 2009 p.35 24 Ibid, p.30 25 Ibid, p.16 26 Flanagan and Flanagan 2011, pp.22-23 27 Ibid, p.40 28 Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator (OTTER), January 2011, Tasmanian energy supply industry performance

report 2009-10, p.179

Holders of a Tasmanian Pensioner Concession Card or Health Care Card received a rebate in the order of $340 per

annum. In addition, the Tasmanian State Government made a one-off payment of $100 to customers eligible for a

concession as at 1 September 2010. 29 Ibid, p.125

The 2009 Anglicare survey of emergency relief clients reported that groups of participants most likely to be using APAYG

included households with two children (64.3%), people on Parenting Payment Single (59.6%), public housing tenants

(57.5%), single parent households (56.8%), and people aged 24 years and under (56.8%). Groups least likely to use

APAYG were people renting privately. See Flanagan, 2009, p.94

10

tariffs. APAYG offers ‘time of use’ pricing30 which allows customers to tailor their electricity

consumption to cheaper times of the day and week and maintain greater control over their

electricity costs. Comparisons between APAYG and standard tariffs are difficult to make as standard tariff customers are charged by consumption for each tariff per quarter while

APAYG customers pay according to time of year and time of use31. However, on average

APAYG prices are higher than prices for standard tariffs32. This is principally due to

differences in average increases in network costs, the technological costs required to

support pre-payment meters, and the costs associated with maintaining a point of sale agent

network33.

In July 2009 the Tasmanian Government guaranteed that APAYG price rises for concession holders would align with standard tariff increases, to ensure that low income households

would not be further disadvantaged34. At 30 June 2010, 40 089 (17%) of residential

customers were using APAYG, of which 17 000 (42%) were concession cardholders. This

represented a higher proportion of the total number of customers using APAYG than those

on standard tariffs35. Although a changed timed tariff structure for electricity charges has

resulted in the pre-payment APAYG option being more expensive than quarterly billing for

standard customers, concession card holders were still likely to find APAYG a cheaper option36.

Research undertaken by Anglicare indicates that not all concession card holders are aware

of the electricity concession and therefore are not receiving its benefit. Although 90% of the

emergency relief clients surveyed by Anglicare were eligible for electricity concessions, only

half (50.7%) received a concession. Of the survey participants who were single parents,

66.7% did not receive a concession because they did not know about it.37

Households in receipt of a government benefit or allowance are more likely to have their

electricity supply disconnected. In the 2009-10 financial year, 1 396 residential customers

had their electricity supply disconnected. Of these, 544 (38.9%) were concession holders

and 218 (15.6%) had been disconnected more than once within a rolling 24 month period.

Of the repeat disconnections, more than one-quarter (28.4%) were concession

cardholders38. Most disconnections were related to inability to pay39.

A 2006 TasCOSS-commissioned survey of APAYG customers found that 23% of

customers had run out of electricity in the previous year. Single parent households (43%)

and households where at least one person was unemployed (33%) were most at risk of

running out of electricity40. Of the 345 respondents who reported that they had run out of

30 APAYG ‘time of use’ pricing is currently unavailable to residential customers on standard tariffs. Pricing is set in four time

blocks during the day which varies between summer and winter, weekdays and weekends. This allows APAYG customers

to shift their electricity usage in order to take advantage of cheaper rates. 31 For a full comparison refer OTTER 2011, pp.183-185 32 OTTER, December 2010, 2011 Aurora Pay As You Go price comparison report, pp.2-3

APAYG rates increased 8.8 % from 1 January 2011, which equates to approximately $100 per year for low consumption

customers and $210 per year for high consumption customers. Standard regulated tariffs increased by 8.8% on 1

December 2010 32. Following the introduction of these higher power prices and a changed timed tariff structure for electricity charges,

paying in advance using the pre-payment APAYG option is likely to prove more expensive than being billed quarterly. It is

estimated that households could be paying up to $8 a fortnight (or $216 a year) more by continuing to use this pre-

payment option than being charged standard tariffs by Aurora. 33 OTTER, 2010, Annual Report 2009-10, p.31 34 Aurora Energy 2010, Aurora Annual Report 2009-10: customer care and billing system, p.27 35 OTTER, 2011, p.125 36 OTTER, 2010, p.2 37 Flanagan, 2010, pp.104-105 38 OTTER, 2011 p.129 39 OTTER, 2008, Tasmanian energy supply industry performance report 2007-08, p.131 40 Ross, S, and Rintoul, D, 2006, Pre-payment meter use in Tasmania: consumer view and issues: a research report carried out

for the Tasmanian Council of Social Service by Urbis Keys Young, TasCOSS, Hobart, p.3

11

electricity, most (58%) had simply forgotten to recharge their APAYG card, but one in five

(21%) had found it hard to find the money for household bills41. A 2009 Anglicare survey of

emergency relief clients found that participants using APAYG (45.7%) were more likely than participants using other payment methods to go without heating their home or have the

electricity supply disconnected42.

The 2011 Anglicare report on cost of living notes that some households are managing

electricity consumption below the levels they need to keep their homes warm and run

important appliances due to lack of income. The APAYG meters allow greater capacity to

reduce consumption through rationing and self-disconnection. These households will often

use the emergency credit of $16 to help them manage their electricity consumption. Some households are turning off all appliances and lighting when they are down to their last one

dollar or two of emergency credit43. These households are not appearing in Aurora’s self-

disconnection data.

In winter I’m always going into the emergency money. I’ve never been

disconnected but I’ve got down to $2 credit to last and turned off all the power

and used candles. But we’ve never been cut off. In winter I’m always up at

[emergency relief provider] for power money. I use Pay As You go – it’s more expensive but you don’t have the massive bill.

Sole parent, 24 year old mother of four children44

APAYG is a popular payment method for households on low income because it prevents

customers being confronted with large quarterly power bills, however other pre-payment options are available to standard tariff customers to help them manage bills. These include

making regular direct debits from bank accounts45 or using Aurora Energy's direct debit,

CentrePay46, EasyPay47 or PrePay48 options. TasCOSS believe these are better alternatives to APAYG, but tend not to be as widely publicised49.

Transport disadvantage

Low income households, unemployed households, and households dependent on

government pensions and allowances are more likely to experience transport disadvantage50 and difficulty with transport costs such as motor vehicle fuel, registration and insurance51.

Factors affecting the level of transport disadvantage include proximity to services, adequacy

and availability of public transport services, ability to use alternative methods of transport,

41 Ross and Rintoul, 2006, p.35 42 Flanagan, 2009, p.12 43 If APAYG customers are unable to recharge their meter they will not have access to electricity unless supported by

emergency relief services. Standard tariff customers, on the other hand, have the benefit of extended payment options

which can be crucial to cash flow management in a financially constrained household, and allows them to remain

connected to the power supply. See Flanagan, 2009, p.100 44 Flanagan and Flanagan, 2011, p.42 45 Payment is made automatically from a nominated bank account on the due date. As an added bonus, all customers who

pay their electricity bill by Direct Debit using their savings or cheque account receive the Aurora Direct Debit Discount of

$5 (5.5c per day GST inclusive) off the total bill for a standard 91-day statement period. 46 Centrepay allows customers to have fortnightly deductions made from their income support payment, which are then

deducted from their next electricity bill. 47 EasyPay allows customers to make regular, even payments, spreading the cost burden across the year and avoiding

those big bills over winter. 48 PrePay is a secure and convenient way to make advance payments against electricity charges. 49 Flanagan, 2009, p.100 50 TasCOSS, 2009. 51 Flanagan, 2009, p.81

12

and ability to access vehicles belonging to others52 (sharing transport and getting lifts is

particularly important for low income groups53).

In 2006, only 77.5% of people aged 18 years and over in the lowest income quintile could easily get to the places they needed to go compared with the state average of 88.1%,

indicating that this group still faced barriers to accessing transport54.

TasCOSS research has found that people at particular risk of transport disadvantage include

older people, people with a disability, people with young families, children, students and

young people, unemployed people, people on low incomes, and people with poor health55.

Anglicare research had similar results, finding that people most vulnerable to transport

disadvantage include people in rural and regional areas, people with poor health, people with a disability or families raising children with a disability, disadvantaged job-seekers and

young people56. Research into financial disadvantage among Home and Community Care

clients identified people hardest hit by transport costs include those dependent on income

support payments, single people without their own home, people vulnerable to exploitation

by partners, and people with major health issues57.

Housing

Low income households spend a higher proportion of gross weekly income on housing.

Nationally, low-income owners with a mortgage spent 27% (or $281) of their gross weekly income on housing costs, compared with 18% (or $384) for all households. Low-income

households renting from a private landlord spent 28% (or $236) of their gross weekly

income on housing costs, compared with 18% (or $267) for all households58.

In order to purchase a home and service a home loan, many households now rely on

having two incomes59. Home owners or home purchasers are generally regarded as groups

less likely to be affected by financial hardship. However, the 2009 Anglicare report on emergency relief clients found that some low income home purchasers, most of whom

were income support recipients, were facing considerable hardship. 60 The 2011 Anglicare

report on cost of living also found that low income home owners are not immune from

financial difficulty. It found that the costs directly associated with their home ownership that

cause problems are rates, maintenance costs and water and sewerage bills. Most of these

households managed the cost pressures through bill juggling and opting for small regular bill

payments and prepayment options across a range of purchases and services. 61

Low income, lone person and single parent households are more likely to rent rather than

own or purchase their home62. Public and private renters rate highly in terms of

disadvantage in national and Tasmanian studies63. They are among the groups most likely to be lacking a number of essentials such as lacking a decent and secure home, home contents

52 Stanley, J, Stanley, J, and Currie, G, 2007 ‘Introduction’, in No way to go: transport and social disadvantage in Australian

communities, edited by Currie, G, Stanley, J, and Stanley, J, Melbourne: Monash University ePress, pp. 1.1-1.11 53 Currie, G, and Senbergs, Z, ‘Exploring forced car ownership in metropolitan Melbourne’, 30th Australasian Transport

Research Forum, 25-27 September 2007, p.12 54 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, General Social Survey, Tasmania, 2006 (cat. no. 4159.6.55.001) 55 TASCOSS, 2009 56 Anglicare Australia 2010, p.5 57 Flanagan, 2009, p.86 58 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Housing occupancy and costs, 2007-08: summary of findings 59 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002, Australian Social Trends, 2002: Housing arrangements: renter households 60 Flanagan, 2009, p.94 61 Flanagan and Flanagan, 2011, p.26 62 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Australian Social Trends, 2008: Renter households 63Davidson 2008 Who is missing out? Hardship among low income Australians ACOSS p.1, Saunders, P, Naidoo, Y, Griffiths,

M, 2007 Towards new indictors of disadvantage deprivation and social exclusion in Australia, Social Policy Research Centre

pp74-75; Flanagan, 2009, p27

13

insurance and being unable to buy prescribed medication64. While older people generally

have lower levels of hardship overall, older renters experienced much higher levels of

deprivation and were more likely to go without essentials such as decent and secure housing65.

In 2007-08, more than one-quarter (26.5%) of all Tasmanian households rented their home.

Of all households, 17.2% rented from a private landlord and 6.9% rented from the state

housing authority compared with 4.5% nationally 66. Tasmanian data suggests that public

housing and private renters are over-represented in emergency relief statistics and

experience high rates of hardship.

Table 1 – Hardship by tenure67

Indicator of hardship:

“this happened to participant’s household in previous

year due to a shortage of money”

Tenure

Public housing Private rental

Could not pay electricity or phone or gas bill 65.3 68.4

Could not pay rent or home loan 30.8 58.1

Pawned or sold something 61.9 60.1

Went without meals 70.2 72.3

Unable to heat your home 52.6 57.8

Had the phone disconnected 34.6 41.5

Had the power off 28.3 27.3

Health risk factors

The costs associated with illness and disability can be an additional financial burden68. For

example, an unexpected illness can cause unanticipated cost pressures as household

budgets suddenly have to accommodate medical and pharmaceutical goods and services

result, sometimes exacerbated by reduced economic circumstances (not being able to work

as a result of illness or as a result of becoming a primary carer).

Surveys undertaken by the community sector indicate that low income households are

more likely to be embarrassed to seek medical services for fear that they would not be able

to afford the costs69.

My illness means periodically managing a roller coaster of paranoia and

mood swings. This can be challenging enough, without added financial

stress and feelings of hopelessness. When I see my psychiatrist it costs $185.00 per half hour – simply to oversee a change in medication. Part of

this is later refunded but it’s very difficult for vulnerable people to come up

with large amounts of cash at the very time help is needed.

Richard’s story – SANE Australia70

64 Davidson, 2008, p1 65 Ibid, p.1 66 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Housing occupancy and costs, 2007-08; State and Territory Data Cube: Table 22 and

Housing and Occupancy Data Cube: Table 3 (cat. no. 4130.0) 67 Adapted from Table 34 Flanagan, 2009, p.165 68 TasCOSS, 2009, pp.34-38

See also, Mental Health Community Coalition ACT, 2010 Submission to the National Advisory Council on Mental Health

Inquiry: ‘Daily bread income and living with mental illness’. 69 TasCOSS, 2009, p.37 70 Hocking, B, 2011 Mental health care and poverty – intersections and policy implications, ACOSS National Conference 2011

14

A 2005 Tasmanian survey71 found that single parents were much more likely than other

Tasmanians to report they had not sought health care when they needed it and /or did not

fill a prescription ordered by a doctor due to a shortage of money. Anglicare’s 2009 survey of emergency relief clients indicated that people aged 35-44 years experienced the greatest

difficulty with health-related costs, with 37.1% reporting big problems with the cost of

prescriptions and 34.5% with the cost of medical appointments72.

Couple only households were more likely to spend disproportionately more per week

(5.5%) than the state average (4.8%) on medical care and health expenses73. This is likely to

be a reflection of the older age profile of Tasmania.

The availability of concessions for households dependent on Government benefits and allowances (eg for prescription medicines and basic hospital and medical treatment) helps in

making the cost of medical and health care manageable for these households and has

resulted in their weekly household expenditure on medical care and health expenses being

4.1%, less than the state average of 4.8%74.

Households most likely to experience financial hardship are also more likely to have health

risk factors associated with obesity, smoking and stress.

In 2004-05, nationally, around one-fifth (21%) of adults in low-income households were obese compared with 15% of adults in high income households75. 32.1% of households in

the lowest income quintile smoked compared with 15.6% in the highest income quintile76

and these households are more likely to spend a higher proportion of average weekly

expenditure (2.6%) on tobacco products, compared with the state average of 1.9%77.

Lone person households were more likely to spend slightly more on discretionary spending

items such as alcohol (3.7%) than the state average of 3.5%78.

Single parent, lone person and unemployed households were more likely to have higher

levels of financial stress than other household types79. 46.4% of unemployed households

experienced at least one cash flow problem in the last 12 months80, and 59.5% of jobless

single parent households experienced at least one cash flow problem in the last 12

months81. Compared with the Australian average of 20%, 29% of unemployed people

nationally were at a higher risk of developing mental disorders than the Australian average

of 20% and 34% of people living in one parent families with children had a higher risk of

developing mental disorders82.

Low-income households were less likely to participate in recreational activities83. 37.2% of

children of single parent households participate in selected sport or cultural activities

compared with 23.2% of children in couple families; 50.8% of children in a single parent

71 Madden, K, and Law, M, 2005, The Tasmanian Community Survey: financial hardship, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania, p.21 72 Flanagan, 2009, pp.124-126 73 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04 (Reissue),

Tasmania Data Cube (cat. no. 6530.0) 74 Ibid 75 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, Australian Social Trends, 2007: Overweight and Obesity (cat. no. 4102.0) 76 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health Report 2008, p.20 77 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 78 Ibid 79 Arashiro, Z. 2010, Financial inclusion in Australia: towards transformative policy, Social Working Paper No. 13. Melbourne:

Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Centre for Public Policy University of Melbourne, p.10

See also Davidson 2008, p. 17; Lloyd, Harding and Payne (2004, pp. 10-12) in Flanagan, 2009 80 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, General Social Survey, Tasmania, 2006 (cat. no. 4159.6.55.001) 81 Ibid 82 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 2007

(cat. no. 4326.0) 83 TasCOSS 2009, pp. 15-16

15

family where the parent was not employed were even less likely to participate compared to

families where the parent was employed 27.8%84.

Insurance

Low income households are more likely to be uninsured. In 2003-04, 5% of Tasmanian households (approximately 7 200 owner occupied households) did not have building

insurance85. Households in the bottom two income quintiles accounted for three-quarters

(74%) of these uninsured households, exposing those households least able to afford it to

greater risk in the event of loss86. Low take-up of insurance by low-income groups may in part be due to the affordability aspect of insurance, but also in part to the perception that

these products are not for ‘people like them’87. Non-insurance of building and contents was

found to be associated with single parent households.

In regard to health insurance, 12.3% of people without private health insurance were likely

to have found cost a barrier to purchasing their medication compared with 6.5% of people

with private health insurance. Younger people were more likely than older people to have found the cost of medication a barrier, due in part to older people being eligible for

concessions for PBS medication88.

‘Working poor’ middle income households

While the increasing cost of items such as housing, food, utilities and petrol have become pain points for low-income households, middle income households are also now at risk of

financial hardships and becoming part of a growing number of ‘working poor’ households.

‘Working poor’ households are those in which people are in paid employment but are still

struggling to make ends meet89. Nearly half of working poor households (48%) are supported by one part-time employee only, and these households are likely to include sole

parents, full-time students, people having difficulty finding more substantial work

opportunities, and those who cannot work longer hours due to disability or illness. One

quarter of the working poor (24%) live in households with one full-time employee, and just

over one-quarter (28%) live in households with two employees of whom one is part-time90.

Working poor households are below the poverty line and often find it difficult to maintain a reasonable standard of living, for example because of the nature of their employment (part-

time versus full-time), low levels of pay, or expenses relating to dependent children (couples

with children make up a sixty percent of working poor households)91. While some of these

households may not include recipients of Government pensions or allowances92, others will comprise a mix of income from wages or salaries and government pensions or allowances.

These households are also likely to include people with higher educational qualifications and

couples with children93. The 2009 Anglicare survey found that among the participants

84 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Children's participation in cultural and leisure activities, Australia, 2009 85 Building insurance is only applicable for home-owners whose dwelling is not insured by a body corporate. See Insurance

Council of Australia, ‘The non-insured: who, why and trends’, Prepared by Dr Richard Tooth and Dr George Barker,

Centre of Law and Economics, Australian National University, May 2007, p.4 86Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to the Tasmanian State Taxation Review, Feb 2011, pp.8-9 87 Arashiro, 2010, p.7 88 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Health Services: Patient Experiences in Australia, 2009; Barriers to selected health

services Data Cube: Tables 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 (cat. no. 4839.0.55.001) 89 Victorian Council of Social Service, Emergency Relief Victoria, RMIT University and Good Shepherd Youth and Family

Service 2009, Under pressure: costs of living, financial hardship and emergency relief in Victoria, p.20 90 Payne, A. 2009, ‘Working poor in Australia: an analysis of poverty among households in which a member is employed’,

Family Matters No. 8, Australian Institute of Family Studies, p 19. 91 Ibid 92 Ibid 93 Ibid

16

experiencing the greatest difficulty across a range of expenses were home owners with a

mortgage, people aged 35-44 years, and families with dependent children (couple and single

parent families)94.

Some of the high and often hidden costs for the ‘working poor’ include childcare95,

maintaining a car and acceptable clothing, as well as having to buy products they would

otherwise have used their own labour to produce given that many work long and unsocial

hours96.

I think there’s a big gap, like I said, a gap of sorts, those in between, the working

poor ok? A gap in the system where we earn too much to be eligible for a lot

of things but we don’t earn enough to do everything private…We are missing out because we are not in crisis.

Laura (single mother with 2 children, works part-time and studies part-time)97

Emergency relief providers reported that middle-income families were increasingly accessing

their services98, with the ‘working poor’ identified as one of the groups experiencing the greatest increase in difficulty99.

PEOPLE

People with disabilities, their carers and families

People with disabilities, their carers and families have consistently been described as groups

vulnerable to cost of living pressures due to the strong correlation between disability and poverty100.

By the time you pay for rent, hydro, the telephone bill, the groceries,

everything is gone. It’s really hard.

Disability Support Pensioner, Greater Hobart101

In 2009, Tasmania had the highest rate of disability of all states/territories (22.7%),

compared with a national average of 18.5%102. Rates of profound or core activity

limitation103 were also highest in Tasmania (6.8%). Nationally, 5.8% of the population reported a profound or severe core activity limitation. Tasmania had the second highest

94 Flanagan, 2009, pp.8-9 95Wilkins, R, Warren, D, Hahn, M, and Houng, B 2010 Families, incomes and jobs, Volume 5: A statistical report on waves 1 to

7 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey. Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research:

University of Melbourne, pp.17-18.

In 2007, 17.9% of Australian households experienced difficulties with the cost of childcare. The survey also found that

problems with the cost of childcare were persistent over time. 96 Masterman-Smith, H, May, R, and Pocock, B. 2006. Living low paid: some experiences of Australian childcare workers and

cleaners, CWL Discussion Paper 1/06, Centre for Work + Life: University of South Australia, pp.5-6. 97 Arashiro, Z. 2011, Money matters in times of change: financial vulnerability through the life course, Fitzroy: Brotherhood of

St Laurence, p 2. 98 Anglicare Australia 2010, p.2 99 Flanagan, 2009, p.19 100 Saunders, Naidoo, Griffiths, 2007, Hinton, T, 2006 My life as a budget item: disability, budget priorities and poverty in

Tasmania, Anglicare Tasmania; Hinton, T, 2006 Forgotten families: raising children with disabilities in Tasmania Anglicare

Tasmania. 101 TasCOSS, 2009, p. 15 102 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Disability, ageing and Carers, Australia: summary of findings, 2009 103 A profound core activity limitation is where the person is unable to do or always needs help with communication,

mobility or self-care tasks. A severe core activity limitation is where the person sometimes needs help with

communication, mobility or self-care tasks. See Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 ibid.

17

proportion of carers (13.3%) after South Australia (13.4%). This was higher than the

national average of 12.2%104.

People on the Disability Support Pension (DSP) are among the highest users of emergency relief services in Tasmania. In a recent survey of emergency relief clients, almost 60% of

people in receipt of the DSP said that they had financial problems regularly or always, a

much higher proportion than participants on other types of income support payment. They

also ranked among the groups most likely to have more debts and experiencing the most

difficulty.105

The DSP is one of the highest Commonwealth income support payments – equal to the

Aged Pension and significantly higher than Newstart or Youth Allowance payments for example, but disability pensioners face a range of additional costs as a result of their

disability106.

These additional costs may be incurred as a result of:

The need for special equipment – eg wheelchairs, walking frames, audio devices,

custom footwear, guide dog;

Maintenance costs of equipment and assistive technology – electric wheelchairs, grooming for guide dogs;

The need for house modifications;

The need for car modifications;

Additional transport costs – due to frequent medical appointments and difficulty

accessing public transport;

The need for medications – especially those not covered by the Pharmaceutical

Benefits Scheme (PBS);

The need for additional items such as continence aids and bandages;

The need for additional electricity use e.g. for Multiple Sclerosis and arthritis sufferers who need to regulate their temperature.

There is a range of financial assistance available to people with disabilities, but this assistance

does not meet the range of additional costs incurred as a result of having a disability. These

additional costs mean that ‘secondary poverty’ is forced upon households that would

otherwise manage if they did not have the costs associated with a disability107.

My life is total stress about everything. I have two kids with disabilities. The pension

nowhere near meets their needs. I spend $100 per fortnight just on nappies for the

two children. The pension doesn’t meet the needs of that child and it doesn’t

address the specific needs to provide for them.

Launceston Participant, Hearing the Voices108

With arthritis you need a warm house: that’s extra heating and extra wood and on

a pension this is too hard.

Burnie Participant, Hearing the Voices

104 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: 105 Flanagan, 2009, pp.97-98, Cameron, P, and Flanagan, J, 2004, Thin ice: living with serious mental illness and poverty in

Tasmania, Anglicare Tasmania, p58 106 TasCOSS, 2009 p. 21 107 Hinton, 2006, p.19 108 Flanagan, J, 2000 Hearing the voices vol. 1. of the Just Tasmania series, Anglicare Tasmania, p24

18

“We go into Burnie three or four times a week. Fuel is a huge thing…When we had

Rosie in hospital for three weeks it cost us over $2,000 just with fuel.”

Forgotten Families109

All of the families interviewed in Anglicare Tasmania’s 2007 research described difficulties in

managing on their incomes. Families were cutting back on expenditure like insurance, food,

clothing and heating. They had delayed paying bills or negotiated repayment arrangements with creditors. Several families had gone into debt to meet their basic needs and to pay for

disability-related services110.

“At the moment I am stuck in an extremely bad cycle of debt. I have put the

rent on credit cards, paid the therapists with credit cards. I am about to have to go bankrupt I think…. It’s been really hard in the last six weeks where I’ve

diminished all my savings to pay off the reminder of the speech pathology and

the remainder of the ABA therapists that I hired last year. It’s a very strange

position to be in where you have no money to go and buy essentials like

food”.111

People with a disability have been found to be more likely to experience:

Unemployment112, low income113, and lower socio-economic status114;

Additional anxiety and hardship with the cost of food due to specific dietary

requirements. Such foods may be more expensive to procure, and higher levels of

waste may result from particular circumstances, with associated extra costs to the

household115.

Difficulties in meeting regular housing costs, such as rates, insurance, mortgage repayments, and maintenance costs. Additional costs were incurred by some,

through body corporate fees or the need to modify their homes for a disability116.

Difficulty paying electricity bills (reported by 40.4% of people on a DSP in the 2009

Anglicare survey of emergency relief clients117).

Barriers to accessing transport118, despite a range of concessions and benefits being available to them under the Transport Access Scheme. In 2006, only 71.5% of people

with a core activity restriction (disability) could easily get to the places needed. The

2009 Anglicare survey of emergency relief clients found that ‘other’ transport costs, which included public and community transport and taxis, were a problem for 41.0%

Disability Support Pension recipients119.

109 Hinton, T, 2006 Forgotten Families: Raising children with disabilities in Tasmania, Anglicare Tasmania, p122 110 Hinton, T, 2006 Forgotten Families: Raising children with disabilities in Tasmania, Anglicare Tasmania, p128 111 Hinton, T, 2006 Forgotten Families: Raising children with disabilities in Tasmania

Social Action and Research Centre, Anglicare Tasmania, P128 112 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Disability, Ageing and Carers, Australia: Summary of Findings, 2009: Second Staggered

Release (cat. no. 4430.0). Also see Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health

Report 2008, p.16 113 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health Report 2008, p.16 114 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health Report 2008, p.16 115 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p.52 116 Tasmanian Council of Social Services (TasCOSS) 2009, Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low

incomes, p.24 117 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, pp.97-98 118 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, General Social Survey, Tasmania, 2006 (cat. no. 4159.6.55.001) 119 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Social Action and Research Centre, Anglicare Tasmania, p.81

19

A higher risk of developing mental disorder. Nationally, 43% of people with a severe

disability were at a higher risk of developing mental disorders than the Australian

average of 20%120.

The 2009 Anglicare survey also found that households where the participant or someone in

their household had had a serious illness in the previous year had experienced greater

difficulties with health costs than those with a disability or mental health issue (44.6% with a serious illness had reported a big problem with the cost of prescriptions compared with

38.0% of people with a disability and 32.8% of people with mental illness, while 38.0% of

people with a serious illness had reported a big problem with the cost of medical appointments, compared with 30.7% of people with a disability and 24.8% of people with

mental illness121). ‘Other’ transport costs were a problem for 43.2% of households where

someone had experienced a serious illness.

Seniors (aged 65 years and over)

In 2009, people aged 65 years and over accounted for 15.3% of the Tasmanian population,

compared with 13.5% nationally122. Population projections indicate that almost one-third

(30.2%) of Tasmania’s population will be aged 65 years and over by 2041123.

The level of weekly expenditure on goods and services for households in which the reference person was aged 65 years and over ($462) was substantially below the

Tasmanian state average of $759 for all households124. In 2003-04, these households spent

disproportionately more per week than the state average on food (20.2% compared with the state average of 17.8%), medical care and health expenses (7.8% compared with 4.8%),

and domestic fuel and power (4.7% compared with 3.7%).125

Poverty rates126 nationally were found to be consistently high among the elderly127, particularly single elderly people.

Seniors (65 years and over) were less likely to find cost a barrier to seeing a GP. This may

largely be due to increased government assistance for older age groups, by way of

Pensioner and Health Care Card concessions128. They were also less likely to smoke or

have a mobile phone. In 2007-08, current smokers129 accounted for 8.4% of people aged 65

120 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results, 2007

(cat. no. 4326.0) 121 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Social Action and Research Centre, Anglicare Tasmania, p.125 122 In 2009, there were 76 900 people aged 65 years and over in Tasmania. Tasmania had the second highest proportion

(15.3%) of people aged 65 years and over among the states and territories, after South Australia (15.4%). The proportion

of people aged 65 years and over increased from 14.2% at June 2004 to 15.3% at June 2009. See Australian Bureau of

Statistics 2010, Population by Age and Sex, Regions of Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 3235.0) 123 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health Report 2008, p.9 Data source:

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Population Projections, Australia, 2006 to 2101 (cat. no. 3222.0) 124 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04 (Reissue),

Tasmania Data Cube: Table 19 (cat. no. 6530.0) 125 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04 (Reissue) (cat.

no. 6530.0) 126 Based on the 50% median poverty line. See Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University

of Melbourne, 2010, Families, Incomes and Jobs Volume 5, ‘A Statistical Report on Waves 1 to 7 of the Household, Income and

Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (HILDA), p.34 127 Note, however, that elderly people are more likely to own their own house than are younger people, and this income

poverty measure does not account for in-kind services provided by owner occupied housing. The income poverty rates

for the elderly are therefore likely to overstate the extent of their relative deprivation. See Melbourne Institute of Applied

Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, 2010, Families, Incomes and Jobs Volume 5, ‘A Statistical Report on

Waves 1 to 7 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (HILDA), p.38 128 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Health Services: Patient Experiences in Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4839.0.55.001) 129 Current smokers include current daily smokers and other current smokers. See Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009,

National Health Survey: Summary of Results, 2007-08 (Reissue); Glossary (cat. no. 4364.0). Data for current smokers is also

presented in Tasmania Together Indicator 4.3.3: Proportion of Tasmanians aged 18 and over who are current smokers.

See www.ttbenchmarks.com.au

20

years and over, compared with 37.3% of people aged 18-24 years130. The 2009 Anglicare

survey found that while 83.7% of participants had a mobile phone, of those that did not,

74.1% were aged 45 years and over131.

Households in which the reference person was aged 65 years and over have been found to

be more likely to experience the following:

Live in a couple only household or a lone person household.

Own their home outright. Despite Tasmania’s ageing population, the proportion of

home owners without a mortgage has decreased over time, from 42.0% in 2000-01 to 36.4% in 2007-08. The decline in outright home ownership may, in part, be due to

increasing uptake of flexible low-cost financing options which allow households to

extend their existing home mortgages for purposes other than the original home purchase132.

Have high net wealth and relatively low income. Typically, wealth accumulates with

age. There is also a strong correlation between net worth and home ownership, as

for many households, their dwelling is their main asset. Households with high net

worth are more likely to own their own home with only a small or no mortgage

outstanding, and therefore only have low housing costs133. However, people who own their own home without a mortgage can experience difficulties in meeting

regular costs, such as rates, insurance, and maintenance costs. Additional costs may

also be incurred by some, through body corporate fees or the need to modify their homes for a disability134.

Have increased frequency of visits to GPs and prescription of medicines as age

increases135 and as the prevalence of chronic health conditions increases136.

Be uninsured. With regard to building and contents, non-insurance was found to be

associated with retiree households with a mortgage. With regard to private health

insurance, in 2007-08, 57.6% of people aged 75 years and over did not have this kind

of insurance137. Of those Tasmanians without private health insurance, 65.1% cited

cost ('cannot afford it/too expensive') as the main reason for not insuring. Compared to other state/territories, Tasmanians were least able to afford private health

insurance138.

