Govt to crack down on welfare cheats

Thousands of welfare cheats and dole recipients are in the government's sights under various crackdowns to start on Wednesday.

About 800,000 individuals getting unemployment, disability or pension payments who have been identified for lying about their incomes will come under scrutiny of the department that manages Centrelink.

The new fraud detection powers of the Department of Human Services are expected to help recover about $1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, jobseekers who don't show up for appointments with their employment service provider will no longer get back-pay once they restart attending meetings.

There's also new criteria for people who use Centrelink payments to rent TVs, fridges and other household items, with lease contracts that run for indefinite or short-term periods abolished.

But for thousands of young NSW residents with disability, the national disability insurance scheme will come three years early.

Those under 18 years of age from the Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Penrith regions will start receiving individualised care plans from Wednesday.