More than $200m has been pledged to abolish the cashless debit card, but details of how funds will be spent still unknown

Opponents of the cashless debit card are calling on the government to outline what services will be made available to support the thousands of people transitioning off the CDC.  

The federal government said more than 17,000 people would transition off the card after legislation to abolish the welfare program passed both houses of Parliament in September.

At the time, the Albanese government said it would provide $8.7 million to extend support services to people in the trial sites of Ceduna, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, East Kimberley and the Goldfields.

The federal budget also allocated $217 million to help abolish the card, support people voluntarily transitioning to the government’s BasicsCard program, and expand participant support services.

Asked what services would be provided or expanded across the trial regions this week, and when they would be made available, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth did not provide any update.

Support needed now 

Kathryn Wilks is the spokesperson for No Cashless Debit Card Australia and has been advocating to end the program since its inception.

She said with thousands of people already transitioning off the card, support services were a priority.

“Some people have never had financial autonomy because of the longevity of the BasicsCard, so for those people, if they want to come off it, they’re going to need some financial counselling and support,” she said.

Ms Wilks said while many people would be able to manage their own finances some would struggle.

“I’ve already run across a cashless debit card holder, who through domestic violence had never had control of her income, and then to get off the cashless debit card, she was overwhelmed for the first time in her life,” she said.

“For people in that situation, there must be services on the ground to support those people.”

Financial help only part of the picture 

Edith Cowan University Associate Professor of Social Work Janine Joyce said providing a holistic suite of support services from literacy programs to counselling was important.

“They’re going to need to really have to have an understanding of financial literacy and they are going to need a lot of support, and that’s going to include budgeting,” she said.

“It’s also that kind of overwhelming stress, so psychological counselling, mental health support, and wraparound services are really, really important.”

Dr Joyce said programs to address the social issues the CDC was originally intended to fix would also need to be considered.

“One of the reasons that we had this card in the first place was really to have a positive impact on alcohol and drug misuse,” she said.

“We’re going to need to have more wraparound services in terms of alcohol and drug programs. That’s kind of an aside, but it’s part of the bigger picture.”