Jobseekers:Points based system for mutual obligations

[bear]

While it's not Centrelink specific, it seems clients seeking employment, if having mutual obligations will be caught up in it. Cheers 🐻

Introduction to the Points Based Activation System for Workforce Australia webinar

From 1 July 2022, the Points Based Activation System (PBAS) is being introduced for all participants in Workforce Australia Services and Workforce Australia Online who have mutual obligation requirements.

The PBAS is a new and flexible approach to job seeker activation that provides individuals with choice and flexibility around the way they manage and meet their mutual obligation requirements in return for their income support.

On 12 April 2022, the Department held a webinar introducing the PBAS. This webinar provided:

an outline of the objectives of PBAS and the evidence that informed the development and final design of the PBAS framework for Workforce Australia

details of each element of the PBAS framework

demonstrated how job seekers will use PBAS to meet their mutual obligation requirements, and

an overview of the role and responsibilities of the provider and the Digital Services Contact Centre to support job seekers using PBAS.

Webinar presentation - An Introduction to the Points Based Activation System for Workforce Australia.

A recording of the webinar will be available soon.

www.dese.gov.au/workforce-australia/announcements/introduction-points-based-activation-system-workforce-australia-webinar

I stumbled over the above info in a comment on this post from AUWU.

www.facebook.com/349971545141556/posts/pfbid0cnVYmAotoFy4y3VitNgVHYgQNeUSdUsE8vvZLERneVYKa6MW2CdAisz1Hnzknt6Bl/

[bear]

DON’T BE FOOLED: AN ANALYSIS OF JOBACTIVE

On this page, we will analyse the obligations of Newstart recipients under the Government’s new jobactive system.

A brief summary of the Government’s Mutual Obligation Requirements for Newstart recipients is available in the chart below. For a quick explanation of the deliberately confusing acronyms used by the Government, click here.

The entire Mutual Obligation guidelines can be downloaded here, and the Job Seeker Compliance Framework can be downloaded here. The analysis below is drawing mainly from these two documents.

Work for the dole
Let’s start with the centrepiece of the jobactive system: Work for the Dole.

Don’t be fooled into thinking work for dole is the only option open to you if you are currently unemployed. Wading through the endless and repetitive guidelines, a few things stand out.

With the introduction of the new jobactive system on 1 July, all Newstart and Youth Allowance (other) recipients between the ages of 18-30 will be required to Work for the Dole for 25 hours a week, up from 15 hours a week.

Annual activity requirements are lower for those over the age of 30 at 15 hrs per week (fully capable of full time work).

If you are a principle carer or have a temporary illness that reduces your work availability or obligation hours, the mutual obligation hours are lower again.

For example, a principle carer with children 8 or over, aged under 30 has a higher number of participation hours at 15hr per week, than the same situation but aged over 30 at 7.5 hrs per week.

Neither can be forced to agree to work for dole as a compulsory measure, but if you do agree to do it and sign a job plan stating this, it will then be compulsory. This is why knowing your rights is more important than ever before.

It is very easy for a job seeker to be fooled under this new system. If the staff member you are allocated to has misunderstood training, or your Employment Service Provider has simply misinterpreting the information then the obligations you are agreeing to might not be a true reflection of the guidelines or in fact social security law.

Avoiding Work for the Dole
There are a number of circumstances where Newstart recipients will be excused from Work for the Dole.

For job seekers aged between 18-49 who are undertaking an approved activity they will not be required to undertake Work for the Dole.

An approved activities as defined by the Mutual Obligation Framework are:

Part-Time Employment
Unpaid Work Experience Placements
Voluntary Work
part-time study/training (in a Certificate III or higher)
accredited language, literacy and numeracy courses, which can include
o Skills for Education and Employment

o Adult Migrant English Programme

Defence Force Reserves
Other government programmes, including state government programmes and the Green Army Programme.
Backing this information up, one jobseeker informed us that he was able to get his full-time non-non-accredited study on his Job Plan, which should excuse him from Work For the Dole. We will update once verification is received, but for now, be sure to request that your study be put on your Job Plan.

For Single Parents judged to be Primary Care Providers (PCP) and job seekers with a Partial Work Capacity (PWC), there are even more circumstances where Providers cannot enforce Work for the Dole (Click here for more information regarding Primary Care Providers).

