'Work for dole' net to widen
the Sunday Mail
CHRISTINE JACKMAN
03feb02
UNEMPLOYED older workers have been put on notice: The days of collecting the dole with no strings attached will end on July 1.
Federal Employment Minister Mal Brough said all jobless people aged up to 50 will be targeted for Work for the Dole programs in the new financial year.
"The Government is expanding the range and scope of employment assistance available," Mr Brough said.
"At the same time we are looking to get more job-seekers actively involved in the search for work.
"(The program) keeps unemployed people engaged and active. It gets them out of their homes and into the community where their chances of finding work are immeasurably greater."
Currently, anyone aged 18-24 who is unemployed for more than six months is required to do Work for the Dole or community service for six months of the year to continue receiving benefits.
Those aged 25-34 out of work for more than 12 months face the same obligation.
From July 1, those provisions will also affect people aged 35-39 while baby boomers aged 40-49 will be encouraged to join a Work for the Dole Program or perform approved community work.
Unlike younger jobseekers, they will not face a penalty if they do not do the work. Instead, the baby boomers will be enticed by a training credit worth up to $800 at the end of each program.
The expansion of what the Howard Government calls "mutual obligation" was foreshadowed in last year's Budget as part of the $1.7 billion Australians Working Together program.
Work for the Dole was introduced in November 1997 and now involves about 50,000 people a year. They work two days a week over 26 weeks, allowing them time to look for a job.
There are 660,000 full-time unemployed people receiving benefits in Australia.