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....
‘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…
Job agencies don’t work and ruin your health
14 August 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Nathan, now on…
Staff review: The company is not supportive to employees with disabilities
Source: Glassdoor You’re just a number regardless of the effort and commitment you put into…
Government pays $2 million in settlement over racist employment program
23 December 2021, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Indigenous leaders argued…
Dramatic changes to Centrelink mutual obligations loom
9 June 2022, Evan Young and Norman Hermant, ABC News. Access the full article here….
APM review, Sandra, 13 June 2023
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Living on Centrelink payments means jumping through hoops and living on scraps – will it ever end?
5 October 2021, Guardian Australia, Lysa Llyod. Access the full article here. Life for those of us on welfare benefits holds little hope. If our society can’t look after its most vulnerable, maybe it needs to be torn down or the past six years, I…
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Too late to can new employment services system, Employment Minister
19 June 2022, Guardian Australia, Sarah Martin. Access the full article here. Tony Burke aims to make scheme ‘logical’, despite unemployment advocates’ calls for halt to controversial program The employment minister, Tony Burke, says it is too late to scrap a controversial points-based mutual obligationParticipation requirements…
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Analysis: In Australia’s welfare sector obligations are ‘mutual’, but profits flow only one way
6 August 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. As jobseekers face ‘humiliating’ tasks to maintain payments, vast network of job agencies rakes in hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars Two words make the money go round in Australia’s multi-billion dollar welfare-to-work…
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.