Below is an excerpt from the Mutual Obligation Requirement Framework:

"Certain job seeker cohorts, namely PCPs, those with a PCW (15 to 29 hours per week) and job seekers aged 55 years and over are able to meet their Mutual Obligation Requirements by undertaking certain approved Activities for at least 30 hours per fortnight.

PCPs and job seekers with a PCW (15 to 29 hours per week) who are fully meeting their part-time Mutual Obligation Requirements through 30 hours per fortnight of paid work (including self-employment) or approved study (or a combination) cannot be required to simultaneously undertake any Job Search or meet any other additional requirements. As such, they do not need to remain connected with a Provider and can be Suspended or Exited from the Provider’s caseload. This also applies if the PCP or a job seeker with a PCW (15 to 29 hours per week) is participating in the Green Army Programme for 30 hours per fortnight. See approved short courses under Additional information below.

PCPs are also able to meet their part-time Mutual Obligation Requirements through 30 hours per fortnight of Voluntary Work alone, or in combination with paid work or study, for 30 hours per fortnight. However the following criteria must be met for Voluntary Work to fully meet a PCP’s requirements:

• the principal carer lives in a poor labour market

• there are limited training opportunities locally available (online courses may be considered ‘locally available’ if the PCP has access to a computer)

• there is a significant vocational aspect to the voluntary work.

PCPs aged under 55 years undertaking Voluntary Work alone, or in combination with paid work or study, for 30 hours per fortnight will not be Suspended from Employment Services. However, Providers must not require the PCP to undertake other additional activities."

Negotiate with your Provider – All Barriers to Work must be Considered
There is also a range of factors that must be considered when working out your activities and requirements. If you have increased care for family or children, this has to be taken into consideration; transport problems also have to be considered. It is written in the guidelines.

If you have factors you feel are not being considered, seek clarification from the department of employment. Providers are obliged to consider barriers that you identify, such as lack of childcare options, separated parent with the lesser care but still a percentage of care, transport restrictions, alcohol or drug problems, housing problems.

It may be uncomfortable to reveal these things but to truly be of assistance there might be a need to be open about these problems. Remember they are bound by the privacy act and any breaches can be reported immediately, if you are concerned private information is not being treated in a professional manner.

Being assessed as Stream C with a high amount of barriers to employment means other assistance can be provided in areas such as financial counselling, parenting or family courses, withdrawal programs, with referral to programs and using them to meet activity requirements an option for those in the high stream C. This is determined by a Job Capacity Assessment and Employment Service Providers may trigger the department to assess or reclassify your stream if additional factors occur or become identified. If you feel you might be in the category, be sure to ask what stream you are being assessed at.

Remember this contract you are signing is what you are capable of complying with – if you cannot comply there has to be negotiations around the reasons why and not a simple case of do it or no payments.

Speaking up now can shape the future of employment programs, and allowing them to become a mere compliance tool making demands to suit them, will be at our own peril. Make them work in the nice fluffy way government have put this on paper, question any requirement that does not provide you with skills required to gain employment as this is the basis for most requirements. Seek out your ideal training or work experience options and take them to your provider they might just be able to really help you. A hopeful thought indeed!

If they refuse to help you, seek legal support or request a transfer on the grounds that your provider are refusing to uphold social security law. Download a transfer form here.

Keep an open mind – believe it or not there are good providers out there who will help you. But most importantly, don’t allow yourself to be pushed into an avenue you are not happy to take. Tell them you would like them to reference the mutual obligation requirements, and ask to see a copy. Then go through all the options with the staff member that are in that guideline, getting them to point out the areas they are using to reach the obligations they are telling you about.

As painful as it is, reading the mutual obligations guideline fully can give you a much better idea of what options you really have. One reason Work For the Dole is the main focus, is the income of providers is based on either the limited real job outcomes or work for dole outcomes. But education outcomes will provide them with nothing, so they will not be at all interested in telling you any of these options.

In the guidelines, there are a lot of requirements that jobseekers should follow and others that jobseekers must follow. This is where interpreting the different areas can take on a more deceptive nature and you may be pressured by your provider. If this happens contact the Department (contact details below). Explain as calmly as you can what factors they have not considered and what program you agreed to that you don’t think is fair or in line with your employment prospects.

There will be cases where Work For the Dole becomes the only option, but again a choice should be provided and it should contain some training element suitable to you. 

The poor state of the labour market is also a factor that must be considered according to the guidelines, and this can be said for the majority of unemployed people today. This is a consideration that we need to raise, particularly in remote areas.

