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.
Ronnie spent five years looking for work. A new report says many others are ‘being left behind’
8 December 2022, SBS News, Aleisha Orr. Access the full article here. A report has…
Podcast: Job seekers sent to body language courses for job agents to profit
1 September 2022, Guardian Australia, Presented by Laura Murphy-Oates and Reported by Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access…
Jobactive virus kickbacks top $500 million
29 August 2020, The Saturday Paper, Rick Morton. Access the full article here. Government policies…
Committee hears about punitive ParentsNext program
18 January 2023, Guardian Australia, Stephanie Convery. Access the full article here. Committee hears ParentNext…
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…
Advocates warn of onerous points-based system
7 June 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Mutual obligations system…
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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 was shared on a fake CV was receiving phone calls because of Workforce Australia’s online learning module. Workforce Australia has included people’s real phone numbers in fake résumés shown to…
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‘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 welfare payments if they don’t fulfil Workforce Australia’s requirements were unable to access the service at launch. The rollout of the federal government’s new unemployment services program, Workforce Australia, has…
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‘Where is their obligation to us?’ Unemployed workers protest the Albanese government’s new welfare obligations
1 June 2022, Crikey, Cam Wilson. Access the full article here. For unemployed workers who are soon to be included in a new mutual obligation scheme, there’s no honeymoon period for the Albanese government. Undeterred by a drizzly Sydney day, a group of protesters led…
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.