A single mother-of-five claims she has no incentive to look for full-time work because she earns more in welfare payments than she would in a minimum wage job.

Alex Girle, 38, receives about $50,000 a year, tax free.

She lives with four of her five children in a Melbourne public housing unit, which she pays $174 a week in rent for.

"I earn almost $1000 a week on welfare, why would I work for anything less?" Ms Girle asked.

Alexe Girl, 38, believes she has no incentive to enter full-time employment since she earns more in welfare payments than she would on minimum wage (Source: A Current Affair)

"It doesn't make sense to go out and get a job," she said.

Alex receives Family Tax Benefit Part A and B, which amounts to $1007 a fortnight.

Because she doesn't work, she also receives the Single Parenting Payment of $743 a fortnight.

As the mother of a special needs child - her 15-year-old has Cerebral Palsy - she also receives a Carers Payment of $121 dollars a fortnight.

This amounts to a total $1,871.

But Ms Girle says that sometimes, it still isn't enough.

"It's very hard - sometimes there are nights I'll go without so there's enough for the kids," she said.

Ms Girle claims she wants to enter the workforce, but doesn't feel she's qualified to be doing something that would net her as much in salary as she makes in Centrelink payments.

Ms Girle, pictured with four of her five children, receives a Carer Allowance, as her 15-year-old suffers from Cerebral Palsy (Source: A Current Affair)

"I want my kids to know the value of a dollar and what hard work is," Ms Girle said.

"I don't want them to think they can do like the rest of them around here and get paid for sitting on their backsides."

Despite talking tough on welfare, it appears as if the Government is doing little to crack down on those claiming it.

"We don't want to give children and people growing up and families the expectation that welfare is a career choice, because it shouldn't be," Scott Morrison, the Minister for Social Services, said.

Commentator Chris Smith agrees with Morrison, especially that the government is not doing enough to crack down.

"Taxpayers need to understand this is all their money," Smith said.

"It's great to be generous in terms of welfare, that's what it’s there for. But has it become far too generous for its own good and the good of the country?"

However, Smith does believe that Ms Girle is a legitimate recipient of welfare.

"In many ways, Alex is receiving a benefit that she probably really deserves - given the fact she's got a disabled child and she's done it tough," Smith said.

"She's been homeless and all that sort of stuff, so the system is there to cushion her through this - but she shouldn't think that should be her future, nor the future of her children."

Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service, believes social security safety nets are "important for the decency of this country".

"I think anybody would want to know that if it happened to you, or if it happened to a friend of yours, that you would be okay - that if we'd have enough to put food on the table and keep a roof over your heard and right now, we're not actually making sure that that is available for everybody who needs it," Dr Goldie said.

But for Ms Girle, she does believe being a welfare recipient isn't all she will be doing in life.