Get informed and take control.

Don’t be baffled by the Government’s bullshit!

Employment Service Providers must meet standards, and to keep those standards we have to become willing to complain and complain loudly.

The Department of Employment can be contacted via email on [e-mail] or phone [phone]

unemployedworkersunion.com/dont-fooled-analysis-jobactive/

[nomadic]

I saw this on another site only days after the election so surely it must have been put in place by Morrison before he lost. Hence maybe it is even worse than before.

[bear]

Did anyone think to ask job seekers what needs to change?

In March 2022, the Liberal government released a Workforce Strategy (2022-27) identifying the short- and long-term workforce challenges projected to arise in Australia, and laying out how we should address them. To do this, the government consulted many stakeholder groups, with the exception of perhaps the most important one: job seekers themselves.

The workforce challenges are many and varied, ranging from jobs progressively requiring higher skills, to the role of automation, and an ageing population resulting in a slowed domestic workforce. These issues will emerge differently in different regions of the country, as the demography and core workforce differs from region to region.

It is interesting to look at the skill mismatches between those people engaged with the government's employment services program - we call them the "jobactive caseload" - and the available jobs. For example, 56 per cent of the jobactive caseload in February 2022 held a certificate I/secondary education or lower, but only 13 per cent of the available jobs advertised online were available to these candidates. Of the 1 million new jobs that Australia is projected to need to fill by November 2026, 90 per cent are forecast to require post-secondary school qualifications, including 52.6 per cent requiring a bachelor's degree or higher.

One of the key principles of the National Workforce Strategy is to remove barriers and disincentives to work, to ensure that "all Australians, including those underrepresented, can participate and work to their full capacity in line with their abilities and aspirations". The plan for this is to "encourage workforce participation and prevent dropout by removing barriers to participation, enabling geographic mobility and providing employment incentives".

Key to this process, according to the Workforce Strategy, is to ensure that employment services are outcomes-focused and informed by high-quality data on local employer needs, while engaging industry in the design and delivery of policy and supporting them to play a key role in training and reskilling the workforce.

It seems that employment services providers are going to be the gatekeepers to local and regional workforce development under the new Workforce Australia model set to roll out from July 2022. They will work with employer and training organisations "to support job seekers to develop in-demand skills where they are needed to take up a job".

The strategy recognises that there are many barriers to work, including skill mismatches, work type and associated wages/conditions, regional disadvantages, cultural mindsets, accessible and affordable childcare, broader socio-economic disadvantage and impediments to labour mobility such as housing affordability and availability. It also relies upon industry to design and drive change through promoting opportunities, ensuring career pathways are attractive and "incentivising" people to take up jobs.

Workforce policy development will be supported by various bodies including the Department of Education, skills and Employment, the Department of Home Affairs, National Careers institute and the National Skills Commission, and it will be coordinated by the National Workforce Taskforce. This taskforce will have a strong measurement focus to track progress and facilitate accountability.

However, throughout the entire strategic plan, there is no mention of local government involvement. I have been a strong advocate for local council-led employment strategies for many years, but have not been able to find the support needed to address this issue on a local level. In order for such a national strategy to have any hope of working, it needs to connect with the local regions and the individual needs and challenges of that geographic location.

Relying on employment services providers to connect with industry and foster employment opportunities has not worked terribly well so far, and it certainly isn't going to work moving forward unless real, accountable and tailored change occurs.

Ask anyone on JobSeeker payments and they will tell you that the kind of work available through jobactive providers is rarely a good skills match to what they have to offer. With 52.6 per cent of their caseload having a Certificate I level education/secondary education level or lower, and only 13 per cent of the advertised jobs being appropriate for them, the employment services provider achieving their new outcomes-based KPIs will be largely driven by a "bums on seats" mentality, where the appropriateness of the placement will be trumped by the need to fill the job for them to get paid.

Building local employment strategies that meet the local needs, in partnership with councils, businesses and training providers - as well as the job seekers themselves - would create a more holistic, dynamic approach to the problem.

Has anyone ever asked the job seekers what they need?

As far as I can tell, job seekers are forever being told what to do, without ever being invited to be a part of this important conversation.

www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7759248/did-anyone-think-to-ask-job-seekers-what-needs-to-change/

[rainyday]

May 31, 2022 21:08:21 GMT 7 nomadic said:

I saw this on another site only days after the election so surely it must have been put in place by Morrison before he lost. Hence maybe it is even worse than before.

