The cashless welfare card has been called “humiliating” as the government pushes for a national rollout of the debit card.

The card is given to recipients of Newstart and Youth Allowance, restricting 80 per cent of their payments to a special fund that cannot be used to withdraw cash, buy alcohol or gamble.

Australian Council of Social Service Director of Policy Jacqueline Phillips tells John Stanley the card is “humiliating”.

“We’ve now had versions of this policy in place for more than a decade… the case remains really weak for the imposition of these kinds of controls.

“It evokes a sense of shame in people that they cant be trusted to manage their money even if they’ve got no history of having any problems.”

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