Stories
We have published a number of stories from Antipoverty Centre surveys, the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union review app, news media and other sources on this site and will be adding to these over time to create an archive of material demonstrating the harms caused by “mutual” obligations and employment services providersCompliance with “mutual” obligations is enforced by outsourced employment se....
Mutual obligations don’t get people jobs, says job agencies
28 May 2021, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Both privatised job…
APM Manager tells job seeker to ride 5 hours to appointment
Welfare system puts disadvantaged at risk, ombudsman
13 March 2023, Guardian Australia, Paul Karp. Access the full article here. <span class="glossary-tooltip glossary-term-897"…
Mutual obligations harming the homeless, disabled and First Nations’ the most
25 November 2021, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Those experiencing homelessness,…
Australian government makes life hell for poor people
4 July 2022, Vice Australia, John Buckley. Access the full article here. A new employment…
I fear the welfare system so I stay in bad situations
Sarina Russo Jobs Access accused of dumping sensitive information in bin
28 July 2016, The Daily Mail, Sinead MacLaughlin. Access the full article here. Pages of sensitive data belonging to clients found in a skip bin. Pages included bank details, phone numbers and addresses. A recruitment agency has been discovered allegedly dumping thousands of jobseekers confidential…
Mutual obligations make it harder to get a job
15 June 2021, The Conversation, Ruud Gerards and Ricardo Welters. Access the full article here. Under so-called mutual obligation rules, the Australian government requires the unemployed to complete activities (including training and applying for a certain number of jobs) in return for receiving unemployment benefits. Failure to…
Employment services survey
The Punishment for Profit report is based on hundreds of responses to surveys conducted by the Antipoverty Centre. This research is ongoing. If you are in Workforce Australia, Disability Employment Services or a similar program, we welcome any information you are able to share about your experiences.