Artefacts about Indirect payments

Doreen Kartinyeri’s life story holds details of a number of issues that her family faced in accessing government payments, including issues with living on missions, exemptions and child removal.

As an Elder, Ruth Hegarty fought for justice on behalf of Aboriginal people in Queensland who had been denied access to government payments and fair wages. Her activism was spurred on by her own experiences.

Even when the government agreed to pay Aboriginal leprosy patients Invalid Pension, the payments were delayed by discussions about how much of the payment should go to patients and how much should be managed on their behalf.

Jack Gibbs spent years in leprosy facilities. His story reveals how receiving Invalid Pension meant he could spend time recovering instead of working.

When Aboriginal pensioners raised concerns about their treatment at Cherbourg settlement and asked for direct payments, the government denied their request and refused to provide further support.

During a government conference, ministers discussed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people's eligibility for government payments and debated the exclusion of Torres Strait Islander seasonal workers from Unemployment Benefit.

When a fiery debate broke out in the House of Representatives over the government’s handling of rolling out payments to Aboriginal people, it revealed emerging issues in South Australia.

After observing the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forced to live at Palm Island Reserve, one resident asked the federal government for help, including asking for a review into how reserve managers were using people’s government payments.