MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2020) As many as 9,100 homeless people in Australia have been deprived of income support for not complying with mutual obligations for jobseekers since job agencies returned the obligations last month, The Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.
In late September, the government announced the return of mutual welfare obligations halted over the coronavirus pandemic. This means that people should meet certain requirements to receive unemployment benefits, such as searching for up to eight jobs a month, signing a job search plan and participating in meetings with an employment services provider.
According to the newspaper, since mutual obligations returned a total of 74,434 payment suspensions have been recorded between September 28 and October 18. In other words, about 7 percent of all job seekers have been deprived of welfare payments over the given period.
Among those who suffered from the payment system, there are 9,100 homeless people, 13,169 people with disabilities, 12,137 indigenous job seekers and 12,401 former offenders, the newspaper added.
Given the figures, the Department of Employment late on Thursday revealed its plans to reduce the number of payment suspensions. In particular, under the current system, the payments are automatically put on hold when job agencies record that job seekers have missed an appointment or activity. Now, job seekers will have a "48-hour window" or grace period to contact their agency before their payments' suspension. The change will take effect starting in December.
