Daniel Blacket suffers from bipolar disorder and has struggled with drug addiction since his teenage years.
He’s now clean and sober but fears relapsing.
“I am an addict so the chances of me using again are extremely high,” he told SBS World News.
The 35-year-old Sydney resident feels, like most addicts, he’s at the behest of his addiction to cannabis and alcohol.
“Our addictions control us, basically,” he said.
But he fears he could be the first on the 'hit list' of the proposed new Budget measure to test 5000 people on welfare for drug and alcohol use.
The test would check for cannabis, methamphetamine and ecstasy and while jobseekers are assured they'll be picked randomly, they will however be selected using a data-driven profiling tool.
Those who fail the first test will be placed on the cashless welfare card and have their welfare quarantined from buying drugs or alcohol.
Those who test positive twice will be referred to a doctor for treatment of their substance abuse problems.
Daniel Blacket runs a dog-walking business. Source: SBS News
“If they are using a computerised system similar to how they’ve done the ‘RoboDebt’ - I am being very open with Centrelink and my job networks regarding my addiction issues - and so they have all this information on file,” Mr Blacket said.
“I will pop up straight away, there is no doubt about it.”
Mr Blacket fears the consequences if his payments are reduced.
"Myself, as an addict for most of my life, if I lose that payment, well... I don't want to have to say what I'll do," he said.
“I really do fear for not just mine, but all the other people out there who may not be working for themselves and may not have control of their addictions, like we never have control of our addictions.
“It’s a kick in the guts to people who are really struggling.”
Defending the proposal the day after the Budget was handed down, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government was doing drug addicts a favour.
“The lesson is 'don’t do drugs',” he said.
“The bottom line is if you’re on welfare, what you’ve got to do is get off welfare and into a job.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure we can achieve that. This is doing those people a big favour.”
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Experts believe the plan could have unintended consequences by increasing crime rates.
University of Melbourne Associate Professor John Fitzgerald, a specialist on alcohol and drug policy, says it will open the window to other types of crime.
“This may well increase the participation rate, not into legal work, but into a different kind of illegal activity,” he said.
“Whether or not people present positive tests, it is possible that the prog ram will impact on a proportion of welfare recipients who engage in the informal drug economy.”
Professor Fitzgerald said evidence from the US suggests such programs are costly and have a low rate of positive test results.
“This will put more pressure on police, the courts and the correctional system," he said. "In those states and territories currently struggling to provide adequate drug treatment systems under the current conditions this is simply not well thought through policy."
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Drug testing for dole recipients was first floated under the Abbott government but later dumped when former prime minister Tony Abbott ruled it out in 2014.
The idea is a model replicated from New Zealand in which welfare recipients need to pass a drug test imposed by an employer or training provider.
Labor has reserved final judgement on the proposal but said it wouldn’t trust the coalition when it came to welfare.
“Yes to mutual obligation, but just to be demonising one group of the population, let's just wait and see,” Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said.
“It would be funny if they ever introduced drug and alcohol testing for Cabinet ministers, wouldn't it?”
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