Media spotlight on employment services
We are collecting examples of job agency abuse and related news media. If you have a story to add, please send it to us here.
Government storing sensitive data without consent
25 July 2022, Vice Australia, John Buckley. Access the full article here. Ensnared in controversy…
ParentsNext program is ‘absolute scandal’
2 November 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. One woman’s payments…
Australia’s billion-dollar welfare-to-work system gave recipients fake CVs — with people’s real details
15 February 2023, Crikey, Cam Wilson. Access the full article here. One person whose number…
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…
“Job agent” caught blaming a job seeker for unemployment
23 February 2022, SBS News, Eden Gillespie. Access the full article here. WISE Employment and…
ParentsNext providers made invalid claims for tax-payer funded bonuses
2 September 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Noncompliant claims widespread…
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.