3 - Community Services & Health Industry Skills Council

(for example, Seniors Supplement and the Child Disability Assistance Payment). To maintaincomparability over time, the Child Care Benefit and Child Care Rebate are included in theestimates of welfare services (rather than cash payments) since historically these payments werepaid to the service providers rather than directly to households.Cash payments for specific populationsIn 2010–11, the total amount spent by governments on cash payments, excludingunemployment benefits, was estimated at $83.9 billion, up from $81.3 billion in the previous year(Table A10.1). In both these years, spending on these cash payments represented 70% of totalgovernment welfare spending, similar to the average proportion over the decade of 71%. Ofthe estimated $83.9 billion, the greatest amount was for older people ($36.3 billion), followed byspending on families and children ($25.5 billion). People with disability received $20.1 billion and$2.0 billion was provided for ‘other’ cash payments (Figure 10.3).Over the decade to 2010–11, payments for people with disability had the highest averageannual growth of 6.6%. Payments for older people grew by 3.3% and those for families andchildren by 0.7%, while average annual expenditure for recipients of ‘other ‘cash payments fell by2.3% (Table A10.3).10$ billion120100Unemployment benefitsOther cash paymentsPeople with disabilityOlder peopleFamilies and children8060402002001–022002–032003–042004–052005–062006–072007–082008–092009–102010–11Notes1. Constant price estimates are expressed in terms of 2010–11 prices (see Box 10.1).2. Data for this figure are shown in Table A10.3.Source: AIHW welfare expenditure database.Figure 10.3: Government cash payments expenditure, by major area of expenditure,constant prices, 2001–02 to 2010–11Australia’s welfare 2013 393