Community radio was first introduced in the early 1970s, with Radio Adelaide as the recognised first station. It was always envisaged as a third model, a separate tier of radio service, distinct from commercial radio and public radio. Community radio has always been about community voices, often regional, grouped around varying interests and identities, on a strictly non-profit basis.

In its current form, far from helping the unemployed remove themselves from welfare, Work for the Dole and related programs actually cause participants to spend a longer time collecting benefits, owing to a combination of a reduction in the hours available to search for paying work, and what Jeff Borland of the University of Melbourne calls the ‘scarring effect’ created by the program.