Not necessarily!  It was Labour's Jenny Macklin that introduced the tightening up of the eligibility to receive a DSP, they introduced the tougher 20 point system back in 2012.  It was only when I was applying for the DSP that I looked back into the history to see how it got just about impossible for anyone with a disability to received a pension, that is what my findings revealed.  

[bear]

Jun 2, 2022 8:33:44 GMT 7 rainyday said:

May 31, 2022 21:08:21 GMT 7 nomadic said:

I saw this on another site only days after the election so surely it must have been put in place by Morrison before he lost. Hence maybe it is even worse than before.

Not necessarily!  It was Labour's Jenny Macklin that introduced the tightening up of the eligibility to receive a DSP, they introduced the tougher 20 point system back in 2012.  It was only when I was applying for the DSP that I looked back into the history to see how it got just about impossible for anyone with a disability to received a pension, that is what my findings revealed.  

The thread concerns the new Mutual Obligations regime for Jobseekers on Newstart, brought in In March 2022 by the Liberal government when it released the Workforce Strategy (2022-27) . It doesn't appear to impact DSP in any way. Cheers 🐻

[nomadic]

Jun 2, 2022 8:33:44 GMT 7 rainyday said:

May 31, 2022 21:08:21 GMT 7 nomadic said:

I saw this on another site only days after the election so surely it must have been put in place by Morrison before he lost. Hence maybe it is even worse than before.

Not necessarily!  It was Labour's Jenny Macklin that introduced the tightening up of the eligibility to receive a DSP, they introduced the tougher 20 point system back in 2012.  It was only when I was applying for the DSP that I looked back into the history to see how it got just about impossible for anyone with a disability to receive a pension, that is what my findings revealed.  

Yes indeed, the ALP has a number of skeletons in the cupboard. That new scheme Maklin started was the worst of any. So don't count on many changes for the better just because Morrison is gone. Shorten treated me as badly as any of the LNP in my fight for justice.

[bear]

Job seekers could have welfare stopped under ‘onerous’ new points-based system, advocates warn

Mutual obligations system will require people to complete an expanded range of activities to keep their payments

Welfare advocates have warned job seekers may have their payments suspended under a new points-based mutual obligations system because of “unnecessarily onerous” requirements.

The “points-based activation system”, to be introduced from 1 July, replaces the rigid 20 job applications a month requirement that has frustrated job seekers and employers for many years.

Instead, to keep their welfare payments, people seeking work will need to accumulate 100 points a month by completing an expanded range of activities.

But the system is not without its anomalies, according to new details released by the department, and advocates say it may create as many issues as it solves.

For example, a person doing the government’s controversial “Path” internship program will accumulate 25 points a week (and therefore 100 for the month), but those doing their compulsory full-time work for the dole program or full-time equivalent would only get 20 points a week.

That means they would also need to complete other activities – most likely four job applications – to keep their benefits.

Similarly, a new migrant who is learning English full-time would only get 20 points a week and would also need to complete other activities.

A person in casual or part-time employment will get five points for every five hours of work.

A departmental briefing shows someone studying and working would still have to look for at least five jobs a month unless they were doing a combined 70 hours a fortnight of employment and education.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment says the points target or minimum job applications (usually five a month) “may be reduced based on your personal circumstances”.

If a person gets more than 100 points in a month, up to 50 of those points can be carried over, reducing a person’s mutual obligations in the following period.

The new 'points-based' mutual obligations system

Under the new system, most jobseekers will need to obtain 100 points each month to keep their welfare payments.

Continue reading to see:- Tasks, Activities & Points value table.

www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/07/job-seekers-could-have-welfare-stopped-under-onerous-new-points-based-system-advocates-warn

[bear]

Employment minister urged to delay rollout of points-based system for jobseekers

Survey of unemployed people suggests ‘harm was actually being designed into the system’, academic says

The employment minister, Tony Burke, has been urged to pause a new “points-based” mutual obligations system as a new survey finds many jobseekers are fearful it will make their lives tougher.

Guardian Australia reported last week that under the “points-based activation system” (Pbas) jobseekers will be required to acquire 100 “points” through job search or other activities including study, training, hours of employment or work for the dole.

The system, which starts 1 July, replaces the rigid 20 job applications a month requirement that frustrated jobseekers and employers for many years.

