Service providers are still calling on the federal government to make the higher JobSeeker rate permanent, as the end of the $150 coronavirus income support supplement looms.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Currently, those receiving JobSeeker and other income supports get the supplement on top of their usual payment every fortnight, but from April 1 it will be cut.
Tom Gersbach, social justice advisor with St Vincent de Paul's Wollongong Dioesan Central Council, said last year's boost to JobSeeker meant the charity actually saw demand for its support services fall.
"But with the easing off of the JobSeeker allowance, we're starting to get more referrals," Mr Gersbach said.
For six months last year, income support recipients received an extra $550 coronavirus supplement a fortnight, which then fell to $250 for three months, before being cut further to $150 from January 1.
Mr Gersbach said the return of children to school for the new year had also introduced more financial pressure.
He said he did not know what would happen once the JobSeeker payment reverted to its former rate.
Without the coronavirus supplement, a single JobSeeker recipient with no children receives $565.70 a fortnight - a little over $40 a day.
Mr Gersbach said that was below the poverty line.
"People were struggling before [the pandemic], and the cost of living hasn't exactly reduced," he said.
Vinnies is one of many organisations behind the Raise the Rate campaign.
Mr Gersbach said the JobSeeker rate should be above the poverty line.
"We shouldn't punish people for not having a job," he said, adding that jobs were not always available or where the people were.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this week that the rate of JobSeeker was a matter the government was still considering.
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy confirmed to the Senate's COVID-19 committee on Thursday that "there are decisions around JobSeeker in front of the government now".
Dr Kennedy said decisions on the adequacy of the JobSeeker payment needed to be made in line with "how it intersects with incentives to work".
Whitlam MP Stephen Jones said he and fellow Labor parliamentarian, Cunningham MP Sharon Bird, supported organisations such as Vinnies in their campaign to increase the JobSeeker rate.
"We cannot be bringing people back to $40 a day," Mr Jones said, because charity service providers would again be inundated with people in need of help.
Ms Bird said recipients of the supplement were spending it within their local communities, making the benefits of the higher rate more widespread.
"It's also good for the local economy and business, they need that spend in what is still a tough time," she said.
Ms Bird said having a JobSeeker payment that was too low was also a barrier to employment, due to the costs associated with looking for a job, such as transport.
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
Subscribe to our newsletters
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
