Australia’s welfare system puts disadvantaged at risk, inquiry told

In its submission to the inquiry the commonwealth ombudsman warned it was ‘concerned the incentive structure for providers and their discretion concerning participants’ job plans may not always produce fair outcomes’. Photograph: Julian Smith/AAP

Australia’s mutual obligation system for welfare risks “subjecting disadvantaged participants to unreasonably onerous and punitive conditions”, the commonwealth ombudsman has warned.

The ombudsman made the submission to a Senate inquiry, which has already recommended a major overhaul of the controversial ParentsNext program, and revealed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants were fined at almost double their rate of participation.