Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report

Transcription

1 Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report September 2014 J Rob Bray, Matthew Gray, Kelly Hand and Ilan Katz

2 For further information Ilan Katz Social Policy Research Centre Level 2, John Goodsell Building Arts & Social Sciences UNSW Australia UNSW Sydney 2052 Australia t +61(2) f +61(2) e sprc@unsw.edu.au w ISSN: ISBN: (online) SPRC Report 25/2014 The Social Policy Research Centre is based in Arts & Social Sciences at UNSW Australia. This report is an output of the Evaluation of New Income Management in the Northern Territory project, funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. Suggested citation Bray, J. R., Gray, M., Hand, K., & Katz, I. (2014). Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report (SPRC Report 25/2014). Sydney: Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Australia. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and may not reflect those of the Department of Social Services or the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

3 Research Team Australian National University J Rob Bray and Matthew Gray Australian Institute of Family Studies Kelly Hand Social Policy Research Centre Professor Ilan Katz (Chief Investigator) Shona Bates (Social Policy Research Centre), Anna Jones (Social Policy Research Centre), and Mandy Yap (Australian National University) provided valuable research assistance. Fieldwork The fieldwork for the Longitudinal Survey of New Income Management was conducted by Colmar Brunton Social Research under contract to the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW Australia. The fieldwork team was managed by Kylie Brosnan and Desleigh Dunnett. The intermediary fieldwork was conducted by Kelly Hand, Australian Institute of Family Studies. Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report i

4 Acknowledgements This evaluation has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. The authors would like to acknowledge and thank all of those who participated in or assisted with the evaluation, including: the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT), Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APONT), ALPA Stores, ARPNet at Charles Darwin University, the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Services (CAALAS), Darwin Community Legal Service, Jaiirdi Consultants, Mission Australia, Money Workers Association of the Northern Territory, Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women's Council, North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA), Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission, Northern Territory Council of Social Services (NTCOSS), Northern Territory Government Department of Education and Training, Northern Territory Government Department of Health, Northern Territory Department of the Attorney-General and Justice, Outback Stores, the Refugee Council of Australia, Tangentyere Council and the Tangentyere Research Hub. We also acknowledge the helpful assistance of staff from the Australian Government Department of Social Services and Australian Government Department of Human Services. We would particularly like to acknowledge the assistance of Department of Human Services with the provision of administrative data for the purposes of the evaluation, along with the stores which provided us with BasicsCard and other sales data. We also would thank the staff in the Northern Territory Government Department of Children and Families whose assistance was critical for the evaluation of Child Protection Income Management and the staff from the Department of Human Services who similarly enabled us to undertake the evaluation of the Vulnerable stream of Income Management. We also would like to acknowledge and thank the organisations and leaders in the communities in which the Longitudinal Survey of New Income Management was collected for their agreement for the survey to be conducted in their communities and also the members of these communities and elsewhere who participated in the survey and shared information with us about their lives and experiences of income management as well as participating in the feedback sessions about the evaluation. Of course, the evaluation would not have been possible without the many people who provided information about their professional experiences during the course of the evaluation, including, staff from Department of Human Services Northern Australia and Social Work Services Branch, Department of Social Services State Office Northern Territory, Northern Territory Department of Children and Families, Money Workers Association of the Northern Territory and Financial Counselling services cross the Northern Territory, emergency relief, housing and legal services. We thank all the participants from these organisations and elsewhere who participated in interviews and focus groups for their time and valuable insights. ii

5 Contents RESEARCH TEAM... I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... II CONTENTS... III TABLE OF TABLES...IX TABLE OF FIGURES...XIII GLOSSARY... XVII EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... XIX 1 INTRODUCTION Background to the evaluation Evaluation: aims and questions Evaluation framework Evaluation methodology Findings from the First Evaluation Report Other forms of income management operating outside of the Northern Territory Existing research and evaluation of income management in the Northern Territory Structure of report OVERVIEW OF NEW INCOME MANAGEMENT POLICY Introduction The introduction of income management in the Northern Territory The NTER The development of New Income Management Objectives of New Income Management Overview of New Income Management and its subprograms Costs of New Income Management Compulsory Income Management Vulnerable Income Management Child Protection Income Management Supporting People at Risk Income Management Voluntary Income Management Hierarchy of income management measures The operation of income management and transition from the NTER Spending income managed funds Reviews of income management decisions Transition from NTER Income Management Supporting programs and initiatives Matched Savings Scheme Payment Money management and financial counselling Broader context Conclusion EVALUATION PROCESSES AND DATA SOURCES Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report iii

