Sydney (Press Release); The Coalition will take real action to get unemployed Australians off welfare and into work. We believe that every Australian who is capable of working should be in a job, preferably for a wage but, if not, for the dole.
The Australian unemployment rate is increasing and the level of long-term unemployment is simply far too high.
If elected the Coalition will put in place targeted measures to help get people off welfare and into work.
1. A Job Commitment Bonus for Young Australians
The Coalition will introduce a Job Commitment Bonus payment to encourage long-term unemployed young Australians to find a job and keep it.
Young Australians aged 18 to 30 who have been unemployed for twelve months or more and are on Newstart Allowance or Youth Allowance will receive a $2,500 Job Commitment Bonus if they get a job and remain off welfare for a continuous period of 12 months.
The Coalition will provide a further Job Commitment Bonus of $4,000 to the jobseeker if they remain in a job and off welfare for a continuous period of 24 months.
This means that young Australians who are long-term unemployed can receive up to $6,500 under this programme.
These bonus payments will be managed by Centrelink. Bonus payments will be paid directly to the employee at the end of the 12 and 24 month qualifying periods upon suitable confirmation that their employment has been ongoing.
These Job Commitment Bonus payments will provide a real incentive to get young, long-term unemployed Australians off welfare and into paid work. Making the payments conditional upon retaining work for an extended period provides a further incentive for those who secure a job to remain employed.
2. Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job
The Coalition will introduce new measures to help connect unemployed jobseekers with jobs to increase workforce participation and boost productivity.
Many jobseekers find themselves living in areas with high levels of unemployment and far away from new job opportunities. This, combined with high moving costs, causes many jobseekers to give up on taking up a job that they could ordinarily fill because they are simply too far away.
The Coalition will offer unemployed Australian’s real financial help to relieve the costs of relocation so that they can get to where the jobs are.
We will provide financial assistance of up to $6,000 for long term unemployed jobseekers if they move to a regional area to take up a job, or, $3,000 if they move to a metropolitan area.
This relocation assistance will only be available to long-term unemployed jobseekers who have been on Newstart or Youth Allowance for more than 12 months. People relocating between capital cities or within capital cities will not be eligible for the payment.
The Coalition understands that relocation is even harder for jobseekers with families. Therefore, families with dependent children will be provided with an extra $3,000 to help cover the additional costs of relocation.
Jobseekers who do not remain in the job they have accepted for a period of at least six months will be subject to a six month waiting period before they are able to receive any further benefits, unless reasonable grounds for job separation can be demonstrated.
If elected, the Coalition will create one million new jobs over the next five years and two million over the next decade.
These sensible, targeted measures will help get people off welfare and into these new jobs. More than 140,000 Australians have been unemployed for more than 12 months. If elected, we will take real action to get them into work.
Getting more Australians into work is part of the Coalition’s Real Solutions Plan to build a stronger Australia and a better future – for all Australians.
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