Abstract: | At any point in time, Centrelink is administering the welfare payments of over 5 million Australians. A large amount of data is created in the process. Since early 2013, researchers have been able to request access. These longitudinal data, covering all income support payment recipients back to at least mid‐1998, are a rich resource for policy‐relevant research. This article overviews the data, noting some of their advantages and limitations. It also highlights ways in which the research potential of the data could be enhanced. |