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Australia

Student jobseekers say $7b Centrelink changes are ‘penalizing’ them for studying

Rebekah Maslen has been working hard to prepare herself for a new career.

The Ocean Grove-based student is completing a diploma of early childhood education and care, which includes 24 hours per week on placement, plus about 15 hours of study and two days of classes.

She is also one of many Australians struggling to come to grips with the biggest overhaul of unemployment services in decades.

“I would say the transition has been appalling,” she said.

“The way I’ve been treated … and the lack of information around how to use the system in detail [has] not been a very good experience.”

At the start of July, more than 800,000 jobseekers transferred to Workforce Australia, which has been pitched as a more flexible alternative to the much-maligned jobactive system.

The changes were passed under the Morrison government with Labor’s support prior to the May election. Contracts with job service providers — private companies paid by the government to get people into work — worth $7 billion were also signed.

To continue receiving the JobSeeker payment, most people need to perform mutual obligations — tasks set by the government aimed at enhancing employability.

Under jobactive, mutual obligations most commonly revolved around job applications, and jobseekers needed to submit 20 a month. That requirement could be waived if a jobseeker was completing a Certificate III course or above, which includes diplomas.

Now, those required to complete mutual obligations have transitioned to a system where they earn points for completing a wider range of activities, such as short courses, getting a drivers license or attending a job fair.

If they do not receive a certain number of points each month, their payments can be suspended.

A white woman with blonde hair and red overalls sitting next to a computer screen that says 'how to earn points'
Rebekah Maslen has had trouble getting her placement hours recognized.(ABC NewsNorman Hermant)

Ms Maslen said she was told by her job provider that to comply with the new system she must apply for at least four other jobs every month on top of her diploma and placement.

She also said she had consistent difficulty finding a way to get points credit for her placement hours through the online portal.

“The things you’re asked to do for getting points, things like getting a forklift license … I don’t find very helpful as someone who’s studying,” she said.

‘It’s really demoralizing’

The government made a series of tweaks to the design of Workforce Australia days before it launched.

Employment Minister Tony Burke said at the time that the changes would ensure someone participating in full-time study or training that improved their long-term job prospects “would not be putting their qualifications at risk”.

However Ms Maslen said that was what she felt Workforce Australia was doing to her.

“I feel penalized for choosing to study and to do a placement,” she said.

A white woman with blonde hair and red overalls looking at a computer screen
Rebekah Maslen says her experience with Workforce Australia has been poor.(ABC NewsNorman Hermant)

Ms Maslen said she had also been frustrated by experiences with her job provider.

“I often come back from my interviews feeling very frustrated and often in tears because I don’t understand how to use the system,” she said.

“I kind of feel like I’m being made to do all these things just so someone in an office can tick a box. I don’t really feel like that’s fair and it’s really quite demoralizing.”

Asked about mutual obligations requirements for students, the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) said people undertaking approved full-time courses shorter than 12 months, such as Ms Maslen, should not have job-search requirements.

“Providers have been instructed to reduce the minimum job search requirement to zero for these participants. The department’s Digital Services Contact Center can also remove the job search requirement for those participants,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

‘Designed to punish people’

The overall transition to Workforce Australia has been heavily criticized, with jobseekers and advocates voicing confusion and concern ahead of the launch.

Outside those affecting students, a raft of other issues has surfaced since the scheme launched. The ABC has heard reports of jobseekers:

  • Being recommended jobs based in states they do not live in and requiring qualifications they do not have
  • Traveling hundreds of kilometers for short face-to-face appointments with providers which they said could have been done remotely
  • Entering information on the Workforce Australia app or website which was not later accessible to providers
  • Having to complete skills seminars on things they already know and complete questionnaires assessing whether “zest” was a character strength of theirs

Jay Coonan, a spokesperson from the Antipoverty Centre, said jobseekers were not being treated as individuals and had been left to “figure out the system themselves”.

