More kicked off dole in Qld than any other state

Queenslanders on the dole are the worst in the country for breaching rules, with more welfare recipients cut off from payments than any other state.

QUEENSLANDERS on the dole are the worst in the country for turning up to appointments or breaching other rules, with more welfare recipients cut off from payments than any other state per person.

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There were 23,044 Queenslanders who had welfare payments cancelled entirely in 2018-19 for repeated breaches or going AWOL from Centrelink for 28 days.

NSW was the only state to have more payments cancelled, 23,701, but when populations are taken into account Queenslanders were well in front of the pack.

More Queenslanders were kicked off the dole than any other state on a per person basis in 2017-18. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Payments are suspended, but not cancelled, for one breach of the rules like missing an appointment or not putting in the effort at a job interview.

The vast bulk of 603,000 Centrelink payment suspensions for Queenslanders were for failing to show up to important meetings not putting in the effort at job interviews.

There were 150,000 Queensland welfare recipients who had their payments suspended on more than 400,000 occasions in the past financial year for skipping an important meeting or not showing up to a work for the dole program.

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There were also 180,000 suspensions for people applying for jobs out of their reach, or sabotaging interviews by dressing poorly or not showing an interest in the job.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash, who will release the data today, said “taxpayers expect better” than the high number of rule breaking being recorded.

“Our focus will always be to get people off welfare and into work. Taxpayers expect nothing less,” she said.

“What these figures show is a large cohort of Jobactive participants not taking their mutual obligations seriously.”

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Gary Ramage

While there are thousands of job seekers and welfare recipients in desperate search for employment, there were 133 Queenslanders who had their payments suspended for failing to accept work offered to them and another 196 who did show up to the job they were given.

Welfare recipients can have payments cancelled for five suspensions within six months or failing to re-engage with their provider within 28 days.

A government survey of Australian employers this year found 45 per cent were having difficulty recruit last year, while 60 per cent looking for low-skilled workers found applicants were not showing enough interest in the job.