6 Contents Introduction Evaluation methods and components Government administrative data related to the operation of income management Store sales data Aggregate outcome data Longitudinal Survey of New Income Management (LSNIM) Interviews with intermediaries Case file interviews with Child Protection caseworkers from the Northern Territory Department of Children and Families Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient social work assessment report review Ethics approval THE POPULATION ON INCOME MANAGEMENT Introduction and background to data The Northern Territory income management population Numbers subject to income management in the Northern Territory since August Key demographic characteristics Indigenous status Gender Age Family type Age and number of children Income management and couples Country of birth Income management by location Income support payments and the incidence of income management Type of income support payment received Proportion of income support recipients subject to income management: incidence by age, gender and Indigenous status Incidence by location Time spent on income management, flows and duration Flows onto and off income management Length and proportion of time on income management Dynamics of income management and duration Duration of time spent on income management Exits from income management Exits due to death and imprisonment Money Management and Financial Counselling Services Summary EXEMPTIONS Purpose and background The objective of exemptions Background Trends in exemptions Scope of analysis Trends in exemptions Characteristics of the population with exemptions The dynamics of exemptions Experience on income management prior to first exemption Transitions Analysis of the incidence of exemptions iv

7 The views and experience of people with exemptions Motivation for seeking an exemption The experience of seeking an exemption Appeals and reviews of decisions Exemptions summary PATTERNS OF CONSUMPTION AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Consumption and the objectives of New Income Management How income managed funds are allocated Allocations to BasicsCard Other allocations Interaction with Centrepay BasicsCard BasicsCard issue and replacement BasicsCard transactions Spending on BasicsCard Where BasicsCards are used The experience of using BasicsCard Spending at stores Major sales on BasicsCard The composition of BasicsCard Sales Spending over time evidence of change BasicsCard failed transactions at the store level Summary of store-level findings Changing financial capabilities? BasicsCard replacements Failed BasicsCard transactions Financial balances Conclusion VIEWS AND EXPERIENCES OF THOSE SUBJECT TO INCOME MANAGEMENT Approach The LSNIM Characteristics of the LSNIM population The views and experiences Overall assessment of income management Current outcomes Experience of being on income management Summary of views and experiences as identified in the LSNIM Changes in outcomes and attitudes Impact on adverse behaviours Impact on community outcomes Impact on household financial wellbeing outcomes Changes in attitudes to income management Summary of personal and community outcomes Summary VIEWS OF PEOPLE ON INCOME MANAGEMENT QUALITATIVE FINDINGS Introduction Views and experiences Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report v

8 Contents Navigating the income management system Fairness of the income management process Money management and financial counselling Restrictions resulting from income management Changes in financial harassment ( humbug ) Health and wellbeing Comparison sites THE BROADER IMPACTS OF INCOME MANAGEMENT Introduction Child health and wellbeing in the Northern Territory Child health and wellbeing measures and data sources Developmental outcomes Learning outcomes School enrolment and attendance Child health and wellbeing Low birth weight Infant mortality Immunisation rates Injury related deaths Disability Diet Body Mass Index Hospitalisation rates of Indigenous children Child protection indicators Impact on alcohol consumption and consequences Alcohol consumption per capita Alcohol-related presentations to emergency departments and public hospitals Self-reported consumption measures: tobacco and alcohol Crime and alcohol-related crime Imprisonment rates Summary THE PERSPECTIVES OF INTERMEDIARIES Introduction Methodology Operational and implementation issues Commencing income management Setting up income management allocations Exemptions Use of BasicsCards Supporting people subject to income management money management and financial counselling services Supporting people subject to income management other services Perceived outcomes and impacts of income management Targeting of measures and differential impacts Income management as a budgeting tool Impacts of income management on financial exploitation Perceived impacts of income management on individuals and communities Summary VOLUNTARY INCOME MANAGEMENT Overview of the program Population characteristics vi

