The $11 billion cost of Australia’s shirking class

EXCLUSIVE: Barely a thousand of Australia’s 864,000 dole recipients were penalised for shirking work last year, as unemployment payments ballooned to an $11 billion a year.

BARELY a thousand of Australia’s 864,000 dole recipients were penalised for shirking work last year, as unemployment payments ballooned to an $11 billion a year.

Job brokers dobbed in 7797 dole recipients to Centrelink last year for “inadequate or poor job search’’, the Department of Social Services revealed yesterday.

However, only 1024 were punished, with 504 having their payments cut for eight weeks for “not commencing suitable work’’ and 520 penalised for “refusing a suitable job’’.

More than half a million Australians have been on the dole for more than a year.

And 355,000 recipients do not even have to look for a job, on the grounds they have more than three children in primary school, are home-schooling, temporarily ill or working or studying 30 hours a fortnight.

 

 

People on the dole can knock back a job if they are not at least $50 a fortnight better off, after paying the extra costs of working, such as public transport and clothing.

Taxpayers spent $10.9 billion on unemployment benefits last financial year, and that bill is expected to balloon to $11.8 billion by 2019-20.

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits has nearly doubled since the global financial crisis (GFC) in 2008.

Job seekers are allowed to skip job interviews or turn down work if they have a “reasonable excuse’’.

However, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge yesterday vowed to close that loophole, which in some cases lets people turn down work because they want to pursue an acting career, the factory “smelled funny’’ or the job “interfered with golf’’.

“I am concerned that the present definition of ‘reasonable excuse’ is too broad and lets some people off the hook when they should face penalties,’’ he said.

“We are continuing to look at ways to strengthen the system, because it’s in everyone’s interests that those who can work, do work.’’

Mr Tudge said the Labor Party and Greens had blocked the government’s welfare crackdown this year, but legislation would be reintroduced. The number of Australians receiving Newstart or its junior version, Youth Allowance, has soared from 464,000 in June 2008, just before the GFC, to 864,000 in July this year.

Nearly 125,000 jobless parents have been transferred from the more generous Parenting Payment to Newstart, as a result of changes by the former Labor government.