Spend disproportionately more on discretionary spending items such as recreation

(12.8%) than the state average of 12.5%139.

130 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, National Health Survey: Summary of Results; State Tables, 2007-08 (Reissue);

Tasmania Data Cube, Table 11.3 (cat. no. 4362.0) 131 Flanagan, K. 2010, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p.110 132 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Housing Occupancy and Costs, 2007-08: Summary of Findings (cat. no. 4130.0) 133 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution, Australia, 2005-06; Summary of Findings (cat. no. 6554.0) 134 Tasmanian Council of Social Services (TasCOSS) 2009, Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low

incomes, TasCOSS, Sandy Bay, p.24 135 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Age Matters, Dec 2010 (cat no 4914.0.55.001) 136 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health Report 2008, p.8 137 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, National Health Survey: Summary of Results, State Tables, 2007-08 (Reissue);

Tasmania Data Cube: Table 16.3 (cat. no. 4362.0) 138 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, National Health Survey: Summary of Results, 2007-08 (Reissue); Data Cubes: Table

19 (cat. no. 4364.0) and Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, National Health Survey: Summary of Results; State Tables, 2007-

08 (Reissue); State Data Cubes: Table 17 (cat. no. 4362.0) 139 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of Results, 2003-04 (Reissue),

Tasmania Data Cube (cat. no. 6530.0)

21

Aboriginal Tasmanians

A national study has found that Indigenous Australians are at risk of missing out on a range

of essential items, including dental care, a substantial daily meal, prescribed medications, a

decent and secure home, school activities and outings for children, and a hobby or leisure activity for children 140.

Aboriginal Tasmanians have been identified as having lower incomes than non-Aboriginal

Tasmanians141 and being at greater risk of financial stress. In 2008, 31.0% of Tasmanian

Aboriginal households were unable to raise emergency money, while 17.9% ran out of cash for basic living expenses.142

Aboriginal people have been found to be more likely to experience the following:

Food insecurity, including missing meals due to shortage of money143.

Difficulties with utilities bills, electricity disconnections (and often not in receipt of an electricity concession even if eligible) and being unable to heat their home144.

Have their phone disconnected145.

The cost of wood as a problem for their household146.

Be renting their dwelling, living in public housing147 and over-represented in all categories of the homeless population148.

Transport disadvantage – in 2002, only 78.0% of Tasmanian Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over reported that they could easily get to places needed149).

Participate in gambling activities150.

Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Tasmanians

The 2006 Census found that 3% of Tasmanians speak a language other than English at

home. It is recognised nationally that refugees151 and people of non-English speaking

background152 face financial hardship and financial stress153 as a result of poor access to the

140 Saunders, P, Naidoo, Y, Griffiths, M 2007 Towards new indictors of disadvantage deprivation and social exclusion in

Australia, Social Policy Research Centre, p52 141 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007, Census Basic Community Profile Series 2006: Indigenous Profile, Tasmania

(cat. no. 2002.0) 142Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2008; Tasmania State

Tables (cat. no. 4714.0) 143 Department of Health and Human Services, 2004. Adams, D. 2009, A Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania, pp.27-28,

Flanagan, K. 2010, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania p48 144 Flanagan, K. 2010, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania p48, 104,105 145 Flanagan, K. 2010, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania p48 146 Flanagan, K. 2010, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, pp.105-107

A report by the ABS on energy use and conservation found that heaters are a major contributor to household energy

costs in Tasmania, and of Tasmanian households with heaters, 26.9% were fuelled by wood.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Environmental Issues: Energy Use and Conservation, Mar 2008, Chapter 4 Heaters and

Coolers Data Cube: Table 4.8 (cat. no. 4602.0.55.001) 147 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006, Housing Occupancy and Costs, Australia, 2005-06 (cat. no. 4130.0.55.001, Table 2) 148 Chamberlain, C, and MacKenzie, D, 2009 Counting the Homeless 2006: Tasmania, Cat No HOU 208, Canberra:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. P47,48 149 Adams, D. 2009, A Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania; Appendix 1: The Evidence for Social Inclusion in Tasmania, p.A1.71 150 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence Study, p.13 151 http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-04/poverty/report/c15.htm, Flanagan, J

2007, Dropped from the Moon, Social Action Research Centre, Anglicare p25 152 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p25 153 Arashiro, Z. 2010 Financial inclusion in Australia: Towards Transformative Policy, Social Working Paper No. 13.

Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Centre for Public Policy University of Melbourne; Melbourne, p.10

22

employment market. There is also data to suggest that people from Asian and other non-

western countries are more likely to be uninsured for buildings and contents154.

There are bills to pay, electricity, house rent and when you look at these things you find that you are only left with maybe $20 for the fortnight. It is not enough

money. These are some of the things that are really hard.

Young man from Northern Africa, living in Hobart155

The problem for me, my house is very cold and the floor [has] no carpet. Very

cold. The children are sick every day in winter. Money $420 for rent a

fortnight. Very cold...it is not enough heating and it cost me a lot of money to buy the gas.

Woman from North Africa, living in Hobart156

The Refugee Council of Australia has noted that lack of financial resources combined with a

lack of familiarity with living costs and budgeting can result in new entrants experiencing severe poverty in their first years in Australia157. A 2007 Anglicare report on the settlement

experiences of refugees highlighted a number of issues relating to cost of living risk158:

93% of participants surveyed were dependent on government benefits and allowances as their main source of income.

Budgetary items most commonly cited as causing financial difficulties were food, electricity, medicines and nappies and formula.

Transport problems limited shopping options and being able to find savings from buying in bulk.

High rental costs were putting pressure on household budgets (even after using financial counselling services, some participants remained in financial stress).

Poor quality housing (including properties that were dirty, damp, leaking, had no

heating or malfunctioning wood heaters, no hot water and stoves that did not work)

was a significant problem.

As a group, refugees have few or no assets or possessions, low income levels and few

networks of support159. In spite of this some refuges find they are required to find a

substantial proportion of their bond and rent in advance.

A recent Sudanese community forum160 noted:

Community members sacrifice food and other bills to pay urgent bills.

154Tooth, R and Barker, G. 2007, The Non-Insured: Who, Why and Trends, Insurance Council of Australia. Accessed at

http://www.insurancecouncil.com.au/Portals/24/Issues/The%20Non%20Insured%20-%20Report.pdf 155 Flanagan, J. 2007. Dropped from the Moon: the settlement experiences of refugee communities in Tasmania. Anglicare

Tasmania: Hobart, p. 63 156 Flanagan, J. 2007. Dropped from the Moon: the settlement experiences of refugee communities in Tasmania. Anglicare

Tasmania: Hobart, p. 67 157 Refugee Council of Australia, 2008. Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program: Community views on current challenges

and future directions. Accessed at http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/resources/intakesub/2008-09_Intake_Sub.pdf 158 Flanagan, J. 2007. Dropped from the Moon: the settlement experiences of refugee communities in Tasmania. Anglicare

Tasmania: Hobart 159 Subsequent research on financial hardship in Tasmania notes that people from a non-English speaking background

appear to experience much higher rates of hardship than the general community. See Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times:

Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p47 160 Sudanese Community Forum held in Hobart on 17 September 2011.

23

There seems to be a 50/50 split between the use of Aurora Pay As You Go

(APAYG) electricity and quarterly bills and there is concern that APAYG is more

expensive than quarterly bills.

Many community members pay regular (monthly) amounts to stop the shock of large

quarterly bills.

The three main cost of living stressors, in order of priority, are the increasing cost of

rent, electricity and groceries.

Covert discrimination can add to the difficulty of finding affordable and appropriate

accommodation.

24

PLACES

People who live in rural areas significant distances from major population centres, urban fringe

areas and areas of high disadvantage, may disproportionately suffer the impacts of cost of

living increases on the basis of where they live. This is especially likely to be the case for people living on low incomes.

Broad-acre public housing estates, traditionally located at significant distances from major

population centres, can isolate residents from essential services, and reduce their ability to

access education, employment and recreation opportunities. These expanding urban fringe areas161 have seen population growth outstrip the development of adequate infrastructure,

such as regular public transport services. They are characterised by high population growth

rates, higher proportions of young people (aged 18 years and under), higher unemployment and larger proportions of families with children compared to urban and rural areas. These

areas face high demand for travel to the major urban centres for school, work and

services162.

Key issues for people living in each of areas of location disadvantage include the absence of

services and the cost of transport which combine to make a significant impact on costs of

living across the board.

Areas of low socio-economic status

In 2006, the ABS Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) Index of Relative Socio-

economic Disadvantage (IRSD)163 revealed that Tasmania had the highest proportion

161 The urban fringe includes the towns of Sorell, Brighton, New Norfolk, Huonville, Kettering, Woodbridge, Exeter,

George Town, Deloraine, Cressy, Longford, Perth, Evandale, Wynyard, Penguin, Ulverstone and Port Sorell. See

Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources 2007, Connected Communities: Better Bus Services in Tasmania, Report

of the Core Passenger Services Review, Volume 1 Main report, November 2007, p.xviii 162 Stanley, J., Stanley, J, and Currie, G. 2007 ‘Introduction’ in No Way to go: transport and social disadvantage in Australian

communities, edited by Currie, G., Stanley, J and Stanley, J. Monash University ePress: Melbourne, pp. 1.1-1.11. 163 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Information Paper: An Introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2006

(cat. no. 2039.0)

The SEIFA is a collection of four indexes which compare the relative social and economic conditions of cities, towns and

suburbs across Australia. SEIFA is calculated using a range of variables from the Census, the latest SEIFA indexes being

sourced from the 2006 Census. Each index summarises a different aspect of the socio-economic conditions of people

living in an area.

SEIFA scores are calculated for a range of different geographic areas of different sizes, including small areas such as suburbs

and CDs. This allows for the identification of pockets of disadvantage within wealthier areas.

The most commonly-used index is the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD), which can be used to

identify areas with high proportions of people and households with characteristics associated with disadvantage such as low

income, low levels of qualifications, unemployment and employment in low skilled occupations, as shown below:

Census variables included in the SEIFA Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage, 2006:

% Occupied private dwellings with no internet connection

% Employed people classified as Labourers

% People aged 15 years and over with no post-school qualifications

% People with stated annual household equivalised income between $13 000 and $20 799 (approximately the 2nd and

3rd deciles of the income distribution)

% Households renting from Government or Community organisation

% People (in the labour force) unemployed

% Single parent families with dependent children only

% Households paying rent less than $120 per week (excluding $0 per week)

% People aged under 70 years who have a long-term health condition or disability and need assistance with core activities

% Occupied private dwellings with no car

% People who identified themselves as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander

% Occupied private dwellings requiring one or more extra bedrooms (based on Canadian National Occupancy Standard)

% People aged 15 years and over who are separated or divorced

% Employed people classified as Machinery Operators and Drivers

% People aged 15 years and over who did not go to school

% Employed people classified as Low Skill Community and Personal Service Workers

% People who do not speak English well

25

(31.9%) of the population living in areas that fell into the most disadvantaged socio-

economic quintile after the Northern Territory (32.0%). Nationally, 18.8% of the

population lived in the most disadvantaged socio-economic quintile164.

Tasmania had five Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the lowest SEIFA IRSD quintile:

Brighton, George Town, Break O’Day, Tasman and Derwent Valley165. These LGAs ranked

not only amongst the most disadvantaged areas in the state, but also in the nation.

The following 39 suburbs/towns were in the lowest SEIFA IRSD decile in Tasmania, and

ranked as the most disadvantaged areas in the state: Gagebrook, Rocherlea, Clarendon

Vale, Shorewell Park, Bridgewater, Pioneer, Ravenswood, Mayfield, Warrane, Mathinna,

Goodwood, Waverley, Chigwell, Parattah, Rokeby, East Devonport, Risdon Vale, Waratah, Derby, St Marys, George Town, Railton, Eggs and Bacon Bay, Ouse, Maydena, Acton,

Beaconsfield, Nietta, White Beach, Zeehan, Derwent Park, Hillcrest, Wivenhoe, Fingal,

Invermay, Avoca, Primrose Sands, New Norfolk and Westerway. These include urban,

regional and rural areas.

There is a higher likelihood that people who live in areas with poorer socio-economic

conditions experience low income, food insecurity, comparatively poorer health than

people from other areas166, transport disadvantage, educational disadvantage and poorer standard of housing and access to medical services167. They are also more likely to have low

educational attainment, which can affect the ability to obtain information on health services

and health risk prevention, as well as limit employment choices and opportunities168.

The 2007-08 ABS National Health Survey found that approximately one quarter of people

living in the most disadvantaged areas had private health insurance, compared with three

quarters (75%) of those living in areas of least disadvantage. They were more likely to be covered by government health concession cards or veteran concession cards, reflecting the

greater proportion of people receiving pensions and other income support in more

disadvantaged areas169.

Place: Transport disadvantage

Anglicare’s 2009 survey of emergency relief clients found that people from rural areas

reported higher rates of hardship than people from urban areas on all indicators except

those relating to heating the home and telephone disconnections170. There has been

growing demand for emergency relief services from people in rural communities171.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Information Paper: An Introduction to Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2006

(cat. no. 2039.0) 164 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Census of Population and Housing: Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia,

2006, Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD): Census Collection Districts, Data Cube (cat. no. 2033.0.55.001) 165 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, Census of Population and Housing: Socio-economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), Australia,

2006; Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage (IRSD):Local Government Areas Data Cube (cat. no. 2033.0.55.001) 166 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Australian Social Trends, Mar 2010: 'Health and socio-economic

disadvantage' (cat. no. 4102.0) 167 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Australian Social Trends, Mar 2010: 'Health and socio-economic

disadvantage' (cat. no. 4102.0) 168 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Australian Social Trends, Mar 2010: 'Health and socio-economic

disadvantage' (cat. no. 4102.0) 169Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Australian Social Trends, Mar 2010, Feature Article: Health and Socio-economic

Disadvantage (cat. no. 4102.0)

Nationally, around half (51%) of people living in the most disadvantaged areas were covered by one of these cards

compared with under one-fifth (18%) of people living in the least disadvantaged areas. 170Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania,p25 171 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p.19

26

Private vehicle ownership is an almost necessary expense because of the shortage of public

transport services172. The 2009 Anglicare survey found that rural households experienced

greater difficulty with transport costs than urban households: 36.5% of rural households reported car registration costs as a big problem compared with 31.7% of urban households;

30.6% cited problems with car repair/maintenance costs compared with 29.1%; and 29.6%

struggled with petrol costs compared with 29.0%173.

The 2009 Anglicare emergency relief survey found that transport costs were a problem for

a large proportion of participants, especially the cost of owning and running a private car.

The cost of vehicle registration was the biggest issue, with 34.1% of participants describing it

as a big problem, compared to 30.4% identifying car repairs/maintenance as a big problem and 29.5% indicating that fuel costs were a big problem174. Of particular difficulty was

finding lump sums of money to meet the costs of registration and/or repairs. The cost of

motor vehicle registration and car repairs is one of the common triggers for seeking

emergency financial relief or short-term high interest pay-day loans175.

Without transport, their access to education, health services, community

support services, cheaper retail outlets and even family support was restricted.

For many people, however, the only possible transport was their own car. Income levels meant that these cars were rarely serviced, often uninsured and

at times unregistered. The cost of registration was prohibitive for many people

and a number of participants reported that they had downgraded their cars at

registration time to buy a car with a longer registration.176

The focus on car based transport has contributed to dispersed settlement patterns and low density housing, and location of affordable housing in urban fringe areas177. Some

households may consciously decide to trade off lower housing costs for higher transport

costs by deciding to locate on the more affordable urban fringe178, but are more vulnerable to rising fuel costs as a result.

Place: Food insecurity

A range of community sector reports have identified the cost of food and groceries to be a

significant factor in rural and peri-urban communities179. The lack of retail outlets, especially the large supermarkets means that residents are often reliant on smaller shops where food

and groceries are more expensive. People interviewed described paying two and three

times more for items in their local area compared to major centres. Many people found it cheaper to drive long distances to major centres and buy in bulk. This option of course is

172Forced car ownership was a term first used in relation to rural low income residents in the UK, and refers to low

income households who are forced into car ownership because no alternatives are available. Cars are seen as one of the

items of household expenditure that cannot be foregone, even though major sacrifices may have to be made in order to

meet car-ownership and running costs. See Currie, G. and Senbergs, Z., ‘Exploring Forced car ownership in metropolitan

Melbourne’, 30th Australasian Transport Research Forum, 25-27 Sep 2007; see also, Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times:

Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p.86 173 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p.77 174 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p.76 175 Anglicare Australia 2010, In from the Edge: State of the Family Report, Oct, 2010, p.5 176 Flanagan, J, 2000 Hearing the Voices Vol. 1. of the Just Tasmania series, Anglicare Tasmania: Hobart. 177 Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources (DIER), 2007 Southern Region Overview Report, a report informing

development of the Southern Integrated Transport Plan. 178 Currie, G. and Senbergs, Z., ‘Exploring Forced car ownership in metropolitan Melbourne’, 30th Australasian Transport

Research Forum, 25-27 Sep 2007, p.3 179 TasCOSS 2009, Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes, p.40; TasCOSS 2008 Enhancing

Quality of Life Addressing poverty and disadvantage through the HACC programme p.78; Flanagan, J. and Flanagan K. 2011. The

Price of Poverty: the cost of living for low income earners, Anglicare Tasmania: Hobart, pp.32-33

27

only available to people who have access to a private vehicle and those without are reliant

more expensive local items.

If I go to Launceston and if I’ve got the money, I can get three times the amount of groceries I can get here.

East Coast respondent180

Some areas in Tasmania are also currently, or at risk of becoming ‘food deserts’181. The key

characteristics of a food desert are a place where:

Access is difficult (eg limited transport options);

Quality of food is low (eg freshness, nutritious, culturally appropriate etc);

Quantity/range is restricted (ie limited choice);

Prices higher than average (affordability).

While Tasmania is positioning itself to be the nation’s food bowl, we must also acknowledge

and respond to the fact that, there are parts of Tasmania that could be referred to as food deserts. Outside of our urban centres, people can find it very difficult to purchase

affordable and healthy food. A key point here is that often low income families move to

the urban fringe and rural areas of Tasmania because of low rental costs but these are

precisely the places where food deserts are more likely.

The local food shop is very expensive. The food is out of date and there’s not

much choice. I can’t afford the supermarket because of the cost of transport.

51 year old woman, currently homeless, Clarence Plains182

Even in larger regional centres such as Queenstown, Smithton, Scottsdale and St Helens there are few retail food outlets, a limited range of nutritious food available, and food is

significantly more expensive than in the cities.

I never ever thought I would see, in this rich farming community, a farming family with absolutely no food on the table. Ever. It broke my heart.

Circular Head respondent183

Communities are struggling with how to respond to this issue. In Rocherlea, the Northern

Suburbs Community Centre has initiated distributing vegetable boxes because residents without private transport or with mobility issues find it difficult to get to the nearest

supermarket that is four to five kilometres away. In Clarendon Vale, the Neighbourhood

Centre has begun a food cooperative. In St Helens people are car pooling to do their shopping in Launceston. In Dorset and Clarence municipalities, the Tasmanian Food

Security Council has funded research to examine the availability of affordable and nutritious

food.

Place: Access to services

The centralisation of health services, including dental services and bulk billing general

practitioners, means that there is a significant cost associated with accessing public health

services. Most specialist medical facilities are located in major urban areas, which necessarily

180TasCOSS 2009 Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes p40 181 Draft Tasmanian Food Security Strategy (unpublished). 182 Flanagan, J. and Flanagan K. 2011. The Price of Poverty: the cost of living for low income earners, Anglicare Tasmania:

Hobart, pp. 33 183 Relationships Australia Local Voices: Enquiry into Community Assets in Circular Head Tasmania, p.22

28

require patients to travel some distance to attend appointments and undergo treatment184.

Many people on the West Coast, the far North West, the East Coast, and the Tasman

Peninsula reported having to travel long distances to access the health care services they required185.

A trip to the dentist from our town is $20 in petrol, and a day out of school for

the kids, that’s the closest dentist. It’s alright to say go to the dentist it’s free,

but it’s not.

East Coast respondent186

Accessing Centrelink Services can impose significant costs where travel is required.

Low cost travel may be provided for compulsory education where young people are

required to travel long distances, but post compulsory education notwithstanding subsidised fares can be expensive where travel to a major centre is required. Areas outside of major

centres offer limited options for Years 11 and 12 and in some cases this is restricted to

online learning. Families on the West Coast, East Coast and Tasman Peninsula have described the high costs associated with attending major centres to access post year ten

education. Travel costs combined with the expense of accommodation are strong

disincentives to continuing education past year 10.

Poor infrastructure, including lack of access to reticulated water, lack of public telephones

and ATMs and limited internet access can mean additional costs. People in some areas are

reliant on purchasing tank water. This can also mean that strategies for reducing costs such

as a home vegetable garden are not able to be implemented.

We can’t afford to buy the water – it’s $200 to get the water a load – so I’ve

stopped watering the garden so we can’t grow vegies.

Louise187

Place: Recreation

Households are less likely to be connected to a computer, the internet and/or broadband if

they are located outside the metropolitan area188.

Recreational facilities and sporting opportunities may be limited or absent for people living

in rural, isolated and even urban fringe areas. Those that choose to travel in order to participate, face additional costs.189

The Tasmanian Social and Economic Impact Study into Gambling in Tasmania concluded

that “gambling190 may act as a substitute for other forms of recreation and culture expenditure, and the rate of growth of recreation expenditure is negatively correlated with

the rate of growth in gambling expenditure”. It also concluded that households which

184 Flanagan, K. 2009 Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Social Action and Research Centre, Anglicare Tasmania, p.82 185 TasCOSS, 2009 Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes, pp.39-40 186 TasCOSS, 2009 Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes, pp.40 187 TasCOSS 2008 Enhancing Quality of Life Addressing poverty and disadvantage through the HACC programme 188 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010 Tasmanian Statistical News, Mar 2010; Feature Article: How connected are we? (cat.

no. 1301.6.55.001) 189 TasCOSS 2009, Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes, p.46 190 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1

Gambling is viewed by some as a form of entertainment. It encompasses casinos, electronic gaming machines (EGMs),

sports betting, lotteries and racing. Tasmania was the first state to have a casino and the last state to allow for the

introduction of EGMs into hotels and clubs, noting that Western Australia does not allow EGMs into hotels and clubs.

29

participate in gambling have higher than expected expenditure on food, non-alcoholic drinks

and alcohol191.

Social and recreational options? Bingo, drinking at the hotel, the pokies.

West Coast resident192

Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs) account for three-quarters (74.6%) of total player expenditure, and more than half of this (55.5%) is spent in hotels and clubs, compared with

44.5% in casinos193. The Gaming Control Act 1993 has set a maximum limit of 3 680 EGMs in

Tasmania. At 31 March 2011, there were 3 654 EGMs in operation194.

The greatest concentration of EGMs is in the Local Government Area (LGA) of Hobart

(24.4%) due to the location of Wrest Point Casino, followed by Meander Valley (15.4%)

due to the location of the Country Club Casino. The greatest concentration of EGMs

outside of these areas is in Launceston (10.2%), Glenorchy (7.3%), Devonport (6.2%), Clarence (4.5%) and Central Coast (3.6%). Together, these seven LGAs account for almost

three-quarters (71.6%) of EGMs in the state195.

An econometric analysis conducted by the Productivity Commission found that nationally there is a concentration of EGMs in lower socio-economic areas. There is also an inverse

relationship between income of an area and the total amount spent on EGMs, and a

negative and significant relationship between regional median weekly income and annual average expenditure on EGMs.196

The Tasmanian Social and Economic Impact Study into Gambling in Tasmania found that

the presence of EGMs (excluding casinos) within disadvantaged communities posed an

additional risk to these communities, which already report poor health and wellbeing outcomes. An association exists between the location of EGMs, disadvantaged

communities and correspondingly high player losses: Glenorchy reported a loss per capita of

$660, compared with Hobart which reported a loss of $195 per adult197. Machine revenue

has been observed to decrease as the level of disadvantage declines198.

In 2008-09, the Tasmanian per capita expenditure on EGMs was $343199. This was up from

$231 in 2006-07. LGAs with the highest rates of EGM expenditure per capita were:

1. West Coast $782 (Decile 3 on the IRSD)

2. Devonport $665 (Decile 4 on the IRSD)

3. Glenorchy $660 (Decile 3 on the IRSD)

191 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, p.124 192 TasCOSS 2009, Just scraping by? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes, p.46 193 Department of Treasury and Finance, Industry Data. Accessed at http://www.tenders.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/v-liq-

and-gaming/C1E6645F375BFAEBCA257346001122A1, viewed 15/04/11 194 Of these, 2 384 (65.2%) were located in clubs and hotels, and 1 270 (34.8%) were located in casinos. Additionally,

there were 23 EGMs on each of the two Spirit of Tasmania vessels

Department of Treasury and Finance, Industry Data. Accessed at http://www.tenders.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/v-liq-

and-gaming/C1E6645F375BFAEBCA257346001122A1, viewed 29/04/11 195 Department of Treasury and Finance, Industry Data. Accessed at http://www.tenders.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/v-liq-

and-gaming/C1E6645F375BFAEBCA257346001122A1, viewed 29/04/11 196 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, p.215 197 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, p.213 198 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, p.214 199 Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2011, Ministerial Council Presentation: “Electronic gaming, Health

and Communities in Tasmania”

30

4. Waratah/Wynyard $598 (Decile 5 on the IRSD)

5. Burnie $545 (Decile 4 on the IRSD)

6. George Town $480 (Decile 1 on the IRSD)

Figure 1 shows that venues with EGMs appear to be more prevalent in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, with machines in disadvantaged areas earning higher per capita

revenue.

Figure 1 - Socio Economic Index for Areas (SEIFA): Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage and EGM venue locations

Source: Department of Health and Human Services 2009, Kids Come First Report 2009: Outcomes for children and young people in

Tasmania

A 2007 Prevalence Survey200 commissioned by the Department of Treasury and Finance

found that 71.7% of Tasmanian adults surveyed had participated in gambling at least once in

the previous year. This was down from 85% in 2005, although this is likely to be due to

raffle tickets no longer being included. The most popular gambling activities in 2007 were lotteries (52.3%), scratch tickets (31.8%), EGMs (28.5%), Keno (25.9%), horse racing

(16.8%), casino table games (7.0%), and sports (3.9%)201.

People most likely to participate in gambling activities were job seekers, people with lower educational attainment, and Aboriginal people. People least likely to gamble were students

and older people (aged 60 years and over). Men and women were equally likely to

gamble202.

200 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence Study. 201 Participants were able to select more than one gambling activity. See The South Australian Centre for Economic

Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence

Study, p.(ii) and Appendix A: Q1 Gambling Activities 202 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence Study, p.13

31

While the prevalence of problem gambling in Tasmania has decreased, from 1.7% in 2005

to 1.4% in 2007203, the number of problem gamblers in Tasmania is likely to be

underestimated204.

Problem gambling rates were found to be higher in males, in people aged 18-29 years, and

in those living in the Greater Hobart area205. Problem and moderate risk gamblers were

also much more likely to smoke, with 40% of regular gamblers identified in the 2007

Prevalence Survey as being smokers206.

A 2007 Survey for the Gambling Support Program of the Department of Health and

Human Services (DHHS) conducted by KPMG, entitled Break Even Gambling Services Client

Information Report for the period 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2005, highlighted the long term nature of gambling problems. Of 1 071 respondents, 15.5% had experienced gambling

problems for 10 years or more, 17.7% for between five and 10 years, 31.9% for between

two and five years, and 19.5% for between one and two years. Only 15.3% had had

problems for less than a year. The report found that almost half (48.0%) of clients

responding to the question about the gambler’s occupation were unemployed or not in the

labour force: 33.8% were not in paid employment, 11.7% were classed as home duties and

2.5% as students. Of 1 434 responses, 75.9% cited EGMs in hotels and clubs as the main source of gambling problems, 40.7% cited EGMs in casinos, 15.3% cited TOTE/racing; 7.0%

cited Keno, 5.9% cited casino gaming tables, and1.9% cited lotteries. 207

The 2007 Prevalence Survey found that 3.6% of moderate risk and problem gamblers

reported that most of the time or almost always, gambling left no money for rent; 9.1%

reported that gambling left no money for bills, and 12.7% that they experienced substantial

debt because of gambling208.

203 Tasmania Together Indicator 4.3.1: Prevalence of problem gambling. See www.ttbenchmarks.com.au 204 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence Study, p.75 205 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, p.xiv 206 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence Study, p.75 207 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, p.192 208 The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and Economic Impact Study into

Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1, Table 15.3, p.234

32

Responses The policy framework for Cost of Living outlined in A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania

highlights examples of responses that can be made by governments, individuals, markets and communities to address cost of living pressures. This section examines a number of

responses outlined in the strategy under the broad categories of:

Increasing productivity

Building financial capability

Strengthening consumer protection

Building networks of support, and

Strengthening the safety net

This section provides additional policy detail regarding the range of available information on specific initiatives across these areas. For example, the Concessions discussion, in the

strengthening the safety net section contains a detailed inter-jurisdictional comparison of

concessions. The responses discussed are illustrative, not exhaustive and provide supplementary information and an evidence base for the recommendations contained in A

Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania.

INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY

The extent to which individuals and households can draw down on income and other

resources affects how well they can respond to cost of living pressures. The main ways

people receive an income is either the salary or wages from working, or support payments

(pensions, benefits and allowances) from the government, or a combination of wages and

support payments.

A recent report by Fair Work Australia on relative living standards and the needs of low-

paid employees noted that “the incidence of all forms of financial stress declines consistently with higher levels of household employment,” and that those in intermittent or insecure

employment are the most at risk of poor outcomes209. Workforce participation, as well as

contributing to overall productivity and living standards, is important for enabling people to generate the income that pays for their costs of living210.

However, not everyone is able to work, or work at a level that provides a sustainable

income, and for this reason the Commonwealth Government’s provision of income support payments is a crucial social institution. As noted in the Henry Tax Review, the primary

focus must be to provide a minimum adequate level of income to people who are unable

to support themselves through work or their savings.

The intersections between the income support and the personal taxation systems are particularly relevant, in that the ways in which these combine can create perverse

outcomes, such as disincentives to work.

The design of the income support system, including amounts of payments and means test withdrawal rates, should take into account how the income support

209 Pech, J. 2011. Relative Living Standards and needs of low-paid employees: definition and measurement, Research Report

2/2011. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, p iii. 210 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, 2010. Inquiry into Raising the Productivity Growth Rate

in the Australian Economy, Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, p 18. Submissions to the Inquiry noted that the

wellbeing of people is enhanced through participation in the workforce in both an economic sense and through a stronger

sense of belonging.

33

system and the personal income tax system together affect incentives to work

and save.

Henry Taxation Review211

The operation of the tax and transfer system is an important component in determining the

amount of disposable income available to individuals and households, some of whom fare much better than others212. In this context, the effective marginal tax rate becomes an

important consideration for low income households who balance cost of living pressures

against the financial rewards of paid employment alongside tax paid and the loss of concessions and other benefits as part of income support payments213.

Labour force participation

Increasing Tasmania’s long term labour productivity growth is a significant challenge for the

Tasmanian Government214. A high participation rate215 can help reduce wages pressure,

increase income for individuals and the economy more generally, and reduce the number of

individuals who are vulnerable to financial pressures216. However, the proportion of

Tasmania’s working age population either working or actively seeking employment is

consistently below the national rate217.

Tasmania’s ageing population is contributing to the challenge. Just over half of the

difference between the Tasmanian and national rates is due to the lower participation of

people aged 50 to 64 years. A significant component is also due to lower participation rates

for those aged 24 to 34 years (many of whom are involved in home duties or child care)218.

