Post by bear on May 19, 2021 7:09:57 GMT 7
Job seekers to be switched to online service in hidden $1.1 billion budget saving
A hidden $1.1 billion saving has sparked fears of cuts to services for Australians out of work despite a federal pledge to drive the unemployment rate to record lows by helping people find new jobs.
The efficiency drive will shift 1.2 million job seekers to an online service in a bid to replace face-to-face advice from employment service providers paid by the government to help the unemployed.
The savings were included in a series of measures listed in the federal budget on Tuesday night outlining sweeping changes to the JobActive system used for two decades to place people in work.
Community and employer groups are concerned the plan flouts a 2018 report to the government that said all the savings from the online model should be invested in better services for the long-term unemployed.
“Now is the time to focus on investments in people who are unemployed or underemployed, rather than looking at it from a savings perspective,” said Sally Sinclair, chief executive of the National Employment Services Association.
“One of the really important things in the reforms to employment services is for people to be able to access that personalised support if they are not getting what they need from the digital service.”
Employers are warning of labour shortages as the economy rebounds but foreign workers cannot enter the country, fuelling a debate over the mix of support, incentives and obligations required to encourage more Australians to seek work.
Australian Council of Social Service principal adviser Peter Davidson warned against using the efficiencies to withdraw support from more than 1 million people seeking work.
“They need much more help than they get now from employment services, which are about policing unrealistic and punitive job search requirements, not improving work experience and skills,” he said.
“With one caseworker for every 150 unemployed people, the system is not up to the job of reducing prolonged unemployment.”
Mr Davidson was one of the contributors to the 2018 report to government called I Want to Work, which was led by business and community experts. It called for increased investment in job seekers who need the most help, saying: “This is enabled by redirecting savings from smaller caseloads due to digital self-servicing”.
Rather than pouring all the savings into new programs, the new employment services deliver $1.1 billion in efficiencies while investing only $699.4 million in support for employers and young workers.
A government spokesman said on Friday the savings did not represent a cut to the JobActive program or the new employment services model.
The spokesman listed new measures including $481.2 million for a “transition to work” scheme for young people, $129.8 million to help people set up their own businesses, $80.8 million for individualised digital servicing and $7.6 million for a career information service.
But those measures cost $699.4 million rather than reinvesting all the efficiency gains.
Ms Sinclair and Mr Davidson both welcomed the budget spending on new employment services as well as a separate skills package with $2.7 billion over five years including wage subsidies for apprentices and training programs for people out of work.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting chief Jenny Lambert, another member of the I Want to Work report, also welcomed the skills package and some of the new digital services, but said new investment was needed.
“It is critically important that the long-term unemployed receive the customised enhanced services that the reforms are meant to deliver,” she said.
“We will be looking very closely at whether the ratio of front line services to job seekers is improved and most importantly that job outcomes are much better than the current service delivers.”
Employment Minister Stuart Robert said the government’s objective was to help about 1.2 million people on payments at a time when immigration was not possible.
“It’s all about focusing on Australians and how we skill them and connect them with the jobs that are available right now,” he told ABC News on Friday.
“Thankfully, there’s 13.1 million Australians employed now, more than pre-pandemic.
“And as we see the unemployment rate come down, that’s the impetus for wage growth. And that’s why getting people into jobs is just so important for us.”
The government increased the JobSeeker allowance to $615.70 a fortnight in February with a requirement for recipients to search for at least 15 jobs per month from early April, rising to 20 jobs per month from July.
Mr Davidson said the new online model would have to come with more support if the government was to deliver on its goal of reducing unemployment.
“There’s a danger that the fatal flaws of the old employment services model - too little help and too much policing - will be replicated in the new one,” he said.
“Reducing prolonged unemployment is one of the greatest social and economic challenges coming out of the recession. We can’t afford to get it wrong.”
www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/job-seekers-to-be-switched-to-online-service-in-hidden-1-1-billion-budget-saving-20210514-p57s2y.html
What could possibly go wrong? This sole comment hits the nail on the head!!
