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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Luke Henriques-Gomes Social affairs and inequality editor

Jobseeker forced to travel 60km to keep payments under new welfare program

Road sign with Lakes Entrance and Orbost
Jobseeker who lives in Orbost, Victoria, and does not drive has been told to attend Workforce appointments 60km away in Lakes Entrance. Photograph: Chris Hopkins/The Guardian

A man living in regional Victoria has been told to attend job agency appointments more than 60km away under the federal government’s new $1.5bn-a-year Workforce Australia program.

And another jobseeker, who has lived with a mental health condition, said he felt “degraded” by his first experience at his new job agency, after his mutual obligations requirements were increased under the new “point-based activation system” (Pbas).

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