Cost of living pressures are also contributing to the productivity challenge as a result of

people struggling to be effective at work due to financial stresses at home. The cumulative

impact of cost of living pressure, particularly when it results in choices to ration food,

medication and access to health services, can undermine people’s health such that it results

211 Commonwealth of Australia, 2010. Australia’s Future Tax System, Chapter F: The Transfer System. 212 Pech, J. 2011. Relative Living Standards and needs of low-paid employees: definition and measurement. Page iv.

This report noted that the operation of the tax/transfer system significant reduces the differences in disposable

households. See also, Headey, B. 2006. A Framework for Assessing Poverty, Disadvantage and Low Capabilities in Australia,

Melbourne Institute Report No. 6. Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research: Melbourne, p 31.

This research noted that the effect of Government payments and taxes was to reduce relative income poverty by about

50% on an annual basis and by about 880% on a three-year basis. It found that within the working age population,

households with children fare better than those without but that single parent households fare less well than couple

households with children; unpartnered people without children fare least well. 213 Reference Group on Welfare Reform, 2000. Participation Support for a More Equitable Society, p 25.

In a discussion of the impact of income tests for various payments, their interaction with the tax system and loss of other

benefits such as concessions, this report noted that this can lead to a situation where there is little increase in disposable

income when moving from income support to work or increasing hours of work. It also noted that the costs of

participation (particularly child care, housing and transport) may act as a significant disincentive. Notwithstanding this, most

people are motivated to work, and lack of job opportunities can also be an important factor. 214 Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2008. Demographic change in Tasmania: Strategies for addressing challenges

and opportunities. Department of Treasury & Finance: Hobart. The productivity challenge includes reducing obstacles that

prevent people from entering or remaining in the labour force, increasing work skills to make people attractive to

employers, and retaining and attracting younger people and families from interstate and overseas. 215 The labour force participation rate is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as the proportion of the civilian

working age population (those aged 15 years and over) who are in the labour force. The non-participation rate comprises

all people aged 15 years and over who are not employed or unemployed. ABS reference 216 Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2007. Who is not participating in Tasmania’s labour force? Department of

Treasury & Finance: Hobart, p6. 217 Labour force statistics and gross state product statistics cited in Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2007. Who is

not participating in Tasmania’s labour force? Department of Treasury & Finance: Hobart, pages 7 to 8. See also, Bureau of

Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, 2008. A regional economy: a case study of Tasmania, Commonwealth of

Australia: Canberra. 218 Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2007. Who is not participating in Tasmania’s labour force? Department of

Treasury & Finance: Hobart, pp. 24-27; 38-39.

34

in lower workforce participation and productivity219. Almost 14% of the current labour

force, including the unemployed, has reduced participation, or non-participation, due to ill

health220.

In Tasmania, 53.5% of income is derived from wages and salaries compared to 61.5%

nationally221. As well as having the lowest average wages in Australia222, Tasmania has the

lowest average number of employed people in the household223, which also influences

household income224.

Low-wage employees cycle between ‘low pay’ and ‘no pay’, and /or enduring lengthy

periods in low paid work225, and although many low-paid workers are relatively protected

by living with higher-paid workers, people who experience intermittent or insecure employment are the most at risk of financial difficulty226.

In June 2011 there were 236,900 people employed in Tasmania, of which one third (34.2%)

or 81,000 were part-time employees. This was the highest proportion of part-time

employees of any state or territory. Half of all employed females (51.9%) were working on

a part-time basis whereas 18.7% of all employed males were working part-time227.

Many part-time workers have no desire to work additional hours. They enjoy the flexibility

and work/life balance that part-time work offers. However, there are others who want, and are available to work more hours than they currently have. At September 2010, 9.0% of

employed people in Tasmania were part-time workers who would prefer more hours228.

By not working as many hours as they would like, they may be subject to financial stress,

psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction. Underemployment229 in Tasmania has

increased over recent years230 and is higher in Tasmania than any other state or territory.

While employment generally boosts the capacity of individuals and households to manage their cost of living pressures, unemployment affects not only the level of income, but also

other economic resources that help people meet their cost of living. For example, recent

research from the UK suggests that problem debt is less about people’s ability to manage

money and more to do with the availability and quality of employment231.

219 Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2008. Tasmania’s Workforce: health impacts on participation and productivity in

the face of an ageing population. Department of Treasury & Finance: Hobart. See also: Demographic Change Advisory

Council, 2007. Who is not participating in Tasmania’s labour force? Department of Treasury & Finance: Hobart, pp.19-20. 220 Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2008. Tasmania’s Workforce: health impacts on participation and productivity in

the face of an ageing population. Department of Treasury & Finance: Hobart, p 5. 221 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Household Income and Income Distribution, Australia, 2007-08; SIH 2007-08 Data

Cube: Table 16 (cat. no.6523.0) 222 Department of Treasury and Finance, 2010 State Tax Review Discussion Paper. Accessed at

http://taxwatch.org.au/ssl/CMS/files_cms/183_State-Tax-Review-Discussion-Paper.pdf , p10 223 Companion Report 1provides a more detailed description of data from the ABS Household Income and Income

Distribution; SIH 2007-08. 224 Companion Report 1 provides detailed income and employment data. 225 Nelms, L. And Tsingas, C. 2010. Literature review on social inclusion and its relationship to minimum wages and

workforce participation, Research Report 2/2010. Fair Work Australia: Canberra, p18. 226 Pech, J. 2011. Relative living standards and needs of low-paid employees: definition and measurement, Research report

2/2011. Commonwealth of Australia; Canberra, p iii. 227 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators, sourced from Labour Force, Australia (cat.

No. 6202.0), 228 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Underemployed Workers, Australia, Sep 2010: Table 8 (cat. no. 6265.0). Data is also

presented in Tasmania Together Indicator 9.1.2: Extent of underemployment. See www.ttbenchmarks.com.au 229 Underemployment in this instance is defined as the number of part-time workers who would prefer more hours. 230 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2010, Australian Social Trends, Dec 2009; Work Data Cube: table 2.6 (cat. no. 4102.0). In

2010, the proportion of underemployed was 7.2%, up from 5.2% in 2007. 231 Ben-Galim, D. & Lanning, T. 2010. Strengths against shocks: low-income families and debt, Institute for Public Policy

Research: London, p 6.

35

Over the last 10 years, unemployment in Tasmania has been falling, and in June 2011 was at

5.6%232. The reduction in unemployment has been accompanied by a substantial decrease

in long-term unemployment in recent years, although the long-term unemployed still make up a large proportion of Tasmania’s total unemployed233. The long term unemployed are

particularly impacted by cost of living pressures due to the effects of prolonged lack of

income, loss of skills, experience and self-confidence which compounds over time and

affects their ability to obtain work.

Unemployment impacts not only on individuals but also on their families. Tasmania has the

highest proportion of children living in jobless families of all states and territories, with 21.6%

of all children under 15 years of age living in jobless families234. Rates of joblessness are higher for sole parent families, particularly those headed by a female parent and where the

youngest child is under 5 years. The older the children, the more likely sole parents are to

be employed, which may indicate lack of child care support as a barrier235. Persistent

joblessness in sole parent households is also higher236.

Communities in transition

The distribution of jobs in Tasmania means there are individuals, families and communities

for whom joblessness is increasingly an issue. This is particularly the case in communities

where industries are in decline and have traditionally employed people in the area. A recent example is the changes occurring in the forest industry. These changes are impacting

on businesses and workers and leading to loss of work as well as greater variability in

available work.

232 Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011, Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators, sourced from Labour Force, Australia (cat.

No. 6202.0), 233 Adams, D. 2009. Appendix 1, Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania. 234 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008. Australian Social Trends, Data Cube 4102.0, Family and Community Indicators. 235 Adams, D. 2009. Appendix 1, Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania. 236 Wilkins, R., Warren, D., Hahn, M. & Houng, B. 2010. Families, Incomes and Jobs, Volume 5: A Statistical Report on Waves 1

to 7 of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey. Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research:

University of Melbourne, page 70. In 2007, 37% of children in sole-parent households were in jobless households for three

or more years, and 15 percent were in jobless households for six or seven years.

36

Although some workers have skills and education levels that let them move into

employment in other sectors, other workers are less able to do this due to limited

education and formal skills237. The skill of the working age population is a key factor in determining workforce participation, and Tasmania has a skill base which is lower than the

national average238. Foundation skills for social and economic participation – life and work

skills – are developed from early childhood throughout the school years. Investment in the

early years and in our education system is critical as a prevention and early intervention

strategy for building cost of living capacity in Tasmania.

Tasmania’s productivity could be vastly increased with a focus on job opportunities for long

term unemployed Tasmanians as well as more secure work for people struggling on low incomes due to part-time or casual employment, as well as people who are ‘under’

employed.

The recent Anglicare cost of living report highlights that a strategic response to cost of living

would include support for skills training, employment assistance programs and targeted

employment generation for people with disabilities, the long-term unemployed and people

with mental illness or at risk of racial discrimination. These programs would also emphasise

working with employers to overcome barriers to employment and support for people to stay in work.239

237 Schiller, J. 2011. Unpublished PowerPoint presentation: ‘Socio-economic impacts of forest industry change’. 238 Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2007. Who is not participating in Tasmania’s labour force? Department of

Treasury & Finance: Hobart. 239 Flanagan, J. and Flanagan K. 2011. The Price of Poverty: the cost of living for low income earners, Anglicare Tasmania:

Hobart, p61

37

BUILDING FINANCIAL CAPABILITY

Financial capability has a quite specific meaning in an economics sense, referring to people’s

financial literacy and capacity to access the financial products and educational tools they

need to achieve financial stability and build and maintain assets240. People with low financial capability experience a range of difficulties associated with meeting cost of living pressures,

including limited access to credit, insurance and financial information.

Some approaches to financial capability focus on the importance of individual knowledge of

and choice in financial matters and how this affects the way people cope with cost of living pressures and financial stress. These approaches emphasise financial literacy as the way to

develop people’s confidence, knowledge and skills for managing products and services and

being better able to overcome or avoid financial difficulties241.

Financial literacy

The 2008 ANZ Survey of Adult Financial Literacy in Australia found that “Australian adults

generally are financially literate but there are certain groups who face particular challenges

as well as certain areas of money management and products that are not as well understood as they should be”242. It found that people with low levels of financial literacy

were less aware of their rights and responsibilities, for example in relation to insurance

policies and making insurance claims, repaying consumer debts, and making complaints against a bank or other financial institution. They were also more at risk of financial loss due

to lower use of insurance and being less likely to obtain financial information that would

help them purchase less expensive financial products.

Australians are dealing with an increasingly complex financial system, and the National Financial Literacy Strategy notes that this has made financial literacy a necessary and critical

skill for consumers243. It notes there are significant disparities in knowledge and

understanding of financial matters across different groups in the community. Although most

people are confident and knowledgeable about simple and familiar topics such as budgeting,

they are less knowledgeable about topics such as saving for retirement. The four core

elements of the National Financial Literacy Strategy include:

Using educational pathways to build financial literacy;

Providing Australians with trusted and independent information, tools and ongoing support;

Developing additional innovative solutions to drive improved financial wellbeing and

behavioural change; and

Building effective partnerships between those involved in financial literacy work.

240 Sledge, J., Tescher, J. & Gordon, S. 2010. From Financial Education to Financial Capability: Opportunities for Innovation.

Centre for Financial Services Innovation: cfsinnovation.com 241 Australian Securities & Investments Commission, 2001. National Financial Literacy Strategy, Report 229.

Commonwealth of Australia: URL address

See also: Financial Literacy Foundation, 2007. Financial Literacy: Australians understanding money. Commonwealth of

Australia: Canberra. 242 Social Research Centre, 2008. ANZ Survey of Adult Financial Literacy in Australia, page 1. The survey also found a

strong association between financial literacy and demographic/socio-economic characteristics, although it noted that not all

members of a particularly population group would have either low or high financial literacy. People who were more likely

to have low financial literacy included young people (18-24 years) and older people (70 years and over), people whose

formal education did not go beyond year 10, those living in areas of high socio-economic disadvantage, those who were

unemployed, those working in blue collar occupations, those whose main source of income was a government benefit or

allowance, and those whose household income was less than $25,000 243 Australian Securities & Investments Commission, 2001. National Financial Literacy Strategy, Report 229.

Commonwealth of Australia: URL address, pages 4-6.

38

Financial counselling is another mechanism through which to assist people who have less

confidence or expertise to negotiate what is often seen as a complex and daunting financial

services system244. Through financial counselling, people receive advice and assistance in negotiating with creditors, doing something about outstanding bills or debt recovery,

developing budgeting and financial management skills, and exploring financial alternatives.

Financial counsellors can also advocate with government or non-government organisations

on behalf of vulnerable consumers245. Both the Commonwealth and State Governments

provide funding for financial counselling services. Even so, there is evidence that waiting

times for a first appointment are increasing as more people find themselves less able to

manage cost of living pressures in the current economic environment246.

The ANZ paper, Understanding Personal Debt and Financial Difficulty in Australia247

presents the findings of a qualitative study into why some people fall into financial difficulty

and what role financial literacy plays in that outcome. The research shows that people from

a broad range of employment, education, occupation and household income levels were

affected by financial difficulty. However, compared with those who felt in control of their

finances, low income households (under $15 000 a year) were significantly more likely to

experience financial difficulty. In many cases, events outside of people’s control occurred that had the effect of either decreasing income or increasing expenses or both, such as job

loss, poor health, divorce and relationship breakdown and small business struggle or failure.

Studies have shown that poor families tend to keep track of their expenditures and there is

nothing systematically ‘wrong’ in the way they manage their finance, when compared with wealthier families. What is different is that for the low-income and disadvantaged groups,

the consequences of a lack of knowledge or a mistake in planning can be devastating. Their

weaker access to financial safety nets and the fact they are more likely to be financially excluded, mean that they can face long-lasting negative effects in a financial crisis. It is this

higher vulnerability that should be the drive behind financial education of the most financially

disadvantaged rather than preconceptions about their attitude towards money

management248.

Recent economic downturns have affected consumer confidence and increased people’s concern about ongoing capacity to meet cost of living pressures249. During the Tasmania

Together 10-Year Review, Tasmanians said that rising costs for everyday essentials were

increasingly a challenge where they had previously thought they were managing250.

There is a sense that many people have given up and are simply surviving; they

are weary and resigned to ever increasing costs and a bleak future.

244 Livingstone, C., Bruce, e., Kotnik, E. & King, S. no date. Consumer Financial Stress. Monash University: URL address. 245 Flanagan, K. 2009 . Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis. Anglicare Tasmania: Hobart, page 16. 246 Livingstone, C., Bruce, E., Kotnik, E. and King, S. no date. Consumer Financial Stress. Monash University: URL address.

See also: Lifeline Community Care Queensland, 2010. Our Financial Wellbeing: a Report on Financial Stress in

Queensland. www.lccq.org.au 247 ANZ paper, Understanding Personal Debt and Financial Difficulty in Australia, November 2005 248 Arashiro, Z Financial Inclusion in Australia: Towards transformative policy, Social Policy working Paper No.13, August

2010, Melbourne; page 12 249 Both the Suncorp Life Confidence Index (September 2010) and Citibank’s Fin-Q Survey (media releases in January and

February 2011) reported that Australians are less confident/optimistic about their financial future. The Citi Fin-Q Survey

found, for example, that 59% of Australians say their finances were affected by the GFC; 19% think they are well behind

where they should be as a result of the GFC and another 42% say they are a little behind, 41% made a lot of tough

changes to their finances in the past year, and 64% cut back on non-essential spending in the past year. The

Commonwealth Bank’s Economic Vitality Report (September 2010). 250 Tasmania Together Progress Board, 2011. Speak Today Shape Tomorrow: What the Community Said. Tasmania

Together 2020: Hobart, page 4.

39

All felt somewhat defeated and commented that ‘there is nothing we can do,

we just have to deal with what we’ve got’.

Community consultation report251

There is a view that if people made responsible budget choices, they would be able to manage the cost of living pressures they face. However, the evidence shows that people

on low incomes are in fact very good managers of their money252. Often the issues are that

their income level is inadequate, they cannot get appropriate financial information and/or

they cannot access affordable financial products.

Access to affordable financial products

Due to the central role of income and assets in preventing financial vulnerability,

priority should be given to improving access and availability of fair and basic

financial services and products, such as loans, insurance and basic bank

accounts253.

Table 2 demonstrates the irrationality of market logic in relation to banking products for

low income households. It sets out some of the inclusion strategies that can assist

households to afford financial products and build resilience and assets to better ‘cope’ with

cost of living risk.

Table 2 – Financial inclusion strategies

Market Market failure Inclusion strategy

Financial advice Too expensive, biased, not marketed

(Centrelink)

Free and independent financial

information and mentoring

Low cost bank

accounts

Previously unavailable; now not sufficiently

marketed

Proactive marketing by banks to relevant

markets

Savings accounts Too little income; no confidence in saving Matched savings schemes widely available

Loans Cannot afford interest repayments No Interest Loans widely available

No default fee

bank accounts

Available for high bank balance and

sometimes very low income

Corporate social responsibility to ensure

fairness

Retirement

savings/ super

Multiple systemic causes especially for

women

Government regulation and subsidisation

Debt

consolidation

Exploitative, expensive More financial counselling; more

regulation

Source: Landvogt, K. 2008. Financial capability: a view from the margins of the ‘money system’, Brotherhood of St Laurence Lunchtime Seminar. Accessed at http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Kathy_Landvogt_Financial_capability_18Sept08.pdf

One of the resources at the disposal of Tasmanians in terms of managing finances is credit. The cost of credit however is also one example of the cumulative impact of living on a low

income. People on low incomes are often excluded from mainstream financial products and

as a result are dependent on fringe financial services which come at a higher price. The

251 Community Inclusion Workers, Child and Family Centres Project 2011 Community Consultation Report for the Social

Inclusion Unit, Department of Premier and Cabinet 252 Arashiro, Z. 2011. Money matters in times of change: Financial vulnerability through the life course. Brotherhood of St

Laurence: Brunswick. This research notes that debt problems rarely derive from individual’s poor money management. In

reasoning about financial decisions, people take account of their connections with others, the specific demand of their life

stages, and their margin for choice based on their external environment. 253 Arashiro, Z. 2011. Money Matters in Times of Change: Financial Vulnerability through the Life Course. Brotherhood of

St Laurence: Fitzroy, page viii

40

impact of financing high cost loans on a low income can be people becoming stuck in a

debt cycle that leads to serious financial problems.

Financial exclusion occurs when certain groups have limited access to credit, savings, insurance and other financial products. People on low incomes are most

likely to experience financial exclusion. They either go without essential items or

use ‘fringe’ financial services such as pawnbrokers, loan sharks and payday

lenders.254

Nationally, it has been estimated that around 15.6% of the adult population were either fully or partially excluded from financial services - including a basic transaction account, a low

rate credit card and basic general insurance.255

Burkett and Sheehan256 have identified five dimensions of financial exclusion as outlined in

Table 3.

Table 3 – Five As of financial exclusion

Dimensions of

exclusion

Explanation

Availability The kind of service needed does not exist at all or does not exist in an individual’s

locality.

Access A lack of access to particular kinds of financial services because of structural factors or

issues that an individual faces (such as credit record, language or physical disabilities).

Awareness A lack of awareness of fair products or a lack of capacity to engage with services. This

could be as a result of inadequate promotion of basic, fair products by financial service

providers.

Appropriateness Products are not appropriate to an individual’s needs (such as small, regular repayments

on loans for someone on a limited budget) or their cultural backgrounds (for example,

there is a lack of systems in Australia to meet the needs of the Islamic community who

have particular beliefs about the charging of interest).

Affordability An inability to afford existing products (for instance, few insurance products exist for

people living on low incomes) or the cost structures means that people with few financial

resources are charged more.

In Australia less than 1 per cent of people have no basic financial products, primarily

because the government pays Centrelink and other benefits through bank accounts. This is

in contrast to the USA and UK where many do not have a bank account. However research has found that 6 per cent of adults in Australia could be said to be excluded257.

Nationally it has been estimated 15.6% of the adult population are either fully or partially

excluded from financial services - including a basic transaction account, a low rate credit card and basic general insurance258, the average annual cost of which has been calculated at

$1 740259. The Centre for Social Impact has identified one of the strongest causes of

254 Brotherhood of St Laurence Progress Loans towards affordable credit for low income Australians 255 The Centre for Social Impact Measuring Financial Exclusion in Australia 256 Burkett, I and Sheehan G, 2009 From the margins to the mainstream: The challenges for microfinance in Australia, Accessed

at http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BurkittSheehan_From_the_margins_microfinance_2009.pdf 257 Burkett, I and Sheehan G, 2009 From the margins to the mainstream: The challenges for microfinance in Australia,

http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BurkittSheehan_From_the_margins_microfinance_2009.pdf, p 3 258 Connolly C, Georgouras M, Hems L and Wolfson L, 2011 Measuring Financial Exclusion in Australia, Centre for Social

Impact (CSI) – University of New South Wales, , for National Australia Bank 259 Connolly C, Georgouras M, Hems L and Wolfson L, 2011 Measuring Financial Exclusion in Australia, Centre for Social

Impact (CSI) – University of New South Wales, , for National Australia Bank, p4

41

financial exclusion as the absence of basic affordable products260 - banks do not generally

offer small personal loans to low income consumers. Those who are excluded from

mainstream financial services either go without essential items or use ‘fringe’ financial services such as pawnbrokers and payday lenders261. Payday loans are small short term

loans that are available even to people with poor credit history. Lenders compensate for

additional costs involved in administering small, short-term loans by charging higher prices262,

for example, high interest rates and charges which have a significant impact on already low

incomes and can leave people spiralling into further debt263. Fringe banking service, including

payday lenders have proliferated in Australia over recent years, exploiting the lack of

mainstream providers in the market for small amount loans. In many cases, for low income earns requiring a small loan, they provide their only viable option264.

The most common reasons customers give for requesting a payday loan are car registration

and insurance, urgent car repairs, rental bond, fridge or washing machine replacement or

repair, funeral and medical costs, dental expenses, to avoid bank and credit card fees,

multiple utility bills coinciding and traffic or parking fines and legal expenses. These priorities

are reflected in Tasmania, with the additional of examples of people seeking loans for rental

payments265.

In a 2002 survey of emergency relief services clients, 15% of respondents identified loan

costs to be a problem or very big problem for their household266. In a similar 2008 survey,

24.7% of participants said that loan repayments were a big problem and 42.7% said that

they were either a problem or a very big problem267. Loan repayments were the reason for

15% of respondents seeking assistance.

When providers do advance small amounts of credit to lower income households it is often in the form of credit cards. Credit is used for different purposes by different income

groups, with lower income earners more likely to use credit to overcome financial problems

while higher income earners use it to enhance their lifestyles268. Over 80% of households

own a credit card269. For many on low incomes, credit cards are a debt trap, designed to

encourage immediate expenditure without provision for a clear and realistic payment

arrangement270. Lenders indirectly influence an individual’s path to financial difficulty – the

majority of people in the qualitative study with credit cards had received unsolicited credit

limit increase offers. In many cases offers were accepted where pre-existing financial issues

existed. Acceptance was also underpinned by a perception that ‘it must be okay’ because

the lender had sent it out.

260 Connolly C, Georgouras M, Hems L and Wolfson L, 2011 Measuring Financial Exclusion in Australia, Centre for Social

Impact (CSI) – University of New South Wales, , for National Australia Bank 261 Vawser and Associates, 2009 Progress Loans towards affordable credit for low income Australians, Brotherhood of St

Laurence. Accessed at http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Vawser_Progress_Loans_towards_affordable_credit_for_low-

income_Australians_2009.pdf 262 Flanagan, J. and Flanagan K. 2011. The Price of Poverty: the cost of living for low income earners, Anglicare Tasmania:

Hobart. 263 TasCOSS 2009 Just Scraping By? Conversations with Tasmanians Living on Low Incomes 264 Brotherhood of St Laurence, Submission to Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into competition within the Australian

banking sector, November 2010. Accessed at

http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BSL_subm_Senate_inquiry_Competition_in_Australian_banking_sector_2010.pdf , p 5 265 Information provided on the website of the National Financial Services Federation, Payday Lending in Tasmania 266 Madden, K. 2003. Bread and Board; When the Basics Break the Budget. Anglicare Tasmania: Hobart. 267Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania, p59 268 Hughes, C. 2009 Payday Lending in Tasmania, Anglicare Tasmania: Hobart. 269 ING Direct, 2010 Financial Wellbeing Index Q2: New insights into the financial wellbeing of Australian Households.

Accessed at http://www.ingdirect.com.au/assets/pdf/INGD_Financial_Wellbeing_Index_20100804.pdf 270 Brotherhood of St Laurence, Submission to Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into competition within the Australian

banking sector, November 2010, p 4

42

The Brotherhood of St Laurence, in conjunction with the ANZ Bank, has identified that the

key factors leading to financial exclusion include the risk assessment policies and conditions

attached to financial products, the pricing of these products and that the marketing of financial products is often not designed to meet the needs of people on low incomes271.

People are unable to meet lending criteria because their income is too low, they do not

have sufficient assets or appropriate security or they are not in paid work272.

Research has identified education levels can have an impact on exclusion from more

complex financial products such as insurance and that people do not bother applying for

financial products as they believe they would be refused273. The experience of

discrimination in the mainstream financial system often leads to a sense that ‘these services are not for us’. Customers accessing the fringe lending market often cite the friendly

approach by service providers as an advantage. 274

The Brotherhood of St Laurence, in conjunction with the National Australia Bank, has

identified access to small bank loans (under $5 000) as a problem for low income earners.

Offering low or no-fee transaction accounts, removing ATM fees, setting cheaper interest

rates and enabling customers to switch providers without penalty can help address financial

transactions that unfairly impact marginalised Australians275.

To address this issue, there is a need for lenders to market their products responsibly and

to be responsive and appropriately flexible in dealing with customers in financial hardship276.

Organisations such as the No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS), the Smith family and the ANZ

bank (through Saver Plus) are active in Tasmania promoting access to affordable personal

credit, micro-business credit and matched savings plans. State-wide financial counselling

services are also available, but as Burkett and Sheehan point out, it is time for investment to significantly upscale these programs so these can reach many more people277.

Sections of the market, in particular banks, have taken action in three main ways by

developing programs focussed on research, advocacy and awareness.

The Commonwealth Bank publishes Viewpoint, an economic vitality report, which includes

the results of consumer sentiment surveys, with the latest issue showing consumer

confidence has fallen from 39% in November 2010 to 29% in January 2011278. Viewpoint

has also looked at women and cost of living, finding that women are more likely to manage

household accounts and have a greater awareness of the cumulative impacts of price rises

in the context of cost of living.

271 Vawser and Associates, 2009 Progress Loans towards affordable credit for low income Australians, Brotherhood of St

Laurence. Accessed at http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Vawser_Progress_Loans_towards_affordable_credit_for_low-

income_Australians_2009.pdf, page 6 272 Vawser and Associates, 2009 Progress Loans towards affordable credit for low income Australians, Brotherhood of St

Laurence. Accessed at http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Vawser_Progress_Loans_towards_affordable_credit_for_low-

income_Australians_2009.pdf, page 9 273 Vawser and Associates, 2009 Progress Loans towards affordable credit for low income Australians, Brotherhood of St

Laurence. Accessed at http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Vawser_Progress_Loans_towards_affordable_credit_for_low-

income_Australians_2009.pdf 274 Connolly C, Georgouras M, Hems L and Wolfson L, 2011 Measuring Financial Exclusion in Australia, Centre for Social

Impact (CSI) – University of New South Wales, , for National Australia Bank 275 Media Release, Brotherhood says lack of access to small bank loans a big problem for low income earners, 25 January

2011 at <http://www.bsl.or.gua/Hot-issues/Media-releases.aspx?id=342> 276 ANZ and A.C. Nielson, 2005 Understanding Personal Debt and Financial Difficulty in Australia. Accessed at

http://www.anz.com/aus/aboutanz/Community/Programs/pdf/ANZ_UPD_fin_difficulty.pdf 277 Burkett, I. and Sheehan, G. 2009 From the Margins to the Mainstream: The challenges for microfinance in Australia,

Brotherhood of St Laurence and Foresters Community Finance. Accessed at

http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BurkittSheehan_From_the_margins_microfinance_2009.pdf 278 Commonwealth Bank 2011 Viewpoint: Economic Vitality Report, Issue 3, page 17. Accessed at

http://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/our-company/viewpoint/pdfs/Viewpoint-Issue-Three.pdf

43

In Tasmania, MyState Financial has produced a Tasmanian Economic Index to provide a

comprehensive, relevant and specific indicator regarding the Tasmanian economic condition

and the needs and concerns of Tasmanian people in relation to that condition279. From the Quarter 3 2010 report, a significant downward trend in confidence in personal financial

situation index in those aged 65 and over was noted280.

The onus is not only on the banking or financial sector of the market. The Brotherhood of

St Lawrence has challenged the big telecommunication companies to stop profiteering from

disadvantaged Australians and present clear information and pricing conditions, offer better

customer credit protection and provide decent and reliable customer service. Phone

contracts are incredibly confusing. Access to affordable and appropriate telecommunication services is important for health, personal safety, wellbeing and connection to families and

welfare workers281.

Switching by customers is crucial to competition in many markets. Despite benefits that

could be gained by consumers from switching, there is a reluctance by customers to switch

due to factors relating to behavioural economics, financial literacy levels and the various

costs associated with switching, not limited to monetary costs, but also include risk, time

and cost of other resources, such as phone calls or internet282.

279 The Index is designed to provide an informed view on how people are feeling about their financial future. To do this

DBM Consultants surveys 700 Tasmanians, asking nine key questions around four factors: personal financial situation, debt

repayments, Tasmanian economic situation and good time to buy. Using an 11-point scale, respondents provide

information on how they are feeling about each question in each factor. DBM consultants then compile this information

to establish an Index for each factor, and the headline Tasmanian Economic Index is then compiled from these results. An

analysis of the effects that the economic conditions have on various groups by demographics such as age, gender,

household structure and income, occupation and geographical region is also provided. 280 MyState, 2010 Financial Tasmanian Economic Index, Quarter 3 2010; available from <http://www.mystate.com.au> 281 Media Release: Mobile phones and unscrupulous telcos are disastrous for young Australians. 15 September 2010 at

<http://www.bsl.or.gua/ Media-releases.aspx?id=330> 282 Brotherhood of St Laurence, Submission to Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into competition within the

Australian banking sector, November 2010, page 5

44

STRENGTHENING CONSUMER PROTECTION

The experience of financial hardship can often be eased by the provision of greater

information and awareness for consumers. Households may be able to vary consumption

patterns or have greater choice in relation to products if they have full information regarding the implications of their use. For example, the higher cost of Aurora Pay As You

Go (APAYG) compared to billed customers, high interest charges of payday lenders, or

interest free purchases attracting a greater goods cost over time payments. Cost of living

impacts can be addressed by improved protection and awareness initiatives, particularly of options for crisis support. This can be achieved via a number of mechanisms including

improved regulation through community service obligations and greater awareness and

promotion of existing hardship policies.

Many of the expenses causing financial stress in participants’ households are

delivered by corporatised, government-owned services such as Aurora Energy,

Metro Tasmania and the new water and sewerage corporations.... Making these

services affordable is a State Government responsibility met through the

provision of ‘community service obligation’ payments to the corporations283.

Governments regulate many industries and sectors, some of which are largely or fully

privatised (eg telecommunications nationally, electricity in some states), and others in which

the retailers are government-owned. Across this broad range of sectors, governments have

put a range of mechanisms in place to regulate the way in which retailers interact with their

customers and set minimum standards for those interactions.

Community Service obligations

A Community Service Obligation arises when a government specifically requires a public enterprise to carry out activities relating to outputs or

inputs which it would not elect to do on a commercial basis, and which the

government does not require other businesses in the public or private

sectors to generally undertake, or which it would only do commercially at

higher prices.284

In Tasmania, a number of Community Service Obligations (CSOs) and Community Service

Activities (CSAs) exist285, under which the government subsidises the operator of a service,

rather than the user. For instance, in addition to providing concessions to users of public

transport, the State Government heavily subsidises public transport operators. While fare revenues have decreased over time, fares have not increased at a level to compensate and

service levels have stayed the same. This effectively amounts to a ‘hidden subsidy’ for all

users of public transport services286.

