Government did not plan to inform jobseekers their welfare appointments were suspended
When the government suspended mutual obligation appointments for jobseekers as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it had no plans to inform them directly of that fact, according to an internal notification.
On Tuesday night, the government issued a statement saying it would suspend mutual obligations until at least 31 March after system outages caused by a surge in Jobseeker Payment applications meant jobseekers could not report to Centrelink, and faced having their benefits cut off.
A notification sent to employment service providers on Wednesday morning, seen by the Guardian, suggests many jobseekers were going to be kept in the dark about the fact they had been excused from mutual obligations, which can include Work for the Dole and compulsory face-to-face appointments at a job centre.
“Job seekers/participants will not be notified that they are not required to attend their scheduled requirements,” the notice states. “However, if a job seeker fails to attend, their payment will not be suspended and they will not accrue a demerit.”
The Guardian asked the Department of Education, Skills and Employment why jobseekers were not told they did not need to attend appointments. A spokeswoman pointed to Tuesday’s press release, and said employment services providers had also been informed by letter and by notice.
She said there was no need for providers to inform jobseekers, but they could do so “as required”.
“In addition, the department is currently working to directly inform individual jobseekers via notification (SMS or message) that this arrangement is in place.”
The notification to employment service providers seen by the Guardian makes no reference to the department’s plan to text people that mutual obligations are suspended and the statement that jobseekers “will not be notified” is in bold.
The Greens senator Rachel Siewert, who has called for mutual obligations to be suspended throughout the crisis, said participants needed to be told that they did not need to attend appointments immediately.
“People are anxious about not getting their payments,” she said.
Labor also accused the government and Services Australia of sending mixed messages to jobseekers, pointing to a tweet from Services Australia earlier on Tuesday that stated mutual obligations remained in place for all jobseekers who weren’t directly affected by coronavirus.
“In what is a confusing time, job seekers need clear and consistent communication about their mutual obligation requirements,” said Labor’s Brendan O’Connor, Linda Burney and Louise Pratt.
“While we welcome the temporary lift of mutual obligation requirements while the MyGov website buckles under pressure, it would be more realistic to extend this suspension beyond a mere one-week period.”
Siewert said her office had also received reports of Work For the Dole participants being ordered to attend group activities, which contradicts the government’s own directions to providers.
A Work for the Dole participant, who did not want to be named, told Guardian Australia his employment services providers said he would still need to attend his group activity at an op shop in Adelaide.
“It’s not a clean environment, we are all touching everything,” he said.
The man said his provider had insisted he needed to go to his activity until he personally showed up at the job centre and showed them the minister’s media release.
Following scenes likened to the Great Depression on Monday and Tuesday, the queues outside Centrelink offices appeared to subside somewhat on Wednesday, although some lines still formed before shopfronts had opened.
Hank Jongen from Services Australia said the agency had created a new Notice to Claim function that allowed people to register for welfare benefits online, meaning they would not need to attend a Centrelink office or call.
The provision means people will be back-paid to their first contact with Centrelink and can complete their Jobseeker Payment application later.
“We are saying that you don’t have to line up, and at this stage you don’t need to call,” he told the ABC.
Jongen admitted the agency had brought on no new staff ahead of Monday’s deluge of customers, but said it had “mobilised staff internally”. It is planning to hire up to 5,000 new staff.
Jongen also suggested customers concerned about whether they would receive a stimulus payment due 31 March had been “clogging up our queues and our phone lines”.
Newly unemployed people who have applied for JobSeeker Payment have been told to expect to wait at least 15 days for their claim to be processed.
Siewert said there was still confusion about whether welfare recipients still needed to report their income to Centrelink.
Services Australia was contacted for comment.