Passive Welfare: Remote Jobs Program
Monday 15 December 2014 @ 12.29 p.m. | Industrial Law | Legal Research
The Remote Jobs and Communities Program (the RJCP), it has been reported recently, is in the Federal Government's sights for immediate changes and cuts. The RJCP which was introduced by the former Labor Government, has been called a “disaster” and a “comprehensive failure” by the current Government and its Minister for Indigenous Affairs. As The Guardian reports:
"A program aimed at helping Indigenous people in remote areas gain jobs could lose funding as the government moves to overhaul the program they have labelled 'a comprehensive failure'."
The key proposed change to the RJCP being reported by The Guardian is the introduction of a concept that will attack what has been described as "passive welfare behaviour" by the Minister for Indigenous Affairs and which will see that:
"More than 30,000 mostly Indigenous people will suffer 'immediate consequences' for their 'passive welfare behaviour' if they fail to work for the dole five days a week, 12 months a year, according to leaked briefing notes for the government’s new remote jobs scheme".
Background to the RJCP
The RJCP is a program designed to provide jobs, participation and community development service in 60 remote regions across Australia. The RJCP is intended to support people in building their skills and getting a job or in participating to their capacity in activities that contribute to the strength and sustainability of their communities. The RJCP is also meant to help remote area employers meet their workforce needs and supports communities in remote Australia.
The RJCP, as already mentioned, was initiated by the former Labor Government, and has helped a reported 618 people in the last 15 months to find a job, but the Government's Indigenous Affairs Minister Mr Scullion argues that the RJCP is a failure on the basis that in the 2013-2014 financial year there were only 277 job seekers who found jobs that lasted longer than a period of six months.
Nature of Cuts and Changes
The Minister has responded, when asked if he would guarantee that the RCJP funding, likely to cost $1.5bn over the next five years if it retains the same amount of funding originally allocated to it, by saying:
“The government has reformed funding arrangements for Indigenous-specific job programs under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy so that they are focused on real, long-term job outcomes. . . . It’s clear that applying mainstream-style employment models in remote areas that have limited or no real labour markets has been a comprehensive failure, . . . RJCP was poorly designed and implemented and demonstrates why there was a need for the government to instigate the Forrest Review to refocus effort on ensuring training leads to real job outcomes.”
The Guardian reports the details of the passive welfare changes the Government is considering as being that employers/job providers will be “contractually obliged to report non-compliance” and will not any longer have any discretion as to whether to report unemployed persons who are not meeting all their requirements under the RJCP. On the changes, a briefing document titled “defensive questions and answers” is reported as saying.
“The changes proposed will ensure RCJP job seekers do attend their appointment or feel the consequence of their passive welfare behaviour more immediately, . . . Job seekers will learn the behaviours expected of workers, for example by there being immediate consequences for passive welfare behaviour.”
The proposition that a "continuous work for the dole" scenario is required for all persons aged 18 to 49, only in remote Australia, is said to be substantiated by the fact that in those areas there are limited or poor labour markets, in addition to what are seen as unique social problems stemming from "passive welfare" - problems stemming it is said from idleness making communities unsafe and dysfunctional.
As part of the changes, the government is also reportedly planning to cut payments to job providers/employers who complete basic certificate I and II training courses arguing that such is “training for training’s sake” and that “training must be linked to real jobs”.
Those providing jobs will get $12,450 p.a. for job seekers who undertake work for the dole but the existing payments for job seekers to buy clothing and equipment for training will no longer be provided.
The opposition's response to the changes from its Shadow Minister for Indigenous affairs, is that the opposition is open to changes to the scheme but was waiting to be briefed by the government on the performance of the program.
Next Steps
The changes are reported as the government’s initial response to the Indigenous Employment Report (Forrest Review) and are likely to be implemented in the period July 2015 and July 2016 with workers being moved onto the new scheme from the old Community Development Employment Projects, which offered almost $40 a week more for 10 hours fewer a week.
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