There has been limited research on the process behind Australia’s social mobility – the extent of disadvantage that carries over from parents to children. Evidence is needed to understand how Australian policies, such as the provision of welfare payments, are performing to address intergenerational disadvantage.

Addressing these research gaps, this snapshot uses data from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) to answer two research questions:

1. What was the prevalence of welfare receipt among the primary parents of LSAC adolescents as they were growing up?
2. Are adolescents (aged 18–19 years) at higher risk of not being in education, employment or training (NEET) if their primary parent had received welfare payments? If so, does this vary by receipt duration?

Key findings:

1. Around 3 in 10 primary parents received Parenting Payments or Newstart Allowance (JobSeeker) at some point between July 2002 and June 2017. Around 50% of recipients had extended receipt of welfare totalling over 3.5 years across this period. 
2. Parents' extended receipt of welfare was associated with adolescents having 80% higher odds (a greater likelihood) of not being in employment or in education/training (NEET) at age 18-19.