Andrew Podger

Andrew Podger is honorary Professor of Public Policy at The Australian National University, and former Australian Public Service Commissioner and Secretary of the Departments of Health and Aged Care, Housing and Regional Development, and Administrative Services. He was national president of the Institute of Public Administration Australia from 2004 to 2010, and a member of the foundation board of the Australian and New Zealand School of Government. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2004, and has written extensively on social policy including health financing, retirement incomes and tax and social security, and on public administration.

Andrew's recent articles

Andrew Podger. Australia's 'welfare system': Family assistance and tax elements.

Policy Series While it is important to consider our tax and transfer arrangements as a single integrated system, there are various (overlapping) parts to it: retirement incomes (including superannuation tax arrangements and the age pension), the core welfare system (pensions and benefits for people not able or not expected to work, including the aged, disabled and sole parents with young children, as well as the aged) and family assistance (family payments, childcare subsidies and related personal income tax arrangements). This article examines family assistance and the personal income tax system; an earlier article addressed retirement incomes and a separate article...

Andrew Podger and Peter Whiteford. Inequality and Australia's Welfare System

Policy Series Inequality is a complex issue. It is affected by many factors, so that it can increase as a result of beneficial changes as well as socially undesirable ones, and can decrease because of changes that reduce overall social wellbeing as well as a result of socially desirable changes. A particular level of inequality may not therefore be suitable as a policy target per se as distinct from such specific objectives as alleviating poverty, increasing employment, achieving a fair taxation system or improving levels of participation and engagement in society. In our submission to last years Senate Inquiry...

Andrew Podger. A fair, effective and sustainable retirement incomes system.

Fairness, Opportunity and Security Policy series edited by Michael Keating and John Menadue. In his introduction to this series, Ken Henry said he could not recall a poorer quality debate, on almost any issue, than what we have had in Australia in recent times. Ian Marsh, in his contribution, advocated pursuing bi(multi)partisanship opportunities as far as possible. Sadly, Henrys comment seems most apt when it comes to retirement incomes policy, and Marshs call seems a long way off after the Prime Minister and Treasurer ruled out a comprehensive review of the policy after the recent Budget. This is despite...

Andrew Podger. Integrating aged pensions and superannuation.

Just as the Abbott government sorely needs a coherent health policy, welfare policy and family assistance policy, it should also put time and effort in 2015 into investing in a coherent approach to retirement incomes instead of focusing narrowly on the age pension. The budget measures are being stymied by the Senate, not because of poor communications, but because they simply do not stack up as fair and reasonable. David Murrays FSI offers a more considered approach though it too only covers part of the retirement incomes system. Perhaps its most important contribution is Murrays simple admonition to...

Andrew Podger - Health reform, co-payments, fee for service and doctor contracts.

The recent suggestion of a modest user charge on patients of bulk-billing doctors, and the immediate reaction in the media, suggests the need for a more careful study of the appropriate role of co-payments in our health insurance system, and of other measures to contain costs while delivering an effective insurance product. Ensuring everyone has affordable access to effective health services, while keeping total costs manageable, is the central challenge for any health insurance system. The very existence of an insurer raises the risk of moral hazard whereby consumers and service providers take advantage of the third party payer....

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