Exploring the cost of Welfare Conditionality on women & children Presented by Susan Maury, Juanita McLaren, & David Tennant OPEN Sector Research Symposium, 30 October 2017

Conditionality & Families Barriers to employment: Parenting duties Insufficient & unsustainable welfare payments Jobs were unsuitable – precarious, low-paying, no career pathway Experiences of conditionality: Stressful Demeaning Frustrating Inconsistent Tick and flick Amicable but useless Waste of time

Conditionality & Communities Shepparton trial Single mothers with young children are struggling the most Failure to meet conditionality puts payments at risk Broader community impacts mirror other welfare trial sites Benefit recipients experience stigma, less deserving of rights & protections

Advocacy opportunities Illuminate where structures and policies are creating barriers to thriving Listen to clients, give voice to their stories Facilitate sharing how punitive policies have an adverse effect (in ways that feel safe to them) Write or visit politicians Treating Families Fairly – convened by the Centre for Excellence