As wages form a work programme
In Cash
In cash and food stamps
In food stamps
A smart card
Board and lodging only (room with food)
I would assume they limit they scanners for those cards to only be used at regular checkout counters to the major supermarket chains (IGA, Woolworth, Coles) where you cannot buy alcohol or cigarettes as they have their own separate counters.
The obvious way this would be abused would be to exchange 'allowed goods' for cash. The scheme being open to abuse shouldn't be reason enough to stop it though?
Indeed, and the allowed goods would be traded in for smokes and booze at a major discount, so the recipients will end up being the abused rather than the abusers.
I can see it already, in a dark alley, where a couple of cigarettes are being swapped for a box of rice crispies.
I'm sure you could use them to buy allowed goods, then bring back the receipt and ask for an exchange. Supermarkets would duly oblige.
Much more fun to think of methods to exploit the system than to give feedback!
Basically, this scheme would have the unfortunate by product of creating a black market for booze and gambling, and anyone who's watched a Mafia movie or two will know what that means!
Last edited by justjoe86; 16-10-2012 at 01:01 PM.