The eligible population for unemployment benefits comprised persons aged 15 to 64 years. Unemployment figures as at 30 June 2004. Unemployment benefits comprised Youth Allowance, Newstart Allowance and Mature Age Allowance. Family assistance benefits comprised Parenting Payments (single and partnered).
Source:
Centrelink, Canberra (unpublished data).
The level of receipt of income support in a community provides a measure of the amount of poverty.
Benefits paid to unemployed people include Youth Allowance (for people aged under 21 years who are unemployed or under 25 years and undertaking full-time studies), Newstart Allowance (for unemployed people aged 21 years or over), and Mature Age Allowance (for older unemployed people aged 60 years or over and below age pension age). People getting Newstart or Youth Allowance must meet the 'activity test', a set of requirements to show they are actively looking for work. In June 2004, 196,715 people in NSW received unemployment benefits. This constituted 4.4% of the total population in the eligible age group. The North Coast Health Area had the largest proportion of working age adults receiving unemployment benefits (8.3%) while the Northern Sydney & Central Coast Health Area had the lowest (2.2%). Almost 1 in 6 (15.6%) working age adults living in outer regional and remote areas received unemployment benefits, compared to 1 in 12 (8.2%) of those in inner regional areas, and only 1 in 27 (3.7%) of those living in metropolitan areas.
Family assistance benefits are paid to help with the cost of raising children. They include Family Tax Benefit, which is income tested, and Parenting Payment, which is paid to primary carers of children, and is subject to more stringent income and assets tests. In June 2004, 208,404 families with dependent children in NSW received Parenting Payment. This comprised almost one-third (30.3%) of all families. The North Coast Health Area had the largest proportion of families receiving Parenting Payment (46.8%), while the Northern Sydney & Central Coast Health Area (17.6%) had the lowest. More than a third of families with dependent children in inner regional (34.3%) and outer regional and remote (36.4%) areas of NSW received this benefit, compared with just over a quarter (27.5%) of these families living in metropolitan areas.
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Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales -
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