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A hidden $1.1 billion saving has sparked fears of cuts to services for Australians out of work despite a federal pledge to drive the unemployment rate to record lows by helping people find new jobs.
The efficiency drive will shift 1.2 million job seekers to an online service in a bid to replace face-to-face advice from employment service providers paid by the government to help the unemployed.
The savings were included in a series of measures listed in the federal budget on Tuesday night outlining sweeping changes to the JobActive system used for two decades to place people in work.
Community and employer groups are concerned the plan flouts a 2018 report to the government that said all the savings from the online model should be invested in better services for the long-term unemployed.
“Now is the time to focus on investments in people who are unemployed or underemployed, rather than looking at it from a savings perspective,” said Sally Sinclair, chief executive of the National Employment Services Association.
“One of the really important things in the reforms to employment services is for people to be able to access that personalised support if they are not getting what they need from the digital service.”
Employers are warning of labour shortages as the economy rebounds but foreign workers cannot enter the country, fuelling a debate over the mix of support, incentives and obligations required to encourage more Australians to seek work.
Australian Council of Social Service principal adviser Peter Davidson warned against using the efficiencies to withdraw support from more than 1 million people seeking work.
“They need much more help than they get now from employment services, which are about policing unrealistic and punitive job search requirements, not improving work experience and skills,” he said.
“With one caseworker for every 150 unemployed people, the system is not up to the job of reducing prolonged unemployment.”
Mr Davidson was one of the contributors to the 2018 report to government called I Want to Work, which was led by business and community experts. It called for increased investment in job seekers who need the most help, saying: “This is enabled by redirecting savings from smaller caseloads due to digital self-servicing”.
Rather than pouring all the savings into new programs, the new employment services deliver $1.1 billion in efficiencies while investing only $699.4 million in support for employers and young workers.
A government spokesman said on Friday the savings did not represent a cut to the JobActive program or the new employment services model.
The spokesman listed new measures including $481.2 million for a “transition to work” scheme for young people, $129.8 million to help people set up their own businesses, $80.8 million for individualised digital servicing and $7.6 million for a career information service.
But those measures cost $699.4 million rather than reinvesting all the efficiency gains.
Ms Sinclair and Mr Davidson both welcomed the budget spending on new employment services as well as a separate skills package with $2.7 billion over five years including wage subsidies for apprentices and training programs for people out of work.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting chief Jenny Lambert, another member of the I Want to Work report, also welcomed the skills package and some of the new digital services, but said new investment was needed.
“It is critically important that the long-term unemployed receive the customised enhanced services that the reforms are meant to deliver,” she said.
“We will be looking very closely at whether the ratio of front line services to job seekers is improved and most importantly that job outcomes are much better than the current service delivers.”
Employment Minister Stuart Robert said the government’s objective was to help about 1.2 million people on payments at a time when immigration was not possible.
“It’s all about focusing on Australians and how we skill them and connect them with the jobs that are available right now,” he told ABC News on Friday.
“Thankfully, there’s 13.1 million Australians employed now, more than pre-pandemic.
“And as we see the unemployment rate come down, that’s the impetus for wage growth. And that’s why getting people into jobs is just so important for us.”
The government increased the JobSeeker allowance to $615.70 a fortnight in February with a requirement for recipients to search for at least 15 jobs per month from early April, rising to 20 jobs per month from July.
Mr Davidson said the new online model would have to come with more support if the government was to deliver on its goal of reducing unemployment.
“There’s a danger that the fatal flaws of the old employment services model - too little help and too much policing - will be replicated in the new one,” he said.
“Reducing prolonged unemployment is one of the greatest social and economic challenges coming out of the recession. We can’t afford to get it wrong.”
www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/job-seekers-to-be-switched-to-online-service-in-hidden-1-1-billion-budget-saving-20210514-p57s2y.html
What could possibly go wrong? This sole comment hits the nail on the head!!
Scroll to bottom:-
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