The Government considered immediately lifting benefits by $50, a benefit boost would have more than doubled the number of children pulled out of impoverished households.
This would have also doubled the immediate cost of the benefit increase, pushing it above $1 billion.
Ultimately the Government opted to spread the benefit increase over two Budgets, lifting core benefits by $20 from July 1 this year and topping them up next year to lift all benefits by $32 to $55 overall. Read more