Kevin Andrews says he supports greater levels of income management for welfare recipients, despite a government report released on Thursday showing little evidence of its effectiveness.

The social services minister wrote in an opinion piece for the Australian that the federal government was “committed to using income management to help stabilise the lives of some of the most vulnerable Australians”.

But the report, Evaluating New Income Management in the Northern Territory, found that rather than “promoting independence and the building of skills and capabilities”, income management appeared to have led to increased dependence on welfare and simply removed the burden of personal management. It found numerous other significant problems.

Income management was first introduced as part of the Northern Territory intervention in 2007 and is due to end in July. It was designed to “quarantine” payment and limit the amount of income support that could be spent on alcohol, gambling and pornography, primarily through the BasicsCard. The card, which holds 50% of a welfare payment, can be used only at approved outlets and differs from programs in other parts of the country in that it is mostly compulsory and on a large scale.

The report – released on Thursday by the Department of Social Services but commissioned by the former Labor government – found that in some specific, individually tailored circumstances income management could prove a successful policy, but there was no evidence of an effect on the community or of long-term behavioural change.

In his opinion piece Andrews pointed to some of the improved outcomes shown in the report, particularly for those who volunteered for income management.

He said the other findings were disappointing and at odds with income management programs in other parts of Australia. He suggested this was because in the Northern Territory program only 50% of income was quarantined, compared with 90% in Cape York.

“For people on welfare payments, food and rent take up much of the 50% in quarantined funds – which leaves plenty of money to spend on booze, cigarettes, gambling and pornography,” he said.

“While the government is considering the next steps for income management, it has become quite clear that income management at 50% is too low to achieve the positive social outcomes that income management can bring.”

About 35,000 people have been on the BasicsCard in the Northern Territory since its introduction, more than 90% of them Indigenous. More than 76% had their welfare payments compulsorily quarantined. The report estimated that more than one in three Northern Territory Indigenous people were subjected to income management at some time.

Minimum spends, surcharges, limited outlets and reports of price gouging were “significant” reported problems. Some people wanted to stay on it, others to end it. About two-fifths felt it had made things better for them.

“The evaluation found that, rather than building capacity and independence, for many the program has acted to make people more dependent on welfare,” the report said.

Also among its key findings:

No evidence of significant changes in key objectives, including to people’s behaviour

“A slight possible improvement” in incidences of people running out of money but only for those on voluntary income management.

No evidence of overall improvement in financial wellbeing, including reductions in financial harassment or improved financial management skills.

No evidence of improvement in general measures of wellbeing, including for children.

“A substantial group of people subject to income management felt that income management is unfair, embarrassing and discriminatory,” the report said.

One of the report’s authors, Matthew Gray, told the ABC there were a “variety of reasons” the BasicsCard didn’t work, “but the evidence isn’t really that it’s a question of whether its 50 or 60 or 70%”.

“There are a range of reasons it didn’t work, didn’t achieve its outcomes in the NT and my reading of the evidence is that that’s not the real issue.”

A replacement cashless welfare card, recommended by the mining magnate Andrew Forrest, has been widely criticised by community services and Indigenous groups.