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Herald-Sun welfare-bashing articles, 7 April 2016

A disgraceful campaign by Rupert Murdoch’s publications to demonize welfare recipients.

A quarter of all dole recipients shirking appointments and jobs

April 7, 2016 9:18am, Lauren Wilson, Social Affairs Writer, News Corp Australia Network

AROUND a quarter of all dole recipients are skipping job interviews or failing to accept decent work.

Data released by the Departments of Employment has revealed that in just three months – between 1 July and 30 September 2015 – an alarming 276,000 job seekers had their welfare payments suspended.

Overall, there are around 800,000 people receiving welfare in the form of the Newstart or Youth Allowance.

Most of the suspensions were handed down because welfare recipients failed to turn up for appointments, or shirked obligations like work for the dole, and were back-paid once jobseekers re-engaged with job active.

More than 270,000 job seekers had welfare payments suspended in a three-month period. Picture: AAP / Dan Peled

Another 8900 people on the dole were slapped with heavier financial penalties for repeatedly shunning interviews, failing to accept appropriate work, or for misconduct.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the high number of suspensions demonstrate why the parliament needs to pass tough new penalties for job seekers.

“Australia’s income support system is there as a safety net for people who genuinely cannot find a job – not as an option for those who simply refuse to work,” Senator Cash said.

“Failure to address loopholes results in taxpayer funds being wasted by those who have the ability to engage in paid employment but instead prefer to remain on welfare payments.”

The tougher penalties, which are currently opposed by Labor Party MPs, extend dole suspensions to job seekers who fail to adequately hunt for work, and remove the waivers that allow people who turn down decent jobs to remain on welfare.

They would also ensure suspensions and penalties could be issued immediately and remove any back-paying provided to dole recipients who had their penalties suspended.

The Department of Human Services has previous revealed some of the excuses used by dole recipients for turning down jobs or shirking interviews – including that shifts would interfere with playing golf, or that working more than three hours a day would be too onerous.

Owen Bennett, president of the Australian Unemployed Workers Union, said the penalties are already tough enough and it was the job service providers that were letting the system down.

“This is a completely harsh and punitive system, we’ve had many people call our hotline where and tell us they have been penalised for not attending an appointment that they didn’t even know about,” he said.

EMAIL:lauren.wilson@news.com.au

TWITTER:@Lauren_Wilson

Cracking down on Centrelink fraud

January 10, 2016 12:00am, Lauren Wilson, Social Affairs Writer, News Corp Australia Network

COUPLES who lie about their relationship status to Centrelink to claim more generous dole payments will be targeted by a new fraud-busting taskforce.

Taskforce Integrity, set up to claw back billions in wrongful welfare payments, is cracking down on unemployed people who claim the more generous single-person dole payment despite living with a partner.

Welfare cops have discovered dole recipients are frequently telling one government agency they are single, while informing another they are in a de facto relationship to reap a financial benefit.

For instance, unscrupulous people are telling Centerlink they are single to get a higher fortnightly dole payment, but then disclosing their real relationship status to obtain reduced health insurance premiums or larger public housing residences.

The Newstart Allowance, or dole, pays $523.40 a fortnight to unemployed singles, compared to just $472.60 to each person in a relationship.

Human Services Minister Stuart Robert said welfare recipients who are dishonest about their living circumstances are now on notice.

“The message is simple – if you are a member of a couple you must declare this if you are receiving welfare payments.”

“The majority of welfare recipients do the right thing, however, the reality is there are those who deliberately try to game the system,” he said.

“These people need to understand they are stealing from their neighbours, including those in the community who are genuinely in need.”

In the last financial year, the federal government assessed 671 000 new claims for the dole.

Taskforce Integrity’s pilot program, which ran in the southern Sydney suburb of Rockdale last year, netted over $2.2 million in debts owed to the Commonwealth, referring 36 cases of suspected fraud for investigation.

The squad has also conducted another 2,786 compliance reviews and identified 590 cases where the government has paid too much welfare to individuals.

People who are on the Newstart Allowance, Disability Support Pension, Youth Allowance and Parenting Payment are required to inform the government about changes in their relationship status.

Their partner’s income and assets are taken into account when the government works out how much welfare they are entitled to.

The federal government’s midyear economic review projected enhanced data matching across welfare agencies would save taxpayers $1.3 billion.

Taskforce Integrity, which was formed last year, is now operational in suspected welfare-fraud hot spots across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and will continue to expand across other states throughout the year.

Nine officers from the Australian Federal Police with expertise in fraud detection have joined hundreds of bureaucrats in task force.

Jobseekers’ outlandish excuses for missing Newstart interviews

July 20, 2015 12:00am, Jessica Marszalek, The Courier-Mail

JOBSEEKERS are skipping their appointments with employment services only to offer outrageous excuses, with one even faking childbirth.

Others have sent in impostors in their place, or even used the 21st century equivalent of “the dog ate my homework”: a chewed-up iPhone.

But a crackdown on job-dodging dole claimers has seen hundreds scrambling to make-up work appointments after the Government paused payments for those going missing.

Newstart payments for jobseekers who skip compulsory monthly appointments were halted in January – with money only flowing again when the person attended a follow-up.

A massive 4.8 million meetings were missed in 2013-14.

The crackdown prompted a rush of people keen to attend make-up appointments between January and July, with 90 per cent now turning up compared with 65 per cent previously, figures released to The Courier Mail show.

Those who do “reconnect” are now doing so faster, taking three days to appear after a missed appointment, instead of more than five days before.

There were also fewer missed appointments under the new rules, down from 35 per cent of all appointments missed to 31.5 per cent.

Of those caught up in the crackdown, one in five missed their appointment because they didn’t feel like going, 16 per cent forgot and a similar number blamed a manageable or unproven medical issue.

Why you can’t believe the unemployment numbers

Sarina Russo Job Access chief executive Dianne Fletcher said the majority did the right thing but others used poor or ridiculous excuses not to meet employment services.

“A jobseeker had rung to advise that they were in labour and therefore unable to attend their appointment,” she said of one case.

“Unfortunately at their previous appointment they were slim and were not showing any signs of pregnancy and when they turned up to their following appointment they’d actually forgotten they’d used the excuse and there was no baby with them.”

Ms Fletcher said one jobseeker sent a substitute along, who fled when asked for ID.

“Sometimes there are some amusing parts to the day,” she said.

Other invalid excuses were: the dog chewed up my phone and destroyed its calendar, missing the bus or sleeping in, she said.

Valid excuses include casual work or job interviews.

From this month people who missed the first appointment without a valid reason were hit with a financial penalty, with payments previously being backpaid from the date of pause.

Assistant Minister for Employment Luke Hartsuyker said the reforms were working, with less time being wasted.

“This means less downtime and costs for providers and at the same time more jobseekers are benefiting from the taxpayer funded help on offer to find and keep a job,” he said.

Linked from 7/4/2016 Journal