While the system is aimed at giving jobseekers more flexibility to meet their obligations, departmental guidelines revealed that some activities – such as full time work for the dole or full time study – would still not be enough to obtain the required 100 points in a month.

Others have raised concerns about the increasing use of automation to determine whether jobseekers keep their welfare payments or have them stopped.

The Australian Unemployed Workers Union does not support mutual obligations and would like them abolished, but it otherwise called on Burke to pause the new system for a minimum of three months while it’s reviewed.

“We don’t think the Pbas should go ahead,” said AUWU national secretary Daniel Levy. “We do think it will be much worse.”

The union conducted a snap online survey of 447 jobseekers, which found respondents were most concerned about the automated nature of the new system, worried about their ability to reach 100 points and also about being penalised due to difficulties with the online system.

“Most respondents anticipate severe negative impact from the transition to Pbas, and relatively few are unsure about the likely effects,” the survey report said.

It found 78.5% expected “some or severe impact from the new requirements, and 83.5% “anticipating the same from the new point system failing to account for their circumstances”.

David O’Halloran, an adjunct professor at Monash University who has researched the employment services system and assisted with the survey, said many of the 289 respondents who offered additional comments used words like “harm, hurt, terror, fear, punishment”.

“In terms of the wellbeing or individual harm, people felt it was not going to do them any good,” said O’Halloran, who also volunteers with the AUWU.

“What was of serious concern was suicide was explicitly mentioned in nine responses.”

He said the responses suggested participants felt like “harm was actually being designed into the system” and that in his view it was “still based on the assumption, if you’re unemployed, you don’t want to work”.

He acknowledged people who replied to the survey were more likely to already have a negative view of the employment services system.

One respondent to the AUWU survey said they were “sick and tired of being treated like a criminal by the [government] simply because I have lost employment due to circumstances beyond my control” while another suggested “‘robodebt’ is being replaced with ‘robotask’”.

points based activation system

O’Halloran added that a consistent theme was the lack of information respondents had about changes that come into effect next month.

The Australian Council of Social Service has also warned the requirements are too onerous, and that people with barriers to work, limited digital literacy or poor internet access will experience significant challenges with online reporting. The new system has garnered lukewarm support from employment services providers.

The changes passed parliament this year under the Coalition with the then Labor opposition’s support.

Burke has been silent on the new Points Based Activation System (Pbas) and on Wednesday a spokesperson for the minister again declined to comment.

The Greens senator Janet Rice said it was “not up to the department to set policy, it’s up to the new Labor government”.

Rice said the new system “had the potential to be confusing and hard to navigate for lots of Australians”.

It was “based off a broken premise that if you don’t tick all the right boxes, you don’t deserve to have your basic needs covered or a roof over your head”.

The Pbas system will come into force when the new Workforce Australia employment services model replaces Jobactive next month.

About half of all jobseekers engage with an online portal, rather than job agencies, which will focus on more disadvantaged unemployed people.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment has said those in the Workforce Australia system would have their “own individually tailored points target that reflects their personal circumstances and local labour market”.

Those who couldn’t meet their target should contact the digital services contact centre (DSCC), which could ensure their requirements were “appropriately tailored”.

Several critics have already criticised the automated nature of the Australian welfare compliance system used to police whether jobseekers have met their obligations or should have their payments suspended.

Under the new system, the spokesperson said the “department’s IT system will calculate whether sufficient points have been reported to meet the participant’s points target”.

“Where insufficient points have been reported, the IT system will notify the participant that they have not met a requirement and what they need to do to meet the requirement,” they said.

“They have two business days to resolve the missed requirement, or their payment may go on hold.

“Participants are also advised to contact the DSCC or their provider to discuss their impacting circumstance or any assistance required.”

People will be spared a payment suspension in their first month using the new system.

www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/16/employment-minister-urged-to-delay-rollout-of-points-based-system-for-jobseekers#:~:text=The%20employment%20minister%2C%20Tony%20Burke,will%20make%20their%20lives%20tougher.?utm_term=62aa47509714bdf61e5c6c2bd4171260&utm_campaign=MorningMailAUS&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=morningmailau_email

[bear]

"What a LOAD of complete stuff and NONSENSE, we smell mounds of BS... it is NEVER too late to stop damaging policy. It can very easily be halted, simply send the directive for a stay. It's more like the ideology suits the ALP as well, as we have said it is very reminiscent of a Gillard policy, the Q&A point system used with DSP assessment." - AWN
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Employment minister says it’s ‘too late’ to abandon Coalition’s points-based jobseeker payment system

Tony Burke aims to make scheme ‘logical’, despite unemployment advocates’ calls for halt to controversial program

The employment minister, Tony Burke, says it is too late to scrap a controversial points-based mutual obligation system for jobseekers, insisting the concept is “right”, but needs tweaking.

