On Air
Drug Testing Welfare Recipients

A Bill put forward by the Liberal Party that seeks to have welfare recipients subject to mandatory drug tests has resurfaced in Parliament.
In 2017 under his role as Social Services Minister, Christian Porter introduced the proposal that unemployed people receiving welfare allowance would be subject to compulsory drug tests.
The Bill failed to gain support during negotiations in the Senate and was dropped. That was until the current Social Services Minister Dan Tehan since reintroduced the proposal earlier this year, with the three trial locations now verified, in NSW, QLD and WA.
The legislation proposed would see five thousand new recipients of unemployment payments asked to take drug tests as part of a trial that would take place in three locations around Australia. If the recipients refuse to take the test they may face penalties, or be restricted from receiving welfare payments altogether.
Reporter Nicolas Zoumboulis investigates.
Interviews with: Associate Professor John Fitzgerald, who is an expert in Alcohol and Drug Policy
David Shoebridge, a Greens MP in NSW Parliament and spokesperson for Justice, Police, Industrial Relations and Planning.
Contributors
Nicolas Zoumboulis
Category: Audio, News, Politics
Topics: News
Tags: #Auspol, addiction, ALP, ausgov, conservative, dole, drug testing, drugs, Greens, greens party, Health, liberal, liberal party, mental health, vicpol, welfare
More by Panorama
Chronic disadvantage found among social housing tenants
The first report of longitudinal study Maximising Impact has highlighted the chronic, often lifelong disadvantage experienced by social housing tenants, revealing complex […]
Beyond the headline: Youth workers respond to Mary’s Group
Mary’s Group owners defended comments made in their podcast The Fat, calling some youth hospitality workers “self-entitled, little f-s”. Their discussion was […]
News Talks #17: Casual employment leaves uni staff vulnerable to wage theft
Reporters Laura Green and Holly Mark spoke with Annette Herrera from the University of Melbourne – a co-convener of the University’s Casuals […]