9 Behaviours and outcomes Motivation for being on Voluntary Income Management Conclusion VULNERABLE INCOME MANAGEMENT Introduction Context Methodology Findings People on the Vulnerable Income Management measure Targeting Changes in decision-making practice since Stage One of the evaluation Sources of referrals for Vulnerable Income Management Assessment and review processes Outcomes for people on the vulnerable measure Services to support people on Vulnerable Income Management Informal support and family relationships Pathways off Vulnerable Income Management Summary CHILD PROTECTION INCOME MANAGEMENT Methodology and data sources Operation of Child Protection Income Management People on the Child Protection Income Management measure Understanding and implementation of Child Protection Income Management in the Northern Territory Characteristics of referrals to Child Protection Income Management Other supports and interventions for families referred to Child Protection Income Management Operational issues Impacts and outcomes associated with Child Protection Income Management Conclusion FINDINGS AGAINST THE EVALUATION FRAMEWORK Introduction The evaluation framework Overarching questions Process evaluation Outcome evaluation The overall impact of income management How has income management impacted on subgroups? Broader questions Research questions for specific streams of the New Income Management model Questions specific to the Compulsory Income Management stream Questions specific to the vulnerable stream Questions specific to the voluntary stream Questions specific to the child protection stream Summary CONCLUSION Views and perceptions of income management Impact on adverse outcomes Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report vii

10 Contents 15.3 Improved capabilities Targeting Conclusion EPILOGUE REPORTING BACK Perspectives on income management Response to major findings Other Income Management issues How individuals engage with Income Management Humbug and harassment Income management and community priorities Summary REFERENCES APPENDICES APPENDIX A: FINANCIAL VULNERABILITY TEST FOR EXEMPTIONS APPENDIX B: LSNIM FIELDWORK REPORT APPENDIX C: LSNIM SURVEY INSTRUMENT APPENDIX D: GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS APPENDIX E: DEFINITION OF PRIORITY NEEDS AND EXCLUDED GOODS APPENDIX F: VULNERABLE FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONS APPENDIX G: VULNERABLE FILE REVIEW viii

11 Table of Tables Table 1-1 New Income Management Questions in the evaluation framework... 4 Table 1-2 Summary of current income management programs... 7 Table 2-1 NTER measures Table 2-2 Timeline for income management in the Northern Territory Table 2-3 Australian Government payments that may be subject to income management Table 3-1 Summary of major evaluation components Table 4-1 Income managed population in Northern Territory by stream and Indigenous status, December Table 4-2 Income managed population in Northern Territory by stream and gender, December Table 4-3 Family type of persons on income management in the Northern Territory by stream of income management, December Table 4-4 Family type by broad stream of income management and Indigenous status, NIM, December Table 4-5 Number and age of children of people subject to income management in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status and type of income management, December Table 4-6 Income management and income support receipt status of couples in which at least one member is subject to income management in the Northern Territory by whether have dependent children and Indigenous status, December Table 4-7 Indigeneity and broad region of birth of people subject to income management in the Northern Territory, Compulsory and Voluntary Income Management, December Table 4-8 Persons being income managed in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status and type of Table 4-9 income support payment received, December Persons being Income Managed in the Northern Territory by stream and major income support payment received, December Table 4-10 Persons on income support and income management in the Northern Territory by gender and Indigenous status, December Table 4-11 Income management rates by Indigenous status and location in the Northern Territory, December 2010 December Table 4-12 Estimated population rate of income management by Indigenous status in the Northern Territory, December Table 4-13 Number of weeks on income management and proportion of time on income support subject to income management between August 2010 and December 2013, persons in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status Table 4-14 Income management status in December 2013 of people subject to NTER Income Management in July Table 4-15 Transitions in income management status in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status, December 2012 to December Table 4-16 Transitions between income management measures, persons in the Northern Territory between late 2010 to December Table 4-17 Income support status of people exiting income management between January and December 2013 by Indigenous status and broad stream of income management Table 4-18 Exits from income management on the Northern Territory due to death by stream of income management and Indigenous status, late 2010 to December Table 4-19 Income management status of income support recipients in the Northern Territory who experience incarceration, 2010 to Table 5-1 Table 5-2 Table 5-3 Table 5-4 Exemption rates by selected characteristics by Indigenous identification and gender, NIM, December Persons with an exemption from income management in the Northern Territory, one year transitions, December 2012 and December Exemptions, regression analysis of factors associated with obtaining an exemption, persons subject to, or with exemptions from, Compulsory Income Management in the Northern Territory, December Two-stage hurdle regression model of whether an application is made and the success of this, marginal probability for Indigenous and non-indigenous Australian-born population, by Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report ix