Advocates have been calling on the new Albanese government to scrap, or at least pause, the the “points-based activation system” (Pbas), which requires jobseekers to earn 100 “points” through job search or other activities including study, training, hours of employment or work for the dole.

The new system, which starts 1 July, replaces the heavily criticised JobActive program that required jobseekers to lodge 20 job applications a month.

Burke said that the Morrison government had finalised contracts for the $7bn tender before caretaker mode, and that the Albanese government would be going ahead with the “more flexible” model.

“It’s actually too late to not have a points system at all,” he said.

“It’s about getting inside it and making it logical, and making sure that when all these contracts take effect in a couple of weeks’ time, we’ve actually got a system that helps long-term unemployed people.”

Burke said that Labor had agreed that there were aspects of the old JobActive program that needed to change, but he remained concerned about proposed automation in the new system, which rang “alarm bells” given the so-called Robodebt scandal.

He said the “initial concept” of a points based system was “right”, but he wanted to make sure anomalies were ironed out and people weren’t unfairly penalised.

“To have a more flexible system, good idea,” he said.

“Twenty applications a week being the only measure is the wrong way to go about things. So, being able to take into account if someone’s getting a forklift licence, a driver’s licence, things like that, they are valid things to take into account. So that concept’s fine. The automated messages, it’s a disastrous way to go if you do that the wrong way,” he said.

“What the government’s designed, some of it’s more punitive than actually getting the job done. We want to make sure, and I’ll be changing it over the course of the next week, to make sure that we can have a system that’s designed to get people into work, rather than some media stunt to punish people.”

Burke also said the government was “working through” whether it could lift the rate of the JobSeeker payment after the Fair Work Commission decision to lift the minimum wage by 5.2%.

Before the election, Labor ditched a previous commitment to review the JobSeeker rate if it formed government, which has been criticised as inadequate and remains below the poverty line.

“Those decisions go to the budget. And we said during the campaign, all of those benefit payments, they get reassessed for what’s affordable every budget. This time we don’t have to wait for a budget next year, because there’ll be an October budget and an assessment will be made of those with the full economic circumstances,” Burke said.

“I’m not a member of the Expenditure Review Committee – there’s others working through that issue.”

www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jun/19/employment-minister-says-its-too-late-to-abandon-coalitions-points-based-jobseeker-payment-system?fbclid=IwAR0XiEV4a3SV0TLCwXhAq05_Nbn1W3qQG1DgAc1OQxQdo1q-uq_-jBWh2Fk

[nomadic]

As I predicted but hoped I'd be wrong; so far nothing has changed and no indications that anything will.

[bear]

Jun 19, 2022 20:37:13 GMT 7 nomadic said:

As I predicted but hoped I'd be wrong; so far nothing has changed and no indications that anything will.

Not in the short term nomadic. It might dawn on them when parliament convenes, other parties have agendas as well and the Senate can block everything because of the new make-up of it. I don't think they've thought it through yet..... cheers 🐻

[bear]

Anti-poverty campaigner: We need to stop 'harmful' new employment system

Anti-poverty campaigners have called on the Anthony Albanese’s Labor government to scrap the controversial new Workforce Australia program, scheduled to begin in July. The major overhaul to employment “services” will introduce more punitive measures for recipients of JobSeeker and other income support payments.

Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Kristin O’Connell told Green Left the new system was “not just pointless but harmful”. She said Workforce Australia, which overhauls the mutual obligations system to a Points Based Activation System (PBAS), only “dials up the pressure on unemployed people”.

Currently, JobSeeker recipients have to apply for 20 jobs each month, or risk an end to their payment. With a PBAS, JobSeekers must complete 100 points of “activities” each month: a job application is five points, completing an online learning module is five points and attending a job interview is 20 points.

Amazingly, those who find a job, are a full-time student or are in full-time work for the dole (WFTD) program only receive 20 points.

O’Connell said the PBAS will create even more stress for people already struggling to get by. “One of our biggest concerns is that people won’t understand the changes and that will lead to payments being cut off.”

