Evaluation of New Income Management in the Northern Territory

Income management in the Northern Territory has been evaluated by the Australian Government in partnership with the Northern Territory Department of Children and Families.

The research was conducted between 2010-2014 by a consortium led by the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, including researchers from the Australian National University and the Australian Institute of Family Studies, in consultation with key stakeholders.

An interim report was released in November 2012, with the final report released in December 2014.

This research produced mixed findings, and the report has fewer positive findings than previous reports.

Significant improvements at the community level were not evident, despite improvements being reported at the individual level, such as:

• positive impacts for people on particular forms of compulsory income management, including Child Protection Income Management and social worker assessed Vulnerable Income Management
• positive reports from people on Voluntary Income Management
• a number of people reported that income management makes their lives easier, makes it easier to manage money, makes them feel safer, and has improved the lives of both them and their children
• many people reported a reduction in humbugging
• some people reported an improvement in their health and well-being through having less cash available for alcohol or drugs.

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