The State Government owns a diverse portfolio of businesses, including those which ensure

the continued provision of essential services. Government businesses operate in a

commercial manner with profit being their number one priority. However, they play an

283 Flanagan, K. 2009, Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis, Anglicare Tasmania 284 Steering Committee on National Performance Monitoring of Government Trading Enterprises 1994, Community

Service Obligations: Some Definitional, Costing and Funding Issues, Industry Commission: Belconnen 285 CSOs and CSAs are similar to the extent that they are payments made by Government to a Government Business

Enterprise or State Owned Company to provide non-commercial activity, to meet a social policy objective. 286 Another example is the CSO provides a subsidy for the supply of electricity for residents on the Bass Strait Islands, as

well as pensioner concessions for relevant customers. Thus, the CSO assists all customers, as well as providing a targeted

concession to pensioners. The subsidy is provided because the cost of generation is very high, and the revenue raised from

usage does not cover the full cost of generation.

45

important role in the delivery of key government social and economic objectives287 and

deliver services to the community that would not otherwise be provided by the private

sector operating commercially288.

Table 4 sets out the range of Government Business Enterprises (GBEs) and State Owned

Companies (SOCs) in Tasmania289:

Table 4 – Government Business Enterprises and State Owned Companies in Tasmania

Government

Business

Enterprises

GBE Act 1995

Forestry Tasmania

Hydro Tasmania

Motor Accident Insurance Board

Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority

Rivers and Water Supply Commission

Tasmanian Public Finance Corporation

The Public Trustee

State-owned Companies

Corporations Act

Aurora Energy Pty Ltd

Metro Tasmania Pty Ltd

Tasmanian Ports Corporation Pty Ltd

Tasmanian Railway Pty Ltd

Tasracing Pty Ltd

TOTE Tasmania Pty Ltd

Transend Networks Pty Ltd

TT-Line Company Pty Ltd

It should be noted that while the water and sewerage corporations are not GBEs or SOCs

– they are owned by the councils of their respective regions – the Water and Sewerage

Corporations Act 2008 provides that, like GBEs and SOCs, these corporations are subject to

the Treasurers’ instructions with respect to guidelines, principles, practices and procedures 290 and subject to the scrutiny of the Government Business Enterprises Scrutiny Committee.

In the Second Reading speech the Hon Michael Aird MLC highlighted the importance of the

Treasurer’s Instructions to ensure that the corporations operate under arrangements that

are similar to those that apply to State-owned companies. The Water and Sewerage

(Community Service Obligations) Act 2009 imposes a CSO on the water corporations and

their owners in the form of concession arrangements for low income earners.

The ability to require a Government business to undertake a non-commercial activity is an important policy instrument for the Government. The Productivity Commission291 has

recommended that CSOs should be the primary mechanism for ensuring that

287 According to the Treasurer’s Instruction Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 GBE 13-114-04 Community

Service Obligations, “The main objectives of CSO policy are to ensure that the Government’s economic, social and other

objectives are achieved without impacting on the commercial performance of GBEs and to improve transparency, equity

and efficiency of CSO service delivery”. 288 The Government Businesses Enterprises Act 1995 (GBE Act), s59 defines a CSO as a function, service or concession

provided, allowed or performed by a GBE as a result of a direction under the GBE Act or any other Act of Parliament, or

a specific requirement in any Act, and which would not have been performed, provided or allowed if that GBE were a

business in the private sector operating in accordance with sound commercial practice. CSAs are essentially a contractual

arrangement between a SOC and the relevant Minister, and there are no specific legislative procedures which outline how

the non-commercial activity will be identified, costed or approved. The process for establishing a CSO is more

comprehensive and requires the identification and costing of non-commercial activities by a GBE before the Treasurer

decides whether or not to fund the non-commercial activity. 289 The term ‘Government businesses’ refers to GBEs and SOCs, the two types of government businesses currently used in

Tasmania. GBEs are established under their own Portfolio Act and the framework of the Government Business Enterprise

Act 1995 (GBE Act), while SOCs are established under their own Portfolio Act and incorporated under the Corporations

Act 2001 (Corporations Act). 290 Section 39(1) Treasurer's Instructions provides : The Treasurer may issue instructions, in writing, in respect of guidelines,

principles, practices and procedures to be observed by a Corporation. 291 Productivity Commission 2008 Review of Australia’s Consumer Framework Vol.1. Recommendation 5.4

46

disadvantaged consumers continue to have sufficient access to utility services at affordable

prices, noting that there should be regular monitoring for effectiveness.

Affordability of essential services for disadvantaged consumers is not currently included in the legislation that governs that GBEs and SOCs. The provision of an overarching legislative

requirement of affordability of service is one way to address the absence of cost of living

considerations. Currently there is minimal accountability to assess the impact of CSOs and

whether more can be done. For example, offering a concession is a first step, but may not

be sufficient to ensure that all eligible customers struggling with cost of living pressures are

aware of the concession and able to receive the benefits due to them.

Hardship policies and bill smoothing

Many GBEs and SOCs also offer a number of supports and policies enabling incremental payment plans or other considerations for people in hardship. There is opportunity to

increase the monitoring of accessibility and promotion of these policies. GBEs could be

required to undertake promotion of payment plans and ‘bill smoothing options’ and their performance against these objectives monitored.

Bill smoothing is a term used to describe the payment of a large lump sum in instalments

over time. In this way, the amount of the bill is not reduced, it is spread out or ‘smoothed’

over a longer period to reduce the impact on a household budget in a particular cycle. One issue for households struggling to make ends meet is being able to cope with several

large bills that need to be paid at the same time. Although many of these bills are regular

and can be anticipated as part of a household’s cash flow management, the ‘lumpiness’ of large bills can be problematic and stressful. In addition, steep price rises – such as electricity

and water – can leave households with minimal opportunity to absorb these into their

finances before the next rise hits. The cumulative impact of large bills can cause significant hardship particularly for people who are already financially stressed and especially at

seasonal peak times such as Christmas and back to school times.

In relation to utility bills, market research shows that people prefer bill smoothing options

that help reduce the shock of large bills by enabling these to be paid in smaller manageable

amounts over a period of time292. In relation to vehicle registration, other States and

Territories have found that there has been high take up rate by consumers for 3-monthly

renewals293. By comparison, Tasmania only offers 6 or 12 monthly renewals.

There is potential to help reduce the lumpiness of large bills and the subsequent cost

pressures these cause. For example, billers could assist by adjusting the timing of a bill to

take account of seasonal peaks and help reduce the impact of large bills. Through options such as Bpay and direct debit, individual consumers can set the frequency of bill payments

to suit their household cash flow, in anticipation of the total potential charge at the end of

the service period. Governments can assist in aligning concessions with billing options and hardship policies to help reduce the cost of bills for those on low incomes or facing financial

hardship. It is also important that people are aware of the range of available payment

options, hardship arrangements and concessions.

It is also important that billers collect and maintain data in relation to the timing of bills over a calendar year, on a place basis, that is who is billing when and where. This exercise has

292 Market Report Finder 2011,

http://marketreportfinder.com/report/industry/energy_natural_resources/billing_and_payment_preferences_in_australian_re

sidential_supply15c_5_2e.html, accessed 18 July 2011. This research found that Australian households show a preference

to shift away from more expensive payment channels to cheaper options, such as Direct Debit, and there is significant

interest in options such as bill smoothing and combined electricity and gas bills. 293 Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2011Bill Smoothing – Environmental Scan (unpublished).

47

been undertaken in Victoria and when combined, provides a picture of the cumulative

impact for particular places at peak times of the year. Similar information was sought from

major billers for this report but was difficult to obtain either because it would take considerable time to compile or was information not collected or readily accessible for

billers. If the data is collected, available and mapped in the future, it may enable changes to

billing cycles as a small way to ease cost pressures for particular Tasmanian communities.

48

BUILDING NETWORKS OF SUPPORT

Communities can play a vital role in assisting individuals and households to manage cost of

living risks. They are the places in which people make friends, develop social networks and

forge identity and belonging. They are where people can come up with locally relevant solutions and access effective supports in times of crisis.

The capacity of individuals and households to withstand cost of living pressures is not only

affected by the level of financial resources but importantly also the non-financial assets they

possess294. While some households may have low levels of income, they may also have access to relatively high levels of wealth. For example, households with retired members

may own their home outright and/or have other investments. Households with low levels

of income can also have high levels of non financial resources.

Non financial resources can be understood as supportive networks or ‘non-cash’ or in-kind

assistance to individuals and households. These methods of support are an important

resource that can help improve capacity to manage cost of living pressures.

Non-cash assistance to households is also provided in the form of free subsidised goods

and services, such as health, education, housing, transport and community support services.

Because a number of these services are means tested to target low income groups, this

form of assistance is particularly important for those who are unable to work, cannot find employment, can only access part-time or casual work, and whose rate of pay is low.

People also receive in-kind assistance from family, friends, their employer, and/or

community organisations. These networks of support are an important resource that helps them to maintain an adequate standard of living, and remain resilient in the face of rising

cost pressures. For example, goods and services received from employers can include

fringe benefits such as a car, petrol, clothing, housing, and sometimes health and education. Community organisations may provide goods and services such as emergency

accommodation, food parcels, clothing, bedding and furniture, childcare and home support.

Family and friends provide a wide range of goods and services including for example child

care, transport, accommodation, furniture, help in the garden, and home maintenance.

In the same way that individual cost of living capacity varies depending on the mix of

available resources and current expenditure needs, communities in different locations have

varying levels of assets and resilience. Where local communities are active, caring and resilient there are likely to be much higher levels of capacity to manage cost of living

pressures and adapt to economic challenges. This is particularly so when communities

experience external shocks such as industry closures or natural disasters such as fire, flood and drought, which result in sudden downward pressure on people’s income and resources

and upward pressure on the costs they face.

Every year we have a sports day. That helped a lot during the drought too, it was a cheap day out and helped people to come and have a bit of fun

and take their mind off what was going on. Things like that are what works

during a drought I think.

Farmer 7 (Drought Evaluation Project)295

294 Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Measures of Australia’s Progress, Sep 2010: Household Economic Wellbeing. cat.

no.1370.0 See also Companion Report 1 295 Dare, M., Kimber, J. and Schirmer, J. 2011 Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project. University of Tasmania & JS Consulting:

Hobart.

49

There were a couple of younger guys here who were in a bit of strife and

were doing it pretty tight and pretty tough. A few of the [social group]

fellows kept an eye on them and talked to them a bit.

Farmer 4 (Drought Evaluation Project) 296

A 2011 study of community assets in Circular Head297, a rural community in North West

Tasmania, identified a significant increase in family and individual stress that was largely

related to financial pressure on households. It noted that building and maintaining

community assets is important for community resilience and enabling individuals and families

within the community to recover and adapt to change. The type of assets communities

need include:

The gifts, skills and capacities of individuals;

Active participation and formal and informal structures through which people work

together to pursue common goals (e.g. citizen’s associations, ‘recovery’ forums, local

community organisations, people coming together in recreational and learning

activities);

Public institutions (e.g. local councils investing in community development) and public

infrastructure (e.g. community centre, health and social support services, walking

tracks) that support and foster participation;

Strong social connections and relationships; capacity and willingness to work together

to support each other in practical ways as well as emotional support;

Faith and belief in the region’s potential and positive future;

Strong commitment to education and training; and

Strong commitment to building and communicating a positive future for young

people298.

Supportive Local Networks

There is a strong link between positive social networks and the achievement of cost of living

responses for families299. Supportive local networks – the organisations and social

relationships through which people form friendships, work and exchange information– can strengthen individuals and families to take action and find innovative ways to manage cost of

living. These networks can help maintain stability and prevent as well as respond to crises by

providing people with resources such emergency child care, gifts of time (eg. with moving

house or mending a broken appliance), or gifts of food, clothing or cash.

I have very good friends here... it’s safe for my son. People help one

another. You know your neighbours; it’s a very caring place. If you are out of wood or break your leg, people will help you out.

West Coast respondent300

296 Dare, M., Kimber, J. and Schirmer, J. 2011 Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project. University of Tasmania & JS Consulting:

Hobart. 297 Fudge, M. 2011. Local Voices: Enquiry into Community Assets in Circular Head Tasmania. Relationship Australia Tasmania:

Hobart. 298 Fudge, M. 2011. Local Voices: Enquiry into community Assets in Circular Head, Tasmania. Relationships Australia Tasmania:

Hobart, pages 1 to 2. 299 Ahsan, N. 2007. Social Networks Make a Difference: Family Economic Success. Annie E. Casey Foundation: Baltimore. 300 TasCOSS, 2009. Just Scraping By? Conversations with Tasmanians living on low incomes. TasCOSS: Hobart, page 53.

50

Through trusted and supportive relationships people can get help and identify and share

local strategies for reducing costs (including giving each other tips on where to find the ‘best

buys’, sales and free events).

We’re facing a lot, but you know, the community feels really upbeat. We

make our own opportunities here.

Circular Head, North West Coast301

Supportive networks can also connect people with institutions that offer affordable financial

services, organisations that provide skills training and employment placement, or those that

can provide a range of support services. As well as connecting and vouching for people,

local social networks can also help mitigate the sense of wariness or uncertainty that comes

with these new connections302.

Because supportive local networks create community bonds and trusting relationships

through which information can be transferred, they are important mechanisms for

communication both between people within the community and between community members and other organisations. Research shows that word of mouth is an important

means by which people receive information and advice303. Developing strong peer support

mechanisms is an effective way to mobilise people within the community who understand how information flows and how social networks operate in their local community. Peer

supporters based in local community organisations are well placed to help people better

understand their entitlements as consumers and support them to access these. They are

also able to provide information back to service providers and decision makers about cost of living issues and the barriers that exist in local communities, as well as how community

members think these could be tackled304.

The recent Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project305 found that community leaders play a critical role in assisting members of their community cope with financial hardship. During

Tasmania’s drought community leaders, often acting in a voluntary capacity, provided advice

to service providers and took pivotal roles in coordinating and organising support for and uptake of drought initiatives, including organising community activities or promoting

communication and support activities within rural social support networks. The Project

highlighted the vulnerability of communities that did not have community leaders and which

subsequently needed more support than other communities to access assistance in times of crisis.

The extent of value provided by drought support initiatives depended in

part on the level of social capital available in a community. In those

communities where community networks were weak or had been

301 Fudge, M. 2011. Local Voices: Enquiry into community Assets in Circular Head, Tasmania. Relationships Australia Tasmania:

Hobart. 302 Ahsan, N. 2007. Social Networks Make a Difference: Family Economic Success. Annie E. Casey Foundation: Baltimore,

pages 8 and12. 303 Ibid, page14.

Also see:

Consumer Financial Education Body, 2010. Transforming Financial Behaviour: A summary. Accessed at

http://www.fairbanking.org.uk/20100709_transforming_financial_behaviour_summary.pdf , pages 10 and 22.

Dare, M., Kimber, J. and Schirmer, J. 2011. Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project. University of Tasmania & JS Consulting:

Hobart, page iii.

Department of Premier and Cabinet, 2006. Brighton Better Services Together Report; Provision of Services for Children, Young

People and Families living in the Brighton Municipality. EPAC: Hobart, pages 33-34. 304 As an example, the Social Inclusion Community Liaison Officers recently consulted with community members and

prepared a report identifying the key cost of living issues and how communities believed these could be addressed. 305 Dare, M., Kimber, J. and Schirmer, J. 2011 Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project. University of Tasmania & JS

Consulting: Hobart. Refer attachment to Companion Report 2 Cost of Living in Tasmania, the Community Impacts

51

negatively impacted by drought, the support provided by drought initiatives

was essential, while communities where strong social networks were

operating required less support306.

Volunteering and local collective action

Community leaders are often volunteers who strengthen local social networks and

contribute to the capacity of communities to manage cost of living pressures. Volunteers can be an important support to assist Tasmanians who are at risk of cost of living pressures307.

Cost of living pressures, if not addressed, could also adversely impact the Tasmanian

volunteer sector through limiting individuals’ ability to volunteer as a consequence of the

costs involved. The State of Volunteering Report for Tasmania308 found that costs associated with volunteering include travel to and from volunteering, parking, travel during

volunteering, training, uniforms, meals, childcare, tools and equipment, phone calls and

administration (e.g. stationery and printing). The report also found that 62% of volunteers

incurred expenses, with only 28% of those volunteers indicating that they were fully

reimbursed for those costs.

A 2006 survey by Volunteering Australia found that on average volunteers incurred

expenses of $700 a year309. This survey also found that one in ten volunteers had changed

their volunteering involvement due to the costs associated with volunteering, and around

another quarter were considering changing their involvement as a result of costs. Amongst

volunteers who had stopped or reduced their volunteering, three-quarters cited petrol prices as the reason for this decision.

In the current context of rising costs of living, the pool of potential volunteers could be

diminished. In turn, this could impact the capacity for volunteering to operate as a key community resource to manage cost of living risk.

Supportive local agencies – public, community and private - are the frontline for responding

to cost of living risks in communities. These are where many people first turn to for

support. Local councils and community sector agencies are key examples. They act as catalysts for local job creation, volunteering, and local sponsorship opportunities. They bring

together people from different demographic, socioeconomic and cultural groups, supporting

social networks, and providing coping mechanisms at times of economic hardship310.

The community sector – comprising voluntary groups, service clubs, charities, social

enterprises, sporting, cultural arts and recreational groups – is often ideally placed to

provide supports for the local needs of individual communities. Organisations closest to the people are likely to understand what will work in a particular community and what will not.

306 Dare, M., Kimber, J. and Schirmer, J. 2011 Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project. University of Tasmania & JS Consulting:

Hobart, page18. The project also recommended greater recognition and support of community leaders and targeted and

flexible government funding support to communities to empower community networks of support. 307 Volunteering Tasmania, 2011. Response to the Interim Report on Cost of Living in Tasmania. Unpublished. 308 Webb, M. 2010 State of Volunteering Report: Tasmania 2010. Volunteering Tasmania: Hobart.

See also,

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006. Voluntary Work, Australia, cat no. 4441.0 309 Volunteering Australia, 2006. What are the Real Costs of Volunteering? Accessed at

http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/files/98E283PN6H/Costs%20of%20Volunteering%20Research%20Bulletin.pdf 310 Gibson, C and Stewart, A, 2009. Reinventing Rural Places: The Extent and Impact of Festivals in Rural and Regional

Australia. University of Wollongong: Wollongong. In 2007-08 there were 226 festivals across Tasmania’s rural

communities, including King Island, the Northwest Coast, West Coast, the Tamar, Central Highlands, the East Coast and

Southern Tasmania – covering sport, community agricultural, gardening, music, arts, food, wine, heritage/history, cultural,

environment and other activities.

52

Community capacity can also be developed through localised economic development, such

as fostering micro-businesses, community business partnerships and social enterprise. These

approaches begin with assets and potential of people and places, not deficits. They recognise that the knowledge, abilities and energy of people and communities – including

those described as ‘poor’ and ‘disadvantaged’ – are an enormous resource. Social

enterprises foster innovation and confidence. They can be a pathway to skills, employment

and independence.

Another form of social enterprise is the consumer cooperative. This form of enterprise is

owned by consumers and operates as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather

than profit311. The purpose of a consumer cooperative is to provide quality goods and services at the lowest cost to the consumer/owners rather than to sell goods and services

at the highest price the market can sustain312.

Although some cooperatives rely on some form of government assistance or need some

assistance at the start-up, most operate as financially sustainable enterprises, with income

being derived from the provision of services to members313. The cooperative model can

provide viable options for the delivery of affordable goods and services in many areas,

including housing, health, employment, childcare, indigenous issues, industry restructuring, regional and rural development, and commercial business enterprises314.

Anglicare Tasmania’s research on the cost of living for low income earners has highlighted

particular issues regarding food security for low income Tasmanians315. The research found

that food was the most compromised item in the household budget, because it is one part

of the budget that is not fixed – unlike rent or direct deductions for electricity bills. The

research also identified the need for support to low income purchasers to effectively ‘band together’ through cooperative purchasing arrangements to boost their purchasing power

and take advantage of bulk discounts.

Participants are unable to take advantage of discounts available from buying in

bulk and have to shop for small amounts frequently, often at more expensive

outlets, because the quantum of income they have available to spend on each

shopping trip is so small. 316

311 McQueen, M. & Lyons, M. 2001. The Missing Link: Mutual Forms of Organisation, Social Capital and Community

Regeneration in Regional Australia. ACCORD Paper No. 5. Australian Centre for Cooperative Research and Development:

Sydney.

Australia has a long history of mutual organisations that have been formed to provide a collective organised response to a

crisis, the threat of a crisis, or simply to need. They are associated with innovation, flexibility, loyalty and ‘bonding’ linkages;

where people feel disenfranchised and powerless they provide a sense of ownership and control; they enhance a

community’s capacity to organise and lead to communities being better able to adapt to economic challenges. 312 Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_cooperative 313 Social Traders Ltd. 2009. Cooperative Social Enterprises Info Brief. Accessed at

http://www.socialtraders.com.au/sites/www.socialtraders.com.au/files/Cooperative%20Social%20Enterprises%20Info%20Brie

f.pdf 314 Cooperatives Australia, 2009. Cooperatives Australia Statement: Public Policy and Co-operatives. Accessed at

http://www.cooperativeswa.org.au/Co-operatives%20Australia%20Statement.pdf 315 Flanagan, J. and Flanagan, K. 2011. The Price of Poverty: The Cost of Living for Low Income Earners. Anglicare Tasmania:

Hobart, pages18-19, 22-23, 25-26, 32-33, 40-41, 49-50 and 57.

Food security refers to the ability of individuals, households and communities to acquire food that is sufficient, reliable,

nutritious, safe, acceptable and sustainable. Food insecurity is the experience of not having enough food or having very

limited food options, or of relying on emergency relief. 316 Ibid, page 62.

53

STRENGTHENING THE SAFETY NET

Governments have a duty of care for their citizens. This duty of care is not

duly fulfilled when government responsibilities are abrogated in the interests

of cementing ever greater wins for those who are already winners, leaving the losers to seek assistance for electricity bills, medical costs and school

excursions from charities such as the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Dufty, G. Winners and Losers: the Story of Costs, Social Policy Issues Paper 2317

Governments have an interest in monitoring and supporting the wellbeing of citizens. This includes tackling the structural factors that affect how well Tasmanians and their families can

manage their cost of living pressures. Structural factors such as education and training

opportunities to improve a person’s chance for a stable job that provides a sustainable

income, regulatory frameworks that protect consumers from exploitative products and

services and specify standards that help maximise cost efficiencies318; community service

obligations to ensure Tasmanian consumers have access to affordable essential services, and

taxation and transfer arrangements (including income support and concessions) to assist

vulnerable Tasmanians.

Governments can help alleviate financial difficulty caused by cost of living pressures by

having interventions that are upstream (e.g. legislative and regulatory protection), midstream (e.g. advocacy, education and early intervention) or downstream (e.g. case work and direct

support for individual consumers and families in crisis)319. These interventions can involve a

range of activities that are either whole of population or target particular groups facing

specific barriers and vulnerabilities.

Different levels of government are responsible for universal services such as public housing,

public health, public education, and public transport. In addition, benefits flow to citizens

through the provision of Medicare, superannuation, family payments, concessions and

rebates.

In some instances, governments work together to fund and deliver services. A number of

recent agreements between the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments allow for funding to be provided by the Commonwealth, and for States and Territories to

deliver services in the way they see fit, as long as agreed outcomes are achieved320.

The focus of A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania is largely on actions available to the State Government to address households at greatest risk of cost of living pressures however,

local government, as the level of government closest to the community, can also play an

important role. Much has already been written about the critical role of local government,

and the opportunities to directly influence the way in which people interact with their local and broader communities. 321 Internationally, local government whilst varying considerably

in size and functions, is increasingly seen as being the sphere of government best able to

manage the complexities of organising social inclusion locally, including helping to create liveable communities that are resilient in the face of cost of living pressures.

317 Accessed at http://www.vinnies.org.au/files/pdfs/National/SocialJustice/20051219-SJ_WinnersandLosers.pdf 318 For example, through the Residential Tenancy Act, the Government can legislate minimal thermal efficiency standards,

which in turn enables cost efficiencies in household energy use. 319 Livingstone, C., Bruce, E., Kotnik, E and King, S. no date. Comparing Australian and International Systems to Address

Consumer Financial Stress. Monash University: Melbourne, pp.16- 22. 320 Refer www.coagreformcouncil.gov.au/agenda/index.cfm for an overview of the Council of Australian Governments

(COAG) Reform Agenda and the underpinning National Agreements and National Partnerships through which the

Reform Agenda is implemented. 321 Refer Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania for a detailed discussion about the role of local government vis-a-vis social

inclusion approaches.

54

The Commonwealth Government determines both the levels of income support payments

and personal taxation rates322. The income support and taxation systems, by largely

determining income levels for many people, have a significant impact on the ability of individuals to manage cost of living pressures. The income support system is the core of

the safety net, which helps to prevent individuals and families from falling into entrenched

disadvantage323.

Concessions

Although the Commonwealth Government has responsibility for income support and taxation, all levels of government have a role in providing social assistance through

concessions324. Concessions provide a significant supplement to those on low-incomes,

those with a disability and their carers, seniors, veterans, widows, sole parents and students.

Concessions ... are designed to supplement income, allowing all Australians to use essential health care services and to maintain social living standards

by ensuring access to electricity, heating, transport and telephone services as

well as encouraging or maintaining home ownership.325

Concessions have a dual purpose in terms of core concessions relating to essential goods

and services (e.g. energy concessions), and non-core concessions relating to products that

promote and support social engagement (e.g. entry into a National Park). Concessions fall into three broad categories:

Universal assistance that is available as subsidised services for everyone, e.g. health, education, public transport;

Secondary assistance that is targeted to individuals and households who meet

eligibility criteria, e.g. energy concessions for Health Care Card (HCC) or Pensioner Concession Card (PCC); and

Tertiary assistance that is targeted to individuals who are experiencing financial hardship and are unable to pay expenses, e.g. financial counselling or debt assistance.

There is a high degree of consistency across Australian states and territories in relation to

the types of concessions offered (see Table 5). Governments promote concessions as assisting to reduce the cost of regular household bills (Western Australia), helping eligible

customers stay connected to essential services (New South Wales), assisting families,

pensioners and those who may be financially stretched (Queensland), helping those on low

or fixed incomes with the cost of household and other expenses (South Australia), achieving a balance in the standard of living (Tasmania and the ACT), enabling economic,

educational, recreational and social participation (Tasmania), and reducing barriers to

opportunity and making services more affordable (Victoria).

Differences in concessions across the states and territories are largely due to the specific

geographic or environmental factors which affect the respective areas. For example,

Tasmania has a heating allowance, while Western Australia has an air conditioning rebate. Tables 5 to 15 provide a direct comparison between the jurisdictions and Table 16

322 Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, Part V, s51

The Commonwealth Government has constitutional responsibility for direct income support, through the provision of

benefits and pensions and the taxation system. 323 Tables 18 and 19, provides a detailed description of benefits and payments provided by the Commonwealth

Government. 324 Table 325 House of Representatives, 1996. Concessions – Who Benefits?

55

highlights gaps in the Tasmanian concessions system, identifying concessions offered in other

jurisdictions but not in Tasmania.

Inconsistencies within individual concession programs are generally the result of concessions developing in an ad hoc way and remaining largely unchanged over time326. This can result

in the existence of concessions that no longer or inadequately address a need, as well as the

absence of new concessions to address emerging needs327.

Eligibility and Targeting

An issue for all governments is how best to target concessions to those people who are

most in need in the most cost effective way for taxpayers and with minimal impost on

citizens when assessing eligibility.

Eligibility for the majority of concessions in all jurisdictions is linked to the provision of an Australian Government concession card, as this is the most straightforward option for card-

based concessions eligibility assessments (see Table 20). Targeting expenditure support to

this group receives widespread community support and is regarded as authoritative by governments. It also avoids the costs of implementing a state or territory based concession

card328.

Nevertheless, there are groups in the community that are not eligible for an Australian

Government concession card, and which the community sector has identified as being in

equal or greater need of assistance yet are not included under current eligibility criteria.

These include low income earners who do not qualify for Commonwealth benefits and are

therefore not cardholders, but who are struggling to pay for essential goods and services329.

While additional or separate means tests detract from the overall simplicity of a concessions

system, these potentially would allow for more inclusive targeting. Therefore, there are

equity justifications to move away from Commonwealth based eligibility. However, no state

or territory has its own concessions card to determine eligibility.

As part of its 2008 Review of Tasmanian State Government Concessions, the Government

acknowledged that concessions should be well targeted and produce the intended results. It also identified equity- i.e. that those in similar circumstances are treated equally – as one

of five guiding principles that should underpin existing and future concessions.

The balance between horizontal equity (where all people of similar situations are eligible for

a particular concession and receive the same concession amount) and vertical equity (where particular recipients of a concession receive relatively more or less concession

amount due to their different situations) significantly influences the groups of people who

326 http://www.dhcs.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/23737/Concessions_Report.v14_-_FINAL.pdf

The ACT concessions review noted that the majority of concessions provided by the ACT Government have been in

place for a significant period of time. Once a concession is established, it can be difficult to remove, often because a

government fears large political fallout is not worth the small savings. 327 To help address this issue, in 2004 the Tasmania Social Policy sub-Committee of Cabinet endorsed Guidelines for the

Application of State Government Concessions to provide Agencies with guidance on issues they should consider when

adopting new concessions or adjusting existing concessions. The Guidelines promoted a consistent whole of government

approach to the application of concessions; transparency in decisions to extend or re-focus concessions; consideration by

Agencies of all available options prior to recommending new or revised concessions arrangements; assessment by

Agencies of the need or desirability of concessional rates when considering new revenue-raising measures; and the

adoption of common process for developing and approving new or revised concessions. 328 No State or Territory has its own concessions card to determine eligibility. South Australia and Western Australia issue

State concessions cards, and the Northern Territory issues a Pensioner and Carer concession card to encourage seniors to

remain in the Territory during their retirement. However, these cards have limited eligibility and target specific classes of

citizens – generally addressing a gap for seniors who do not meet Age Pension requirements – and are only available on

limited concessions. 329 Salvos concern at rising ‘working poor’, ABC NEWS online, 27 May 2011 at

<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/27/3228412.htm>

56

receive concessions, and the value of the concessions that are delivered. By extending

eligibility to HCC holders for concessions such as the council rates, previously only available

to PCC holders, Tasmania has achieved horizontal equity on the major concessions330. Vertical equity is limited in application across jurisdictions and applies to a very limited

number of concessions. A move towards household and place-based concessions in the

future could see jurisdictions achieve more vertical equity in their concessions systems.

Effective take-up of concessions

Despite the need to be able to measure whether concessions are being targeted

appropriately and having a significant social impact, it appears most jurisdictions lack quality

data to inform evidence based concessions policy. Although there is a lot of data available

on the administration of concessions programs, there is no overall picture of what is happening around basic issues such as the impact of existing concessions on overall cost of

living capability by vulnerable groups or places, nor the gap between eligibility and take-

up331. This information is required to provide an effective concessions system that lowers

and/or mitigates the costs of living332.

Although there is variation in promotion and communication across jurisdictions, most

governments invest in promoting the availability of and eligibility for concessions (see

Table 8). A concessions hotline or central contact to access information is provided by

most states and territories.

The State Government widely promotes its concessions through television advertising and

the Tasmanian Concessions Guide and website333. Despite widespread promotion, there

remains a gap between concessions eligibility and take-up334. There are a number of

reasons for this gap. In some cases it may be due to of a lack of awareness of eligibility or

that the concession exists; in other instances people may know they are eligible for the

concession but choose not to use their entitlement due to the perceived benefit relative to

330 This largely occurred in response to recommendations of the 2008 Treasury Review of Tasmanian Concessions;

Department of Treasury and Finance, 2008. Review of Tasmanian State Government Concessions

<http://www.tenders.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/LookupFiles/Review-TasGov-Concessions-with-

Submissions.pdf/$file/Review-TasGov-Concessions-with-Submissions.pdf> 331 Adams, D 2011 Cost of Living in Tasmania: Interim Report, p.14 and p.23.