One in five people receiving some income support also work casually or have part-time jobs. Under PBAS, a shift at work will count for points: five points for five hours work. If a shift is cancelled, or changed towards the end of the reporting period, a JobSeeker recipient may have to scramble to meet the required points.

“Under the current system, if you fail to meet your requirements you are penalized. But with the new system, you will not only be penalised but the points you failed to accrue will carry over to the next month,” O’Connell explained. “This will lead to points and stress piling up, and more payments being cut off.”

She said those on JobSeeker for 6 months or less will not see much change. The longer-term unemployed will suffer the most, creating “two classes of unemployed”.

While Workforce Australia was set up by the former Coalition government, new Labor employment minister Tony Burke said it was “too late” to abandon the new system.

O’Connell commented that it is “never too late to scrap a system like this”.

“It might take time for the minister’s office to get to grips with such a major project and this is why we are calling on the minister to ensure there are no penalties or suspensions for JobSeeker recipients for a minimum of 90 days.

“People need time to work out the new system,” O’Connell said, adding the government stopped payments being suspended during the pandemic “with the stroke of a pen” and that Burke could easily do the same.

While Burke has said he is open to making “some changes” to improve the system, O’Connell said it was “alarming” that he is making changes without consulting with anti-poverty advocates.

“So far he hasn’t responded to our requests to talk with us.”

“The minister could use those 90 days to engage with people in the system to make things less harmful. We don’t want him to rush the change and make things more confusing..."

The JobSeeker rate of about $46 per day is almost half of the Henderson Poverty rate of $88. The Youth Allowance payment for students under the age of 25 is even less — about $36 per day.

Labor has refused to raise the rate of income support, even scrapping a proposed “review” just before the election. Those on income support were already struggling to afford basic necessities, such as food, petrol and rent, even before the current cost-of-living spike.

“It is unimaginable cruelty to ignore millions of people on payments below the poverty line, people on welfare were already cutting back on meals before prices went through the roof,” O’Connell said.

She said it is disappointing that the Albanese government invoked the prime minister’s upbringing in public housing and his mother being on the Disability Support Pension during the election and have now dug in and defended unnecessary tax cuts for the rich, while only passing a “poultry” minimum wage rise and some mortgage relief.

The government has refused to commit to building more public housing and said it will not raise welfare payments in its first budget.

While continuing to campaign for income support payments to be raised and opposing punitive compulsory activities for people on welfare, O’Connell said the Antipoverty Centre is building a campaign against the WFTD program which she described as “dangerous and dehumanising”, as shown by the death of Josh Park-Fing on a WFTD site in 2016.

Workforce Australia brings forward WFTD from starting after 12 months on the JobSeeker payment to starting at 6 months.

“We are in the process of gathering stories and experiences from people in the system which we will use to pressure the government and companies that use WFTD for staff,” O’Connell explained. “We need to build a grassroots campaign, including unions and local government to end WFTD for good.

“WFTD undercuts waged workers, providing free labour for host organisations who will then hire fewer paid staff. We need to build solidarity between waged and unwaged workers.”

O’Connell said grassroots pressure can make it “untenable” for politicians to do what they are doing to people on welfare. “There is already lots of support, the majority of people want welfare payments to be above the poverty line, we just need to make it a priority.”

Anyone interested, can find links at bottom of linked article to petition to stop suspensions for 90 days and 1st July protest in Punchbowl.

www.greenleft.org.au/content/anti-poverty-campaigner-we-need-stop-harmful-new-employment-system?fbclid=IwAR166FhoQRTWvtbygJAOFWhTnDmsdk8aOQtuonqS8od0JgGht3LObExaavQ

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Centrelink shake-up to be tweaked but not scrapped, Tony Burke confirms

All the changes coming to Australia in the new financial year on July 1

An impending change to Centrelink described as “the Hunger Games crossed with Black Mirror” is set to be tweaked, the Employment Minister has confirmed.

Tony Burke flagged the plans to adjust the controversial scheme set to come into effect next month, but he won’t scrap the program completely.

From July, the mutual obligations scheme that requires people receiving JobSeeker to apply for 20 jobs a month will be replaced with the points-based activation system (PBAS).

To keep receiving payments, welfare recipients must receive 100 points and do a minimum of five job searches each month.

There is a list of more than 30 tasks and activities that each carry their own individual points value.

