The federal government will consider further changes to JobSeeker in future budgets, the prime minister says, as some social advocates and young people say this federal budget has offered "crumbs".
Last night's federal budget confirmed JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and Austudy payments would be lifted by $40 per fortnight across the board, and the age threshold for the higher JobSeeker rate would be lowered to 55 years old.
Asked whether the federal budget had not offered enough, and whether what was offered would fuel inflation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC the budget struck the right balance.
"We are producing the first projected surplus in 15 years, we are banking 87 per cent of the revenue gains to the bottom line, we have produced $40 billion of savings over two budgets … whilst also understanding that people are under pressure," Mr Albanese said.
"We needed to make sure it was a responsible budget, so this $40 increase is something that will make a difference to people."
Mr Albanese said last night's budget was "a budget that didn't leave people behind".
But social advocates say even with that increase, the payment will leave people well below the poverty line.
Anti-Poverty Centre spokeswoman Kristin O'Connell said the increase of less than $3 a day, due to take effect in September, was an "insult" to people on the lowest incomes.
"We really feel deeply frustrated with the fact that politicians continue to play politics with the lives of poor people. We need to see independent bodies setting payment rates," Ms O'Connell said.
Australian Council of Social Services chief executive Cassandra Goldie disagreed that the budget struck the right balance.
"We don't have what was needed on JobSeeker," Ms Goldie said.
"It's not only now still a poverty payment, it is still one of the lowest amongst the OECD countries.
As a very wealthy country we should do better, and it is a major barrier still to employment."
Ms Goldie did not accept the lift was all the government could afford, noting that the legislated stage 3 tax cuts would deliver a $25-a-day benefit to the nation's highest-income earners.
Mr Albanese did not rule out further increases to income support payments in future budgets, but said the government had to be conscious of inflation in this one.
"Further reform is never done," Mr Albanese said.
"What we do as a Labor government is focus on what we can do for people, but we focus as well on doing it in a really practical way.
"I think one of the things we need to examine, for example, with people on JobSeeker is how we improve employment services to get those long-term unemployed into work."
A parliamentary committee is currently reviewing employment services.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said families who were expecting relief to flow from this federal budget would receive nothing.
"We support those payments to families in the way in which the government has proposed them," Mr Dutton said.
"But It is a short-term fix [to] a long-term problem they have created, and millions of families aren't getting assistance in this budget who thought they were."
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said the Coalition would consider each measure in the budget, but the government could offer better support to welfare recipients by helping them into work.
"I want those people to be getting $250 a fortnight extra, and you know how we do that? Help them into a job," Mr Taylor said.
Mr Taylor said the payment lifts only dealt with the symptom, and did not address the problem of inflation.
"What we've seen is an unfair approach from Labor where some benefit, some don't … A hard-working Australian family with a mortgage is $25,000 worse off than a year ago," he said.
"The policy that could help all Australians, not divide them between winners and losers, but help everybody in this budget would have been a strategy putting downward pressure on inflation and interest rates.
The opposition will deliver its budget reply tomorrow.