12 Table of Tables presence of children, persons subject to, or with exemptions from, Compulsory Income Management in the Northern Territory, December Table 5-5 Two-stage hurdle regression model of whether an application is made and the success of this, marginal probability for Indigenous and non-indigenous Australian-born population with children, by broad region, persons subject to, or with exemptions from, Compulsory Income Management in the Northern Territory, December Table 5-6 Views on the process of obtaining an exemption, LSNIM Wave 2, Table 5-7 More general views on exemptions, LSNIM Wave 2, Table 5-8 People with an exemption from income management who had been on income management whether income management made it easier or harder, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 5-9 Persons who had tried to leave income management, experience of the process, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 5-10 Persons who had tried to leave income management, understanding of the reasons why they were rejected, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 5-11 Persons who had tried to leave income management, meeting the requirements for employment, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 5-12 Persons who had tried to leave income management, misstatements of the exemption criteria, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 5-13 Persons who wanted to leave income management, lack of knowledge of exemptions, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 5-14 Appeals relating to income management, 2010 to Table 5-15 Outcomes of appeals relating to income management by decision-making level, combined 2012 and Table 6-1 Allocations of income managed funds to BasicsCard in the Northern Territory, October Table 6-2: Income managed funds allocation by type, NIM, October Table 6-3 Use of Centrepay in addition to income management, NIM, October Table 6-4 Number of replacement BasicsCards, by spells on income management, persons with a BasicsCard, NIM to end December Table 6-5 Number of replacement BasicsCards, persons by broad income management stream, NIM to end December Table 6-6 Characteristics of selected transactions, NIM Table 6-7 Distribution of BasicsCard sales to people on income management in the Northern Territory by type of outlet and region, Table 6-8 Distribution of BasicsCard sales to people on income management in the Northern Territory Table 6-9 by type of outlet and main income management stream, Proportion of BasicsCard sales to people on income management in the Northern Territory that fail due to inadequate funds, by type of outlet and region, Table 6-10 Ways of use of BasicsCard and related questions, LSNIM Wave 2, Table 6-11 Examples provided of cases where a respondent was either unable to buy an item or had to pay more because their available funds were on their BasicsCard, LSNIM Wave 2, Table 6-12: Top-selling 20 individual items on BasicsCard at selected stores in the Northern Territory, Table 6-13 Relative shares of BasicsCard and non-basicscard sales, excluding alcohol and tobacco at selected community stores, Table 6-14 Composition of sales, excluding tobacco, urban stores, Table 6-15 Spending on fruit and vegetables as a share of total food spending excluding restaurant meals, Household Expenditure Survey Table 6-16 Regression analysis of the incidence of replacement of BasicsCards and transactions which fail due to insufficient funds, and changes over time, NIM Table 6-17 Proportion of transactions which fail due to insufficient funds, NIM, Table 6-18 Incidence of reducing purchases to have a successful transaction within five minutes of having a failed transaction, NIM, Table 6-19 Put back transactions, distributions of initial and final value and time taken, NIM, Table 6-20 Changes in the rate of failed transactions by NIM cohort 2010 to 2013 for persons on income management in the Northern Territory, December Table 6-21 Distribution of minimum balances in BasicsCard and income management Accounts, NIM, October 2011 and Table 6-22 Minimum balances, NIM, October 2011 and October x

13 Table 6-23 Proportion of time spent with a balance of less than $10, by broad income management streams, NIM, October 2011 and October Table 7-1 LSNIM Quantitative Analysis Second Wave Population Table 7-2 Comparison of structure, LSNIM Wave 2 sample and Income managed population Table 7-3 Persons subject to Compulsory Income Management, aspirations in terms of remaining on or exiting the program in Waves 1 and 2 of the LSNIM (2011 and 2013), matched sample Table 7-4 Views as to whether or not all people should be subject to income management, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 7-5 Frequency of feeling about aspects of life while subject to income management, positive outcomes, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 7-6 Frequency of feeling about aspects of life while subject to income management, negative outcomes, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 7-7 Persons who have exited Compulsory Income Management, reflections on impact of being on the program, LSNIM, Wave 2, Table 7-8 Difference in Difference analysis of whether or not alcohol, drugs and gambling are a family problem, change between Waves 1 and 2 of the LSNIM (2011 to 2013) for people subject to income management Table 7-9 Difference in difference analysis of the perceived incidence of problems at the community/location level, change between Waves 1 and 2 of the LSNIM (2011 to 2013) for people subject to income management Table 7-10 Difference in difference analysis of absence of specific adverse financial outcomes, before income management to Wave 2 (pre-income management, 2013) Table 7-11 Difference in difference analysis of feelings about income management, change between Waves 1 and 2 (2011, 2013) Table 8-1 Number of qualitative interviews, 2013 and Table 9-1 Child health and wellbeing measures and data sources Table 9-2 Proportion of children developmentally vulnerable by AEDI domain, Northern Territory and Australia, 2009 and Table 9-3 Achievement of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 Indigenous students in the Northern Territory, NAPLAN, Table 9-4 Achievement of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 Indigenous students Australia, NAPLAN, Table 9-5 Proportion of children having a disability by gender and Indigenous status, Northern Territory and Australia, Census, 2006 and Table 9-6 Diet of children aged 12 to 17 years, Indigenous by remoteness, Northern Territory, Table 9-7 Table 9-8 and Distribution of Body Mass Index for Indigenous children aged 15 to 17 years by gender, Northern Territory, and Age-standardised hospitalisation rates of Indigenous children aged 0 14 years by diagnoses, Northern Territory, Table 9-9 Child Protection Indicators, Northern Territory, Table 9-10 Rates of self-reported smoking and risky alcohol consumption by Indigenous adults in the Northern Territory, and Table 11-1 Persons who have been on Voluntary Income Management or are currently on income management in the Northern Territory, whether ever been on Voluntary Income Management and current income management status, December Table 12-1 Types of data collected about the assessed Vulnerable Income Management measure Table 12-2 Demographic characteristics of the assessment report review sample Table 12-3 Vulnerabilities identified for people subject to assessments as part of the assessment review Table 13-1 IFSS staff perceptions of the impact of Child Protection Income Management on their clients Table 15-1 Summary of evidence of impact of income management on expenditure patterns, financial outcomes, and a range of individual and community level outcomes Table 15-2 Summary of evidence of impact of income management on individual capabilities Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report xi