Following the release of the Department of Treasury and Finance Costing Report on a proposed two-part electricity

concession (15 October 2010), further details were sought from Treasury in relation to the methodology used and the

assumptions underpinning the costing, as well as a current detailed breakdown of government concessions expenditure

generally. The information sought included further detail about eligibility versus take-up rates of the 74 concessions;

available data by population cohort on eligibility for each concession type and actual take up rates for each concession

type by expenditure; analysis of why people who are eligible for concessions may not be taking up the concessions to

which they are entitled; explanation of Treasury’s strategies and mechanisms for quantifying take-up rate; further details

regarding the assumptions and data sources underpinning the business processes and administrative elements comprising

the implementation costs, the rationale for the upper and lower range for households; and the extent to which each

recommendation from the 2008 Review of Tasmanian State Government Concessions331 has been implemented. Some of this

information was difficult to obtain, or unable to be provided. 332 This situation is not unique to Tasmania. Western Australia, for example, has noted that a lack of qualitative

assessments means that data collected is essentially an accountancy database. See Review of the administration and

management of state government concessions, Department of Premier and Cabinet Western Australia, September 2007 at

< http://www.cotawa.asn.au/resources/concessions%20review%20issues%20paper.pdf> 333 Tasmania and Victoria each present all concessions information on one internet site, with links and relevant contact

details provided. Other states, by comparison, have concessions information spread across different Ministries and

Departments. For example, the NSW Department of Family and Community Services has a web page which lists some of

the concessions available to pensioners and seniors, but all other information must be accessed through individual

Department sites. A relevant consideration for concessions promotion in Tasmania is low adult literacy levels333. An issue

for all governments is that the cost of promoting concessions is two-fold; there is the cost of advertising and the cost of

providing the concessions to an increased number of users following promotion. 334 This problem is experienced in other jurisdictions. Even in Victoria, where $1 billion is spent annually on concessions

for 700 000 households or 1.3 million Victorians, the Victorian Auditor-General noted the need for improvement in the

transparency and accountability of the concessions program, and recognised the difficulty in determining how effectively

concessions are performing against relevant government objectives.

57

loss of privacy and/or the complexity of paperwork associated with applying. A relevant

consideration for concessions promotion in Tasmania is low adult literacy levels335. An issue

for all governments is that the cost of promoting concessions is two-fold; there is the cost of advertising and the cost of providing the concessions to an increased number of users

following promotion.

Improvement in the targeting of concessions and in what concessions are offered could

result from government structural reform of concessions administration and management

and / or alternative methods of delivery. Concessions in Tasmania are administered by six

different agencies336, with wide variation in the total concessions budgets administered by

each agency. An advantage of this model is that the design and administration of concessions is linked to the agency responsible for the service to which the concession

applies. Conversely, it can create a fragmented concession system where no one has clear

overall responsibility337.

Across Australia, governments have generally not taken a centralised administration

approach, but it is a model that some states are considering to enhance the implementation

of concessions policy and facilitate a whole-of-government approach to the ongoing review

and evolution of concessions. Western Australia has recognised the need for increased coordination between agencies338. In Victoria, centralisation of budget and administrative

control over concessions is bringing significant benefits; eligibility criteria have gradually

become modernised and consistent, and specialised policy advice is available to

government. Administration of concessions has become streamlined and responsive to

changing priorities and administration of concessions is linked to provisions of other forms

of specialised assistance, such as utility relief grants and financial counselling services339.

As well as alternative administrative structures, alternative methods of concession delivery

could improve concessions. In 1997, a Commonwealth Parliamentary Inquiry into

concessions explored the option of developing a Commonwealth Concession Card to

replace the PCC and HCC, as well as a number of other cards, using smart card technology

to enable more efficient and effective delivery of government benefits and concessions340.

In 2007 the idea was revisited by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public

Administration, which conducted an inquiry into the provisions of the Human Services

335 In 2006, 174 400 Tasmanian adults aged between 15 and 74 (49% of Tasmanians at that age) were assessed as lacking

adequate prose literacy skills to manage in everyday life. Prose literacy refers to the knowledge and skills needed to

understand and use various kinds of information from text including editorials, news stories, brochures and instructions

manuals. Less than 50% of the Tasmanian population aged 15 – 74 were found to have adequate document literacy (the

knowledge and skills required to locate and use information contained in various formats including job applications, payroll

forms, transportation schedules, maps, tables and charts) Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008 Literacy and Life

Skills Survey, Summary Results, Australia, 2006 (Reissue), Cat No 4228.0. 336 Agencies are the Department of Treasury and Finance; Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources;

Department of Health and Human Services; Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment;

Department of Police and Emergency Management; and the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Arts.

In addition, the Department of Premier and Cabinet has responsibility for publication of the Tasmanian Concessions Guide

and concessions are reviewed by Treasury every five years. 337 Review of the administration and management of state government concessions, Department of Premier and Cabinet

WA, September 2007 at < http://www.cotawa.asn.au/resources/concessions%20review%20issues%20paper.pdf> 338 Review of the administration and management of state government concessions, Department of Premier and Cabinet

WA, September 2007 at < http://www.cotawa.asn.au/resources/concessions%20review%20issues%20paper.pdf> 339 see Informing State Concessions Policy at

<https://guard.canberra.edu.au/natsem/conference2003/papers/pdf/piper_karen_siemon_don-1.pdf>;

Victoria also has detailed data around cardholders and a static micro-simulation model of Victorian population use of

household essential services, the annual bills incurred and Victorian Government concessions expenditure, to inform

concessions policy. A detail report is published annually, see <http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/concessions/research/annual-

reports> 340 See House Standing Committee on Family and Community Affairs, Inquiry into Concessions – Who benefits?: A report

on concession card availability and eligibility for concessions, November 1997 at

<http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committe/fac/concard/Concarindex.htm>

58

(Enhanced Service Delivery) Bill 2007341. The Committee assessed the establishment of a

framework for the Health and Social Services Access Card, a chip-based card replacing the

Medicare Card and numerous other cards and vouchers used to access Australian Government benefits. The project did not progress primarily because of the costs involved,

but also due to concerns surrounding security of card data, privacy, and function creep342.

Over the past decade there has been an increase in the use of smartcard technology

around the world343. There is now widespread acceptance of smartcards and their use in

everyday functions is increasing, particularly because smart cards can facilitate user choice

and improve flexibility in how concession payments can most appropriately meet consumer

needs.

The Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows state governments

to provide financial and material benefits via a plastic debit card, such as food and cash

benefits in the USA. Through EBT, a recipient uses their EBT card to make purchases at

participating retailers, as well as make cash withdrawals from participating ATMs. In

Tasmania, the Metro Greencard is an example of smartcard technology being used to

provide student travel concessions344. Another innovative example is Western Australia’s

Country Age Pension Fuel Card which provides assistance with fuel and taxi costs for country pensioners who do not have access to metropolitan levels of public transport and

often have to rely on their own means to travel345.

Concession value

An emerging option to improve the value and relevance of concessions for eligible

recipients is the ‘cashing out’ of concessions. This involves calculating the average value of

concessions and providing eligible recipients with this value in monetary form. The West

Australian Cost of Living Rebate provides a small-scale example of how cashing out of

concessions could work. This scheme offers an annual payment to eligible Seniors Card

holders to assist with rising living expenses346.

Cashing out all concessions should be administratively simple and could address issues such as people entitled to a particular concession being unable to access it (e.g. some public

transport concessions may be unavailable to those living in rural or remote locations).

However, it may also result in outcomes that are inconsistent with the purpose of

concessions, which is to supplement income by facilitating access to essential services and helping to meet basic costs. A cashing out option would also need to address the question

of how to ensure people still have access to essential services. Geographical differences,

regional price differences and varying needs for different goods and services could result in cases of inadequate compensation or overcompensation. For example, it is difficult to

341 Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration, Inquiry into the Human Services (Enhanced Service

Delivery) Bill 2007, March 2007 at <http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/fapa_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-

07/access_card/report/report.pdf> 342 A major concern was that the access card would be used as a national identity card 343 In July 2001, the Belgian Council of Ministers made the decision to introduce an electronic identity card for

all citizens as the keystone of a broader e-Government project to simplify administration processes and

modernize public services. By the end of 2009 almost 9 million cards had been issued, with cards being used

most frequently to access government services online.

<http://www.gemalto.com/brochures/download/gov_belgium_id.pdf>; In 2002, the Estonian government

started to issue smart cards named ID Kaart as primary identification for citizens to replace the usual passport

in domestic and EU use, see <http://www.id.ee/?id=11108>; Smart cards and integrated ticketing have

become widely used by public transit operators around the world, for example Octopus Card used in Hong

Kong, London's Oyster Card, San Francisco's Clipper card and in Tasmania Metro’s Greencard. 344 http://www.metrotas.com.au/tickets-and-fares/concessions> 345 Information provided by the Department of Regional Development and Lands, Western Australia. 346 In 2011 singles receive $150 and couples receive $225.

59

quantify transport costs, as use could be daily or sporadic, and fuel costs vary between

regions.

Another key concern is the indexation of concessions so that these retain their value over time. Without appropriate indexation, the concession amount in real terms is eroded.

While essential services concessions tend to be adjusted annually, such as the energy

concession, it is not mandatory.

Emergency Relief

The main way people experiencing financial stress seek assistance is through the provision of emergency relief services. In Tasmania, the number of people accessing emergency relief

services increased by 70.5 per cent in the last 12 months, from 14 939 people in 2008-09

to 25 466 people in 2009-10. Over the same period, the number of first time emergency relief clients increased by 52.7 per cent, from 5 630 in 2008-09 to 8 594 in 2009-10. In the

last five years the number of people seeking emergency relief in Tasmania rose from 13 097

to 25 466, while the number of first time clients increased from 1 003 to 8 594347.

EMERGENCY RELIEF ASSISTANCE, Tasmania

Although emergency relief is necessary and welcome, for many low income Tasmanians the cost pressures and cumulative impacts are ongoing.

Despite the best work of many community sector organisations that deliver emergency

relief in Tasmania, presenting and asking for help can be hard and on top of their stress about financial crisis, people can feel stigmatised and embarrassed.

As outlined in A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania emergency relief can be provided in a

number of ways:

Anonymously – without people having to disclose their personal details or go through

an eligibility process;

Basic transaction – such as a voucher system;

Case management – where the service develops a longer term relationship with a person to address some of the underlying causes of financial crisis; or

Empowerment/capacity building – where people are given a chance to build skills and develop support networks.

While individuals and families may need immediate and direct assistance to meet basic

need, emergency relief programs can also build capacity for people in crisis. For example, a

person can receive a food voucher and also access cooking and ‘eating with friends’

347 FaHCSIA, 2011.

60

programs and knowledge about where to get cheap vegetables at a local community

garden. Similarly, a person may receive immediate support for a big unexpected power bill

as well as be connected to support for an energy audit, or a No Interest Loan Scheme loan for energy efficient whitegoods.

The above examples are of a preventative and strength based approach to the provision of

emergency relief. There are three key aspects shared by leading policy approaches to

emergency relief, they:

Invest in sustainable outcomes rather than a traditional crisis support model;

Explore models for providing assistance directly to households and individuals rather than via third parties – as this mainstreams the assistance and keeps people engaged in

the broader economy and minimises the stigma and embarrassment of asking charities for help; and

Encourage joint commitment via private sector/or Government Business Enterprise

matched investment in sustainable support mechanisms as part of a community service

obligation, or individual/personal responsibility in a reciprocal relationship for assistance.

One-off emergency relief funding is used and used well, by the community sector, but once

it is spent, the causes of crisis, whether structural or individual remain. A policy balance of responses that provide immediate support as well as seek to build the resilience of

individuals, families and communities are important as well as mainstreaming assistance and

keeping people engaged in the broader economy. This includes:

support services that help people address some of the underlying causes of financial

crisis;

programs and services that enable people to build skills and develop support networks;

employment assistance programs for transition to work that assist the long-term unemployed and work with employers to overcome barriers to employment and

support for people to stay in work; and

structural reform to alleviate cost of living pressures, such as provision of social

housing, adequate Commonwealth income support payments, and planning

settlements in areas connected to services and support.

61

Conclusion The question of who is most affected by cost of living increases is determined by the

complex interplay of price increases, household expenditure and the resources (both financial and non-financial) that households have available to absorb price increases.

This report has provided detail regarding the impacts faced by household types, population

groups, and places most impacted in Tasmania.

It surveyed community sector and available policy research and illustrated impacts faced by

low income, unemployed, lone person, single parent and households dependent on

government pensions and allowances as the principle source of income. It illustrated that

these households are more likely to experience food, electricity, housing, transport and health disadvantage. The report also outlined that people with disability and their carers,

Aboriginal Tasmanians, seniors and culturally and linguistically diverse Tasmanians, in

particular refugees or humanitarian entrants, are likely to experience specific cost of living challenges. In addition, the discussion on places in Tasmania facing greatest cost of living risk

outlined that some Tasmanian communities are ‘food deserts’ where access to affordable

and nutritious food choices is limited, have a high concentration of electronic gaming machines and transport disadvantage associated with the urban fringe. These aspects may

present challenges that can exacerbate cost of living pressures for population groups and

households that live in these areas.

The responses section provided greater detail and information on a number of initiatives suggested in A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania. Across the broad categories of:

Increasing productivity;

Building financial capability;

Strengthening consumer protection;

Building networks of support; and

Strengthening the safety net.

The report discussed responses such as increasing labour force participation, financial

literacy, access to affordable banking products, building volunteering and local collective action and strengthening hardship policies, community service obligations, and the

concessions and emergency relief systems.

As outlined in A Cost of Living Strategy for Tasmania, many of the best responses to cost of living, such as the tax and transfer system including the adequacy of income support

payments, lie in the sphere of the Commonwealth Government. This report provided

policy detail around five key areas that traverse all levels of government, individuals, markets

and communities.

62

Table 5 - Summary of Concessions offered by Commonwealth (CW), State and Territory

Governments

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT CW

Cost of Living

Utilit

ies

Serv

ices

Energy

Water and sewerage concession

Council rates remission

Non mains winter energy

Electricity transfer fee waiver

Service to property charge

Off peak concession

Heating

Cooling

Medical energy – life support machines

Medical energy – temperature

regulation

Energy efficiency *

Utilities Relief Grant Scheme *

House

and L

and

Private rental support

Public housing rent assistance

First home buyer duty

Home purchase

Land tax on principal place of

residence N/A

Duty on transfer - principal place of

residence

Duty on transfer

Smoke alarm subsidy

Security rebate

Tra

nsp

ort

Buses: Urban

Buses: Regional and Rural

Buses: Students

Fuel concession

Student conveyance

Trainee/apprentice travel

Patient travel

Taxi (disability)

Drivers licence

Motor vehicle registration

Compulsory third party insurance

Motor tax

Motor vehicle duty

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT CW

63

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT CW

Educa

tion

Student Assistance (levies, uniform,

school resources)

Kindergarten fee subsidy

Adult education course

Tuition fee (TAFE)

Child care concession

Computer/internet access

Student accommodation – Years

11/12

Student accommodation – tertiary

students

Student accommodation – apprentices

and trainees

Heal

th

Ambulance and Emergency Services

Levy/Concession N/A N/A

Spectacles assistance

Adult dental service

Children’s dental service

Personal alert

Community equipment scheme

Enteral feeds and supplements

Home oxygen program

Continuous positive airways pressure

Pharmaceuticals

Visual aids

Wigs

Insulin-treated diabetes

Lymphoedema

Orthotic / prosthetic

Lega

l Serv

ices

Legal advice

Criminal history check

Right to information

Birth certificates

Funeral assistance

Enduring power of attorney

Making a will

Recr

eat

ion a

nd

Lifest

yle

Firearms licence

Recreational fishing licence N/A N/A N/A

Recreational game licence N/A N/A N/A

National park passes

Boat registration

Pet registration

First aid course

64

Table 6 - Summary of Concession Eligibility offered by State and Territory Governments

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

ENERGY

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC 1

2

Students

Low income

Hardship

COUNCIL RATES

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC

Students

Low income 3

Hardship

WATER AND SEWERAGE

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC 4

Students

Low income

Hardship

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

65

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC 6

7

Students 5

Low income

Hardship

DRIVERS LICENCE

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC

Students

Low income

Hardship

MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC

Students

Low income

Hardship

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

66

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

STUDENT ASSISTANCE

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC

Students

Low income 8

10 12

Hardship 9

11

ADULT DENTAL SERVICES

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC

Students

Low income

Hardship

COMMUNITY EQUIPMENT SCHEME

HCC

PCC

DVA gold

DVA white

CW Seniors

Seniors

State CC

Students

Low income

Hardship

Medical basis

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

67

Eligibility Status Definitions:

HCC - Health Card Cards issued by Centrelink

PCC - Pensioner Concession Cards issued by Centrelink and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)

DVA Gold - Repatriation Health Care Card issued by DVA

DVA White - Repatriation Health Care Card issued by DVA (service related)

CW Seniors - Commonwealth Seniors Card issued by Centrelink

Seniors - Seniors Card issued by relevant State or Territory

State CC - Concession Card issued by relevant State or Territory

Students - Student Card issued by relevant State or Territory or educational institution

Low income – Eligibility varies between jurisdictions; see notes below

Hardship – Eligibility for hardship varies between jurisdictions and concessions; see notes below

Medical basis – Eligibility dependent upon medical condition

Notes:

1. State Concession Cards (SCC) are issued to permanent residents in South Australia who are aged 60

years and over but aged under 65 and not yet eligible for a pension from Centrelink (ie, have been in

receipt of a Centrelink benefit for less than 12 months); and Australian War Widows under 60 years of

age (i.e. DVA gold holders). Superannuation recipients, self-funded retirees and professional migrants

are ineligible for SA CC. To be eligible for an energy concession, the State Concession Card holder

must not be sharing a house with someone with an income of more than $3,000pa unless that person

is a spouse or is in receipt of a pension or benefit from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans

Affairs.

2. The Northern Territory Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme (NTPCC) is available to permanent

residents of the NT who are: Carers, in receipt of the Commonwealth Carer's Allowance from

Centrelink, Low-Income Superannuants in receipt of a regular life-long superannuation pension from a

complying Superannuation Scheme or Fund and have CW Seniors, Seniors, PCC, DVA Gold.

3. To be eligible for concessions under the low income category, the applicant’s income must not exceed

the following income limits (as assessed and applied by the South Australian Department for Families

and Communities): Single - $539.60 (fn) / $13 959.40 pa, Single with Children - $575.80 (fn) /

$14 970.80 pa, Partnered - $981.40 (fn) / $25,516.40 pa.

4. The WA State Concession Card is provided to veterans and widows who cannot meet Age Pension

eligibility and therefore cannot access the concessions available on local government and water,

sewerage and drainage rates - these are the only two concessions that WA SCC holders are eligible

for.

5. Primary or secondary school student travelling with a student pass must have a Victorian Public

Transport (VPT) Student Concession Card. A VPT concession card is also a valid concession card for

students aged 17 years and over.

6. Recipients of an eligible Centrelink payment (Newstart allowance, Sickness allowance, Widow

allowance, Youth allowance, Partner allowance, Parenting Payment Partnered, Bereavement allowance,

Special benefit, Exceptional Circumstances payments, Community Development Employment Project

(CDEP), New Enterprise Incentive Scheme), recipient can apply for a Transport Concession Card, valid

for 6 months, after which time, if still in receipt of an eligible Centrelink payment, a replacement card

will be sent by mail automatically.

7. SmartRider, electronic ticketing system is available for everyone who uses Transperth trains, buses or

ferries. Concession SmartRider cards are available to cardholders (HCC, PCC), as well as specific cards

for students and veterans. Seniors travel for free.

8. Assistance is based on a family’s taxable income and the number of dependent children

9. Situations of hardship may include instances of illness, disability or family breakdown.

10. Eligibility for School Card assistance is dependent upon the combined family gross income within the

following School Card income limits (2009-10 figures):

No. of Dependent Children Gross weekly income Gross annual income

1 $636 $33,046

2 $653 $33,947

3 $670 $34,848

4 $687 $35,749

5 $704 $36,650

Each additional child $17 $901

11. Where applicants are over the School Card income limits but have experienced hardship in the

financial year which has resulted in the family’s average weekly gross income being within the School

68

Card income limits based on the number of dependent children, the applicant can apply on hardship

grounds. Assessment under hardship will deduct any expenses from the family gross income, which is

considered either extraordinary or unavoidable during the 2009/2010 financial year. Extraordinary and

unavoidable expenses include; out of pocket medical and/or dental expenses, expense for caring for a

person with a disability, travel and accommodation expenses incurred by families for ongoing medical

treatment and funeral expenses. Extraordinary and unavoidable expenses do not include

mortgage/rent, motor vehicle expenses, child support/maintenance expenses, one-off expenses for

replacement of household items and general living expenses.

12. Applicants prove low-income status by providing a photocopy of a current Centrelink Card or Health

Care Card with means tested payment codes.

Table 7 - Major Concessions offering vertical equity (percent-based discounts), by State and

Territory

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

Energy 1

Council rates2

Water and sewerage 3

Medical energy 4

5

Notes:

1. NT offers a quarterly rebate of 50% or $1 per day – whatever is lowest

2. All jurisdiction offering a %-based council rates concession are capped to a maximum

amount

3. NT offers a concession of 62.5% or 27.4 per day – whatever is lowest

4. Medical cooling concession

5. Life support machines concession

Table 8: Promotion of Concessions, by State and Territory

TAS VIC NSW QLD SA WA ACT NT

Government website

Concessions website 1

Concessions guide 2

3

Concessions finder

Concessions hotline

Annual Report

Legislation

Notes

1. Northern Territory Pensioner and Carer Concession Scheme (NTPCCS) website

2. Brochure with details of major concessions available on concessions website

3. NTPCCS factsheet available on NTPCCS website

69

Table 9 - Utilities Services Concessions offered by State and Territory Governments

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

ENERGY

TAS

$100 one off payment. Rebate of 111.7 cents

per day on electricity accounts year round.

Eligible Aurora Pay-As-You-Go customers do

not pay the daily fixed charge.

VIC Annual electricity concession of 17.5% discount

off electricity bills year round

NS

W

Low-income Household Energy Rebate of $200

available to cardholders.

QLD

Electricity rebate of a maximum $230.46 per

year and Reticulated Natural Gas Rebate of up

to $63.40 per year.

SA Energy concession of up to $150 per year

which covers both electricity and gas use

WA

Energy rebate; rebate on supply charges,

account establishment fees and reduced fees on

meter testing; 38.23 cents per day is waived.

ACT Maximum annual rebate of $214.87.

NT

Rebate quarterly power account to the value of

50% or $1 per day (whichever is lowest) on

quarterly account.

HEATING

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS 2 x $28 payments annually. *

* This concession is only available to pensioners who meet an additional assets test. No other State or Territory

offers this concession. The 2008 Treasury review of concessions recommended that this concession be cancelled

and funding be re-allocated into the energy concession. The concession amount is based on a historical cost of a

tonne of wood.

COUNCIL RATES

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A 30% reduction on local government rates and

charges (capped at a maximum amount each

year). The card holder must occupy the

property as their principal place of residence

and be legally responsible for the rates on that

property.

VIC

The Municipal Rates concession provides a 50%

discount off council rates up to a yearly

maximum of $187.60 in 2010-2011.

70

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

NSW Concession available.

QLD

Rates Subsidy of 20% up to a max of $200 per

year on the gross rates and charges levied by a

local council.

SA

If own or part-own home being lived in, may

receive a concession up to $190 on council

rates. If area is connected to an effluent

disposal scheme and a charge is included in

council rates, may be eligible for a concession of

up to $100 per year, resulting in a total

concession of $290.

WA

Concession on local government rates and

charges, annual water service charge and

Emergency Services Levy.

ACT

General rates and Fire and Emergency Services

Levy rebate provides assistance to property

owners with up to 50% off up to $431.

NT Local council rates concession and garbage;

discount of 62.5% off bill up to $200.

WATER AND SEWERAGE

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Concessions of up to $136.50 ($68.25 for

water, $68.25 for sewerage) off the total

cost of their water and sewerage bill. To be

eligible, must be legally responsible for the

account and occupy the property as your

principal place of residence.

VIC 50% off water, 50% off sewerage charges, up

to maximum of $245 (in 2010-2011).

NSW

Concessions also available to families with

special needs and to people who have been

recipients of the Newstart Allowance for

more than 9 months.

QLD Pensioner Water Subsidy Scheme provides

an annual subsidy up to a maximum of $120.

SA

Home owner-occupier concession reduces

25% of the total annual water bill to a

maximum of $210 with $100 minimum; and

up to $105 on sewerage rates per year

Tenants receive 20% off to a maximum of

$168 pa and minimum of $58 per year. If

total bill is lease than $58, remission will

cover the amount of the total water rates

bill.

71

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

WA

Rebate of up to 50% on annual service

charges account and concession may be

available on water usage.

WA Seniors receive up to 25% off annual

service charges account.

Holders of WA Seniors and CW Seniors

receive up to 50% off annual service charge.

ACT Rebate of maximum 68% per quarter

NT

Water concession of 62.5% or 27.4c per day

(whatever is lower) and sewerage

concession of 27.4c per day.

MEDICAL ENERGY – LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES H

CC

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

The rebate for life support machines varies according to the type of machine installed. Eligibility is based

on medical condition and is not means/asset based. Oxygen concentrator - 42.1811 cents per day;

peritoneal dialysis machine - 31.2958 cents per day; haemo-dialysis machine - 31.2958 cents per day;

chronic positive pressure and airways regulator - 14.9675 cents per day; respirator (iron lung) - 55.788

cents per day; OXCP - 57.1486 cents per day; phototherapy - 79.4888 cents per day.

VIC Life Support Electricity Concession

1880kw hours per annum.

NSW Medical Energy Rebate – up to $200 pa;

dependent upon machine.

QLD

The Electricity Life Support Scheme assists

eligible users of oxygen concentrators or

kidney dialysis meet electricity costs with an

annual rebate. 2011-12 rebate for oxygen

concentrators is $469.36 and kidney dialysis

machines is $314.31. Machines must be

provided rent free by Qld Health.

SA Domiciliary Oxygen Concession is a 50% rebate on electricity used to run the concentrator machine.

WA

Life Support Equipment Electricity Subsidy is

an annual subsidy applicable per item of

equipment to assist financially disadvantaged

persons meet the electricity costs of

operating certain items of life support

equipment at home (cost from $35-$915).

ACT

Life support Rebate – applies to energy and water costs; dialysis, oxygen concentrators, respirators.

ACT Home Haemodialysis rebate assists all eligible patients accessing home haemodialysis with their

water costs up to $1200pa or $3.29 per day.

NT

72

MEDICAL ENERGY – TEMPERATURE REGULATION

TAS

VIC

The medical cooling concession provides a 17.5% discount off electricity costs over a six month period

from 1 November to 30 April for concession cardholders with multiple sclerosis and other qualifying

medical conditions such as Parkinson's, Motor Neurone disease, Scleroderma and Lupus.

With the Annual Electricity Concession, recipients of the medical cooling concession receive a

combined discount of 35% off electricity bills

NSW

QLD

Medical cooling and heating concession

Quarterly payments reviewed every 2 years

when individual must reapply. The 2011-12

rebate amount is $230.46 per year.

SA

WA

Thermoregulatory dysfunction energy subsidy - Annual subsidy to help offset the energy costs

associated with temperature control at their home for financially disadvantaged persons or their

dependents with thermoregulatory dysfunction.

ACT

NT

73

Table 10 - House and Land Concessions by State and Territory Governments

PUBLIC HOUSING RENT ASSISTANCE

TAS

Assistance is available to public housing tenants on a low income and who have less than $35 000 of

financial assets. Eligibility is based on income eligibility limits for a Centrelink Health Care Card.

Tenants pay a contribution towards the market rent calculated on their income.

VIC As a public housing tenant, you can apply to pay a reduced amount of rent based on your household

income

NSW Rent subsidy

QLD Rent subsidy

SA Rent subsidy

WA Rebate on rent for public housing tenants on a low income.

ACT Rental Rebate Subsidy - eligibility determined by household composition and income.

NT Rental rebate

PRIVATE RENTAL ASSISTANCE

TAS

Assistance is available to eligible people who are having difficulty accessing or staying in the private rental

market. Assistance is available to low-income earners based on income eligibility limits for a Centrelink

Health Care Card; some single people whose income exceeds the Centrelink Health Care Card

threshold by up to 20%, and some couples whose income exceeds the Centrelink Health Care Card

threshold by up to 10%.

VIC Bond Loan Scheme

NSW Private Rental Assistance

QLD

Bond loans and rent grants

Residential lessees Land Rent: Lessees of leasehold land who are suffering hardship or facing financial

difficulties and hold a Commonwealth Government concession card may be eligible for a decrease in land

rent, provided their leased land is used exclusively as their principal place of residence.

SA Private rent and bond support through Housing South Australia

WA Bond and rental assistance; Interest Free Bond Loan

ACT Rental Bonds Housing Assistance Program (interest free loan)

NT Bond assistance / initial rent assistance (interest free loan)

HOME PURCHASE

TAS Home Share and Streets Ahead Programs assist Tasmanians with low incomes to purchase homes,

including Housing Tasmania properties. Income and assets tested for eligibility apply for both

VIC

NSW

QLD Sale to Tenants Program

SA Affordable Homes Program

WA Goodstart Housing Program

74

ACT Sale to Tenant Scheme; Land Rent Scheme

NT

LAND TAX ON PRINCIPAL PLACE OF RESIDENCE

TAS

Land tax does not apply to owners of land on which a domestic dwelling exists and is the owners’

principal place of residence. A rebate on land tax is available on land on which a dwelling is being built as

the principal residence of the owner during the year.

VIC

NSW

QLD

SA

WA

ACT

NT Not applicable - No land tax in NT

FIRST HOME BUYER DUTY

TAS Concession removed in the 2011-12 Tasmanian State Budget

VIC First home bonus on properties less than $600 000.

NSW First Home Plus Scheme provides purchasers with exemptions on transfer duty on homes valued up to

$500 000 and concessions on duty for homes value between $500 000 and $600 000.

QLD

First homebuyers can save up to $9 500 in stamp duty and all homebuyers save around $300 on a

$500 000 house in mortgage duty. From 1 June 2010, first homebuyers buying newly built homes in the

regions also receive $11 000 from the Queensland Government, while first homebuyers in south-east

Qld receive $7 000.

SA First Home Bonus Grant of up to $8 000 where the property is less than $450 000

WA Home Buyers Assistance Account provides a grant of up to $2 000 for the incidental expenses of first

home buyers when they purchase homes for $400 000 or less

ACT

Home Buyer Concession scheme is an ACT initiative to assist persons in purchasing residential land or a

home by charging duty at a concessional rate.

Eligibility is determined by land/house price and income threshold

NT

First Home Owners concession provides a stamp duty FHOC to persons purchasing their first land/home

in Australia. Up to $26 730 off the duty payable, which presents the duty on the first $540 000 of the

dutiable value of the property. Concession is not means tested buy purchase of the land/house must be

less than $385 000 / $475 000 respectively. If exceeded, person may be eligible for Principal Place of

Residence Rebate

DUTY ON TRANSFER – PRINCIPAL PLACE OF RESIDENCE

TAS

VIC Concession on duty on transfer for principal place of residence.

NSW

QLD Concession on duty on transfer for principal place of residence; unavailable after 1 August 2011.

SA

75

WA A concessional rate of duty applies to a purchase of a residential property valued at less than $200 000

which will be the primary place of residence for the purchaser

ACT

NT

The Northern Territory Government provides a stamp duty Principal Place of Residence Rebate (PPRR)

to persons purchasing a home or land on which to build a home. The PPRR is available to all persons

other than those eligible for the stamp duty First Home Concession or the stamp duty Senior, Pensioner

and Carer Concession.

