Access to social welfare

Hemi

Hello. So I am moving to OZ next month. I am a citizen of the country through birth but haven't been back since I left as a baby so 25+ years. At this stage, money is extremely tight and I probably do not have enough funds to last me 2 weeks. So if worse comes to worse and I do not get a job straight away and run out of money, am I entitled to get any social welfare if need be? I am just getting a bit worried now at this stage. This was not planned as stuff fell through hence the lack of funds.
Thanks

Peregrinus

Australia doesn't have a contributions-based social welfare system; all benefits are funded out of general taxation. So the question of whether you have been working in Australia or "paying stamps", and for how long, never arises. All that matters is that you meet the qualifying conditions for the benefit you are claiming.

However the qualifying conditions usually include a residence period. Depending on which benefit you are applying for, the residence period may be 1, 2 or 4 years. Very often the waiting period that applies depends not only on the benefit you are claiming, but on your immigration status - citizenship, visa class, etc. In these cases, as an Australian citizen, if you do face a residence period it will generally be the shortest one that can apply to that benefit. Some benefits have no waiting period, but these may only be available in certain circumstances, e.g. to single parents or family carers.

Tl;dr: The benefits system is extremely complex. The way to puzzle it through is to identify the benefit(s) appropriate to your circumstances, and then check out the applicable qualifying conditions. The agency that administers the system is called Centrelink and this page lists all the benefits they administer. The principle benefit for a person with no income and looking for work is called "Newstart", so you should start there. But, depending on your circumstances (family status/responsibilities, dependents, illness, disability, etc) there may be other benefits worth exploring.

Hemi

Thank you very much for that detailed response. I am hoping I do not need it but if worse comes to worse, I will follow your response.