‘Future Focus’ welfare reforms

The fifth National Government-led coalition embarked on an ambitious programme of welfare reform – the largest such programme since major cuts to welfare benefit rates in the early 1990s. The first phase was the Future Focus initiative. From late September 2010, unemployment beneficiaries were required to reapply for their benefit, as well as complete a new work assessment interview, after every 52 weeks continuously on benefit. Forty-three thousand sole parent beneficiaries with a youngest child aged six or older were newly subject to a part-time work test.^[i]