The concept of a 'Healthy Welfare Card', now renamed as the Cashless Debit Card (CDC), was a recommendation of the Forrest Review into Employment and Training. It was seen as a development from income management which has been occurring in parts of Australia since the Northern Territory Emergency Response, when it was first introduced for Aboriginal communities there. The CDC appears to operate a little differently from the Basics Card used in the Northern Territory income management program.

The CDC is a debit card which can be used for any purchases excluding certain forms of gambling, drugs and alcohol. Unlike the Basics Card, which prohibits purchase of a similar range of goods and services but can only be used in registered stores, the CDC is meant to be acceptable to any retailer for all purchases other than the prohibited categories.

Trials of the CDC began in Ceduna region (South Australia) on 15 March 2016, and in the East Kimberley region (Western Australia) on 26 April 2016. All working age income support payment recipients receive 80% of their payments through the card. In March 2017 the Department of Social Services released a ‘Wave 1’ evaluation undertaken by Orima Research of the CDC trials in Ceduna and Kununurra (see related information below). This paper reviews this evaluation report.