14 Table of Tables xii

15 Table of Figures Figure 2-1 Map of NTER Prescribed Areas, Aboriginal (ALRA) land and community living areas Figure 2-2 Map of NTER Prescribed areas, town camps Figure 4-1 Number of people on income management in the Northern Territory by initiative, July 2010 to December Figure 4-2 Persons subject to income management in the Northern Territory by income management stream, December Figure 4-3 Number of people on income management in the Northern Territory by selected initiatives, July 2010 to December Figure 4-4 Number of people on income management in the Northern Territory: Composition of Vulnerable streams, July 2010 to December Figure 4-5 Proportion of people on income management in the Northern Territory who are identified as Indigenous Australians, July 2010 to December Figure 4-6 Composition of people subject to income management in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status and main program, December Figure 4-7 Women as a proportion of the population subject to income management in the Northern Territory, July 2010 to December Figure 4-8 Density plots of the age distribution of the income managed population in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status, December Figure 4-9 Age distribution of people subject to income management in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status and broad stream of income management, December Figure 4-10 Number of dependent children by stream of income management, NIM, December Figure 4-11 Income management and income support receipt status of couples in which at least one member is subject to income management in the Northern Territory, December Figure 4-12 Geographic regions used in the NIM evaluation Figure 4-13 Number of people subject to income management in the Northern Territory by region and Indigenous identification, Figure 4-14 Proportion of income support recipients in the Northern Territory subject to income management by gender and Indigenous status, August 2010 to December Figure 4-15 Proportion of people on income support subject to income management in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status and age group, December 2011 and December 2013 (%) Figure 4-16 Proportion of transfer payments income managed by socio-economic status of location (SA2) in the Northern Territory, December Figure 4-17 Flows onto and off Compulsory Income Management in the Northern Territory, Figure 4-18 Flows onto and off Voluntary Income Management in the Northern Territory, Figure 4-19 Length of time subject to income management and proportion time on income support in the Northern Territory between August 2010 and December 2013, by age Figure 4-20 Proportion of time on income support subject to income management between August 2010 and December 2013, by when first on New Income Management in the Northern Territory and Indigenous status Figure 4-21 Number of spells of income management between August 2010 and December 2013 persons in the Northern Territory by Indigenous identification Figure 4-22 Month first subject to income management, persons on income management in the Northern Territory as at 20 December Figure 4-23 Duration analysis: Kaplan-Meier survival function by type of income management, New Income Management Figure 4-24 Duration analysis: Kaplan-Meier survival function by Indigenous status (including those who receive an exemption prior to being income managed), New Income Management Figure 4-25 Ratio of non-indigenous to Indigenous exit rate from income management by length of time on income management, New Income Management Figure 4-26 Duration analysis: Kaplan-Meier survival function by gender, New Income Management Figure 4-27 Income support status of people exiting income management in the Northern Territory between January and December Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report xiii

