Australians now have more opportunities to secure employment and participate in the workforce.
Today, the Government’s Restart, Job Commitment Bonus and Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job programmes will commence – providing opportunities for Australians who are able to work and for employers looking for new staff.
The reinvigorated Work for the Dole programme will also commence in 18 areas across Australia.
The Restart programme will encourage businesses to employ mature age job seekers.
Businesses will benefit from the skills and workplace experience these job seekers offer as well as receiving an incentive of up to $10,000 to retain these employees. Mature age job seekers aged 50 or over who have been receiving income support for a minimum of six months will be eligible.
The Government’s new Job Commitment Bonus programme will encourage young, long term unemployed job seekers aged 18-30 to find and keep a job. Eligible job seekers will be paid $6,500 if they get a job and remain in continuous gainful work and off income support for two years.
These Job Commitment Bonus payments will provide a real incentive for young, long-term unemployed Australians to move off welfare and into paid work.
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 Government’s Relocation Assistance to Take Up a Job programme will offer eligible job seekers financial assistance of up to $6,000 if they move to a regional area to take up a job, or, $3,000 if they move to a metropolitan area. Families with dependent children will be provided with an extra $3,000 to help cover the additional costs of relocation.
The reinvigorated Work for the Dole programme will begin in 18 areas today and will be rolled out nationwide from 1 July 2015.
Assistance to young job seekers should help them move into employment, rather than encouraging them to remain on welfare. This programme will help young job seekers remain active and engaged while looking for work.
All of the Government’s policies are focused on getting more Australians into work – because the best form of welfare is a job.
1 July 2014