Deborah Jacobs is a jobseeker recipient in South Australia

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The rising cost of living and end of Covid supplements mean I am living payday to payday again

Being on jobseeker is far from easy and ever-changing requirements leave me confused, frustrated and annoyed at what I feel is injustice

Turning 65 used to be a milestone in a worker’s life as they looked towards retirement.

However, it has certainly not been one of benefits or “golden handshakes”, or even security, which I imagined when I started work at age 15.

I was introduced to readers of the Guardian two years ago and since then my illnesses and disabilities have become far worse.

I am still on jobseeker payment volunteering with two organisations, but now only receive the standard rate of mobility allowance since changes were made to the criteria for volunteers at the beginning of 2022.

In the past two years, financially things have changed substantially – for the worse.

The coronavirus supplements have long ended. The discounts and reduced fees from my utility suppliers have ceased, and the costs increased considerably. And then there’s the cost of living which seems to increase fortnightly.

Recently I was asked again about poverty, the increased cost of living and what changes I had been using to make ends meet. I was then asked if the recent cost of living payment was helpful.

At first I thought I had missed out on it, but then recalled receiving $250 at the end of April around the same time my monthly phone and internet bill was overdue. So $201 went on that bill, around $40 on my month’s supply of six medications and the remainder I used to buy myself some new underpants for the first time in more than two years.

My financial situation would have been far worse but for a windfall in the past 12 months. This was when my car was declared an economic write-off after damage sustained in the huge hailstorm in Adelaide’s northern suburbs in October 2021. Luckily I was comprehensively insured and that payout was more than the bargain price I had paid for my second-hand SUV in 2016 from an inheritance.

This storm wreaked havoc in the used car industry while people looking for cars significantly increased. Because of this and my ongoing health issues, I decided not to look for a new car until things stabilise.

This meant I no longer had the $109 monthly costs for registration, insurance and RAA, plus the ever-increasing costs associated with running and maintaining a vehicle. I also had the payout from the insurance with which I bought a new laptop and cleared up a few bills.

Despite this windfall, with the constant increases to so many everyday items and services and the end of most pandemic discounts or incentives, I am again living payday to payday each fortnight.

Although I live on a frugal, very strict budget, the gradual reduction and then removal of the coronavirus supplements have been devastating.

I realise I’m one of the “lucky ones”, as I rent with Housing SA and pay only 25% of my income for rent. This very low income means any permanent increase to it I potentially “lose” a quarter of in rent. But I would gladly pay more rent if my payment of $700.50 was brought in line with disability or age pension rates of $987.60 a fortnight. We even receive different rates of energy allowance – for jobseeker it’s $9.50 while on a pension it is $14.10. We pay the same energy costs as pensioners do, so why the $4.60 a fortnight difference?

I can’t apply for the age pension for 18 months nor claim DSP until October and only if my conditions remain “diagnosed, treated and stable”.

The unemployed are regularly called “dole bludgers” or “lounge lizards” but being on jobseeker is far from easy, especially with the ever-changing requirements.

To maintain my medical exemption, I do 15 hours of volunteering a week with an approved organisation. However, in the new guidelines introduced in January, volunteering is no longer referred to as “voluntary work” nor paid at the higher rate of $144 fortnightly. Instead I receive the standard rate of $103, although a volunteer is only required to do a minimum of 32 hours over a four-week period (eight hours a week). Therefore, I am doing almost twice the amount of hours required for the standard rate, but because volunteering is no longer classified as “work” I no longer receive that higher rate.

I am also required to maintain my credentials with ongoing training plus provide electronics, telecommunications, stationery, electricity, usually supplied by the organisation.

This all leaves me confused, frustrated and annoyed at what I feel is injustice.

 Deborah Jacobs is a jobseeker recipient in South Australia

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/30/the-rising-cost-of-living-and-end-of-covid-supplements-mean-i-am-living-payday-to-payday-again?fbclid=IwAR3JFFfwkb1WiB-AvlBebBhVSkfycaVfrKsH1k5JqyjlJRj4lCYWB1pAEdQ