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....
APM Manager tells job seeker to ride 5 hours to appointment
Job seeker forced to reject work to make job agency meetings
22 July 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Multiple complaints of…
Only interested in keeping me on their books
Work for the Dole sucks badly
‘It isn’t working’: the government’s Workforce Australia launch derailed by outages and errors
5 July 2022, Crikey, Cam Wilson. Access the full article here. Australians who risk losing…
APM review, anonymous, 7 July 2023
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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…
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Australian government makes life hell for poor people
4 July 2022, Vice Australia, John Buckley. Access the full article here. A new employment services platform is suggesting some job seekers apply for jobs out of state, for those who can access the service at all Countless Australian job seekers could find themselves facing…
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Crossbench concerned about treatment of poor people
7 July 2022, Vice Australia, John Buckley. Access the full article here. We can’t forget the distress caused by Robodebt. Members of the crossbench in both the Senate and Lower House have grown restless over the government’s treatment of job seekers this week, after countless…
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.