Why single mothers need to be accountants: the 'third shift' of bureaucratic labour under welfare reform

Many Australian women labour under the 'double shift' of employment in the workplace and domestic responsibilities. For single mothers, however, the phenomenon of the 'third shift' is becoming increasingly prevalent. With the advent of the 2006 welfare reforms, new workforce 'participation' and ongoing bureaucratic requirements take up an increasing amount of single mothers' time and effort. Moreover, the complex, overlapping and inconsistent requirements of Centrelink and the Child Support Agency (CSA) mean that what little money is earned by single mothers is often soon eroded. Income, the ages of children, shared care rates and child support fluctuations are all monitored and tested by the government, functioning effectively to keep many of these families' incomes on the poverty line. In this article I offer 'an introduction to accountancy' for single mothers, examining some of the accountability that is required of single mothers if they are to receive ever-diminishing income support payments. This 'third shift' is shown to add to the burden of labour borne by single mothers without necessarily providing the pathway out of poverty the reforms promise.