Politics Centrelink

[Rotayjay]

There are some real milkers out there, but you'll never stop them milking. You can force them to at least look for work, but you shouldn't make life a misery for those who want to work but haven't found it yet. And this idea that anyone can find a job if they are desperate enough is nonsense. Yes you can be an Uber partner or dodgy pizza bar worker, but that is often well below minimum wage. That's not a job.

 

[rocker_oz33]

First thing that comes to mind with centrelink.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

Poor pensioners never got any Covid supplements

Yes they did. They also get all the pensioner discounts.

 

[eddiesmith]

Yes they did. They also get all the pensioner discounts.

2 one off payments, no ongoing supplement

 

[JackOutback]

2 one off payments, no ongoing supplement

To be fair, the pension has increased with absolute regularity over the last 30 years and isn’t below the poverty line. The need to increase it was substantially less.

 

[eddiesmith]

To be fair, the pension has increased with absolute regularity over the last 30 years and isn’t below the poverty line. The need to increase it was substantially less.

Yeah I think it’s nearly doubled whilst I’ve been on it.

But a supplement each week would have been nice! Obviously no need for 550 to be added though! The other be off payments were ok but the next two will be barely noticed and this year the pension didn’t get its September increase.

 

[JackOutback]

Yeah I think it’s nearly doubled whilst I’ve been on it.

But a supplement each week would have been nice! Obviously no need for 550 to be added though! The other be off payments were ok but the next two will be barely noticed and this year the pension didn’t get its September increase.

Most pensioners have fixed outgoings as well, they are more likely to own their own home etc. The Newstart increase was designed to cope with the numbers of people paying off mortgages, raising children etc suddenly being on a fraction of their regular income.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

Yeah I think it’s nearly doubled whilst I’ve been on it.

But a supplement each week would have been nice! Obviously no need for 550 to be added though! The other be off payments were ok but the next two will be barely noticed and this year the pension didn’t get its September increase.

Sure, and to make everything completely fair, everyone should get pensioner discount cards.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Yeah I think it’s nearly doubled whilst I’ve been on it.

But a supplement each week would have been nice! Obviously no need for 550 to be added though! The other be off payments were ok but the next two will be barely noticed and this year the pension didn’t get its September increase.

The reason pensioners only got a one off was intent of the payments (pension vs dole)

The pension is intended to be an income you can live in. Libs have openly stated that the dole is not, and it needs to be low enough that it incentivises looking for a job, because life on it alone is not viable

The ongoing stepup was because even the libs acknowledged that there were no alternative gigs for workers made unemployed thanks to the pandemic, so it had to temporary return to being close to a payment people can live with.

And that's why it's being wound back - people are more able to get a gig now

 

[Over The Post]

A fortnight which put it above the pension. Should always be less than the pension. Poor pensioners never got any Covid supplements

A million and a half Lib voters didn't suddenly find themselves dumped onto the pension earlier this year. The supplement was never about decency, or standard of living, it was always about insulating these voters from the reality of living below the breadline. As was discussed here at the time.

Australia's top economists want JobSeeker boosted by at least $100 per week

Ahead of a decision about any permanent increase expected early next year, The Conversation and the Economic Society of Australia asked 45 of Australia's leading economists where they thought JobSeeker should settle.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Crusey]

Mutual Obligations of 4 jobs a month are back

Anyone know what actually happens if you just dont do them ?

I'm back at work but all cashies, not sure if I should just cancel the jobseeker or apply for 4 jobs with no intention of taking them for a few more months

 

[utility]

I'm back at work but all cashies, not sure if I should just cancel the jobseeker or apply for 4 jobs with no intention of taking them for a few more months

It depends how likely you are to get busted, and how much is involved.

I saw a case in the County Court a few years ago involving a woman who ripped off Centrelink. It happened in two periods of time. The first she was overpaid around $7k and Centrelink did NOTHING! They ignored it because it wasn't worth the cost of taking to court. The second period I think was $38k so with the accumulated amount they took her to court. She was a single mother with two deadbeat husbands, a daughter who was eight months pregnant, working night shift, and responsible for remittance to elderly parents in the Philippines. And she got a female judge. So received a suspended sentence, very lucky. But hearing her story I didn't feel bad for her ripping off Centrelink as he ex-husbands were scum, her brother was a deadbeat as well, and she had multiple dependents.

But you do walk a tight rope if you receive payments while working. In her case she worked for Australia Post so it would have been easy to see that she was claiming while working.

I didn't apply for payments last year as I wanted to travel overseas. When I returned the bastards didn't approve my claim. Fortunately I found some work. Dealing with Centrelink is never fun.

