Rent assistance is only $10-14 per day, well below rent levels.
- Associate Professor, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
You might be surprised to know that many unemployed Australians are not on unemployment benefits. And then came COVID – which saw a big shift in how many people were able and willing to claim.
Even with the latest small increase, JobSeeker remains low by overseas standards – and, on one measure, it’s the lowest in the OECD.
JobKeeper and the Coronavirus Supplement ended earlier this year. But the last few months in have shown the COVID crisis is far from over in Australia.
Any permanent increase is welcome, but there’s a long way to go.
New analysis shows there is considerable scope to increase JobSeeker payments before they might hinder people’s motivation to find paid work.
Almost 37% of Australian workers do not have paid sick leave. We need to fix this if we want people not to turn up to work when sick during the coronavirus pandemic.
Australia’s unemployment benefits are now middle of the pack, but the package treats two-income couples badly.
One quarter of Australian workers have no paid sick leave. They are more likely than most to work in service industries, dealing with people face to face.
Fixing Newstart isn’t enough. We need a comprehensive inquiry into our complex and bewildering social security system, especially as it applies to single parents.
Not only has income inequality in Australia grown over the past two decades, rich and poor are also more segregated in terms of where they live in the big cities.
Of the many policy debates in Federal Parliament in 2011, one which gathered support from both major parties was the proposal to lift the superannuation guarantee employer contribution from 9% to 12…
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