16 Table of Figures Figure 4-28 Number of clients provided services by Money Management Service providers in the Northern Territory, Figure 4-29 Numbers assisted by Money Management Service providers by type of income management in the Northern Territory, Figure 4-30 Number of workshops run by Money Management Services in the Northern Territory, Figure 4-31 Number of clients attending Approved Money Management courses in the Northern Territory, Figure 4-32 Knowledge and use of money management and financial counselling services in the Northern Territory, by broad type of location, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 5-1 Numbers exempt, out of scope exempt and exemption rate, NIM, 2010 to Figure 5-2 Exemption rate by gender and Indigenous status, NIM, December 2010 to December Figure 5-3 First exemption, rejection or withdrawal by month, NIM, August 2010 to December Figure 5-4 Exemption rate by gender, broad region of birth and Indigenous status, NIM, December Figure 5-5 Time on income management prior to obtaining an exemption, all persons who have obtained an exemption from income management in the Northern Territory, population with an exemption in December Figure 5-6 People with an exemption from income management, main and any reason why they sought an exemption, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 5-7 People with an exemption from income management who had been on income management response to income management was good for me, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 5-8 Persons who had tried to leave income management, main and other reasons for seeking to exit, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 5-9 Persons who had tried to leave income management, understanding of reasons why their application was refused, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 5-10 Extracts from standard Centrelink letters on the provision of information in support of an application for exemption Figure 6-1 Proportion of people subject to income management in the Northern Territory with an allocation to a BasicsCard by duration of time on income management in their first year on the program, October Figure 6-2 The BasicsCard Figure 6-3 Composition of BasicsCard transactions by Indigenous identification, NIM Figure 6-4 Persons on income management in the Northern Territory, total BasicsCard spending by month, June 2010 to December Figure 6-5 Composition of value of BasicsCard sales to persons on income management in the Northern Territory by broad classification of stores, sales by month, June 2010 to December Figure 6-6 Selected community stores, proportion of total expenditure on fruit and vegetables and tobacco, April 2009 to October Figure 6-7 Selected community stores, tobacco price and estimated volume of sales, August 2009 to October Figure 6-8 Availability and quality of fruit and vegetables in Northern Territory remote stores, Figure 6-9 Replacement BasicsCards, number issued and rate of replacement per month, NIM, September 2009 to December Figure 6-10 Monthly rate of failed transactions due to inadequate balances by entry cohort, persons on income management in the Northern Territory in December 2013, June 2010 to December Figure 6-11 Proportion of time spent with a balance of less than $10, NIM, October 2011 and October Figure 7-1 Overall do you think income management has made things better for you?, people currently on income management, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-2 Objective for income management, persons currently on income management, proportion expressing a desire to get off or unsure, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-3 Indigenous respondents subject to Compulsory Income Management, aims for remaining on income management and whether income management has made life better or worse, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-4 Persons on Compulsory Income Management who wish to remain on, reasons why, LSNIM, Wave 2, xiv

17 Figure 7-5 Persons on Compulsory Income Management who wish to exit, reasons why, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-6 Whether they would recommend income management to others, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-7 Persons subject to income management, incidence of selected adverse financial outcomes, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-8 Persons who have exited Compulsory Income Management, reflections on impact of being on the program, LSNIM, Wave 2, Figure 7-9 Change in incidence of not running out of food, relative to control group, before income management to Wave 1, and Wave 1 to Wave 2 (pre-income management 2011, 2013) Figure 7-10 Change in incidence of not having financial problems due to having given money to others, relative to control group, before income management to Wave 1 and Wave 1 to Wave 2, (preincome management, 2011, 2013) Figure 9-1 Proportional change in improvement by AEDI domain, Northern Territory and Australia between 2009 and Figure 9-2 Percentage change between 2009 and 2012 in proportion of children who are developmentally vulnerable by AEDI domain by region and Indigenous status Figure 9-3 Proportion of children with numeracy at or above the national standard, by Indigenous status, NAPLAN, Figure 9-4 Proportion of children with reading at or above the national standard, by Indigenous status, NAPLAN, Figure 9-5 Proportion of children with grammar at or above the national standard, by Indigenous status, NAPLAN, Figure 9-6 Proportion of children with spelling at or above the national standard, by Indigenous status, NAPLAN, Figure 9-7 Enrolment and attendance rate by Indigenous status of children, Northern Territory Total, Figure 9-8 Enrolment levels and attendance rates in provincial schools in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status of children, Figure 9-9 Enrolment levels and attendance rates in remote schools in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status of children, Figure 9-10 Enrolment levels and attendance rates in very remote schools in the Northern Territory by Indigenous status of children, Figure 9-11 School participation rates children 15-years of age or younger, Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 9-12 Low birth weight infants as a proportion of births, Indigenous status of mothers, Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 9-13 Infant mortality rate (deaths per 100,000 live births) by Indigenous status, Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 9-14 Child immunisation rates by Indigenous status, Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 9-15 Child deaths due to injury, per 100,000 children, by Indigenous status, Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 9-16 Child protection substantiations per 1,000 children, Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 9-17 Alcohol consumption per capita in the Northern Territory, Figure 9-18 Wholesale alcohol supply in the Northern Territory by region, Figure 9-19 Alcohol-related emergency department presentations and admissions by Indigenous status, Northern Territory, Figure 9-20 Alcohol-related emergency department presentations and admissions by public hospital, Northern Territory, Figure 9-21 Indigenous alcohol related assault victims by sex and nature of alcohol involvement, Northern Territory, to Figure 9-22 Assault victimisation rates by Indigenous status and sex, Northern Territory, to Figure 9-23 Quarterly assault offences by alcohol involvement and domestic violence association, Northern Territory, 2011 to Figure 9-24 Imprisonment rate by Indigenous status (rate per 100,000 adult population) Northern Territory and Australia, Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report xv

