'A local response to Welfare to Work': a methodology of story collection

The Federal Government introduced the Welfare to Work legislation in 2005. The legislation was intended to shift people from welfare to (paid) work, largely through punitive measures such as reduced payments and harsh penalties. Community agencies in inner south east Melbourne were interested in monitoring any harms caused by Welfare to Work and developing policy responses. ‘A local response to Welfare to Work’ (the ALR-W2W project) did this through a ‘story collection’ method, which has enabled us to raise awareness of the issue and have input into policy processes. There were challenges in collecting stories from people affected who might be in crisis, suspicious of anything that looked like a bureaucratic or invasive response, or facing other barriers such as limited literacy, language barriers or mental health issues. This article discusses the methodological issues involved in collecting stories of people affected by Welfare to Work