What's the trial all about?
* 5000 unemployed people on welfare will be tested for drugs including ice, ecstasy, marijuana and opioids.
* It will run two years from January in three locations including Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney's southwest.
* Those testing positive will have 80 per cent of payments quarantined on a cashless welfare card for two years.
* Those who fail more than once will be referred to medical professionals for treatment.
* Depending on the type of test, it will either take place at a Centrelink centre or a nearby facility.
* Tests will be done in private by a "suitably qualified representative" from a contracted drug testing provider.
* Results won't be shared with police.
* It is unclear whether a record of drug use will remain on a person's Centrelink file forever.
Why Canterbury-Bankstown?
* There are roughly 12,000 people on Newstart and Youth Allowance in an area of about 346,000 people.
* About 5600 people in the area sign up for welfare each year.
* Ice-fuelled hospitalisations in the area have increased more than 2000 per cent in the past seven years.
* The number of Canterbury-Bankstown job seekers granted exemptions due to drug dependency rose 162.5 per cent in the 18 months to December 2016.
* Drug offences in Bankstown increased 5.1 per cent in the past two years - double the NSW rate - while amphetamine-related offences in the area have increased at three times the statewide rate.
Where to from here?
* Legislation to allow the trials is before parliament.
* Labor and the Greens oppose the trials, so the government will need the support of the Senate crossbench.
* Nick Xenophon has indicated his team of three are open to supporting the trial.
* Medical groups and welfare advocates are urging MPs to block the trial, warning it's discriminatory and won't achieve the intended outcomes.
Share