DUTY ON TRANSFER – GENERAL

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

VIC

Cardholders may be entitled to an exemption

or concession from duty depending on the

value of their interest in the house and land.

NSW

QLD

SA

WA

ACT

The Pensioner Duty Concession Scheme

(PDCS) assists eligible pensioners who move

to accommodation more suited to their needs

(e.g. moving from a house to a townhouse) by

charging duty at a concessional rate.

NT

The Senior, Pensioner and Carer Concession

(SPCC) assists eligible senior citizens,

pensioners and carers that are not first home

owners acquire a home or land. The SPCC is

an amount up to $8 500 off the stamp duty

payable. The scheme is not means tested but

eligibility ceases if the dutiable value of the

home or land at the date of the conveyance

exceeds $750 000 and $385 000 respectively.

76

Table 11 - Transport Concessions by eligibility by State and Territory Governments

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

TAS Concession prices on Metro and Merseylink

buses

VIC

Concession fares on train, tram and bus

services within metro Melbourne, regional city

town bus service and V/Line ticketed train and

coach services

NSW Concession travel rates

QLD 50% concession on urban bus services

throughout Queensland

SA Concession of around 50% on normal fare for

public transport

WA 50% - 65% discount on Transperth services

Up to 50% discount for TransWA

ACT Concession bus travel on ACTion Bus services

NT Concessions on public transport available

STUDENT TRAVEL CONVEYANCE

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A Conveyance allowance to assist with the cost of transporting students to the nearest school or school

bus service is available to students who live 5km or more from the nearest school or school bus stop

(whichever is the closer); with special needs who are unable to access public transport; or living on Bass

Strait islands and attending their closest educationally appropriate school or college on mainland Tasmania

VIC

Education Conveyance Allowance is available to students aged 5 – 21 in all country and outer metro area

who live more than 4.8km by shortest practical route from nearest schools and don’t have access to free

school bus service

NSW

NSW Private Vehicle Conveyance Subsidy is available to all NSW residents where there is no public

transport available to transport a student for all or part of journey to school.

Concession is intended to offset the cost of using a private vehicle, not cover all costs

QLD

School Transport Assistance Scheme; available

to primary students who live 3.2km from

nearest State primary school, or secondary

student who live 4.8km or less.

Non-state School Transport Assistance

Scheme

SA

Transport services for students who reside 5km or more from their nearest public school and for children

in rural areas of the State; and students with disabilities who have approval to attend a specific special

class or centre (services include buses, taxis, access cabs and/or travel allowance as appropriate). Families

may be eligible to claim travel allowance if a DECS school bus is not provided under these circumstances.

77

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

WA

Student subsidised travel scheme provides assistance for remote students between home and school.

Road travel subsidy for students required to travel more than 56km from the nearest appropriate

Government School.

ACT

Free school bus tickets for students aged 5 –

18 years of age.

Concession for primary school students living

outside 1km radial distance of their school;

and high school/Year 12 equivalent students

living outside a 2km radial distance of their

school.

NT

The NT Student Travel Scheme provides travel assistance for isolated students and is to be used at the

beginning and end of each semester or half semester.

Students in receipt of Australian Government Aboriginal Study Assistance Scheme (ABSTUDY) grants are

not eligible for this allowance.

The NT Conveyance Subsidy Scheme provides assistance with the cost of daily travel for full-time school

or tertiary students who are disadvantaged by the distance of daily travel to their nearest school or

tertiary education at which appropriate tuition and courses are available.

The NT Tertiary Fares Reimbursement Scheme provides fares assistance for non-salaried students who

do not qualify for other travel assistance (including assistance provided through Youth Allowance, Austudy

payments or ABSTUDY) who must move from their principle centre of residence in order to undertake

full-time tertiary studies at an institution elsewhere in the Territory.

NT Tertiary Fares Reimbursement Scheme - Interstate

This scheme provides fares assistance for non-salaried students, who do not qualify for other travel

assistance (including assistance provided through Youth Allowance, Austudy payments or ABSTUDY)

who have moved from their principle place of residence in order to undertake full-time tertiary studies or

university-level first award courses interstate in a field of study which:

•is considered by the standing committee to be a priority field of study; and

•is not available in any form at the same level at the Charles Darwin University (CDU) or at any other

registered training authority.

TRAINEE / APPRENTICE ALLOWANCE

TAS

A travel allowance of 20 cents per kilometre (25 cents for students living on the West Coast) is payable

to apprentices and trainees who have to travel more than 42km return to attend off-the-job training.

Where apprentices and trainees are required to travel to the mainland for training, the concession will

meet the cost of airfares, provide $50 towards airport transfers and pay an accommodation allowance of

$70 a day

VIC

The Apprentice and Trainee Accommodation Allowance assists apprentices and trainees who must stay

away from their home to attend approved off-the-job training at a TAFE Institution or private registered

training organisation. The allowance is $25 per night for a maximum of five nights in a week.

NSW

Apprentices and new entrant trainees may be eligible for travel and accommodation assistance if they

need to travel more than 120kms round trip to attend day or block release with their registered training

organisation. Assistance for accommodation is $28 per day and the rate for travel expenses is 12 cents

per kilometre. This applies to both public and private transport.

78

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

QLD

Travel and accommodation subsidy for apprentices and trainees who are required to travel at least

100kms return to attend training in relation to their apprenticeship or traineeship. The apprentice or

trainee will only be entitled to the subsidy if they attend training at the closest training organisation that

delivers the course of instruction for the apprenticeship or traineeship.

The following rates apply:

•15c per kilometre for travel between 100 and 650km;

•19c per kilometre for travel between 650 and 1 400km;

•Airfares for travel over 1 400km;

•$22 per day, including weekends, for accommodation (where appropriate).

SA

The travel and accommodation allowance is the State Government’s contribution towards an apprentice’s

/ trainee’s travel and accommodation costs incurred while travelling to the closest available registered

training organisation (RTO). The travel and accommodation allowance is a contribution only and is not

intended to cover the total travel and accommodation costs incurred by the apprentice/trainee.

WA

Apprentices and trainees are entitled to a travel and/or accommodation allowance to training at the

nearest RTO able to deliver the off-the-job training program.

The minimum road trip distance must be greater than 70km for travel allowance, 200km for

accommodation allowance and 1 200km for travel by air.

ACT

Apprentice Regional Travel Support (ABBTF) is available to all apprentices in training who have to travel

more than 100km to attend a TAFE/RTO to undertake their trade training. The support will allow an

apprentice to claim $50 per day for each day they attend their TAFE/RTO, where they are required to

stay overnight due to the distance travelled. Each apprentice’s claim is limited to $2 000 per year.

NT Australian Apprentices registered in the Northern Territory can access discounts and special offers with

the Australian Apprenticeships NT Discount Card.

PATIENT TRAVEL

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Financial assistance is available for Tasmanians

required to travel more than 75km one way

to access specialist medical services or

lymphoedema treatment not available locally;

travel more than 50km one way to access the

nearest renal and oncology treatment centre

the patient is ineligible for assistance from

other sources. Levels of assistance are

determined by the distance, type of travel and

accommodation required. Client contribution

towards costs is reduced for cardholders.

VIC

Victorian Patient Transport Assistance Scheme

subsidises the travel and accommodation costs

incurred by rural Victorians, and if appropriate,

their escorts, who have no option but to

travel a long distance to receive approved

medical specialists services.

79

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

NSW

Transport for Health includes the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme

(IPTAAS). People who need to access specialist medical or oral surgical treatment not available locally

and who live more than 100km from the nearest specialist are eligible. The SWISH Travel program

entitles babies and a parent, who live more than 100 km one way from one of the three SWISH

assessment facilities, to be reimbursed for travel if the baby has been identified for follow-up diagnostic

audiology services following screening for hearing under the SWISH program. Eligibility for other

Transport for Health Services is based on a patient's inability to reasonably gain access to local health

services by either public or private transport, or their need to be transported between hospital facilities.

QLD

Patient Travel subsidy provides financial

assistance for transport and accommodation

costs to patients who need access to specialist

medical services not available within 50km of

the patients’ nearest public hospital.

Cardholders must have a Medicare card, be a

permanent Qld resident, referred by a

registered medical practitioner and meet

other criteria. Escorts may also be eligible.

SA

The South Australian Patient Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS) provides some financial

reimbursement to country patients and approved escorts with the cost of travel and accommodation

when they are required to travel over 100km (each way) to receive specialist medical treatment that is

not available at their nearest centre.

WA

Patient Assisted Travel Scheme is available to permanent country resident in a WA Country Health

Service region who needs to travel more than 100kms to access the nearest eligible medical specialist

service (including Telehealth), by providing a subsidy towards the cost of travel and accommodation.

Assistance is available to travel on the most economical form of transport appropriate to your medical

condition as recommended by a doctor. Escorts may be approved for people with certain medical

conditions including people having cancer treatment, the frail, disabled or people under 18 years of age.

Scheme is not means tested.

ACT

The Interstate Travel Assistance Scheme provides assistance to permanent residents of the ACT towards

travel and accommodation expenses when referred interstate for medical treatment not available in the

ACT. Eligibility by referral from treating medical practitioner, which remains valid for 12 months. Motor

vehicle mileage allowance of $0.10 per kilometre or equivalent economy coach or rail ticket, as well as

accommodation rebate of $35 for patient and $10 for the escort, per night.

NT

The Patient Assistance Travel Scheme (PATS) provides assistance with travel, and if applicable,

accommodation costs to residents of the Northern Territory who are required to travel more than

200kms to the nearest specialist medical treatment. PATS also includes an escort for every patient

travelling interstate for surgery or intensive therapies (e.g. radiation therapies, non surgical cancer

treatments, cardiology and neurosurgery), a ground transport allowance of $40 per return trip for patients

who are required to travel interstate for treatment, a commercial accommodation rate of $35 a night and

private vehicle allowance of 15cents per kilometre per patient for up to three patients travelling together.

80

TAXI (DISABILITY)

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A 50% concession on the cost of travel by

non-wheelchair accessible taxi available to

people: with a permanent and severe disability

who have been assessed as meeting eligibility

criteria for membership of the Transport

Access Scheme. A maximum subsidy of $25

per single journey applies.

A 60% concession on the cost of travel in a wheelchair accessible taxi is available to people with a

permanent and severe disability who have been assessed as meeting eligibility criteria for membership of

the Transport Access Scheme, and who are totally wheelchair reliant. A maximum subsidy of $30 per

single journey applies.

VIC

Multi-purpose Taxi Program: The Victorian

Taxi Directorate provides a 50% discount on

taxi fares, up to $60 per trip to permanently

and severely disabled Victorian residents, who

disability (physical or intellectual/psychological)

limits their mobility and prevents them from

accessing public transport.

NSW Taxi Transport Subsidy Scheme (TTSS) provides a 50% discount up to $30 per trip for severe and

permanently disabled

QLD Taxi Subsidy Scheme provides 50% concession up to $25 per trip for permanent Queensland residents

who meet relevant criteria in relation to disability

SA Taxi Fare Subsidy Scheme

SA Transport Subsidy Scheme for people with permanent and severe disabilities

WA Taxi user subsidy scheme available to permanent residents of WA who have a severe disability that

prevents them using public transport

ACT

Taxi Subsidy Scheme assists people who have a disability that prevents them from using public transport

for a minimum period of 6 months.

Eligibility is determined by assessment, not means tested.

NT

NT Taxi Subsidy Scheme provides assistance to people assessed as having a disability or significant

mobility restriction that prevents them being able to use public transport to access the community.

50% subsidy for NT permanent residents who meet at least 1 of 6 criteria.

Apply for membership to access concession

DRIVERS LICENCE

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Cardholders receive the following discounts:

1 year $9.50, 2 years $19.05, 3 years $27.20, 4

years $36.70, 5 years $46.20

Members of the Transport Access Scheme are

also eligible. There is no licence fee for

people 65 years and over

VIC

81

NSW Exempt from fees for licence

QLD

SA 50% reduction in drivers licence

WA 50 – 100% concession

ACT 50 – 100% discount

Concession also available to the unemployed

NT Drivers licence concession available

MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION

TAS

Discounts on vehicle registration fees are

available for motor vehicles (other than

motorcycles) not over 4.5 tonnes gross

vehicle mass ($34.95), trailers (including

caravans) ($13.60) and motorcycles ($31.30).

Also available to people who receive a TPI

Pension and are members of the Transport

Access Scheme (for people with a severe

disability). Only applies to one vehicle of each

type registered in the name of the eligible

person.

VIC

50% discount on motor vehicle registration

fee component of the registration bill where

card holder or their spouse is the registered

operator of the vehicle. There is a limit of

one vehicle per concession card.

DVA gold = 100% discount

NSW

Exemption from fees on Motor vehicle tax

and registration (including HVIS inspection

fees).

QLD

50% -70% reduction for post July 1994 issued

PCC on registration fee component of total

registration amount payable. Pre-July 1994

issued PCC receive flat rate concession on

registration fee component of total

registration. Concessions are available for

motorbikes, motor vehicles up to 4.5tonnes

and motorised caravans. Concession only

available on one vehicle recorded in registered

operators name.

Individual and spouse can only receive one

concession between couple. War veterans on

disability pension who are 70% or more

incapacitated are eligible for a flat rate

concession and exempt from traffic

improvement fee component of the total

registration fees payable.

SA

50% reduction in registration of one motor

vehicle or motorcycle and one trailer or

caravan for cardholders; incapacitated

ex-service person receive a 66% reduction.

82

WA Vehicle licence fee concession 50 – 100%

ACT HCC - $10 short term licence

PCC and DVA 100% exemption

NT

Concession towards registration for private

vehicle/motorcycle/motorised wheelchair or

motorised “trike”. The concession can be

claimed for one vehicle only during any period

and the vehicle must be registered in

cardholders name.

COMPULSORY THIRD PARTY INSURANCE (CTP)

TAS

A concession of $69 on MAIB third party

insurance premiums is available for motor

vehicles (other than motorcycles) not over 4.5

tonnes. Members of the Transport Access

Scheme (for people with a severe disability)

are also eligible.

VIC

Stamp duty on CTP premiums is broadly

based. Concessions are provided where the

value of the TAC premium is reduced by 50%

(effectively, a 5 per cent levy).

NSW Concessions on CTP

QLD

SA Exempt from the payment of CTP

WA Third party insurance concession

ACT

Exemptions and Concessions available:

PCC and DVA gold = free

HCC = $10 for 12 months

ACT Seniors = 10$ discount

NT

Concession towards CTP for private vehicle,

motorcycle, motorised wheelchair or

motorised trike can be claimed for one vehicle

registered in cardholder’s name.

83

MOTOR TAX

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

CC

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

40% rebate on motor tax (which is included in

motor vehicle registration) is available for

goods vehicles with a gross vehicle mass not

over 4.5 tonnes. This concession only applies

if a concession has not already been granted

on another motor vehicle registered in the

name of the eligible person. 100% exemption

on motor tax is available for a vehicle with a

gross vehicle mass not exceeding 4.5 tonnes.

The exemption is available to people who

receive a TPI Pension and are members of the

Transport Access Scheme.

VIC

NSW Motor vehicle tax and Registration (including

HVIS inspection fees); exempt from fees

QLD

SA

WA

ACT

NT

Motor Vehicle Duty

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A 100 per cent exemption from duty on

vehicle registration applications and transfers is

available for a vehicle with a gross vehicle mass

not exceeding 4.5 tonnes if an individual

receive a TPI Pension (DVA Gold*) and is a

member of the Transport Access Scheme (for

people with a severe disability).

VIC 100% exemption from motor vehicle duty

(stamp duty)

NSW GST exemption on purchase of new cars

QLD Vehicle registration duty exemption

SA Exemption from stamp duty on value of the

vehicle

WA Motor vehicle GST exemption

ACT Motor vehicle GST exemption

NT Motor vehicle GST exemption

84

Table 12 - Education Services Concessions by eligibility by State and Territory Governments

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

STUDENT ASSISTANCE (Levies, Uniforms, School Resources)

TAS

Assistance towards the cost of school levies may be available to low income families with full-time

students from kindergarten to year 12 at state and non-government schools or students enrolled part-

time due to genuine hardship (such as illness, disability or family breakdown). Assistance is based on a

family’s taxable income and the number of dependent children.

VIC

Education Maintenance Allowance - paid in 2

instalments, 70% at start of Term 1, 30% at

start of Term 3. Allowance is divided equally

between parents and schools. In 2009, $221

for primary school students, $443 for

secondary students up to 16 years of age.

The allowance increases each year in line with

inflation.

NSW

QLD

Textbook and Resource Allowance provides assistance to parents of secondary school age students

attending state and approved non-state schools to contribute towards the cost of textbooks and learning

resources. Parents have the option to receive the allowance directly or as an offset of fees associated

with participation in any school textbook and resource scheme. This option is made available to each

parent annually. Cash allowance is paid through the school attended.

SA The School Card Scheme provides financial assistance towards educational expenses incurred by families.

WA

Secondary Assistance Scheme provides

financial support to eligible parents of students

in Yrs 8-12 - current value is $235 per year.

Clothing Allowance of $115 - eligibility criteria

applies.

ACT

The Secondary Bursary Scheme provides

financial assistance of $500 per year with

education costs for students in Years 7-10,

Canberra Institute of Technology or approved

home schooling.

NT

The Back to School Payment Scheme helps families offset the beginning of year education expenses such

as cost of textbooks, stationery, school uniforms, excursions, and travel. Parents or guardians of students

enrolled from preschool to Year 12 in are entitled to receive $75 per student of eligible educational items

from the student’s school.

STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

TAS

Financial support may be given to Year 11 and 12 students who live away from home due to the distance

between their usual home in Tasmania and the closest institution offering their chosen course of study.

The assistance is available to full-time Year 11 and 12 students and students enrolled part-time due to

genuine hardship (such as illness, disability or family breakdown).

VIC

85

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

NSW

The NSW Secondary Schools Living Away from Home Allowance (LAFHA) provides assistance to eligible

families who must board their children away from home to access secondary education. The student's

home must be in NSW; the student must be living away from home to attend an appropriate secondary

school in NSW, QLD, SA, VIC, or the ACT; and the student must be following a normal secondary

course of study. The basic criteria relate to income and distance. There is also provision for other

circumstances such as a medical condition to be considered where relevant. The Boarding Scholarships

for Isolated Students scheme (BSIS) provides assistance to students in Years 7 to 12 from rural areas who

are disadvantaged by a low family income and geographic isolation where the location of the family home

in NSW severely affects the student's access to secondary schooling and whose circumstances require

that they board away from home to attend government secondary school.

QLD

Living Away from Home Allowances Scheme (LAFHAS) provides assistance to eligible Queensland

parents whose children must board away from home to attend school on a daily basis because their

homes are geographically isolated or they do not have reasonable daily access to a government school

with the appropriate level of primary, secondary or special schooling.

LAFHAS has four component allowances which assist students in Years 1–12: Remote Area Tuition

Allowance which compensates tuition fees charged by non-state boarding schools for students who board

at school; Remote Area Travel Allowance which compensates travel costs for students travelling to and

from home and boarding locations in vacation periods; Remote Area Allowance which compensates costs

of boarding at one of the five Queensland campuses of the Australian Agricultural College to complete

courses equivalent to and in lieu of Years 11 and 12; Remote Area Disability Supplement which

compensates additional costs associated with educating students with a high level disability and who are

required to board away from home. All payments are dependent on applicants' homes meeting distance

eligibility criteria or being approved under special circumstances by the Minister for Education and Training.

Payment is also dependent on school attendance certifications and distance checking which is undertaken

on a risk management basis.

SA

WA Boarding Away from Home Allowance (BAHA); must be a resident who has qualified for Commonwealth

Boarding Allowance or Second home Allowance. Agricultural College Special Subsidy; $2050 (2010 rate)

ACT

NT

TERTIARY STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Financial support may be given to full-time tertiary students who live away from home due to the

distance between their usual home in Tasmania and the closest tertiary institution offering their chosen

course of study. Assistance is available to tertiary students who receive a Centrelink or DVA means-

tested benefit or education supplement and students who are enrolled part-time due to genuine

hardship (such as illness, disability or family breakdown). For all eligible students the allowance is $1 050.

Pro-rata grants apply for students who become eligible for Centrelink after the start of their course

86

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

APPRENTICE AND TRAINEE

TAS Concession removed in the 2011-12 Tasmanian State Budget

VIC

The Apprentice and Trainee Accommodation Allowance assists apprentices and trainees who must stay

away from their home to attend approved off-the-job training at a TAFE Institution or private registered

training organisation.

NSW

Registered apprentices or new entrant trainees in NSW are eligible for Travel and Accommodation

Assistance. Assistance for accommodation is $28 per day. A subsidy of 12c per km for travel is paid if

travel is outside the boundaries of the City Rail network. You need to travel more than 120kms round

trip to attend day or block release with your registered training organisation.

QLD

Apprentices and trainees may apply for the travel and accommodation subsidy after each period of

training has been completed. The apprentice or trainee will only be entitled to the subsidy if they attend

training at the closest training organisation that delivers the course of instruction for the apprenticeship or

traineeship. The apprentice or trainee must travel at least 100kms return to that training organisation to

be eligible.

SA

The travel and accommodation allowance is the State Government’s contribution towards an

apprentice’s/ trainee’s travel and accommodation costs incurred while travelling to the closest available

registered training organisation (RTO). The travel and accommodation allowance is a contribution only

and is not intended to cover the total travel and accommodation costs incurred by the apprentice/trainee.

WA

The Travel and Accommodation Allowance (TAA) assists an apprentice/trainee meet travel and

accommodation costs incurred while travelling from their normal place of residence to the training venue

of the closest Registered Training Organisation (RTO), delivering approved off-the-job training program.

For eligibility to accommodation allowance the round trip distance travelled from the apprentice’s/trainee’s

normal place of residence to the training venue must exceed 200 kilometres, calculated as though

attendance was at the closest training venue of all the contracted RTOs able to deliver the approved off-

the-job training program.

ACT Some assistance with travel and accommodation is available to apprentices who travel interstate for

training.

NT

If there is no RTO providing training locally and the only practical option is to do off-the-job training away

from home (more than 50km), apprentices and trainees may be eligible for financial assistance under the

Travel and Accommodation Subsidy Scheme. The scheme applies to training in the Northern Territory or

in another state or territory. Travel subsidies paid to the apprentice or trainee may be equivalent to the

average discounted airfare available on the dates of travel or the cost of a return bus fare. For distances

of less than 1 000km (one way), the subsidy will be for a bus fare or, if travelling by road, 45 cents per km,

whichever is the lesser. A grant of 45 cents per km for daily trips is available, if the trip is more than 50km

one way. Transfer subsidies to assist with the cost of travel between the airport or bus terminal and

accommodation are available. Accommodation grants of $220 for a full week (seven days) and $31.50 for

each extra day are also available. Note that the payments are a subsidy only.

ADULT EDUCATION COURSES

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS Concessions on fees for most courses.

VIC Concession course prices available.

87

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

NSW Concession discount available on many

courses

QLD Concession card holders or dependants are

entitled to a discount on course fees.

SA Discount fee on WEA courses.

WA Concessions available – details on specific

eligibility criteria not available.

ACT

NT

TAFE TUITION FEES

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A two-thirds reduction on the normal tuition

fee for each unit or module is available. Fee

capping also applies.

VIC Concessions on enrolment fees for

cardholders and their dependent spouses.

NSW Concession fee available.

QLD Concession on fees available. Tuition fee

exemption also considered.

SA Students are eligible for concession upon

enrolling into a government-subsidised course.

WA

Student cardholders and dependents enrolled

in a vocational course are entitled to a

concession rate of up to 25% on course fees.

Persons aged between 15 and 18 years, and

who are not due to reach 18 years of age in

the calendar year of enrolment are also

entitled to concession on course fees.

ACT

If receiving Centrelink benefits may

automatically receive a fee concession of 50%

with CIT.

ACT Government Fee Assistance (Canberra

Institute of Technology) - course fees or

course materials. Main eligibility requirement

is experiencing financial hardship,

NT Fee exemption

TAFE CHILD CARE CONCESSION

TAS

Up to a 50% reimbursement of childcare costs (to a maximum of $750 per student per year) is available

to people enrolled in an accredited course at the Polytechnic, with childcare provided through a registered

carer or Family Day Care Program. Note: This concession was only available in 2010.

88

Table 13 - Health Concessions by Eligibility by State and Territory Governments

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

PHARMACEUTICALS

TAS

Concessions are available on pharmaceuticals

dispensed to outpatients attending the

emergency department or hospital outpatient

clinics in public hospitals. $5.60 cost with free

benefits after $336.00 IS spent.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or PBS is a program of the Australian Government that provides subsidised

prescription drugs to residents of Australia. The PBS ensures that all Australians have affordable and reliable access

to a wide range of necessary medicines. When purchasing a medication under the PBS the maximum price a

consumer pays is the patient co-payment contribution which, as of January 1, 2011 is A$34.20 for general patients.

Those covered by government entitlements (low-income earners, welfare recipients, Health Care Card holders,

etc.) and those covered under the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) have a reduced co-

payment which is $5.60 in 2011.

INSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES

TAS

Free needles and syringes are available to residents of Tasmania with insulin-treated diabetes accessing the

National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) and not receiving any other co-payment to cover the cost of

needles and syringes under the NDSS

The NDSS, provided by Australian Government, is a program that provides blood and urine testing strips, syringes

and needles for special injection systems at subsidised prices to people who register for its benefits.

People who are resident in Australia and have been diagnosed with diabetes by a medical practitioner, and who

hold a current Australian Medicare card or Department Veteran Affairs file number, can be registered to access the

benefits of the NDSS.

SPECTACLES / VISUAL AIDS

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

The Spectacles Assistance Scheme provides financial assistance for the purchase of spectacles to those who

meet the guidelines. Clients are assisted with the cost of specific types of lenses and frames. There is a

restriction on the frequency of application. The assistance is means tested and is not available to all health

care card holders.

Subsidies of 70% are available on scheduled

items such as lenses and basic frames, low

vision aids, non-cosmetic contact lenses,

prostheses and intra-ocular implants to

permanent Tasmanian residents. Pre-school

age children are also eligible (means tested).

Other low-income earners may be eligible for

the subsidy under hardship provisions

VIC

Free eye examinations and low cost glasses for

cardholders and their dependents under 16

who are listed on the concession card

89

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

Victorian Eyecare Service (VES) provides

Victorian cardholders with access to low cost

eye care and visual aids.

NSW

NSW Spectacle Program assists in the delivery

of low-cost vision-care services and optical

appliances. Program approved frames and

lenses are available at no cost every two years

to eligible applicants who are approved for

spectacle item benefits. Applicants must also

meet all criteria of the NSW Government's

Means Test. Children may also be eligible for

the program depending on family income and

assets.

QLD

Spectacles Supply Scheme provides a

comprehensive range of free basic prescription

glasses to eligible Qld residents.

SA

Under the Spectacles Scheme, once every two

years, cardholders plus listed dependents are

entitled to a pair of glasses and a pair of

distance glasses. OR a pair of bifocal glasses.

WA

The WA Spectacle Subsidy Scheme assists with the purchase of a pair of prescribed spectacles or lenses,

providing a 50% subsidy of the total cost to a maximum of $50. This assistance is available once every two

years.

ACT

ACT Spectacles Subsidy Scheme provides

eligible ACT residents with 1 pair of trifocal or

focal spectacles or 2 separate pairs of single

vision spectacles from the one prescription in

any 2 year period; valued at $100.

ACT

ACT Seniors Spectacles Scheme provides a

$35 rebate towards the cost of spectacles

every 2 years.

NT Concessions on spectacles available.

ADULT DENTAL SERVICES

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS Free emergency services and subsidised general

services and dentures

VIC

$24 co-payment up to a maximum of $96 on

emergency and general dental. Exemption

from fees for public dental services available to

those experiencing financial hardship.

NSW

Free public oral health services. Cardholders

must be eligible for Medicare and reside within

boundary of the providing Area Health Service.

90

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

QLD

Free dental treatment including provision of

dentures, is available at public dental clinics and

hospitals to cardholders and their dependents.

SA Basic dental treatment through SA Dental

Service to cardholders and dependents.

WA

Emergency, general, and some specialised

dental care available to cardholders and their

dependents through the Oral Health Centre of

Western Australia (OHCWA) and public

dental clinics throughout the metropolitan area

and in many country locations.

Country Patients Dental Subsidy Scheme

provides financial assistance to eligible people

in country locations where there are

participating private dental practices and no

public dental clinics.

ACT

ACT Denture Scheme - All ACT residents

over 18 years old with cards are eligible to

receive general and emergency treatment

NT Adult cardholders are eligible for free dental

services.

CHILD DENTAL SERVICES

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Free service for all children under six,

dependent children of cardholders up to 18

years of age and subsidised service is available

to all other children under 18.

VIC

Exemption from fees for public dental services

for children aged 0 -17 years who are

cardholders or dependants of card holders.

Subsidised service for other children aged 0 –

12 years.

NSW Free public oral health services to children less than 18 years of age, who are eligible for Medicare and live

within the boundary of the providing Area Health Service

QLD All Queensland resident children four years of age or older who have not completed year ten at school are

eligible for free public dentist services.

SA

Free dental care for preschool clients. Children

who are dependants/cardholders receive free

dental care. Children under 18 attending

school in South Australia are eligible to attend

the School Dental Service.

WA

Free basic dental care is provided to all school

children from pre-primary to Year 11 (Year 12

in remote localities).

91

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

ACT

Child and youth dental provides dental services

to all children under 5 who live in the ACT, all

children 5 years to under 14 years of age who

live or attend school in the ACT and children

living or attending school in the ACT under the

age of 18 years covered by a concession card.

NT The Children’s Dental Service provides free dental services to all students.

COMMUNITY EQUIPMENT

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Financial assistance is available to clients who

require; mobility and personal care aids and

equipment, specialised footwear, basic home

modifications, continence aids and appliances,

to enhance their safety and quality of life.

Cardholders must have been referred by an

authorised prescriber.

VIC

The Aids and Equipment Program (A&EP) provides children or adults who are permanent Victorian

residents with a permanent or long-term disability with subsidised aids, equipment, vehicle and home

modifications to enhance independence in their home, facilitate community participation and support

families and carers in their role. The list of aids and equipment subsidised by the aids and equipment

program includes; wheelchairs, mobility aids, beds and hoists, pressure care equipment, shower chairs, grab

rails and ramps, home modifications, vehicle modifications, electronic communication aids, environmental

control units, domiciliary oxygen, lymphoedema compression garments and continence aids.

NSW

EnableNSW provides appropriate assistive technology devices and specialised support services to assist

permanent residents of NSW with a permanent or long-term disability to live and participate in their family

and community. EnableNSW is means tested for adults for most categories of assistive technology.

Children up to the age of 16 years with a long-term disability are eligible for EnableNSW, regardless of

parental income.

92

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

QLD

Medical Aids Subsidy Scheme (MASS) provides

access to subsidy funding to eligible

Queensland residents with permanent and

stabilised conditions or disabilities for the

provision of MASS endorsed aids and

equipment, selected to assist people to live at

home. Equipment available includes;

communication aids, continence aids, daily

living aids, medical grade footwear, mobility

aids, orthoses and oxygen.

The Home Assist Secure program aims to

remove some of the practical housing-related

difficulties experienced by older people and

people with a disability who wish to remain

living in their home. The service provides free

information and referrals about home

maintenance, falls prevention, repairs and

modifications and home security. Subsidised

assistance for minor home maintenance,

repairs and modifications which relate to

health, safety and security, is also available for

eligible clients.

SA

Independent Living Equipment Program (ILEP) provides aids and equipment available that can help maintain

independence. Equipment may help with everyday tasks in the home, mobility, transferring and seating,

bathroom, toileting and incontinence, communication and telephone access.

