Peter Whiteford

Peter Whiteford is a Professor at the Crawford School at the Australian National University and the director of the Social Policy Institute. His research is focused on pension and welfare policies.

Contact Details

Website : https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/whiteford-pb


  • Opposition’s JobSeeker Plans Would at First Leave 640,000 Worse off and 168,000 Better off, 02 Aug 2023
  • Why the French Are Rebelling and Australians Aren’t, 17 Jul 2023
  • Why the French Are Rebelling and Australians Aren’t: Part 2, 17 Jul 2023
  • Why Robodebt’s Use of ‘Income Averaging’ Lacked Basic Common Sense, 24 Mar 2023
  • Perrottet’s Child Trust Fund Policy Dusts Off an Idea Last Tried by UK Labour, 17 Mar 2023
  • How Generous is the British Welfare State? Part 3: Comparing Assistance for Households, 02 Dec 2022
  • How Generous Is the British Welfare State? Part 2: The Social Division of Welfare – Taxation, the Public and Private Mix and Redistribution, 24 Nov 2022
  • How Generous Is the British Welfare State?, 15 Nov 2022
  • Do Australians Pay Too Much Income Tax? 6 Charts on How We Rank Against the Rest of the World, 13 Jul 2022
  • How Can More People Be on Unemployment Benefits Than Before COVID, With Fewer Unemployed Australians?, 27 Apr 2022
  • With Low Unemployment, Why JobSeeker Payments Need to Be Increased, 22 Apr 2022
  • There’s a New Temporary COVID Disaster Payment – Who Can Get It? Who Is Missing Out?, 04 Jun 2021
  • The $50 Boost to JobSeeker Will Take Australia’s Payment From the Lowest in the OECD to the Second-Lowest After Greece, 25 Feb 2021
  • Robodebt Was a Policy Fiasco With a Human Cost We Have Yet to Fully Appreciate, 18 Nov 2020
  • Unemployment Support Will Be Slashed by $300 This Week. This Won’t Help People Find Work, 22 Sep 2020
  • There Will Be No Pension Increase in September for the First Time in 23 Years, but There Is a Simple Fix, 21 Aug 2020
  • When the Coronavirus Supplement Stops, JobSeeker Needs to Increase by $185 a Week, 25 May 2020
  • If We Want Workers to Stay Home When Sick, We Need Paid Leave for Casuals, 15 May 2020
  • Social Security and COVID-19: Exposing the Limits of Social Protection?, 20 Apr 2020
  • Open Letter to the Prime Minister: Extend Coronavirus Support to Temporary Workers, 08 Apr 2020
  • The Government’s Fiscal Tool Kit for COVID-19, 07 Apr 2020
  • Coronavirus Supplement: Your Guide to the Australian Payments That Will Go to the Extra Million on Welfare, 29 Mar 2020
  • When It Comes to Sick Leave, We’re Not Much Better Prepared for Coronavirus Than the US, 12 Mar 2020
  • Policy Choices and Automation: How Benefits Systems Can Create Unjust Debts, 20 Feb 2020
  • Timing It Wrong, Part Two: Universal Credit Inherits Overpayments from Tax Credits, 15 Aug 2019
  • Are Most People on the Newstart Unemployment Benefit for a Short or Long Time?, 29 Jul 2019
  • Is Newstart Really the Pacesetter Scott Morrison Says It Is?, 18 Jul 2019
  • A Snapshot of Life in the Middle Class, 24 Jun 2019
  • Expecting the Unexpected, 13 Jun 2019
  • A ‘Fresh Approach to Universal Credit’ – Are There Lessons from Australia?, 29 Apr 2019
  • [Budget Forum 2019] Future Budgets Are Going to Have to Spend More on Welfare, Which Is Fine. It’s Spending on Us, 22 Mar 2019
  • Why Social Policy Counts, 07 Dec 2018
  • It’s Not Just Newstart. Single Parents Are $271 per Fortnight Worse Off. Labor Needs an Overarching Welfare Review, 05 Dec 2018
  • Relax. The Divide Between the Taxed and the ‘Taxed-Nots’ Isn’t New and Doesn’t Buy Elections, 05 Oct 2018
  • Don’t Believe What They Say About Inequality. Some of Us Are Worse Off, 10 Sep 2018
  • Good Times, Bad Times, 13 Jul 2018
  • Who Gets What? Who Pays for It? How Incomes, Taxes and Benefits Work out for Australians, 25 Jun 2018
  • Is Australia’s Tax and Welfare System Too Progressive?, 07 Jun 2018
  • The ‘Inequality Wars’: CEO Pay Is One Part of Complex Picture Post-GFC, 12 Dec 2017
  • Income Inequality Ticks Down as the Rich See Their Incomes Fall: ABS, 15 Sep 2017
  • Social Security and Welfare Spending in Australia: Assessing Long-Term Trends Part 5, 02 Aug 2017
  • Social Security and Welfare Spending in Australia: Assessing Long-Term Trends Part 4, 01 Aug 2017
  • Social Security and Welfare Spending in Australia: Assessing Long-Term Trends Part 3, 31 Jul 2017
  • Social Security and Welfare Spending in Australia: Assessing Long-Term Trends Part 2, 28 Jul 2017
  • Social Security and Welfare Spending in Australia: Assessing Long-Term Trends Part 1, 27 Jul 2017
  • Budget Forum 2017: Welfare Changes Stigmatise Recipients and Are Sitting on Shaky Ground, 22 May 2017
  • “Them” and “Us”: The Enduring Power of Welfare Myths, 17 Mar 2017
  • Timing It Wrong: Benefits, Income Tests, Overpayments and Debts, 02 Mar 2017
  • The Dynamics of “Zero Net Taxpayers”: A Lifecourse and Risk Perspective, 21 Nov 2016
  • Zero Net Taxpayers: How Does Australia Compare?, 14 Nov 2016
  • A Related Concept: Net Tax Thresholds, 07 Nov 2016
  • Should We Be Worried About “Zero Net Taxpayers”?, 04 Nov 2016
  • The Tax-Transfer System, Progressivity and Redistribution: How Progressive is the Australian Transfer System?, 10 Dec 2015