9th Sep 2019, 5:22 PM – Senate Motions - Jobactive - Implement recommendations

The majority voted against a motion introduced by WA Senator Rachel Siewert (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) data released by the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business shows that nearly four in five jobactive participants have had their payments suspended at least once in the last 12 months,

(ii) jobactive participants often have their payments suspended for reasons out of their control including administrative errors by employment service providers,

(iii) jobactive participants are living on unemployment payments as low as $277 a week and should not be subject to unfair payment suspensions, and

(iv) poverty is a barrier to employment and suspending income support payments does not help people gain employment,

(b) expresses concern that jobactive participants can face payment suspensions due to administrative errors by employment service providers with no recourse to Centrelink; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) implement the recommendations contained in the report of the Education and Employment References Committee into Jobactive: failing those it is intended to serve, tabled on 14 February 2019, and

(ii) abandon the Targeted Compliance Framework.