Welfare Recipient Patterns Among Migrants

Types of welfare benefits received by migrants

Table 6 shows the major pension or benefit rates for Australia-born men and women and for overseas-born men and women aged 40+ by EP category. It helps explain why women tend to have higher welfare-recipient rates than men.

The table shows that Wife, Carer and Widow's Pension, as well as the Disability Pension and unemployment benefit, are all important sources of welfare assistance for women. Women are likely to need such assistance because many lack work experience and because their family role often requires them to act as carers or housewives.

The pattern is different for men. For men in their 40s, the Disability Pension and unemployment benefit are the two main forms of assistance, with the unemployment benefit being the most important. For men aged 50+ the Disability Pension dominates for all EP groups and the Australia-born.

For recent arrivals (not shown separately in Table 6) unemployment benefits are by far the most significant form of assistance. The main reason is that the Disability Pension is not available to migrants during their first 10 years of residence in Australia if the cause of the disability relates to events prior to migration.

Table 6 - Welfare recipient rates by major pension or benefit type, by English Proficiency Groups, females and males, five year age groups, 40-64