Aussies have been warned that saying ‘get a job’ to Centrelink recipients is unfair – as the debate over welfare payments reignites as payments rise again.
From this week, five million Aussies will receive a cash boost of up to $20 per fortnight on their Centrelink payments.
Centrelink payments are indexed every six months for inflation, with the 1.8 per cent increases coming into effect on Wednesday reflecting the combined consumer price index rises 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 characterise Centrelink recipients.
Australian National University senior lecturer in public policy Elise Klein recently broke down the four main reasons why securing a job isn’t as simple as it may appear for many on Centrelink.
She said many recipients are hampered by other volunteer commitments, have health issues, face finance hardship or are impacted by the area where they live.
Finding a job while on Centrelink payments isn’t as straightforward as it looks, according to experts (stock image)
‘A lot of folks that are on social security are doing huge amounts of unpaid work, particularly unpaid care work,’ Dr Klein told ABC News late last year.
‘Another big piece to this is that lot of folk on JobSeeker have disabilities or illnesses, so there’s been a tightening of the disability support pension eligibility.’
The tightening of the disability pension criteria 12 years ago has meant that those on Centrelink benefits battling cancer and those with a disability deemed as having a partial ability to work have been forced onto the lower paying JobSeeker benefit, she explained.
Dr Klein called for the system to be reclassified.
‘When you’re battling cancer or know you have 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 to where people are at.’
Location is also a big factor, particularly in remote regions where there aren’t enough jobs.
Policy is also a barrier for JobSeeker and Youth Allowance recipients who have mutual obligations to go out actively look for work, attend interviews, appointments and training.
Dr Klein believes the mutual obligations need to be either scrapped or overhauled.
‘The payments are so low that people are finding themselves below the poverty line and that’s a major barrier for people being able to go out and look for work,’ she said.
‘There’s a huge body of Australian specific research that shows that mutual obligations works against people.’
‘Folks that are actually subject to mutual obligations don’t want them and say that they’re really harmful and impact their confidence and ability to go out and look for work.’
‘They take up people’s precious time and they’re completely at odds with the reality.
Australian National University senior lecturer in public policy Dr Elise Klein recently revealed that Centrelink recipients on JobSeeker have unpaid commitments, have health issues, face finance hardship or are impacted by the area where they live
The Australian Council of Social Service has led calls for the federal government to boost income support payments following the routine indexation which came into effect on Wednesday.
The JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, and related payments should be lifted to the new pension rate of $80 a day so that recipients can cover the basics, according to chief executive Cassandra Goldie.
‘The changes will still leave more than one million people relying on JobSeeker and related payments struggling to survive, with JobSeeker rising by just 96 cents a day to $55 a day,’ Ms Goldie said this week.
‘It is completely insufficient for people who are barely surviving, forced to ration food and medicine or suffer through 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 rising job losses .’
Aussies on JobSeeker receive $344.80 less per fortnight than those on aged and disability support pension (stock image)
Five million Aussies will receive a fortnightly cash bonus from this week due to indexation
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