WA

The Community Aids and Equipment Program

(CAEP) provides an equitable accessible and

consistent state-wide scheme for the provision

of equipment and home modifications for the

benefit of people with permanent disability

who live at home. May also access EAEP if

eligible for a Carer Payment or demonstrate

financial hardship. The types of equipment and

home modifications funded by CAEP include;

bed equipment (bed rails, pressure mattress),

communication (communication devices), daily

living items (height adjustable table), home

modifications (grab rails and widen the

doorway), orthoses (surgical footwear),

personal care items (shower chair), positioning

and seating (standing frames), respiratory

appliances (ventilators), transfer aids (hoists

and transfer boards), walking aids (walking

frames) and wheeled mobility devices.

93

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

ACT

The ACT Equipment Scheme provides access

to a range of equipment for permanent

residents of the ACT with long term illness or

disabilities to assist them to live safely at home

in the community. Recipients must be

ineligible to receive assistance from other

government funded schemes or private health

schemes and meet low income criteria as

outlined within the policy. Eligible persons

make a co-payment of $22 or up to 10% of

the cost of the item. Equipment available from

ACTES includes; powered recliner/lift chairs,

pressure care cushions, bathing items, toileting

items, manual and powered wheelchairs,

walking aids, portable ramps, bariatric

equipment, communication devices and

continence aids. The Home and Community

Care (HACC) Equipment Scheme

complements ACTES. Applications for HACC

equipment must be from an authorised

prescriber. HACC Equipment Scheme will not

provide funding for installation costs or

associated home modifications. Equipment

available from HACC includes hoists, slings,

beds, mattresses and pressure care overlays

NT

The Territory Independence and Mobility

Equipment (TIME) Scheme provides

appropriate equipment, aids and appliances to

residents of the NT with a permanent or long

term disability who live in the community, to

enhance their safety and independence. Clients

need to have an assessment by an appropriate

professional and not be eligible to receive

equipment under any other program/fund.

There are ceiling levels on the amount of

assistance that can be provided for some

equipment.

Also available to and people approved on the

basis of Financial Hardship. Equipment

provided under the TIME Scheme is categorised

as follows: communication aids and devices,

continence equipment, daily living aids and

equipment, feeding equipment and appliances,

home modifications, oxygen and respiratory

appliances, personal call alarms, pressure care,

specialised items, walking aids, wheelchairs and

car modifications.

94

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

ENTERAL FEEDS AND SUPPLEMENTS

TAS

Tube feeds and oral nutrition supplements are

supplied at subsidised cost to people with

serious medical conditions that affect their

ability to meet nutritional requirements with

normal food and drink and are assessed by a

dietician as requiring nutrition support. A

further reduction in the subsidised cost is

available for cardholders.

VIC

NSW EnableNSW – means test applies for patients

over 16 years of age.

QLD

SA

WA Area Health Services in WA provide access to nutritional products and consumables for public patients.

ACT

Home Enteral Nutrition Scheme aims to support ACT residents living in the community who are unable to

maintain nutrition through oral intake. A referral by a treating medical practitioner is required. Eligibility for

people who have regular appointments with a dietician, agree to have their information stored on a

database and meet co-payment of $45 per participant per week

NT

Home Enteral (HE) Nutrition available under

HE Nutrition Scheme Equipment and TIME

Scheme

HOME OXYGEN PROGRAM

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS Oxygen supplies are available to patients assessed by a specialist doctor as needing oxygen therapy.

VIC

NSW

Home Oxygen Service (HOS) provides respiratory equipment including oxygen concentrators, continuous

positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines, ventilators and respiratory consumables such as tracheotomy

tubes to people to manage their respiratory condition and maximise their independence in their own

homes. The Home Oxygen Scheme is aimed at prioritising the supply of oxygen and related items to

those people living at home who are most financially disadvantaged.

95

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

QLD

MASS provides assistance in the form of a

concentrator (machine that runs on electricity

which generates oxygen from the air) and/or

pre-filled cylinders. MASS provides a number

of accessories including nasal cannulas, masks,

tubing and swivel connectors, trolleys, crates,

carry bags and restraints. MASS may also

provide emergency back-up large or portable

cylinders for people who are dependent on

oxygen for 24 hours per day or who are in a

life threatening situation in the event of a

power failure. Clinical eligibility criteria for

home oxygen apply.

SA

WA

WA Health funds the home oxygen therapy service for people who meet the medical criteria according to

an approved prescribing doctor. WA Health covers the cost of lending an oxygen concentrator along with

the associated costs of nursing and administrative supervision. Where appropriate and available, WA Health

also covers the cost of portable oxygen bottles for use

ACT

ACT Domiciliary Oxygen and Respiratory

Support Scheme (DORSS) - is part of ACTES

and provides oxygen and associated respiratory

equipment to eligible residents of the ACT.

NT TIME Scheme

CONTINUOUS POSITIVE AIRWAYS PRESSURE

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Assistance through provision of equipment is

available to people who have been clinically

assessed as having a sleep-related breathing

disorder requiring a positive airways pressure

machine.

VIC

NSW HOS

QLD

SA

WA

ACT

NT

96

LYMPHOEDEMA

TAS

Financial assistance is available to people

requiring compression garments to help

manage lymphoedema.

VIC A&EP

NSW

QLD

SA

WA

ACT

NT TIME Scheme

ORTHOTIC / PROSTHETIC H

CC

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A reduced contribution charge for orthotic

and prosthetic services is provided to

cardholders referred by GP or medical

specialist. Public hospital clients also eligible.

Clients are charged for more advanced and

specialised technology.

VIC A&EP funds some orthotic treatment; also Victorian Artificial Limb Program (VALP).

NSW The EnableNSW Prosthetic Limb Service is responsible for funding the provision of artificial limbs.

QLD Queensland Artificial Limb Service provides artificial limbs. All Queenslanders who hold a Medicare are

eligible for services.

SA

WA

The Western Australian Limb Service for Amputees (WALSA) provides limb prostheses to eligible

Western Australians. By arrangements made with the DVA, all entitled veterans receive primary or

replacement limbs and repairs via WALSA. DVA is responsible for paying for entitled veterans’ services

and monitors quality of delivery of service in conjunction with WALSA.

ACT The Artificial Limb Scheme assists ACT residents referred by a treating practitioner who require access to

prosthetic devices.

NT A Medicare eligible person who chooses to be a public patient will not be charged for prostheses while in

hospital.

WIGS

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

Some financial assistance to buy wigs is

available to cancer and alopecia patients who

are referred by a doctor.

97

Table 14 - Legal Services Concessions by Eligibility by State and Territory Governments

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD

TAS

A reduced fee of $5 for a criminal history record check is available to volunteers pre-approved and

validated by the relevant volunteer organisation. Organisations must complete the volunteer rate

application form for the volunteer to be able to receive the reduced fee.

VIC

Volunteers, student placements and persons who qualify under the Family Day Care Scheme as an adult

(18 years or over) residing with a Family Day Care provider can obtain a National Police Certificate at a

reduced fee of $15.

A valid Community Volunteer Fee (CVF) number must be provided by an organisation registered with

Victoria Police to claim the reduced fee.

NSW

QLD

SA

Concession fee for National Police Certificate

Applicant must provide proof of financial

disadvantage by providing a copy of at least one

card with their application

A reduced fee of $33.25 for volunteers

Applicant must have the volunteer organisation

authorise their application

WA Western Australian organisations are provided with a National Police Check for their volunteers at a

reduced fee of $10.50 per person checked.

ACT

NT

RIGHT TO INFORMATION

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS A waived fee may be available

VIC

There are two costs associated with making a FOI request, the application fee and the access charges. The

application fee is a fixed cost which is non-refundable. The only exception is for people suffering hardship

who can ask the agency to waive the application fee.

NSW

Agencies are entitled to charge at the rate of

$30 per hour for processing formal access

applications and may make disclosure of

information conditional on payment of the

processing charge. The application fee of $30

counts as a payment toward any processing

charge. A concessional 50% discount on

processing charges is available

98

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

QLD

If you hold a valid concession card, and you are

seeking a waiver of processing and access

charges, you will be required to provide a copy

of the card to the RTI officer. Note, not all

concession cards are accepted

SA

There are fees and charges for making and processing a Freedom of Information application

In some cases the fee for your application can be waived. If you are the holder of a current concession

card, or if you can satisfy the agency that the payment of the fee would cause financial hardship, the agency

must waive or remit (reduce or refund) the application fee.

WA

Applications for other documents (i.e. which are non-personal in nature) require a $30 application fee to

be paid when the application is lodged, and there may be other charges imposed by the agency

If you are financially disadvantaged advise the agency as a 25% reduction of charges may apply

ACT Department of Justice and Community Safety can assess whether to waive the fees normally payable for a

freedom of information request. .

NT Fees can be waived or reduced in limited circumstances, taking into account your financial situation

BIRTH CERTIFICATES

TAS Free birth extracts are available to Tasmanian-born people applying to Centrelink for the Age Pension

Funeral Assistance

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS

A basic Essential Care Funeral may be available for a deceased person

An Essential Care Funeral includes:

• transfer and storage of the deceased

• a basic coffin

• transportation

• registration of death

• media notices

• interment/cremation

Available where family members:

• receive a pension or benefit

• has received no substantial assistance from any other source

• are unable to claim the deceased because they have insufficient funds or assets to pay for a funeral

service.

VIC

State Trustees may be able to assist with the burials for those with insufficient means. State Trustees can

assume responsibility for financing and arranging the plot and funeral of deceased persons reported to the

Coroner, who have assets of less than $1 000.

NSW

The Area Health Service or a hospital will pay for a basic funeral if the person who died had no known

estate and relatives/friends cannot pay for a funeral. Destitute funerals are arranged with funeral operators

under state contract.

QLD

Burials Assistance - The Department of Justice and Attorney-General can organise a simple burial or

cremation of any deceased person whose assets cannot cover the cost of their funeral and whose relatives

and friends cannot arrange or pay for their funeral.

99

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

SA

Following the death of a family member, if facing financial hardship, may be eligible for assistance to cover

the costs of a basic funeral. Income, assets and liabilities of the deceased and their close relatives is taken

into account. Cannot be a homeowner or part-owner and have a mortgage that is less than 50% of the

home’s value

WA

The Bereavement Assistance Program provides assistance to community members in situations where

there are insufficient funds in a deceased person’s estate to pay for a funeral, and when the deceased

person’s family are unable to meet the funeral costs. A deceased person’s partner and/or adult children

will be income and assets tested to determine if they have sufficient means to fund or borrow for the

funeral. Each application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and there is not an automatic entitlement

based on eligibility for Centrelink benefits.

ACT Funeral assistance concession available

NT

Assistance for families to meet funeral cost is available through Shire Councils. The Indigent Persons Funeral

Scheme is designed to provide financial assistance for the burial or cremation of deceased persons without

financial resources and whose relatives are unable to meet the expense. It is a means of last resort and is

administered through the Coroner’s Office.

Comments: All States and Territories offer funeral assistance (public health issue). Concession card status does not

generally grant automatic eligibility, but can be seen as an indication of financial hardship / limited financial means.

While not specifically paid to assist with transportation or funeral expenses, a Bereavement Payment or

Bereavement Allowance is available from Centrelink for eligible clients.

Making a Will

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS Where the Public Trustee is appointed sole

executor there is no charge.

VIC Concession rate available where Public Trustee

is appointed as executor

NSW No charge for drafting a Will, when NSW

Trustee & Guardian is appointed as executor

QLD The Public Trustee offers a free, Will-making

service to all Queenslanders over the age of 18.

SA Public Trustee make your Will free of charge

when appointed as executor,

WA Concession rate available for pensioners and

where Public Trustee is appointed as executor

ACT

No charge for drafting a Will. The Public

Trustee otherwise charges minimal costs and

has discretion to waive fees, wholly or partially,

in cases of financial hardship

NT Concessional rates and reduced charge where

Public Trustee is executor

100

Enduring Power of Attorney

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS The Public Trustee will prepare an Enduring Power of Attorney free of charge for clients who appoint the

Public Trustee directly as their attorney.

VIC Concessional rates where Public Trustee is appointed attorney

NSW The Public Trustee will prepare an Enduring Power of Attorney free of charge for clients who appoint the

Public Trustee directly as their attorney.

QLD

SA Concessional rates where Public Trustee is appointed attorney

WA

ACT

No charge for preparing enduring power of

attorney.

The Public Trustee otherwise charges minimal

costs and has discretion to waive fees, wholly or

partially, in cases of financial hardship

NT

101

Table 15 - Recreation Concessions by Eligibility by State and Territory Governments

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Medical b

asis

Firearms Licence

TAS 20% reduction on fees

VIC

NSW

QLD

SA

WA

ACT

NT

Recreational Fishing Licence

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS Savings on full season angling licences

VIC

A Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) covers all

forms of recreational fishing in all of Victoria's

marine, estuarine and freshwaters.

Exemptions for concession card holders and

those aged under 18 years of age and 70

years of age or over

NSW

NSW recreational fishing fee are required to

fish in fresh and salt water in NSW

Exemptions:

Under the age of 18 or fishing in a private

dam with a surface area of two hectares or

less or an Aboriginal person.

QLD

Anglers do not require a licence to fish

recreationally in Queensland, except if fishing

in some stocked impoundments

Concessional discount of 10% is available on

an annual stocked impoundment permit

SA N/A - No fishing licence required in SA

WA Up to 50% concession on the cost of

Recreational Fishing Licence

ACT N/A - No fishing licence required in ACT

102

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Medical b

asis

NT N/A - No fishing licence required in NT

Comments:

Seniors from all States and Territories have the Tasmanian concession available to them. The Tasmanian

concession is also available to people aged 14 – 17 years

Recreational Game Licence

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Medical

basis

TAS A 20 per cent discount for recreational game

licences

VIC A concession rate of a maximum 50% is

available

NSW

QLD N/A - No game licence required in QLD

SA Discount on licences

WA N/A - No game licence required in WA

ACT N/A - No game licence required in ACT

NT

National Park Passes

HC

C

PC

C

DV

A go

ld

DV

A w

hite

CW

Senio

rs

Senio

rs

State

Conc

Stu

dent

Low

inco

me

TAS A 20 per cent discount on annual and two-

year National Parks passes

VIC N/A – No entry fee to any national park or

metropolitan park in Victoria

NSW A National Parks and Wildlife Services

Exemption Card is available

QLD Concession entries to National Parks available

SA Concession passes available

WA

Holders of the following Australian issued

cards are entitled to the specified concession

passes, camping or attraction

Also available to carers

ACT

NT Concession entries to National Parks available

103

Table 16 - Concessions not offered in Tasmania

Essential Services House and Land

Cost of living rebate (WA) Land rent scheme (ACT)

Residential Parks Scheme (SA) Save the Murray Levy (SA)

Service to property charge concession (VIC) Smoke alarm subsidy (QLD)

Electricity transfer fee waiver (VIC) Senior security rebate (WA)

Non mains winter energy concession (VIC) Transport

Off peak concession (VIC) Fuel card (WA)

Cart water rebate / non mains water (VIC) Education

Utility relief grant scheme (VIC) Kindergarten fee subsidy (VIC)

Energy Efficiency Health

Water smart gardens & homes rebate scheme

(VIC) Personal alert Victoria (VIC)

Energy-wise home energy audit (ACT) Fire and emergency service levy (ACT);

Ambulance transport levy exemption (ACT);

Emergency Services Levy (SA); Ambulance cover

(SA); Fire Services Levy (QLD); Ambulance Levy

(Qld); Free Ambulance (NT); Ambulance travel

concession (VIC); Ambulance transport levy

exemption (ACT); St Johns ambulance services

(WA)

ToiletSmart (ACT)

Solar hot water rebate (Qld)

Solar hot water heater subsidy scheme (WA)

Fridge replacement scheme (WA)

House and Land Recreation and Lifestyle

Land rent scheme (ACT) Pet registration (VIC); Dog registration (SA)

Save the Murray Levy (SA) Boat registration fees (QLD)

Smoke alarm subsidy (QLD) First aid course (QLD)

Senior security rebate (WA)

104

Table 17 - Details of Concessions not offered in Tasmania

Utilities Services

Cost of Living Rebate – Western Australia

The Cost of Living Rebate Scheme is an annual payment to eligible Seniors Card holders to assist with rising

living expenses. In 2010 singles received $150 and couples (where both members hold a Seniors Card and

live together) received $225.

Residential Parks Scheme – South Australia

Under the Residential Parks Act 2007 (South Australia) a residential park is defined in Section 3 as:

an area of land used or intended to be used in either or both of the following ways:

(a) as a complex of sites of dwellings in respect of which rights of occupancy are conferred

under various residential park tenancy agreements, together with common area bathroom, toilet and

laundry facilities and other common areas;

(b) as a complex of sites in respect of which rights of occupancy are conferred under various

residential park site agreements, together with common areas (which may, but need not, include bathroom,

toilet and laundry facilities);

Residents who own their own dwelling receive a concession of up to $540 per year paid at $135 per

quarter. Residents who are tenants receive a concession of up to $208 per year paid at $52 per quarter.

Residents who are self funded retirees, hold a State Seniors Card and own their own dwelling receive a

concession of up to $100 per year paid at $25.00 per quarter. Residents are not eligible for the Emergency

Services Levy concession.

Eligibility: HCC, PCC, DVA gold, CW Seniors, self-funded retiree with a SA Seniors, low income wage

earner

Service to Property Charge Concession - Victoria

Provides a reduction on the supply charge for concession households with low electricity consumption. The

concession is applied if the cost of electricity used is less than the supply (or service) charge. This charge is

then reduced to the same price as the electricity usage cost.

Eligibility: PCC, HCC, DVA gold

Electricity Transfer Fee Waiver - Victoria

The electricity transfer fee waiver provides a full waiver of the fee that is normally payable to the electricity

retailers when there is a change of occupancy at a property.

Eligibility: PCC, HCC, DVA gold

Non Mains Winter Energy Concession – Victoria

The non-mains winter energy concession is an annual rebate for eligible cardholders who use LPG for

domestic heating or cooking, and/or are individually metered for electricity but who pay a caravan park or

accommodation proprietor.

Non-mains customers who use an alternate fuel such as diesel, petrol or heating oil as their main domestic

energy source are also eligible for the annual electricity rebate.

The non-mains winter energy concession rebate amounts for 2010 are:

$40 rebate for eligible cardholders who spend from $100 to $225.99;

$119 rebate for eligible cardholders who spend from $226 to $677.99;

$198 rebate for eligible cardholders who spend from $678 to $1,128.99;

$283 rebate for eligible cardholders who spend $1,129 or more

Eligibility: PCC, HCC, DVA gold

Cart Water Rebate / Non Mains Water - Victoria

Also known as the Carted Water Rebate, it assists cardholders not connected to reticulated or mains water

with the costs of purchasing non-mains water for domestic usage, for example, when buying carted water

for rainwater tanks, or buying water via a billing agent or water cooperative.

The rebate is $98 in 2010-2011, and cardholders can apply for up to 3 rebates each financial year,

depending on how much is spent on non-mains water.

Eligibility: PCC, HCC, DVA gold

105

Off Peak Concession - Victoria

The off peak concession provides a 13% reduction on the off-peak tariff rates on all quarterly electricity bills.

Eligibility: PCC, HCC, DVA GOLD

Utility Relief Grant Scheme (URGS) - Victoria

URGS and the non-mains utility relief grant scheme provides assistance for domestic customers who are

unable to pay their utility bills due to a temporary financial crisis. Assistance may be provided to low-

income households suffering a short-term (within last 12 months) financial crisis who are unable to pay for a

current utility account or LP gas account and who are at risk of disconnection, restriction of supply, or non-

supply of gas bottles. URGS is also available to eligible customers who experience difficulties paying for

other non-mains sources such as carted water and heating oil.

Eligibility: HCC, PCC or DVA gold; and it needs to be demonstrated that unexpected hardship resulted in

the individual being short of money so they cannot pay their utility bills without assistance and risk

disconnection or non-supply; Additionally, there must be:A significant increase in usage

A recent decrease in income, for example, loss of employment

High unexpected expenses on essential items

The cost of shelter is more than 30% of the household income; or

The cost of utility usage is more than 10% of the household income

The utility relief grant scheme is available for non-concession card households under special conditions. The

account holder must be registered with their utility company's hardship program and the household's

income must be no more than the equivalent to the Commonwealth maximum income rate for part age

pensioners.

Energy Efficiency

Water Smart Gardens and Homes Rebate Scheme - Victoria

The Water Smart Homes and Gardens Rebate Scheme provides residential customers with a rebate off

their water bill for purchasing water-saving devices and services, thereby reducing their water consumption.

Eligible products include water efficient showerheads, upgrading to eligible dual flush toilets, garden

products, rainwater tanks and systems for reusing household waste water.

Energy-wise Home Energy Audit - Australian Capital Territory

For $30 (no charge for concession holders) a professional energy auditor from the Home Energy Advice

Team (HEAT) will visit your home, check the features of your house that affect your energy use and identify

what savings can be made. You will receive a written report which will set out a plan to capture the energy

savings identified. Homeowners who spend at least $2000 on energy efficiency improvements identified

during the audit will be eligible to receive a $500 rebate from the ACT Government, plus a refund of the

$30 audit fee.

Only houses and semi-detached houses built before 1996 are eligible for an audit. People who have an

energy audit will be asked to provide their energy bill information so that energy use can be measured and

improvements monitored.

Eligibility: PCC, HCC DVA-PCC, DVA Gold for waiver of Audit Fee. In order to receive the $500 rebate

homeowners must agree that the ACT Government can use their household energy bills for up to a year

before and after the improvement measures, to allow evaluation of the improvements.

ToiletSmart - Australian Capital Territory

The ToiletSmart program assists ACT homeowners to replace their single flush toilet with a 4-star water-

efficient toilet suite. Participants are also eligible to take advantage of new ToiletSmart Plus options,

including a free home water audit and some additional low-cost water-saving fixtures and repairs, provided

these are taken up at the time of the toilet installation. Pensioner Concession Card holders are eligible to

apply for the installation of the Caroma Slimline Smartflush Connector Suite for free (normally $388 after

the ACT Government rebate). There is a limit of one free toilet suite per eligible household. Cardholders

participating in ToiletSmart are eligible to receive one Irwell Stayfast showerhead at no charge at the time of

their toilet installation.

Solar Hot Water Rebate - Queensland

The Queensland Government Solar Hot Water Rebate is helping to make it easy and affordable for

Queenslanders to replace their electric hot water system with solar hot water, offering rebates of up to

106

$1000 to eligible households.

ClimateSmart Home Service – Queensland

Department of Communities (Housing and Homelessness Services) tenants can use the ClimateSmart

Home Service to save energy, money and the environment. For $50, a licensed electrician will supply and

install a free water and energy efficient showerhead, and supply and install up to 15 free energy efficient light

globes - all in less than an hour.

The electrician will also install a wireless energy monitor for you to keep and conduct an energy audit of

your home.

The service will help you reduce your home's carbon footprint. It can also help you save up to $250 on

your water and energy bills a year.

The 2011-12 Queensland State Budget extended this initiative, at a cost of $60million, to help reduce

energy consumption, electricity bills and carbon footprint. Households can save up to $480 per year.

Solar Hot Water Heater Subsidy Scheme – Western Australia

The Government of Western Australia is offering rebates to householders who install environmentally

friendly gas-boosted solar water heaters with the scheme extended until 30 June 2013.

- $500 for natural gas-boosted solar water heaters - $700 for bottled LPG-boosted solar water heaters

Fridge Replacement Scheme – Western Australia

A fridge replacement scheme for renters of private accommodation who have been declared in utility

hardship by an accredited financial counsellor. It involves replacing your existing fridge, with a more energy

efficient model.

WA - Remote area power supply program, renewable energy water pumping program, regional energy

efficiency program, and the solar water heater subsidy

House and Land

Land rent scheme - Australian Capital Territory

The Land Rent Scheme is part of the ACT Government's Affordable Housing Action Plan. The Land Rent

Scheme gives a lessee the option of renting land through a land rent lease rather than purchasing the land to

build a home. Under the scheme, purchasers of a single dwelling residential block (previously unleased land)

sold by the Land Development Agency (LDA) have the option of applying for the crown lease to be issued

as a land rent lease. The advantage for potential lessees in taking up this option is the reduction of the up-

front costs associated with owning a house. That is, lessees will not need to finance the cost of the land,

only the costs associated with the transfer of the land (such as duty) and the construction of the home.

Land rented under a land rent lease is subject to payment of an annual land rent charge. In addition, the

lessee will be liable to duty on the grant of the land rent lease, rates, and, if applicable, land tax.

Smoke alarm subsidy - Queensland

The Queensland Government offers a subsidy to purchase specialised smoke alarms to permanent

Queensland residents who are deaf or have a hearing impairment. The entitlement is for one subsidy

voucher per household, with a limit of $400 for a single storey dwelling and up to $800 for dwellings with

more than one storey, where that extra storey contains living and sleeping areas.

Eligibility: HCC, PCC, DVA gold, DVA white; live in own home or private rental

Senior security rebate – Western Australia

Up to $200 rebate for home security measures, including the purchase of security screens to alarm systems.

Eligibility: WA Seniors

Save the Murray Levy – South Australia

The levy is billed on SA Water accounts and does not apply to customers who receive a concession on

their water rates. No comparative concession in Tasmania

Transport

Country Aged Pension Fuel Card Concession – Western Australia

The Country Age Pension Fuel Card is delivering on a Royalties for Regions commitment by the Western

Australian Government to provide more support for the transport needs of eligible pensioners living in

country areas. Country pensioners do not have access to metropolitan levels of public transport and often

have to rely on their own means to travel. The Country Age Pension Fuel Card provides eligible pensioners

with up to $500 a year towards the cost of fuel and taxi travel from participating providers.

107

The Country Age Pension Fuel Card has been developed specifically to assist eligible country pensioners

because they are on low, fixed incomes, do not generally have ready access to extensive public transport

services and are forced to rely on their own vehicles or taxis for transport. Self-funded retirees, by definition,

have greater means at their disposal.

Eligibility: PCC, DVA gold (Pensioners in receipt of an Age Pension, Carer Payment, Disability Support

Pension, Wife Pension or Widow B Pension from Centrelink or a Department of Veterans' Affairs Service

Pension, Social Security Age Pension or Income Support Supplement) and reside in country areas of

Western Australia. You do not have to own a car or have a driver’s licence to be eligible. The fuel card can

be used at your discretion by a carer or family member as long as the cardholder’s Age Pensioner. The card

is limited to one per couple per financial year

Education

Kindergarten fee subsidy - Victoria

The State Government provides funding to organisations to enable eligible children to attend kindergarten

for free. The fee subsidy is $820 per annum (or $205 per term). Eligible families will then receive a 10 hour

a week kindergarten program at no cost, or a longer program at minimal cost.

Eligibility: HCC, PCC, DVA gold

Health

Personal alert Victoria - Victoria

Personal Alert Victoria provides 24 hours service and assists frail, older people and people with a physical,

sensory, intellectual or psychiatric disability and those persons who are isolated and vulnerable without

constant care.

Ambulance and Emergency Service Levies

Fire and emergency service levy (ACT); Ambulance transport levy exemption (ACT); Emergency

Services Levy (SA); Ambulance cover (SA); Fire Services Levy (QLD); Free Ambulance (NT); Ambulance

travel concession (VIC); Ambulance transport levy exemption (ACT); St Johns ambulance services (WA)

Not applicable for Tasmania where Ambulance services are provided at no cost to Tasmanians.

The Queensland Ambulance levy was abolished from July 1 2011.

Lifestyle and Recreation

Pet Registration Concession

Pet registration (VIC) and Dog registration (SA)

Many local government councils provide a concession on the pet/dog registration fees

Eligibility: Varies between jurisdictions but generally HCC/PCC.

Boat registration fees - Queensland

A recreational ship owner who is an eligible cardholder is exempt from paying half the registration

component of the total registration fee for one recreational ship. The recreational use fee is still payable in

full.

Eligibility: PCC, Qld Seniors

A recreation ship own who is an eligible cardholder is exempt from paying the registration fee and

recreational use fee payable for one recreational ship

Eligibility: DVA gold

First aid course - Queensland

Queensland Ambulance Service offers a five per cent discount on the non-GST component of its Apply

First Aid and Perform Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation courses.

Eligibility: PCC, Qld Seniors, full-time students under 25 years of age

108

Table 18 - Commonwealth Government Income Assistance – Income Support (long and

short term)

Assistance Purpose Income

tested?

Asset

tested?

ABSTUDY Allowance that may help Indigenous secondary or

tertiary students stay at school or in further study. Yes Yes

Age Pension Ensures adequate income in retirement. Yes Yes

Austudy

Provides financial help to those aged 25 years or more

and studying or undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship full-time.

Yes Yes

Bereavement

Allowance

A short-term income support payment to help an

individual adjust following the death of their partner. Yes Yes

Carer Payment

(caring for a person

16 years or over)

Provides income support to those unable to support

themselves through substantial paid employment

because they are caring for someone aged 16 years or

over on a daily basis who has a severe disability, medical condition or who is frail aged.

Yes Yes

Carer Payment

(caring for a child under 16 years)

Provides income support to those unable to support

themselves through substantial paid employment

because they are caring for a child aged under 16

years with a severe disability or severe medical condition.

Yes Yes

Disability Support

Pension

Provides support to those unable to work for 2 years

because of illness, injury or disability, or if they are permanently blind.

Yes Yes

Double Orphan

Pension

Assists with the costs of caring for children who are

orphans or are unable to be cared for by their parents

in certain circumstances. In some case, this would include grandparents caring for their grandchildren.

No No

Family Tax Benefit

Part A Assists with the cost of raising children Yes No

Newstart Allowance

Provides financial support to the employed while looking for work.

Yes Yes

Parenting Payment Assists with the costs of caring for children. (Paid to

the main carer of a child). Yes Yes

Sickness Allowance

Assists the employed, including self-employed, who

are temporarily unable to work because of a medical condition.

Yes Yes

Widow Allowance

Ensures an adequate income to those who have

become widowed, divorced or separated later in life and have no recent workforce experience.

Yes Yes

Youth Allowance

Assists young people who are studying, undertaking

training or an Australian Apprenticeship, looking for work, or sick.

Yes Yes

109

Table 19 - Commonwealth Government Income Assistance – Allowances, benefits and

subsidies

Income

supplement Purpose

Income

tested?

Asset

tested?

Australian

Government

Disaster Recovery Payment (AGDRP)

Provides short-term financial assistance to those

adversely affected by a major or widespread disaster. No No

Assistance for

Isolated Children Scheme (AIC)

Assists families with the extra costs associated with

educating their children if primary or secondary

students cannot go to an appropriate state school

because of geographical isolation, disability or special

health need.

Yes No

Baby Bonus Assists with the extra costs of a new baby or adopted child.

Yes No

Carer Allowance

(caring for a person 16 years or over)

A supplementary payment for parents or carers who

provides daily care and attention for a person aged 16

years or over with a disability, medical condition or who is frail aged.

(in addition to wages or other income support

payments such as Age Pension, Carer Payment (caring for a person 16 years or over) or Parenting Payment)

The National Carers Strategy, announced on 3 August

2011, includes an initiative to extend eligibility for

Bereavement Allowance to more Carer Allowance

customers. For more information refer to the National Carers Strategy - frequently asked questions page.

No No

Carer Allowance

(caring for a child under 16 years)

A supplementary payment for parent s or carers who

provides additional care and attention on a daily basis

for a child aged under 16 years with a physical,

intellectual or psychiatric disability or medical condition.

No No

Carer Supplement

An annual payment to assist carers with the costs of

caring for a person with a disability or medical condition.

The Carer Supplement will be paid to people who on

1 July each year are recipients of:

Carer Allowance Adult

Carer Allowance Child

Carer Payment

Wife Pension (Age) with Carer Allowance

Wife Pension (DSP) with Carer Allowance

Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) Carer

Service Pension

Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA)

Partner Service Pension with Carer

Allowance.

Child Care Benefit

Assists with the cost of child care for long day care,

family day care, occasional care, outside school hours care, vacation care and registered care.

Yes No

110

Income

supplement Purpose

Income

tested?

Asset

tested?