18 Table of Figures Figure 9-25 Age-standardised imprisonment rate by Indigenous status (rate per 100,000 adult population), Northern Territory and Australia, Figure 11-1 Comparative age composition of people on Voluntary Income Management and other income management streams in the Northern Territory, December Figure 11-2 Proportion of people on income management in the Northern Territory on Voluntary Income Management by region, December Figure 11-3 People on Voluntary Income Management, main and all reasons for wishing to remain on the program, LSNIM Wave 2, Figure 12-1 Number of people on Vulnerable Income Management in the Northern Territory by type of measure, September 2010 to December Figure 12-2 Number of people on Assessed Vulnerable Income Management in the Northern Territory, September 2010 to December Figure 12-3 Age distribution of people on assessed Vulnerable Income Management in the Northern Territory, December Figure 12-4 Income support payment type of people on assessed Vulnerable Income Management in the Northern Territory, September 2010 to December xvi

19 Glossary ABS AEDI AIFS AIHW ALPA ALRA ANU APY ARO ATM BMI CDEP CIM CLC CP CPIM CSC CYWRT DCF DEEWR DEY DHS DSP DSS EFTPOS ESB FaHCSIA FMP FRC FTB HAAC HEC HES IFSS IHS IM IS KDE LSNIM LTWPR MSP NAPLAN NESB NGO Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Early Development Index Australian Institute of Family Studies Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Arnhem Land Progress Aboriginal Corporation Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cwth) Australian National University Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Authorised Review Officer Automatic Teller Machine Body Mass Index Community Development Employment Projects Compulsory Income Management Central Lands Council Centrepay Child Protection Income Management (Centrelink) Customer Service Centre Cape York Welfare Reform Trial Northern Territory Department of Children and Families Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Disengaged Youth Department of Human Services Disability Support Pension Commonwealth Department of Social Services (formerly the Department of Family, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale English Speaking Background Australian Government Department of Families, Housing and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (Former - see DSS) Financial Management Program Family Responsibilities Commission Family Tax Benefit Home and community care Household Expenditure Classification Household Expenditure Survey Intensive Family Support Services Inverse Hyperbolic Sine (data transformation) Income Management Income Support Kernel Density Estimate (a statistical technique) Longitudinal Survey of New Income Management Long-term Welfare Payment Recipient Matched Savings Scheme (Income Management) Payment National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy Non-English Speaking Background Non-government Organisation Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report xvii

20 Glossary NHMRC NIM NPARIH NPY NT NTER NTER IM OOS PPP PPS RDS rhs SEAM SPAR SPRC UTLAH VIM VWPR National Health and Medical Research Council New Income Management National Partnership Agreement on Remote Indigenous Housing Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Northern Territory Northern Territory Emergency Response Income management under the Northern Territory Emergency Response Out of Scope Parenting Payment Partnered Parenting Payment Single Rent Deduction Scheme Right hand scale in figures which use a primary and secondary vertical axis. (Indicates which items are plotted against the secondary axis.) School Enrolment and Attendance Measure Supporting People at Risk Social Policy Research Centre Unreasonable to Live at Home Voluntary Income Management Vulnerable Welfare Payment Recipient xviii

