ACOSS is calling on the Federal Government to substantially boost income support payments after it announced small increases due to routine indexation.
Some income support payments including Youth Allowance and Austudy are adjusted for inflation on January 1 each year. Youth Allowance for a single person is only going up by $1.70 a day.
Long-term unemployment rising while entry level jobs decline: New report
The report, Faces of unemployment 2024, found that since interest rates began to rise in mid-2022, employment at the lowest skill level has lagged, increasing only 1.9% compared with 7.8% overall. Job vacancies for that skill level have dropped by 39% compared to a 30% decline overall.
ACOSS has referred the Federal Government to the Commonwealth Ombudsman following the latest revelations that income support payments may have been illegally cancelled, affecting at least 1,000 people between April 2022 and July 2024.
The referral comes after CEO Cassandra Goldie wrote to Employment Minister Murray Watt on Friday 29th November, urging the Government to refer itself and initiate a full legal and human rights investigation into the Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF).
ACOSS welcomes the changes to the way the Reserve Bank sets interest rates as part of the RBA Reform Bill that passed into law last week.
The new rules entrench a ‘dual mandate’ for the RBA – to contribute to full employment and price stability – without giving priority to one over the other. The reforms herald the first major changes in the RBA’s 70 years history.
ACOSS has called for the immediate suspension of the Targeted Compliance Framework following the latest revelations that income support payments may have been illegally cancelled, affecting at least 1,000 people between April 2022 and July 2024.