The hidden hurdles of employment for Centrelink recipients – and the unfair comments many Aussies make
Aussies have been warned it is unfair to tell Centrelink recipients to ‘get a job’ – as the debate over welfare benefits reignites as payments rise again.
From this week, five million Aussies will receive a cash boost of up to $20 every fortnight on their Centrelink payments.
Centrelink’s payments will be indexed for inflation every six months, with the 1.8 per cent increases coming into effect on Wednesday and reflecting the combined Consumer Price Index increases in the September and December quarters.
Many of those receiving Centrelink have heard the words ‘dole bludger’ or ‘get a job’ – but experts say these comments unfairly characterize Centrelink recipients.
Australian National University Senior Lecturer in Public Policy Elise Klein recently set out the top four reasons why securing a job is not as easy as it seems to many at Centrelink.
She said many recipients are hampered by other volunteer commitments, have health issues, face financial challenges or are affected by the area where they live.
Finding a job with Centrelink payments isn’t as easy as it seems, according to experts (stock image)
“Many people on social security do enormous amounts of unpaid work, especially unpaid work in healthcare,” Dr. Klein said. ABC news late last year.
‘Another important part of this is that many people on JobSeeker have a disability or illness, so there is a tightening of disability pension schemes.’
The tightening of disability pension criteria 12 years ago has meant that those on Centrelink benefits battling cancer and those with disabilities deemed unable to work part-time have been forced to receive lower Jobseeker’s Allowance, she explained out.
Dr. Klein called for the system to be reclassified.
“If you’re fighting cancer or know you have a disability, you’re not looking for work,” she added.
‘You can’t look for work, you’re trying to stay alive.
‘The whole rationale behind JobSeeker is a complete mismatch with where people are.’
Location is also a big factor, especially in remote areas where there aren’t enough jobs.
The policy also creates a barrier for job seekers and youth allowance recipients, who have mutual obligations to actively look for work, attend job interviews, appointments and training.
Dr. Klein believes that the mutual obligations should be eliminated or revised.
“The payments are so low that people are falling below the poverty line and that’s a big barrier to people getting out and looking for work,” she said.
“There is a huge amount of specifically Australian research showing that mutual obligations work against people.”
‘People who are actually subject to reciprocal obligations don’t want them and say they are really damaging and affect their self-confidence and ability to go out and look for work.’
‘They consume people’s valuable time and are at odds with reality.
Dr. Elise Klein, senior lecturer in public policy at Australian National University, recently revealed that Centrelink recipients on JobSeeker have unpaid commitments, health problems, financial difficulties or are affected by the area where they live
The Australian Council of Social Service has made calls for the federal government to increase income support payments following routine indexation that came into effect on Wednesday.
Jobseekers Allowance, Youth Allowance and related payments should be increased to the new pension rate of $80 per day to ensure recipients can meet basic needs, according to chief executive Cassandra Goldie.
“The changes will still leave more than a million people dependent on JobSeeker and its associated payments struggling to survive, with JobSeeker rising by just 96p a day to $55 a day,” Ms Goldie said this week .
“It is completely inadequate for people who are barely surviving, forced to ration food and medicine or suffering from the sweltering heat because they cannot afford to cool their homes,” she explained.
‘With unemployment expected to rise this year, lifting income support is not only the right thing to do; it provides an essential buffer against falling living standards and increasing job losses.’
Aussies on JobSeeker receive $344.80 less per fortnight than those on age and disability pensions (stock image)
Five million Aussies will receive a fortnightly cash bonus due to indexation from this week