Call for casuals to get subsidy

NEARLY 30,000 casual workers on the Gold Coast are ineligible for the Federal Government’s $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper payment, prompting calls it be extended to all casual staff.

Gold Coast-based Senator Murray Watt said data obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that 28,900 employees across the city had been in their casual position for less than 12 months.

Under the JobKeeper package, only casuals who have been with the same employer more than a year will be given a fortnightly wage.

Mr Watt is calling on the Government to amend its $130 billion wage subsidy package when parliament resumes this week so it includes a wage for all casual workers.

“There are still many people slipping through the cracks of JobKeeper eligibility and they are crying out for clarity and more help,” he said.

“Some, including some casuals with a working partner and New Zealand citizens who have established a life in Australia, may not qualify for other assistance.

“Not only do these numbers represent families who will miss out on support, they also represent businesses who will be forced into losing valuable staff members if they can’t turn a profit in these difficult times.”

Ali Ely can’t access any financial help because she started her casual job at a fish and chip shop when it opened in July last year.

But it’s a double whammy for the Gold Coaster, because while she moved from New Zealand in 2009, she spent 18 months studying in her homeland in 2012.

Only Kiwis who have lived in Australia for more than 10 consecutive years are entitled to Centrelink payments.

“So although I’ve been here for 11 years, I don’t qualify because I went back to NZ to study. I can’t receive any help.”

Gold Coast resident Stacey, who did not want her surname used, said her husband, like most scaffolders, was a casual worker who had moved from “crew to crew, company to company many, many times for almost 13 years”.

He’s been with this current employer since September 2019, which makes him ineligible for JobKeeper.

“He may qualify for JobSeeker but $550 a week with five children and a rental cost of $425 per week is kind of distressing,” she said.

“Casual work is almost a way of life for a lot of construction employees these days.”

Destination Gold Coast CEO Annaliese Battista last week said the city relied more than most on casual workers, many of whom will not have the 12 months behind them to get this wage subsidy.

“This will particularly affect the hospitality industry and I would hope that element is reviewed,” she said.