Cabinet papers: Peter Reith sought $100m to expand Work for the Dole

The Howard government was determined to beef up its Work for the Dole program in 1999.

The Howard government was determined to beef up its Work for the Dole program into a fully fledged mutual obligation scheme in 1999, with cabinet agreeing to a $100m expansion of the program to be announced in the budget.

Work for the Dole had begun in 1998 after a small pilot in late 1997 under employment minister David Kemp. The pilot was expanded in April 1998 and the May budget announced growing the program was part of a total spending package on the young unemployed that included new literacy and numeracy programs and more career counselling.

From July 1998, all 18 to 24-year-olds who had been un­employed for six months or more had an obligation to work in an ­“approved activity” to receive full unemployment benefits.

These ­activities involved working on ­environment projects, or in community services.

The newly released cabinet ­papers outline discussions in April 1999 for a comprehensive expansion of Work for the Dole ahead of the budget. Such an expansion had been a policy commitment ahead of the October election.

Employment minister Peter Reith took a submission to cabinet asking for additional funding of just under $100m over the four-year forward estimates. The funding was to cover an extra 6000 Work for the Dole places each year for four years, in particular to accommodate the expansion of the program to ensure Year 12 school leavers receiving the full unemployment benefit after three months unemployment were required to participate.

The 1999 budget submission of Mr Reith’s employment, workplace relations and small business ministry talked up the success of the Work for the Dole program to that point.

“(It) has provided places for over 16,000 unemployed persons, 80 per cent of whom were young unemployed people, a priority target group,” the submission noted.