Disadvantaged Western Australians will benefit from State Government concessions worth an estimated $170 million in the current financial year.
Family and Community Development Minister Eric Ripper said today this had increased from about $47.5 million in 1982-83.
Mr Ripper today announced the release of the latest 'Government of Western Australia - Concessions Guide' - a booklet which outlined the range of concessions currently provided and the eligibility criteria of each scheme.
The guide was widely used by professional practitioners and individual Western Australians and would be distributed through the Department for Community Development, Homeswest, the Department for Social Security, Office of Seniors, doctors' surgeries and offices of State MPs.
Concessions, which were foregone Government revenue, provided reductions up to 50 per cent on basic essential services such as electricity, water, local government rates, transport and education.
Other concessions, such as the Home Dialysis Program, the Multiple Birth Supplement and the Patients' Assisted Travel Scheme, were provided to help people with special needs.
In the last financial year, about 166,000 Western Australian holders of the Federal Government's Pensioner Health Benefit Card, were eligible for concessions. Others, such as Seniors' Card holders and people on low incomes, also qualified in some cases.
The Minister said a total of 40 different types of concessions were currently available. These included reductions on the cost of drivers' licences and vehicle registration and the dental and spectacle subsidy schemes.
A range of Homeswest programs also assisted families on low and moderate incomes to access affordable housing.
"The Government is determined to help people on low incomes to make ends meet and can be justifiably proud of its record in this area," Mr Ripper said.
"Since 1983, the Government has more than trebled the value and range of concessions which are available to needy people."
In addition to the concessions, more than $5 million was paid in emergency financial assistance, in the form of vouchers, cash payments or goods and services, to Western Australians in crisis in the last financial year, making this State one of the most generous in the country in this area.
"These programs all demonstrate the Government's commitment to social justice and to providing practical help to the needy and disadvantaged," Mr Ripper said.
"This practical help for people on low incomes complements the Government's drive for economic growth and job creation."
The Minister said a total of 24 financial counselling and debt negotiation services received more than $670,000 in the last financial year through the Department for Community Development's Poverty Program.
The State Government's $179 million Social Advantage package allocated an extra $1 million, over the next four years, for expanded budget and debt counselling services across the State.
Mr Ripper said these services helped people with budgeting advice, re-negotiated debts, or provided advocates to negotiate with creditors about debt repayment.