What's involved in mutual obligations?

 

[Over The Post]

What's involved in mutual obligations?

Depends on your job service provider, but lube and knee pads are de rigueur.

 

[Over The Post]

Looks like I am back in the system, my latest medical exemption bounced because the dr selected the wrong drop-down item and Centrelink won't fix it.

Anyway, called them, they are now using the same voiceprint identification that the ATO brought in last year. Of course their privacy policy allows them to share your voiceprint with other departments, including the same ones that "accidentally" or was it "incidentally" accessed the covidsafe database. Took seven minutes to actually get past the initial bullshit to even get the option to speak to someone, which amazingly only took a few minutes.

Ah well, off to the chemist and Bunnings.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Mutual Obligations of 4 jobs a month are back

Anyone know what actually happens if you just dont do them ?

I'm back at work but all cashies, not sure if I should just cancel the jobseeker or apply for 4 jobs with no intention of taking them for a few more months

APAC Regional Director Government and Regulatory Affairs Job in Sydney

Advise on the formulation of company positions in connection with regulatory requirements and proceedings

www.seek.com.au

General Manager Job in Coffs Harbour & North Coast

Executive opportunity to steer business operations for a growing organisation. Enjoy a generous salary and all the benefits of a coastal lifestyle!

www.seek.com.au

There's a couple you can easily find a couple more.
If you accidently got one, you'll come out of it with a good bit of cash when they sack you a few months later.

 

[Over The Post]

Mutual Obligation job applications are 20 per month, 5 per week, but your JSP may reduce that depending on your circumstances.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

Mutual Obligation job applications are 20 per month, 5 per week, but your JSP may reduce that depending on your circumstances.

8/month at the moment for me. It takes about 8 minutes to find 8 company names with matching phone numbers, and enter the info.

 

[AngryRanga]

What sort of info do you need to provide to prove you've applied for a job? My Job Search site still says I don't need to do the mandatory reporting, but I might as well start noting them down now.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

What sort of info do you need to provide to prove you've applied for a job? My Job Search site still says I don't need to do the mandatory reporting, but I might as well start noting them down now.

-Company name,
-location (suburb),
-company contact(name, number or email),
-how you applied (online, email, phone etc)

As long as the details match, it shouldn't get flagged in the system.

 

[Rotayjay]

I believe the idea is that the Department of Employment/Jobactive can spot-check a job application and reject it if the application is deemed not genuine (applying for a job the person is clearly not qualified for, etc). I have heard some horror stories of people calling Jobactive - they seem to have trained monkeys working in their call centres (as Centrelink has sometimes). Whenever ringing a government department and the person on the other end says they cannot do anything to help, try hanging up and calling back to get a different and more experienced person.

If a person fails to apply for sufficient jobs for the month (not the Centrelink fortnight) their Jobseeker Payment is suspended until they comply or give a reasonable excuse such as a Centrelink Medical Certificate.

 

[Over The Post]

Tasmanian Liberal MP speaks out against Government's cashless welfare scheme

A Federal Liberal backbencher has hit out at the Coalition's plan to make a controversial scheme a permanent fixture of Australia's social welfare framework, labelling it as "punitive" and arguing her community could never support it.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Rotayjay]

Tasmanian Liberal MP speaks out against Government's cashless welfare scheme

A Federal Liberal backbencher has hit out at the Coalition's plan to make a controversial scheme a permanent fixture of Australia's social welfare framework, labelling it as "punitive" and arguing her community could never support it.

www.abc.net.au

The irony.

Liberal: freedom to rip off workers, give them insecure jobs with **** pay and conditions, free market economics to make the rich richer and leave the rest behind. But when you're on welfare, you are subhuman and therefore the obsession with freedom doesn't apply to you.

Politicians are perfect hypocrites.

 

[Gough]

Per the Graund blog.

So, if you accessed your $20,000 superannuation before you were unemployed, and it is still sitting in your bank, you have to spend it, or wait six months for government benefits.

You do what the government encourages you to do, then they punish you for doing it.

 

[Rotayjay]

Per the Graund blog.

You do what the government encourages you to do, then they punish you for doing it.

The good ol' Liquid Assets Waiting Period. Causes untold hardship as people with virtually no money are forced to bend over backwards trying to prove to Centrelink that they are not hiding money to avoid the waiting period. It truly is disgusting and a massive waste of citizens' and Centrelink's time. Just to save a few weeks' worth of benefit.

 

[Over The Post]

Per the Graund blog.
You do what the government encourages you to do, then they punish you for doing it.

A point I raised in this very thread on September 4.