21 Executive Summary Background A relatively recent development in the Australian social security system has been the introduction of policies of income management for some people in receipt of income support payments. The policy limits the amount of income support paid to people as an unconditional cash transfer and imposes restrictions on how the remaining sometimes termed quarantined funds can be spent. Income management was designed to ensure that these funds are spent on essential basic items and to limit the amount of income that can be spent on tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and gambling. Income management was first introduced in the Northern Territory in 2007 as part of the Federal Government s Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER). The main form of income management currently in place is New Income Management, which was introduced in the second half of 2010 to replace the NTER Income Management program and operates only in the Northern Territory. New Income Management consists of a number of subprograms or streams. These are differentiated by: the criteria for determining who will be income managed; the proportion of income which is subject to income management; whether the person has access to exemptions from the program; and whether they receive any additional payment for participating in the program. The first major stream comprises the Long Term Welfare Payment Recipient and Disengaged Youth measures (together referred to in this report as Compulsory Income Management), which applies compulsorily to people who have been in receipt of certain income support payments for more than a specified period. People placed on this form of income management are able to apply for an exemption. Exemptions cannot be gained from the other forms of New Income Management. The second major stream, Voluntary Income Management, allows people who want to be on income management and are not on any of the forms of compulsory income management to participate in the program. The other income management measures operating in the Northern Territory are all relatively small and are applied on a compulsory basis. They include various forms of Vulnerable Income Management some forms involve people being assessed by Centrelink as being vulnerable and others automatically being assessed as being vulnerable because of the types of income support payments they receive and Child Protection Income Management, and Supporting People at Risk income management, to which people are referred by Northern Territory Government authorities. While income management has been implemented in a number of other locations in Australia, it is only in the Northern Territory that the program is primarily composed of a compulsory component, which is simply linked to duration on payments and is implemented on such a large scale. Income management is operationalised largely through the use of the BasicsCard, which is an EFTPOS card that can be used in approved stores and services to buy non-prohibited goods and cannot be used to withdraw cash. In 2010, the then Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA, now the Department of Social Services (DSS)) commissioned this evaluation of New Income Management. Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: Final Evaluation Report xix

22 Executive Summary The Terms of Reference for the Evaluation are to: 1. provide evidence on the impact on New Income Management on those who are affected; 2. assess whether the reforms were implemented effectively; 3. understand whether New Income Management is a cost-effective model; so as to 4. inform future government decision-making and social policy formulation for both the wider and Indigenous communities. The evaluation has been guided by the Evaluation Framework which was agreed with DSS, and sets out a series of evaluation questions against which income management would be evaluated. The main variation from the initial Evaluation Framework is that evaluation has, on the basis of a request from DSS, not undertaken the detailed investigation into the cost-effectiveness of the program. The evaluation methodology is a mixed methods approach, which draws upon a large number of sources of information including: a longitudinal survey of people subject to income management; administrative data on the program and the people on it; qualitative data collection from people on income management; from those involved in implementing the program, and from organisations and others such as child protection workers, welfare, legal aid and advocacy groups, income management workers and stores; data on transactions from stores; reviews of social workers case files; and a range of more general data that has been produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and others. A central principle of the evaluation approach was one of triangulation of findings, that is, using the multiple sources and types of data to compare and verify findings against each of the evaluation questions. This approach is important as much of the data used in the evaluation is not always consistent and frequently is an indicator or a perception rather than a direct measure The full results of the evaluation are published as two volumes: Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory: First Evaluation Report (July 2012); and this volume. The First Evaluation Report covered the initial implementation period of New Income Management and considered how effectively the measure was rolled out, how the transition from the NTER Income Management to New Income Management was managed, and the early impacts of New Income Management on individuals, families and communities. This report incorporates data up to the end of 2013 and the second wave of the fieldwork that was undertaken by the evaluation, and is primarily focused on the main outcome evaluation questions. Key findings The key findings are: Some 35,000 people have been subject to income management in the Northern Territory since the introduction of New Income Management. In December ,300 people were income managed. Of this total, 76.8 per cent were on the main compulsory measures, 20.1 per cent were on Voluntary Income Management, and the remaining 3.1 per cent were on the other seven measures and subprograms per cent of those being income managed are Indigenous. It is estimated that 1.3 per cent of non- Indigenous people and 34.0 per cent of Indigenous people aged 15 years and over living in the Northern Territory are subject to income management. Most people are on income management for extended periods. At the end of 2013 many had been income managed for more than six years. Over 60 per cent of Indigenous people currently being income managed were on income management as part of the NTER. Few exemptions have been granted and most exemptions have been obtained by non-indigenous people who have an exemption rate of 36.3 per cent, compared with 4.9 per cent for Indigenous people. Indigenous people have both a low rate of application for exemptions and a high rejection rate for those who do apply. Almost all exemptions have been granted to people with dependent children; 0.6 per cent of those without children have gained an exemption. xx