Australia Yearbook - 2009-10

support, compensation and rehabilitation, care
and commemoration programs.
For communities, engagement is encouraged
through partnerships between individuals,
families, business, government and welfare and
charitable organisations. A strong community
sector and high levels of volunteering provide
opportunities for individuals to participate in
their communities and to engage and support
others.
A number of organisations are involved in service
delivery. Centrelink delivers services to over 6.5
million customers on behalf of 25 policy agencies.
The Family Assistance Office enables families to
obtain their family payments in one place. The
Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) delivers
services to the veteran community. The tax
system delivers Family Tax Benefits, rebates and
offsets. Non-government organisations deliver
many services with Commonwealth funding,
including family relationship services, financial
literacy programs and support for people with a
disability.
Australia’s responses to economic and social
change occur within the context of a federal
system that has significant redistributive elements
and is underpinned by access to core services
including health, education and community
services, as well as a strong safety net of income
support payments. Responses occur in a
complex global environment, where individuals
may live, work and accrue entitlements in more
than one country and international social security
agreements share responsibility to close gaps in
their social security coverage.
Income support
The largest component of welfare is the income
support provided by the Australian Government.
Over 4.2 million people, or more than one in five
individuals, are direct beneficiaries of income
support payments at any one time.
Australia’s income support system has undergone
significant reform in recent years, including
responding to the 2008–09 global economic
recession and significant reforms to reduce
welfare dependency and promote workforce
participation. Broadly, the reforms aim to deliver
payments to those who are most disadvantaged
while encouraging those who can work to do so.
Pension reforms introduced from September
2009 increased adequacy and flexibility of
payments while keeping pensions sustainable.
Expenditure on the main income support
payments and benefits are listed in table 9.9.
Details of the maximum rates for major income
support payments are listed in table 9.10.
Seniors
Australia’s approach for retirement incomes
combines an affordable basis for generating
retirement incomes with targeted support for
those who most need assistance. The retirement
incomes framework comprises three pillars:
• The Age Pension provides a publicly funded
minimum level of income in retirement, which
is not based on past contributions or previous
earnings, but is based on current level of
financial need. Retirees, who do not meet the
means test requirements for the Age Pension,
may be eligible for the Commonwealth Seniors
Health Card.
• The Superannuation Guarantee, compulsory
employer superannuation contributions of 9%
of earnings, provides a framework for
retirement savings. The Superannuation
Guarantee has been operating since 1992, with
the 9% minimum contribution in place since
2002. By around the year 2042, people who
have had the full 9 per cent superannuation
guarantee across their working life will start to
retire (assuming a 40 year working life).
• Voluntary superannuation saving and other
forms of savings and investment, the most
significant typically being owner-occupied
homes, enhance retirement savings.
The Age Pension is the main form of income
support for seniors and a significant proportion
of seniors access the payment. The Age Pension is
means tested on income and assets, and currently
men qualify for Age Pension at 65 years. Women’s
qualifying age is currently 64 and will reach 65 by
2014. Further information about changes to the
qualifying age for the Age Pension are outlined as
part of the pension reform information below.
Wife Pension and Widow B Pension closed to new
claimants in the 1990s, as these
dependency-based payments are at odds with
active participation by women of workforce age.
286 Year Book Australia 2009–10