Advocates have criticised the program for being poorly communicated. Earlier this month, the Australian Unemployed Workers Union called the program inhumane.

On Sunday, Mr Burke said it was too late to scrap the Morrison-government-designed scheme, insisting the concept was “right” but it needed tweaks.

Contracts for the Workforce Australia scheme were finalised prior to the previous government entering caretaker mode, Mr Burke said.

Speaking on Friday, the minister said he had been locked in meetings with the department and a brief had arrived to his home overnight that he was working through.

“I’m very close to being able to make a decision,” Mr Burke told ABC RN.

He flagged that full-time study or training would be sufficient to meet 100 points under his changes.

“If you’re in a situation where you’re doing a full-time course, then the full-time course becomes your priority,” he said.

“The moment that’s done, then you’re back to making sure that you’re in the job market.”

Previously, education and training only amounted to 20 points per week for full-time students and 15 points per week for part-time students.

Individuals who had accrued penalties under the old system will start from a blank slate from July.

Additionally, people who would prefer to remain on the current system and not switch over to the new points-based system will be able to do so.

www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/centrelink-shakeup-to-be-tweaked-but-not-scrapped-tony-burke-confirms/news-story/523e2cd689b35ada6201784348ad145c

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‘Where is their obligation to us?’ Unemployed workers protest the Albanese government’s new welfare obligations

For unemployed workers who are soon to be included in a new mutual obligation scheme, there's no honeymoon period for the Albanese government.

Undeterred by a drizzly Sydney day, a group of protesters led by the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union (AUWU) gathered at the new Minister for Employment Tony Burke’s electorate office in Punchbowl on Friday.

“They wanted to talk to us in opposition. Now they’re in government they don’t even want to know us,” AUWU president Tracey Smallwood said, earning a chorus of “shame” from the crowd.

The office was closed, foiling attempts to hand over a petition with 30,000 signatures supporting their cause. That didn’t stop protesters from addressing their concerns at the incoming minister and the new government’s revamped welfare mutual obligations.

Burke has committed to replacing the jobactive program with the Morrison-government designed Workforce Australia scheme, including its requirements for welfare recipients. Under the scheme, job seekers on welfare will be forced to earn “100 points” by completing activities like applying for jobs, training, studying, volunteering or taking part in the Work for the Dole program. If they fail to do so, their welfare payments will be reduced or stopped altogether.

Burke has been at pains to point out that this system was masterminded by the Coalition. “The previous federal government locked in the points system – and signed more than $7 billion worth of contracts with providers — shortly before the election,” he said in a media release. But he’s committed to implementing the new system, while making a number of concessions, including easing requirements and clearing past penalties.

There was no desire among the Punchbowl crowd to grant the Albanese government a honeymoon period. Labor says Workforce Australia will give welfare recipients flexibility while also helping them find work. But the AUWU have criticised the new system as cruel, demeaning and ineffective and called on Burke to postpone the introduction of the system by three months to have further consultations on its introduction.

“He’s known for months about how awful the system is, how much pain and injury it’s going to cause unemployed workers. We’ve been calling their offices, we’ve been emailing them, we sent them a report, we sent them a survey of 400 of their members. They haven’t responded at all,” AUWU member Jeremy Poxon said.

“We told them we were going to be here today, we wanted to talk to them about the pain they’re putting members through. And what did they do? They locked the ing door.”

Protesters brought posters featuring testimonials from people who’ve experienced the current mutual obligation system and glued them facing inwards on Burke’s office windows. There were stories about chronically ill people being forced to work through pain and criticisms of onerous mutual obligations that aren’t fulfilled even when a person starts a new job. A giant “welfare excuse bingo” board lists the reasons why people refuse to change the system: “News Corp would murder us” and “if you keep asking impolitely you’ll never get a raise”.

Attendees were invited to share their own experiences dealing with a system that they described as bureaucratic and harmful. Kristin O’Connell, a spokesperson for the Antipoverty Centre, said one fear is that welfare recipients will be penalised for failing to adapt to a new, confusing system; penalties increased 600% after the last significant change.

Other protesters spoke about their early disappointment that the new government, in their eyes, isn’t taking them seriously. AUWU member Daniel Levy told the crowd about handing over a report with recommendations, a survey, a petition and requests to meet the minister — all to little avail.

“We busted our gut to do their job for them. Where is their obligation to us?” Levy said.

www.crikey.com.au/2022/07/01/unemployed-workers-albanese-government-welfare/