In May 2021, the Australian Labor Party made an election commitment to abolish the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) program if it were elected to govern. The CDC program facilitated a portion of a participant’s income support payment being allocated to a restricted bank account, accessed by a debit card which did not allow cash withdrawals, or the purchase of alcohol, gambling or cash-like products.

CDC participants from the Northern Territory, Cape York and Doomadgee regions were required by legislation to transfer to the Enhanced Income Management (EIM) program. Participants from Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, the Goldfields, Ceduna and East Kimberley regions were exited from the CDC program and could voluntarily become a participant of the EIM program.

The ANAO has conducted two previous performance audits of the CDC program. The implementation and performance of the Cashless Debit Card trial examined the department’s implementation and evaluation of the CDC trial. The Implementation and performance of the Cashless Debit Card trail — follow-on examined the effectiveness of the department’s administration of the CDC program.

The objective of this audit was to assess the effectiveness of the transitional arrangements from the CDC program to the Enhanced Income Management program.

Key findings:

• The transitional arrangements from the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) program to the Enhanced Income Management program were largely effective. Robust program monitoring and performance measurement to inform future policy design has not been implemented and no evaluation plan has been developed for the Enhanced Income Management program.
• The Department established an internal branch to deliver the transition activities and coordinate activities across the Australian Government and utilised the existing joint steering committee with Services Australia, established under the bilateral arrangements, to oversee the transition. The governance arrangements would have been enhanced with appropriate record keeping practices and defined reporting responsibilities.
• The Department's design of the Enhanced Income Management program was largely based on appropriate advice and evidence. There was no evidence the design was informed by ANAO performance audit reports on the CDC program, or evaluations and lessons learned from the CDC program.
• Services Australia’s limited tender procurement for the Enhanced Income Management program was largely compliant with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules (CPRs). Probity and conflicts of interest were managed largely in accordance with the CPRs and policy requirements.