Profit from punishment: Inside the welfare compliance scandal (ONLINE)

Rick Morton will join a panel of welfare recipients and advocates to share insights on the biggest welfare scandal no one's talking about.

This event is free for all to attend and will include live Auslan translation and captioning. Things kick off at 7:00pm AEST / 6:30pm ACST / 5:00pm AWST on Wednesday 17 June.

One sacked Secretary. Two damning Ombudsman reports. 2.7 million penalties each year. 300,000 unlawful payment cancellations and counting. At this event we'll share insights and talk about what you can do to help stop the biggest government scandal nobody’s talking about.

We will be screening No Room to Breathe, a short film about compulsory Centrelink activities featuring Cheyanne and Jesse, two welfare recipients revealing the human impact of the welfare compliance regime that continues to unfairly punish people in poverty, turning our hardship into welfare cop profits.

Cheyanne and Jesse will speak about their experiences navigating the brutal system of compulsory obligations, and share details of the unlawful conduct we've uncovered as part of our work on the Commonwealth Ombudsman's investigation into the administration of welfare compliance.

Welfare activists and advocates will share information about how to assert your rights under the current rules. Hear from people who know this system from the inside, share your stories, and learn more about the campaign to tear down the system of compulsory activities for good. 

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This event is organised by and for people with direct experience of poverty and the welfare system. We encourage unionists, community sector workers and anyone with an interest in economic justice to join us. This event is free for all to attend. If you can comfortably afford to do so, we would welcome a solidarity donation (available on ticket page) to help cover the cost of this and future events.

nb: Humanitix will request your full name, however we do not need this information. Enter whatever you are comfortable with when asked for your name.

AGENDA

• 7:00: Acknowledgement of Country and introduction 

• 7:10 Opening remarks from Rick Morton

• 7:20 Screening of No Room to Breathe

• 7:30 Panel discussion and information about the current legal crisis affecting Centrelink penalties

• 7:45 How we advocate for ourselves, our communities and fight to end compulsory activity requirements

• 7:55 Questions for the panel from attendees 

• 8:10 Wrap up

INCLUSION

• Live captioning and Auslan translation will be available.

• We can arrange other language interpretation or other supports on request. Email jeremy@antipovertycentre.org with the subject line: Accessibility booking for online event.

• We do not tolerate racism, transphobia or any other form of discrimination.