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.
Employment Minister urged to stop rollout of new system
16 June 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Survey of unemployed…
Dramatic changes to Centrelink mutual obligations loom
9 June 2022, Evan Young and Norman Hermant, ABC News. Access the full article here….
Forced to drive 120km to meet job agency
24 July 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Australian Unemployed Workers’…
Unemployed forced into body language courses
1 August 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Providers in the…
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…
New employment services program crashes at launch
9 July 2022, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Welfare recipients say…
-
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 the full audio here. Jobseekers are being forced to travel hundreds of kilometres, miss work and complete training courses they don’t need to qualify for unemployment benefits. Luke Henriques-Gomes explains to Laura Murphy-Oates why…
-
Job agency says to scrap ‘mutual obligations’
13 March 2023, Guardian Australia, Luke Henriques-Gomes. Access the full article here. Another key industry player suggested government should shut down the work-for-the-dole scheme Some job agencies running the federal government’s flagship employment services program, Workforce Australia, are arguing for a review or overhaul of the…
-
Welfare system puts disadvantaged at risk, ombudsman
13 March 2023, Guardian Australia, Paul Karp. Access the full article here. Mutual obligation system subjects some participants to ‘punitive conditions’, commonwealth ombudsman says Australia’s mutual obligation system for welfare risks “subjecting disadvantaged participants to unreasonably onerous and punitive conditions”, the commonwealth ombudsman has warned.…
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.