Matthew Gray and Rob Bray from the ANU CSRM have recently prepared a submission to the Senate Standing Committees on Community Affairs which is inquiring into the government’s proposed changes to legislation relating to income management 

The submission is strongly critical of the proposed legislation and called for the government to implement an Indigenous led consultation to consider how to transition from the existing arrangements.

They emphasise in the submission that the evidence clearly points to Income Management failing to improve outcomes and, as a paternalistic policy, leading to dependence rather than building skills and capacity. The submission strongly criticised the Department of Social Services’ reporting of the evidence base for the policy, including the distortion of evaluation findings, and the weakness of some recent studies. It also questioned claims of compliance with Human Rights.

Professor Gray and Dr Bray were lead authors of the 2012 evaluation of New Income Management in the Northern Territory.