The hidden employment hurdles for Centrelink recipients – and the unfair comments many Australians make
Aussies have been warned it is unfair to tell Centrelink recipients to ‘get a job’ – as the debate over welfare benefits reignites and benefits rise again.
From this week, five million Aussies will receive a cash boost of up to $20 every fortnight on Centrelink payments.
Centrelink’s payments are indexed for inflation every six months, with the 1.8 per cent increases that came into effect on Wednesday reflecting the combined Consumer Price Index increases in the September and December quarters.
Amid the rise in payments, many of those receiving Centrelink have heard the words ‘dole bludger’ or ‘get a job’ – but experts say these comments unfairly characterize those receiving benefits.
Elise Klein, senior lecturer in public policy at the Australian National University, 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 who are on social security do enormous amounts of unpaid work, especially unpaid work in healthcare,” Dr. Klein told 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 eligibility for a disability pension.’
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 be looking for work; You’re trying to stay alive.
‘The whole rationale behind JobSeeker is a complete mismatch with where people are.’
Location is also another 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, make appointments and receive training, she says.
Dr. Klein believes that the mutual obligations should be eliminated or revised.
“The payments are so low that it puts people below the poverty line, and that’s a big barrier for people to get out and look for work,” she said.
‘There is a huge amount of Australian-specific research showing that mutual obligations work against people.
‘People who are actually subject to mutual 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 increases.
According to CEO Cassandra Goldie, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Youth Allowance and related payments should be increased to the new pension rate of $80 per day so that recipients can afford basic necessities.
“The changes will still leave more than a million people dependent on JobSeeker and 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.
‘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