Income management a failure, according to three-year study which contradicts findings of Forrest review

Income management in the Northern Territory has not led to people on welfare drinking less alcohol, sending their children to school more often or buying healthier food, according to the findings of a three-year study commissioned by the Federal Government. "There are a whole pile of interesting findings about how people feel about being on income management," Mr Campbell said. Healthy Welfare Card proposed by the Forrest review HWC would distribute 100 per cent of welfare payment HWC cannot be used for gambling or buying alcohol The Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary Alan Tudge said the Government was "looking very seriously" at the concept. But the Forrest review said the cashless welfare system was "influenced" by NT's "pioneering" income management system and the BasicsCard. "If it's going to be a big cost for the banking sector to implement, if it's going to be a big cost for the government to implement, if it's going to impact on all retailers potentially in Australia and certainly impact on all card holders in Australia, then we have to ask if this is the best way to deliver an outcome which is a noble outcome, which is about how can we make sure welfare payments are not used in ways that would cause economic and social problems," she said.