Abstract The administrative burden literature has demonstrated a variety of ways in which administrative burdens can act as barriers to citizens accessing services to which they are entitled. This paper connects these insights to ideas from the Capabilities Approach to Human Development to articulate the ways that administrative burdens can be understood as constraints on freedom. Drawing from examples in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme application process, we discuss potential barriers to accessing social support services in the conditional welfare state. This analysis demonstrates the subtle mechanisms through which citizens can be excluded from accessing services to which they are entitled and the disconnection between being entitled to a service in principle and being free to access that service in practice. The paper demonstrates that by paying more attention to the filtering mechanisms in social policies, administrative burden can offer insight into what constrains freedom in the modern welfare state. Points for practitioners For many policy areas within the welfare state, there are a variety of challenges that can prevent citizens from obtaining access to rights which they are entitled to receive, with administrative burdens being a common type of barrier to completing administrative processes that relate to accessing rights. Administrative burdens can act as constraints on freedom for people by preventing them from completing administrative processes which are necessary to complete in order to access supports to which they are entitled, and which would otherwise expand their freedom by increasing the range of meaningful choices which they would hold. Practitioners should think about structural components of the wider system they engage with when working on or changing an application process (like the health system), since those components of the system may become overloaded when they become a requirement for a widely applied for service, and this can make those requirements harder for applicants to comply with.

Jeremiah Thomas Brown

Eleanor Malbon

Australian Journal of Public Administration

Aimed at a diverse readership, the Australian Journal of Public Administration is committed to the study and practice of public administration, public management and policy making. It encourages research, reflection and commentary amongst those interested in a range of public sector settings - federal, state, local and inter-governmental. The journal focuses on Australian concerns, but welcomes manuscripts relating to international developments of relevance to Australian experience.

The Australian Journal of Public Administration aims to serve a diverse readership and is committed to the study and practice of public administration, public management, and policy making. The journal encourages research, reflection, and commentary among those interested in a variety of public sector settings—federal, state, local, and inter-governmental. While the journal focuses on Australian issues, it also welcomes manuscripts related to international developments that are relevant to the Australian experience.

《Australian Journal of Public Administration》旨在服务于多元化的读者群，致力于公共行政、公共管理和政策制定的研究与实践。该期刊鼓励在联邦、州、地方及跨政府等多种公共部门环境中，对相关主题进行研究、反思和评论。期刊主要关注澳大利亚的相关问题，但也欢迎与澳大利亚经验相关的国际发展手稿。

Category	Quartile
管理学	4
管理学, 公共管理	4

Administrative burden as a constraint on freedom in the modern welfare state

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION	2