“It’s much the same [as jobactive]. It was never about making it more flexible for people, even though that’s what they marketed it as,” he said.

A white man with brown hair sitting at a computer
Jay Coonan says the rollout of Workforce Australia has been “a mess”.(ABC NewsNorman Hermant)

Mr Coonan said many of the issues to arise were foreseeable and things overall were “a mess”.

“There are people out there who are pretty much working full time … but are still forced to do mutual obligations simply because the system is designed to punish people who need help from the government.”

The DEWR spokesperson said the app and website were continuously reviewed to ensure they “meet the needs of users”, and jobseekers concerned by how their appointments were being managed could contact it via the National Customer Service line.

‘Everyone needs to be aligned’

Mr Burke last week flagged concern with the rollout and granted user experience had varied “wildly”.

A parliamentary committee has been set up to scrutinize the program, but will not report back until September 2023.

Sally Sinclair, CEO of the National Employment Services Association, the peak body for the contracted employment services sector, said she thought the rollout was going “relatively well” given the scale of the transition.

“Everybody is working very hard to make this the most positive experience possible for both the participants and employers … but it’s going to take a bit of time to build,” she said.

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Categories
Australia

Government flags possible reform of $7b Workforce Australia jobseeker program a month after launching it

The federal government has flagged it is open to reforming Australia’s brand-new controversial $7 billion unemployment scheme and has announced the creation of a parliamentary committee to scrutinize it.

It comes following months of concern and confusion from jobseekers prior to the launch, as well as a deluge of criticism from them since.

Employment Minister Tony Burke said on Tuesday the federal government would create a lower house committee to examine the implementation of Workforce Australia, the program that replaced the maligned jobactive program last month.

Workforce Australia was passed under the Morrison government and voted for by Labor prior to the May election. Contracts with job service providers worth $7 billion were also signed.

Under the shift, those engaged in mutual obligations earn points for activities in return for the sub-poverty line JobSeeker payment.

But Mr Burke said on Tuesday while Labor supported the principles behind Workforce Australia, including mutual obligations, some aspects required “fresh parliamentary scrutiny and oversight”.

“While the [Coalition] spent nearly two years designing and building the software for the new system, they did not properly explain it to the Australian people,” he said.

“We are concerned we have ended up with a system that is driven more by the details of contracts with providers than the legislation the previous government brought to parliament.”

Mr Burke said the committee would take evidence on “where best practice is occurring and where it is not”.

“It will recommend where we can make long-term reforms, as well as where we can make more immediate improvements,” he said.

The committee is scheduled to report back to parliament in September 2023.

System needs to be ‘fit for purpose’

The transition to Workforce Australia has been shaky.

In the lead-up to launch, jobseekers said the changes had been poorly communicated, with some still unclear about what the changes meant for them and their JobSeeker payments just days before the program kicked in.

Social services advocates also voiced concern many of the “punitive” aspects from jobactive remained a part of Workforce Australia, and a new points-based system would force people into more mutual obligations sooner.

Since the scheme launched, jobseekers have reported a raft of issues, including being unable to access the app and online portal, being recommended jobs based on states they do not live in, and further confusing communication.

Mr Burke noted that on Tuesday, saying it appeared “user experience of the system varies wildly from person to person and provider to provider”.

A sign displaying the centrelink and medicare logos.
Workforce Australia was passed under the Morrison government and voted for by Labor when it was in opposition.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

Labor made a series of last-minute tweaks to the original design of Workforce Australia last month.

It also extended a suspension on payment penalties, though advocates want to see it stretched further until at least October.

The Australian Council of Social Service has welcomed the creation of the parliamentary committee.

“For too long, people who’ve been looking for paid work have been blamed for being unemployed rather than actively and positively supported to find jobs,” acting CEO Edwina MacDonald said.

“The announcement of this review is a good move to ensure the voices of people who use these services inform the reform process, and that feedback from the experiences of the early days of this new model can be used to ensure Workforce Australia is fit for purpose .’

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