Inadequacy of the JobSeeker Payment

I have been pleased by the Government’s commitment to support Australians through the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of the JobKeeper wage subsidy and the coronavirus supplement for those receiving the JobSeeker payment.

The Department of Social Services has advised that it believes another 400,000 Australians will require the JobSeeker payment by September – bringing the total number of JobSeeker recipients to 1.7 million. 

But there has been mixed messaging from within the Government.

With almost two million Australians requiring income support in six months’ time, it is difficult to comprehend why the Prime Minister is insisting on a snapback to $40 per day. 

Minister for Families and Social Services Anne Ruston has said she would not rule out an increase to the JobSeeker payment rate. 

Yet the Prime Minister, Treasurer and Minister for Finance have locked in a return to $40 per day for Australians on JobSeeker. This is despite the Government’s own projections that unemployment will still be as high as 1.7 million come September.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians who have found themselves out of work, or had their hours slashed, are understandably anxious and confused by the mixed messages from this Government on JobSeeker. 

The Government must hep Australians get back into work. The Government must assure Australians who have lost their jobs that they won’t be snapped back to $40 a day by September. The old Newstart rate of $40 per day was so low that presented a barrier to finding work. It wasn’t enough before the crisis, and it won’t be enough after. 

Australians need assurance that this Government will not let them fall through the cracks.

I encourage you to contact Families and Social Services Anne Ruston with your concerns at:

Minister for Families and Social Services
PO Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Phone: (02) 6277 7560

senator.ruston@aph.gov.au