Crisis Payment

Assists those in severe financial hardship because they

have experienced an extreme circumstance such as

domestic violence or a natural disaster, have been

released from gaol or psychiatric confinement, or have

arrived in Australia for the first time on a qualifying humanitarian visa.

Family Tax Benefit Part B

An extra payment for single parents and families with

one main income to help with the costs of raising

children. Part B is limited to families where the primary

earner has an adjusted taxable income of $150 000 or less per financial year.

Yes No

Maternity

Immunisation Allowance

Allowance to encourage parents to immunise their

children. No No

Mobility Allowance

Assists people with disabilities who are involved in

qualifying activities and cannot use public transport without substantial assistance.

Qualifying activities may include looking for work or

any combination of paid employment, voluntary work,

vocational training and independent living or life skills

training.

(Do not need to get any other payments from

Centrelink to qualify for Mobility Allowance)

No No

Pensioner

Education Supplement

Assists with the costs of full-time or part-time study.

Indigenous Australian students can apply for the ABSTUDY Pensioner Education Supplement.

No No

Pharmaceutical

Allowance Assists with the cost of prescription medicines. No No

Remote Area

Allowance

Provides extra financial help to those receiving income

support payments who live in a remote area. No No

Seniors Supplement Assists with paying regular bills such as energy, rates, phone and motor vehicle registration fees.

Yes No

Special Benefit

Assists those in severe financial need due to

circumstances outside an individual’s control and they

cannot receive any other Centrelink pension or benefit.

Yes Yes

Tasmanian Freight

Equalisation Scheme

Assists shippers to transport goods by sea, between

Tasmania and the Australian mainland, to help reduce freight costs imposed by Bass Strait.

The Scheme operates under a set of Directions issued

by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.

Tasmanian Assistance Services delivers the Scheme,

from Centrelink's Hobart office, on behalf of the Department of Infrastructure and Transport.

No No

Telephone

Allowance

Assists with the costs of a telephone and home

internet service. No No

111

Income

supplement Purpose

Income

tested?

Asset

tested?

Utilities Allowance Assists with the costs of regular bills such as gas, electricity and water.

No No

Jobs, Education and

Training (JET) Child

Care Fee Assistance

Provides extra help with the cost of approved child

care for eligible parents undertaking activities such as

job search, work, study or rehabilitation as part of an

Employment Pathway Plan, to help them enter or re-enter the workforce.

JET Child Care can help meet the cost of child care by

paying most of the "gap fee" not covered by Child

Care Benefit for the hours of care you need to do approved activities.

Child Care Rebate

Assists parents or guardians with out-of-pocket

expenses for approved child care for those working, training or studying.

Out of pocket expenses are total child care fees less

Child Care Benefit. Child Care Rebate covers 50% of

out of pocket expenses, up to a maximum of $7,500

(subject to the passage of legislation) per child for the 2010-11 financial year.

To receive Child Care Rebate you must first claim

Child Care Benefit for approved care. Child Care

Benefit is based on your income and is different for everyone.

Yes No

The Paid Parental Leave scheme is a new entitlement

for working parents of children born or adopted from

1 January 2011. Parental Leave Pay is available to

working parents who meet the eligibility criteria.

Eligible working parents can get 18 weeks of

government funded Parental Leave Pay at the rate of

the National Minimum Wage (currently $589.40 a

week before tax).

Full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal, contract and self-

employed workers may be eligible for the scheme.

Education Entry Payment

An amount of $208 is payable to qualified recipients

to aid in the costs associated in returning to full time

study. Recipients of certain social security payments

may qualify for an EdEP if they are enrolled in an

approved full time course of education or if a

pensioner education supplement is payable. The

qualification rules depend on the type of payment

being received. An EdEP payment may be paid each

12 months or each calendar year depending on the

type of payment being received if the person is still

studying.

Assists with the cost associated with starting study

including the purchase of books, student fees and transport.

112

Income

supplement Purpose

Income

tested?

Asset

tested?

Relocation Scholarship

From 1 April 2010, dependent students who have to

live away from the family home for study, and

independent students who are disadvantaged by

personal circumstances, may qualify for a Relocation

Scholarship (RS). This scholarship is intended to assist

students with the cost of establishing accommodation

away from their usual home in order to undertake qualifying higher education studies.

$4 124 in the first year and $1031 in subsequent years

.

Student Start Up

Scholarship.

From 1 April 2010, students studying an approved

scholarship course receiving certain income support

payments may qualify for a Student Start-up

Scholarship (SSS). This scholarship is intended to assist

students with the up-front costs of tertiary study such

as textbooks and specialised equipment. The objective

of the student start-up scholarship is to provide an

increase in participation in higher education by

students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds.

$1 097 is paid twice per year.

Work Ventures

Initiative - Low

cost PCs available

to Centrelink customers.

A low cost PC is now within reach of Centrelink

customers through a partnership between Centrelink and WorkVentures.

Centrelink customers can now purchase their own

professionally refurbished, internet ready Pentium 4

PCs with Windows XP Pro, Microsoft Office 2003 and technical support from $290 plus delivery.

The low cost PC offer is available to all Centrelink concession card holders.

Assists customers in being able to use on-line services.

.

Fares Allowance

If you are a tertiary student receiving ABSTUDY,

Austudy, Pensioner Education Supplement or

Youth Allowance, and you are living away from your

permanent home to study, Fares Allowance helps you

to cover the cost of travelling between your home

and where you are doing your studies. If you are a full-

time secondary student receiving ABSTUDY you may also receive Fares Allowance.

If you are a tertiary student receiving ABSTUDY,

Austudy, Pensioner Education Supplement or

Youth Allowance, and you are living away from your

permanent home to study, Fares Allowance helps you

to cover the cost of travelling between your home

and where you are doing your studies. If you are a full-

time secondary student receiving ABSTUDY you may also receive Fares Allowance.

113

Income

supplement Purpose

Income

tested?

Asset

tested?

Youth Disability Supplement provides extra assistance to young people aged under 21 years with a disability.

You may be eligible for Youth Disability Supplement if you are:

aged under 21 years, and

receiving Disability Support Pension, or

receiving Youth Allowance as a job seeker,

full-time student, or Australian Apprentice, or

receiving ABSTUDY as a full-time student or

Australian Apprentice.

If you are receiving Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY you must:

have an illness, injury or disability which

prevents you from working 30 or more hours

per week and is expected to last for more than 2 years, and

have a Job Capacity Assessment.

If you are receiving Disability Support Pension and you

are under 21, the Youth Disability Supplement will be

automatically included in your Disability Support Pension payment.

114

Table 20 - Guide to Commonwealth Concessions Cards

Commonwealth Health Care

Card (HCC)

Eligibility:

Individuals must be below the Age Pension age; and

A recipient of one of the following benefits:

o Carer Allowance (caring for a child under 16 years and the Health Care Card

is for the child in your care only)

o Carer Payment (caring for a child under 16 years) for short-term or episodic

care under 6 months

o Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment for farmers

o Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payment for small businesses

o Family Tax Benefit Part A (maximum rate only)

o Mobility Allowance (if you are not receiving Disability Support Pension)

o Newstart Allowance

o Parenting Payment ( partnered)

o Partner Allowance

o Special Benefit

o Widow Allowance

o Youth Allowance (job seekers only)

Commonwealth Pensioner

Concession Card (PCC)

Eligibility:

Individuals must be a recipient of one of the following benefits:

o Age Pension

o Bereavement Allowance

o Carer Payment (adult)

o Carer Payment (child)

o Disability Support Pension

o Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance (job seeker) if you are single, caring

for a dependent child, and looking for work

o Parenting Payment (single)

Individuals may also be eligible if they are aged over 60; and

For more than 9 months has been a recipient of:

o Newstart Allowance

o Parenting Payment (partnered)

o Partner Allowance

o Sickness Allowance

o Special Benefit

o Widow Allowance

Individuals may also be eligible if they have a partial capacity to work; and

A recipient of:

o Newstart Allowance

o Parenting Payment (partnered)

o Youth Allowance (job seeker)

Commonwealth Department of

Veterans’ Affairs Pensioner

Concession Card (PCC)

Eligibility:

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs Pension Concession Card (PCC) are issued by

DVA to all:

o service pensioners

o age pensioners who receive their pension through DVA

o war widows and widowers receiving an income support supplement.

Cardholders receive a means tested pension.

DVA blue has the same status as a PCC issued by Centrelink, as both cards provide

access to the same Commonwealth concessions.

115

Commonwealth Seniors Health

Card (CW Seniors)

Eligibility:

CW Seniors was introduced in 1994, to give low income retirees (people who are not

pensioners but who have the same or lower income as age pensioners) access to

similar Commonwealth concessions as holders of the PCC (including access to cheaper

pharmaceuticals)

Individuals must be of Age Pension age, but do not qualify for the Age Pension; and

Have an income less than $50,000 per year for singles and $80,000 for couples

There is no assets test for this card

Tasmanian Seniors Card

(Tas Seniors)

Eligibility:

Individuals must be aged over 60; and

No longer be working full-time

Eligibility is not means or asset tested and is essentially a retail discount card.

Seniors Cards are offered nationally, but administered by individual States and

Territories.

All State and Territory Governments issue their own Seniors Cards. Eligibility is

determined by each jurisdiction.

Concessions available to Seniors vary between the States.

In 2009, the National Transport Concession Scheme was introduced, allowing holders

of Seniors cards to access public transport concession throughout Australia. A number

of inter-state travel concessions are also available to cardholders.

Further information is available at <http://www.seniorscard.com.au/>

Commonwealth Department of

Veterans’ Affairs Repatriation

Health Card (DVA Gold)

Eligibility:

The Department of Veterans’ Affairs Repatriation Health Card (DVA gold) is issued

to veterans or the widows or dependents of veterans

A DVA gold entitles the holder to DVA funding for services for all health care needs,

for all health conditions whether they are related to war service or not, including

medical, dental and optical care, within Australia.

The DVA TPI Gold Card is issued to veterans of Australia's defence force who have

been assessed as being Totally and Permanently Incapacitated.

The distinction between the different ‘classes’ of the DVA gold card has not been

made in the table.

Commonwealth Department of

Veterans’ Affairs Repatriation

Health Card for Specific

Conditions (DVA White)

Eligibility:

The DVA white card is issued to eligible veterans for the care and treatment of

accepted (that is, war or service related) injuries or conditions.

It is also issued for the treatment of malignant cancer, pulmonary tuberculosis,

posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety and/or depression whether war caused or

not.

A white card is also issued to ex-service personnel who are eligible for treatment

under agreements between the Australian Government and New Zealand, Canada,

South Africa and the UK for disabilities accepted as war-caused by their country of

origin.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

116

ABC News Online, 2011, “Salvos concern at rising ‘working poor’”, online posting, 27 May

2011 accessed 7 September 2011<http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/05/27/3228412.htm>.

Adams, D, 2011 Cost of Living in Tasmania: Interim Report, February 2011, accessed

7 September 2011,

<http://www.dpac.tas.gov.au/divisions/siu/strategy/cost_of_living/cost_of_living_in_tasmania_-

_interim_report>.

Adams, D, 2009 A Social Inclusion Strategy for Tasmania. Hobart: Department of Premier and

Cabinet.

Ahsan, N, 2007 Social networks make a difference: family economic success, Baltimore: Annie

E. Casey Foundation.

Anglicare Australia, 2010 In from the edge: state of the family report accessed 13 October

2011, <http://www.anglicare.asn.au/documents/SOTF%202010%20full.pdf>.

Arashiro, Z, 2010 Financial inclusion in Australia: towards transformative policy, Social Working

Paper No. 13, Melbourne: Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Centre for Public Policy University of Melbourne.

Arashiro, Z, 2011 Money matters in times of change: financial vulnerability through the life

course, Brunswick: Brotherhood of St Laurence.

ANZ and A C Nielson, 2005 Understanding personal debt and financial difficulty in Australia, accessed 13 October 2011

<http://www.anz.com/aus/aboutanz/Community/Programs/pdf/ANZ_UPD_fin_difficulty.pdf

>.

Aurora Energy 2010, Aurora Annual Report 2009-10: Customer care and billing system.

Australia. Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, 2008 A regional

economy: a case study of Tasmania, Report 116. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia. Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900, Part V, s51

Australia. Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs,

2011. Productivity Commission’s Inquiry into a national disability long-term care and support

scheme, National Disability Insurance Scheme Fact Sheet accessed 14 October <http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/disability/progserv/govtint/Documents/ndis_factsheet.pdf>

Australia. Industry Commission, 1997 Community Service Obligations: policies and practices of

Australian governments. Information Paper, accessed 7 September 2011, <http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/8886/cso.pdf>.

Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives. Standing Committee on Family and

Community Affairs 1997 Concessions: Who benefits? accessed 7 September 2011,

<http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/fca/Concard/Concardindex.htm>.

Australia. Parliament. House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, 2010

Inquiry into raising the productivity growth rate in the Australian economy, Canberra:

Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia. Parliament. Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration,

2007 Inquiry into the Human Services (Enhanced Service Delivery) Bill 2007, accessed 13

October 2011

BIBLIOGRAPHY

117

<http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/fapa_ctte/completed_inquiries/2004-

07/access_card/report/report.pdf>

Australia. Parliament. Senate Community Affairs References Committee 2004, A hand up not

a hand out: renewing the fight against poverty (Report on poverty and financial hardship)

accessed 14 October 2011

<http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/clac_ctte/completed_inquiries/2002-

04/poverty/report/c15.htm>.

Australia. Productivity Commission 2008 Review of Australia’s consumer policy framework,

Productivity Commission Inquiry Report, Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia. Australian Securities and Investments Commission, 2011 National financial literacy

strategy, Report 229, Commonwealth of Australia: ASIC, accessed 8 September 2011

<http://www.financialliteracy.gov.au/media/218312/national-financial-literacy-strategy.pdf>.

Australia. Steering Committee on National Performance Monitoring of Government Trading

Enterprises, 1994 Community Service Obligations: some definitional, costing and funding issues,

accessed 6 September 2011, <http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/8959/cso.pdf>.

Australia. Department of Treasury, 2010 Australia’s future tax system, Parkes, A.C.T:

Department of Treasury.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Age matters, Dec 2010, Cat No 4914.0.55.001, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2002 Australian Social Trends, 2002, Housing arrangements:

renter households, Cat No 4102.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007 Australian Social Trends, 2007: overweight and obesity,

Cat No 4102.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007 Census basic community profile series 2006: indigenous

profile, Tasmania, Cat No 2002.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009 Children's participation in cultural and leisure activities,

Australia, April 2009: Table 16 Cat No 4901.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Disability, ageing and carers, Australia: summary of

findings, 2009; Table 3, Cat No 4430.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008 Environmental issues: energy use and conservation, March

2008, Chapter 4 Heaters and Coolers Data Cube: Table 4.8, Cat No 4602.0.55.001, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007 General Social Survey, Australia, 2006, Cat No 4159.0,

Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007 General Social Survey, Tasmania, 2006, Table 20, Cat No

4159.6.55.001, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 A Guide to the Consumer Price Index, 15th Series, 2005,

Cat No 6440.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Health services: patient experiences in Australia, 2009;

barriers to selected health services Data Cube: Tables 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 Cat No 4839.0.55.001,

Canberra: ABS.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

118

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Household Expenditure Survey, Australia: Summary of

Results, 2003-04 (Reissue), Cat No 6530.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009 Housing occupancy and costs, 2007-08; State and

Territory Data Cube: Table 22 and Housing and Occupancy Data Cube: Table 3, Cat No

4130.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008 Information paper: an introduction to Socio-Economic

Indexes for Areas (SEIFA), 2006 Cat No 2039.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Labour Force, Australia, August 2011, Cat No 6202.0,

Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Tasmanian State and Regional Indicators, sourced from

Labour Force, Australia, Cat No 6202.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Tasmanian Statistical News, March 2010; Feature Article:

‘How connected are we?’ Cat No 1301.6.55.001, Canberra, ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey,

2008; Tasmania State Tables Cat No 4714.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing:

summary of results, 2007, Cat No 4326.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010 Population by age and sex, regions of Australia, 2009, Cat

No.3235.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011 Underemployed workers, Australia, September 2010:

Table 8 Cat No 6265.0, Canberra: ABS.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006 Voluntary work, Australia, Cat No 4441.0, Canberra:

ABS.

Australian Capital Territory 2008, Department of Housing, Disability and Community

Services, Review of ACT Government Concessions, accessed 7 September 2011,

<http://www.dhcs.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/23737/Concessions_Report.v14_-

_FINAL.pdf>.

Ben-Galim, D, and Lanning, T, 2010 Strengths against shocks: low-income families and debt,

London: Institute for Public Policy Research.

Brighton Better Services Together Steering Committee, [2006] Brighton Better Services

Together: report on provision of services for children, young people and families living in the

Brighton municipality, Brighton Better Services Together (Tas.)

Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2010 ‘Mobile phones and unscrupulous telcos are disastrous

for young Australians’, Media Release, 15 September 2010, accessed 14 October 2011 at

<http://www.bsl.or.gua/ Media-releases.aspx?id=330>.

Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2011 ‘Brotherhood says lack of access to small bank loans a

big problem for low income earners’, Media Release, 25 January 2011 accessed 14 October

2011 <http://www.bsl.or.gua/Hot-issues/Media-releases.aspx?id=342>.

Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2010 Submission to Senate Economics Committee Inquiry into

competition within the Australian banking sector, November 2010, accessed 14 October

<http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BSL_subm_Senate_inquiry_Competition_in_Australian_banking_sector_2010.pdf>.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

119

Burkett, I, and Sheehan, G, 2009 From the margins to the mainstream: the challenges for

microfinance in Australia, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Foresters Community Finance accessed 14 October 2011 at

<http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/BurkittSheehan_From_the_margins_microfinance_2009.pdf>.

Cameron, P and Flanagan, J, 2004, Thin ice: living with serious mental illness and poverty in

Tasmania, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Castles, F, in Wilson, J, J. Thomson and A. McMahon, eds. 1996, The Australian welfare state:

key documents and themes.

Chamberlain, C, and MacKenzie, D, 2009 Counting the Homeless 2006: Tasmania, Cat No

HOU 208, Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Citibank, February 2011, ‘Australians less optimistic about financial future: lowest score for

financial well-being in Asia Pacific’, Media Release, accessed 7 September 2011

http://www.citi.com.au/citigroup/pdf/Citi_Fin_Q_Survey_Overall_Findings.pdf

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 2010 Viewpoint: Economic Vitality Report, Issue 2. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, accessed 8 September 2011

<http://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/our-

company/viewpoint/pdfs/Viewpoint_Issue_2.pdf>.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 2011 Economic Vitality Report, Issue 3, accessed 8

September 2011 http://www.commbank.com.au/about-us/our-

company/viewpoint/pdfs/Viewpoint-Issue-Three.pdf>.

‘Consumer cooperative’ Wikipedia, accessed 8 September 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_cooperative>.

Consumer Financial Education Body, 2010 Transforming Financial Behaviour: A summary.

Report, accessed 8 September 2011 http://www.fairbanking.org.uk/20100709_transforming_financial_behaviour_summary.pdf.

Cooperatives Australia, 2009 Cooperatives Australia statement: Public policy and co-operatives.

Paper. Accessed 8 September 2011 <http://www.cooperativeswa.org.au/Co-

operatives%20Australia%20Statement.pdf>.

www.coagreformcouncil.gov.au/agenda/index.cfm for an overview of the Council of

Australian Governments (COAG) Reform Agenda and the underpinning National

Agreements and National Partnerships through which the Reform Agenda is implemented.

Council on the Ageing Tasmania, 2011 A sense of belonging: social inclusion issues for older

people in Tasmania, Hobart, COTA Tas.

Currie, G. and Senbergs, Z, ‘Exploring Forced car ownership in metropolitan Melbourne’,

30th Australasian Transport Research Forum, 25-27 Sep 2007.

Dare, M, Kimber, J and Schirmer, J, 2011 Tasmanian Drought Evaluation Project, Hobart:

University of Tasmania and JS Consulting.

Davidson, P, 2008 Who is missing out? Hardship among low income Australians, Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) ACOSS Information Paper, December 2008 accessed 8

September 2011 <http://acoss.org.au/images/uploads/5389__Info_Paper_missing_out.pdf>.

Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2008 Demographic change in Tasmania: Strategies

for addressing challenges and opportunities. Hobart: Department of Treasury and Finance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

120

Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2008 Tasmania’s Workforce: health impacts on

participation and productivity in the face of an ageing population, Hobart: Department of Treasury and Finance.

Demographic Change Advisory Council, 2007 Who is not participating in Tasmania’s labour

force? Hobart: Department of Treasury and Finance.

Dufty, G, 2005 Winners and losers, St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria, accessed 14

October 2011 <http://www.vinnies.org.au/files/pdfs/National/SocialJustice/20051219-

SJ_WinnersandLosers.pdf>.

Dufty, G, and MacMillan, I, 2011 The Relative Price Index, Hobart 2011: the CPI and the implications of changing cost pressures on various household types and income groups.

Financial Literacy Foundation, 2007 Financial Literacy: Australians understanding money.

Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

Flanagan, J and Flanagan, K, 2011 The price of poverty: cost of living pressures and low income

earners, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Flanagan, J. 2007. Dropped from the moon: the settlement experiences of refugee communities

in Tasmania. Anglicare Tasmania: Hobart

Flanagan, J, 2000 Hearing the Voices Vol. 1. of the Just Tasmania series, Anglicare Tasmania:

Hobart.

Flanagan, K, 2009 Hard Times: Tasmanians in Financial Crisis. Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Fudge, M. 2011 Local voices: enquiry into community assets in Circular Head, Tasmania. Hobart:

Relationships Australia Tasmania.

Gemalto, 2011, The identity card program in Belgium: the keystone of e-government, accessed

14 October 2011, < http://www.gemalto.com/brochures/download/gov_belgium_id.pdf>.

Gibson, C and Stewart, A, 2009 Reinventing rural places: The extent and impact of festivals in

rural and regional Australia, Wollongong: University of Wollongong.

Headey, B, 2006 A Framework for assessing poverty, disadvantage and low capabilities in

Australia, Melbourne Institute Report No. 6. Melbourne: Melbourne Institute of Applied

Economics and Social Research.

Hinton, T, 2006 Forgotten families: raising children with disabilities in Tasmania, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Hinton, T, 2006 My life as a budget item: disability, budget priorities and poverty in Tasmania,

Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Hocking, B, 2011 Mental health care and poverty – intersections and policy Implications,

Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) National Conference 2011 accessed 8

September 2011 http://www.acoss.org.au/images/uploads/barbara_hocking-

poverty_mentalillness.pdf.>.

Hughes, C. 2009 Payday lending in Tasmania, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Insurance Council of Australia, ‘The non-insured: who, why and trends’, Prepared by Dr

Richard Tooth and Dr George Barker, Centre of Law and Economics, Australian National University, May 2007, p.4

Insurance Council of Australia, Submission to the Tasmanian State Taxation Review, Feb 2011.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

121

Landvogt, K, 2008 Money, dignity and Inclusion: The role of financial capability, Collingwood:

Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service.

Lifeline Community Care Queensland, 2010 Our financial wellbeing: a report on financial

stress in Queensland accessed 8 September 2011

<http://www.uccommunity.org.au/files/Our%20Financial%20Wellbeing%20-

%20A%20report%20on%20financial%20stress%20in%20QLD_0.pdf>.

Livingstone, C, Bruce, E, Kotnik, E, and King, S [2009] Comparing Australian and International

Systems to Address Consumer Financial Stress. Monash University, accessed 8 September

2011 <http://www.financialcounsellingaustralia.org.au/discussion%20documents/Comparing%20Au

stralian%20and%20International%20Systems%20to%20Address%20Consumer%20Financial%

20Stress-1.pdf>.

Lloyd, R., Harding, A. and Payne, A, 2004, Australians in poverty in the 21st century. Paper

prepared for 33rd Conference of Economists 27-30 September, 2004. Canberra: University

of Canberra, National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling.

McQueen, M and Lyons, M, 2001 The missing link: mutual forms of organisation, social capital

and community regeneration in regional Australia, ACCORD Paper No 5, Sydney: Australian

Centre for Cooperative Research and Development.

Madden, K, 2003, Bread and board: when the basics break the budget, Hobart: Anglicare Tasmania.

Madden, K. and Law, M. 2005, The Tasmanian Community Survey: financial hardship. Anglicare

Tasmania: Hobart.

Masterman-Smith, H, May, R, and Pocock, B, 2006 Living low paid: Some experiences of

Australian childcare workers and cleaners, CWL Discussion Paper 1/06, Centre for Work +

Life: University of South Australia.

Market Report Finder 2011, accessed 18 July 2011

<http://marketreportfinder.com/report/industry/energy_natural_resources/billing_and_paym

ent_preferences_in_australian_residential_supply15c_5_2e.html>.

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne, 2010, Families, Incomes and Jobs Volume 5, ‘A Statistical Report on Waves 1 to 7 of the

Household, Income and Labour Dynamics of Australia Survey (HILDA).

Mental Health Community Coalition ACT, 2010 ‘Daily bread income and living with mental

illness’, submission to the National Advisory Council on Mental Health Inquiry.

MyState Financial, 2010 Financial Tasmanian Economic Index, Quarter 3 2010; available from http://www.mystate.com.au.

Nelms, L and Tsingas, C, 2010 Literature review on social inclusion and its relationship to

minimum wages and workforce participation, Research Report 2/2010, Canberra: Fair Work

Australia.

Pech, J, 2011 Relative living standards and needs of low-paid employees: definition and

measurement, Research report 2/2011. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.

The Poverty Site http://www.poverty.org.uk/summary/social%20exclusion.shtml

Reference Group on Welfare Reform, 2000. Participation Support for a More Equitable

Society.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

122

Refugee Council of Australia, 2008. Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program:

Community views on current challenges and future directions, accessed 14 October 2011 http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/resources/intakesub/2008-09_Intake_Sub.pdf.

Ross, S. and Rintoul, D. 2006 , ‘Pre-payment meter use in Tasmania: consumer view and issues’:

a research report carried out for the Tasmanian Council of Social Service by Urbis Keys Young,

TasCOSS, Hobart, accessed 14 October 2011

http://www.tascoss.org.au/Portals/0/Publications/TasCOSS per cent20PPM per

cent20Research2006.pdf.

Saunders, P., Naidoo, Y. and Griffiths, M. 2007. Towards new indicators of disadvantage:

deprivation and social exclusion in Australia. Social Policy Research Centre: Sydney

Saunders, P, and Wong, M, 2009 Still doing it tough: an update on deprivation and social

exclusion among welfare service clients, Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre.

Schiller, J, 2011 ‘Socio-economic impacts of forest industry change’, unpublished PowerPoint

presentation.

Sledge, J, Tescher, J and Gordon, S, 2010 From financial education to financial capability:

Opportunities for innovation. Centre for Financial Services Innovation accessed 8 September

2011,

<http://cfsinnovation.com/system/files/Research_Paper_Financial_Capability_Mar2010.pdf>.

Social Traders Ltd, 2009 Cooperative social enterprises: what are they? Cooperative Social Enterprises Info Brief

<http://www.socialtraders.com.au/sites/www.socialtraders.com.au/files/Cooperative%20Socia

l%20Enterprises%20Info%20Brief.pdf>.

The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and

Economic Impact Study into Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 1

The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies Final Report: June 2008; Social and

Economic Impact Study into Gambling in Tasmania: Volume 2 – The Prevalence Study.

Stanley, J., Stanley, J. and Currie, G. 2007 ‘Introduction’, in No Way to Go: Transport and social

disadvantage in Australian communities, edited by Currie, G., Stanley, J. and Stanley, J.

Melbourne: Monash University ePress.

Steering Committee on National Performance Monitoring of Government Trading

Enterprises 1994, Community Service Obligations: Some Definitional, Costing and Funding

Issues, Belconnen: Industry Commission.

Sudanese Community Forum held in Hobart on 17 September 2011

Suncorp, 2010 The Suncorp Life Confidence Index: Australians feel they are on shaky ground,

accessed 7 September 2011,

<http://www.suncorplifetv.com.au/files/SuncorpConfidenceIndexReportFINAL210910.pdf>.

Tasmania. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2011, Ministerial Council

Presentation: “Electronic gaming, Health and Communities in Tasmania”

Tasmania. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2008, State of Public Health

Report 2008, p.20

Tasmania. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2009, 2009 Tasmanian

Population Health Survey, Selected findings, Menzies Research Institute

BIBLIOGRAPHY

123

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) 2009, Tasmanian Child Health and

Wellbeing Survey: Report of Survey Findings, The Social Research Centre, North Melbourne, 2009, p.28

Tasmania. Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources (DIER), 2007 Southern Region

Overview Report, a report informing development of the Southern Integrated Transport Plan.

Tasmania. Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources 2007, Connected

Communities: Better Bus Services in Tasmania, Report of the Core Passenger Services Review,

Volume 1 Main report, November 2007.

Tasmania. Department of Premier and Cabinet, ‘Bill Smoothing - Environmental Scan’,

unpublished paper, July 2011.

Tasmania Social Policy sub-Committee of Cabinet endorsed Guidelines for the Application of

State Government Concessions to provide Agencies with guidance on issues they should

consider when adopting new concessions or adjusting existing concessions.

Tasmania. Department of Treasury and Finance State tax review discussion paper, Dec 2010.

Tasmania Department of Treasury and Finance, Industry Data, accessed 14 October 2011

<http://www.tenders.tas.gov.au/domino/dtf/dtf.nsf/v-liq-and-

gaming/C1E6645F375BFAEBCA257346001122A1>.

Tasmania. Government Businesses Enterprises Act 1995 (GBE Act).

Tasmania Metro’s Greencard <http://www.metrotas.com.au/tickets-and-fares/concessions>

Tasmania. Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator 2010, Annual Report 2009-10.

Tasmania. Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator 2011 Aurora Pay As You Go Price

Comparison Report.

Tasmania. Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator, 2011, Tasmanian Energy Supply

Industry Performance Report 2009-10.

Tasmania Together Progress Board 2011, Tasmania Together 10 Year Review Speak today,

shape tomorrow: What the community said, accessed 7 September 2011,

http://www.tasmaniatogether.tas.gov.au/10_year_review/

Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS), 2009 Just scraping by? Conversations with

Tasmanians living on low incomes, Hobart: TasCOSS.

Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS), 2008 Enhancing Quality of Life Addressing

poverty and disadvantage through the HACC programme.

Tasmanian Food Security Council Draft Tasmanian Food Security Strategy (unpublished).

Vallance, S, 2011 Living in the country: consumer perspectives on energy supply in rural

Tasmania, Hobart: TasCOSS.

Tooth, R and Barker, G. 2007, The Non-Insured: Who, Why and Trends, Insurance Council of

Australia. Accessed at http://www.insurancecouncil.com.au/Portals/24/Issues/The%20Non%20Insured%20-

%20Report.pdf

Vawser and Associates, 2009 Progress Loans towards affordable credit for low income

Australians, Brotherhood of St Laurence, accessed 14 October 2011

http://www.bsl.org.au/pdfs/Vawser_Progress_Loans_towards_affordable_credit_for_low-

income_Australians_2009.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

124

Victoria. Department of Human Services, 2010 State concessions and Hardship Programs

accessed 14 October 2011 <http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/concessions/research/annual-reports>.

Victorian Council of Social Service, Emergency Relief Victoria, RMIT University and Good

Shepherd Youth and Family Service 2009, Under Pressure: Costs of living, financial hardship

and emergency relief in Victoria.

Volunteering Australia, 2006. What are the real costs of volunteering? accessed 14 October

2011

<http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/files/98E283PN6H/Costs%20of%20Volunteering%20Research%20Bulletin.pdf.>.

Volunteering Tasmania, 2011 Response to the Interim Report on Cost of Living in

Tasmania, unpublished paper.

Wilkins, R, Warren, D, Hahn, M, and Houng, B 2010 Families, incomes and jobs, volume 5: A

statistical report on waves 1 to 7 of the household, income and labour dynamics survey,

Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research: University of Melbourne.