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Give jobless more help in finding work, Govt urged
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| 1 August, 2010 |
Catholic Social Services Australia has called on the Federal Government to extend employment opportunities for people to participate in the labour market.
“We need to see Government creating supported employment schemes,” said executive director Frank Quinlan.
From July 1, hundreds of thousands of people receiving unemployment benefits have had to do more to find work.
Jobless people will have to meet Centrelink staff regularly to ensure they are looking for work and report any earnings under the changes.
And those who fail to turn up for their fortnightly meeting will have their welfare payments suspended.
The new rules apply to anyone under 25, the long-term and recently unemployed, and those who have poor compliance histories or are deemed vulnerable by the agency.
“Job seekers already have a very large number of requirements and obligations if they’re to receive a Newstart Allowance and have done for years,” Mr Quinlan said.
“The real question for us is what additional assistance job seekers are going to get when they turn up to their Centrelink office.
“Is it all very well to have people visiting their Centrelink office regularly, but if they’re not as a result getting some extra assistance then it really doesn’t make sense.”
He continued: “We need to start to look at creating intermediate opportunities, intermediate job markets to support some people who might not immediately be job ready. “It would entail job creation schemes where people can actually receive supported assistance to hold down jobs in the community.
“There might not be completely commercial employment opportunities, but nonetheless there are opportunities for people to develop good work skills and good work patterns.”
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