A new picture has emerged of the country's level of welfare dependence, with half Australian families believed to be receiving more in handouts than they pay in income tax.
Modelling for The Daily Telegraph by the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the University of Canberra shows 48 per cent of Australia's 12.2 million "income units" pay no net tax.
It shows any tax that is paid, is offset by family tax benefits, the pension, or childcare rebates.
The results show as many as 85 per cent of single-parent families pay no tax, once welfare benefits are deducted, while 55 per cent of single-person households pay no tax.
Half of childless couples pay no tax and a quarter of families with children also pay no tax, the newspaper reports.
