Bettina Cass (born 1940) is an Australian sociologist and social policy adviser. As of 2020 she is emeritus professor at both the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. After retirement, she continued to coordinate the Higher Research Degree programme at the Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW. Bettina Cass was born in Waverley, New South Wales, Australia, in 1940. Cass was elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia in 1989. She was appointed

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

1990 Australia Day Honours The 1990 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 1990 by the Governor General of Australia, Bill Hayden. The Australia Day ...

for "service to social security policy and women's affairs". Cass was married to Dr Cecil Cass, with whom she had four children. Her daughter,

Gina Cass-Gottlieb Gina Cass-Gottlieb is the current chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Career Cass-Gottlieb practiced law at Blake Dawson Waldron, rising to partner. She was a senior and founding partner of the Competition and Regulation ...

, was appointed chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission in March 2022.

The Cass Review

The major contribution of Cass to policy was the Social Security Review, instigated by Social Security Minister Brian Howe, which she directed from 1986 to 199. The Review was a model for many that came after it. It performed a wide ranging consultation and produced six background papers and a final report. The Review led to major changes in Australian social security programmes and operations, most of which have continued to the present. It made recommendations on family income support, sole parent family policy, unemployment policies, income support for illness and disability, and retirement incomes policy. Substantial revisions of programmes were undertaken by 1994, to which the review wholly or partially contributed. Longer term effects of the Review included * linking of unemployment benefits to work assistance measures such as training and job placement assistance * guaranteed indexation of most payments to cost of living increases, * ongoing monitoring and evaluation of programme outcomes, including a major evaluation every three to five years * removal of gender-related eligibility for various payments The main changes to individual payments were * (1989) replacement of unemployment benefits with Jobsearch for under 17s, and Newstart for those unemployed for 12 months or more. and a far greater emphasis on work search efforts and requirements

Selected publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cass, Bettina 1940 births Living people Academic staff of the University of New South Wales Academic staff of the University of Sydney Officers of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia