The Coalition's jobless bashing timetable

Wednesday, September 11, 1996 - 10:00

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.]

From GLW issue 246