Cashless welfare card tried in Ceduna, South Australia, with intent to cut alcohol abuse, gambling and assaults

Ceduna on South Australia's far west coast and (inset) the cashless welfare card operating there since 2016.
Ceduna image courtesy ExploreOz

A 12-month trial of the federal government’s cashless welfare card started in 2016 in the Ceduna region of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

The Indue welfare card, with input from Aboriginal elders, aimed to reduce alcohol abuse, gambling and assaults in vulnerable communities.

The card, compulsory for all Centrelink users except old age pensioners, has 80% of welfare payments to be used for purchases but not for alcohol or gambling. The other 20% of income is placed in bank accunts.

The main opposition to the card relates to its blanket approach of applying it to all people of working age; that 60-70 disruptive people are forcing around 700 residents into using the cashless card.

In 2017, the federal government declared the card, extended to Kununarra and the goldfields in Western Australia, a success and extended its trial with six-month reviews. The Labor party said it wouldn’t support extending the card trial unless there were clear community support and evidence it worked.

Orima Research found gambling, alcohol and drug consumption were reduced in Ceduna but its data was queried by the Australian National Audit Office.

One of the three Eyre Peninsula communities affected by the Ceduna scheme is Koonibba, home to the oldest surviving AFL football club in Australia. Only half of the town’s 1983 football premiership team have survived Koonibba’s high death rate.