Employment minister Amanda Rishworth will deliver a scathing assessment of Australia's unemployment services system, declaring it is 'setting many people up to fail' as she announces a major overhaul of mutual obligations requirements.
Major Overhaul of Employment System
The Albanese government has flagged a significant transformation of the employment system, with Rishworth expected to outline plans to ease Centrelink's much-maligned mutual obligations regime in a speech to the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Rishworth will argue that mutual obligation requirements are not helping Australians find work, describing the current system as 'ill-equipped' and wasteful of welfare recipients' time. She will claim unemployed people are 'languishing' with insufficient help, and that the system incentivises job providers to place applicants in unsuitable roles.
Critique of Current System
In a scathing assessment, Rishworth will say that mutual obligations take up too much time for both providers and applicants, and could be replaced with a fairer system. She will promise what she calls 'once-in-a-generation' reform, moving away from a 'one size fits all' employment services model to three streams of support depending on jobseeker needs.
'For too long, our public debate has been stuck in a conversation about whether mutual obligations are too hard, or too soft. When the real question should be: are mutual obligations activities actually helping people get into work?' Rishworth will tell the press club. 'Unfortunately, all too often, the answer is clearly no.'
Problems with Mutual Obligations
Mutual obligations include activities such as appointments with employment service providers, study or training courses, and applying for a set number of jobs or attending interviews. Guardian Australia has reported numerous examples of the system being unfair or cruel, including Centrelink payments suspended while recipients were in hospital recovering from brain surgery or psychosis, and condescending job training courses.
Rishworth says the government will move to a new model with three streams of support, tailored to how much help a jobseeker needs. The current model is 'ill-equipped to respond to the distinct needs of the one million Australians who access it each year.'
Consultation Process
Advance notes for Rishworth's speech do not detail exact changes but indicate the government will engage in consultation on the new model's design, including a discussion paper, an advisory group, and targeted consultation with jobseekers, employers, and providers.
'These providers should be delivering flexible, personalised support. But the overwhelming evidence shows us that for too many people, this is simply not the case,' Rishworth will say, noting that healthy people with recent job experience are better served than those with more challenging circumstances.
'The way providers are paid means they are incentivised to focus their efforts on those who fit into this narrow profile – rather than supporting everyone on their caseload. And people with more complex barriers to employment simply get put in the too-hard basket.'
Poor Job Fits and Wasted Time
Rishworth will say payments to job providers do not incentivise helping jobseekers find meaningful work, leading to poor job fits and a cycle of unemployment. One system, Workforce Australia Online, provides only limited support, leaving jobseekers to find their own employment.
'For many people, that could be a wasted year with no real progress towards employment, making it harder to then get a job,' she will say.
Future of Mutual Obligations
The mutual obligations overhaul will be finalised after consultation, but Rishworth suggests people with higher skills could have their obligations eased. She supports the concept of mutual obligations but says they need to be 'fair, proportionate, and above all, effective.'
'I've also met with employment service providers who say that too much of their time and resources are taken up with compliance activities, rather than actually helping people get into jobs,' she will say.
