The Future of Employment Services in Australia – Discussion paper

The Federal Government proposed changes to the Welfare to Work legislation in its discussion paper, ‘The Future of Employment Services in Australia’. In a joint response to this paper, the Homeless Persons’ Legal Service NSW (PIAC) and its interstate counterpart, PILCH’s Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic, Victoria, commend the government for its proposed amendments. They argue that the compliance regime breaches the fundamental human rights of social security recipients and that the continuation of the eight-week penalty period can have devastating effects on people who are entirely reliant on welfare payments. They believe that no job-seeker should be fully precluded from income support for any period.