The Coalition's jobless bashing timetable
(Expenditure "savings" to June 30, 1999)
July 1996
- Introduce job seeker diary
- Establish dedicated telephone contact service for employers [dob in a "dole bludger" lines]
- Additional computer based fraud detection
- Match employment declaration forms against Parenting Allowance recipients' data and customers' aliases and maiden names
September 1996
- Stricter requirements on and greater use of employer contact certificates
- Enforce requirements for full employer contact details on fortnightly statement
- Measures to increase voluntary work participation for the older unemployed ($400,000)
October 1996
- Increase recovery of debts [overpayments made due to departmental errors, often discovered much later after it has been spent]
December 1996
- Improve activity test information held on DSS computer system
January 1997
- Changes to penalties for breaches of the Social Security Act [increase the period of non-payment for breaches to six weeks, 13 weeks for second breach]
- Stricter definition of "sufficient reason" for declining job offers or voluntarily leaving employment
- Stricter definition of "unsuitable work" [e.g. below award wages, casual/part-time rather than full-time work or requirement to relocate]
- Expand definition of industrial action and tighten provisions relating to unemployment due to industrial action
- Change holiday processing arrangements [so that payments affected by public holidays will no longer be made in advance] ($14.7m)
- Apply parental income test to Youth Training Allowance and Student Allowance customers under 18 ($600,000)
- Modify Job Search Allowance, Newstart Allowance and pensions advance scheme [currently, repayable cash payments can be made in advance for emergency situations] ($82.3m)
March 1997
- Abolish Employment Entry Payment and the Education Entry Payment [once-off small cash payments to help with initial costs of entering a new job or course of study] ($35.1m)
- Abolish all earnings credit schemes [currently allow beneficiaries to earn up to $60 a fortnight without affecting their level of benefit]
July 1997
- Introduce a separate lower maximum rate of rent assistance for single people who share accommodation [from $73.80 to $49.20 per fortnight] ($34m in 1997/98)
September 1997
- Consolidate and simplify voluntary work provisions ($2.6m)
- Extend liquid assets waiting period to a maximum of 13 weeks [currently four weeks] ($8.4m)
- Remove superannuation means test exemption for older people with no recent work force experience ($93 in 1997/98)
- Replace annual leave waiting period with "income maintenance period" ($46.5m)
October 1997
- Redefine [tighten] recoverable debts under the Social Security Act
[Source: Department of Social Security internal circular titled "1996/97 Budget Quick Reference Card.]
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