Mutual obligation is one of the last great shibboleths of Australian politics. Now the entire system is under scrutiny with potentially big implications for our welfare system.
Mutual obligation is one of the last great shibboleths of Australian politics. Now the entire system is under scrutiny with potentially big implications for our welfare system.
The online self-management and points system is waaaaaay better than the forced meetings and obligations with private providers and Labor did streamline the claims system a lot too. So maybe there is potential for further improvement, though I don’t want to get my hopes up. Like a lot of other areas, my trust in Labor to actually take some political risks to conduct serious reform is very low.
Private providers in a public system is ridiculous in my opinion. Here’s an idea, hire them directly instead of paying for a profit margin. :O (this opinion extends to Medicare providers, also)
What I recall being ridiculous was the wait on Centrelink applications. (It’s been a number of years since being off Centrelink so don’t haven’t paid attention recently)
Waiting 3 months was an option for me, but Christ, I can’t imagine how shit that must be who need immediate stability.
I also very much hope Labor update payment rates. Where are you gonna find a place anywhere near services and public transport to rent cheaply enough in order to actually get by?
If only we heavily invested in public housing, I’d wager we’d either end up saving a bunch of money not going to private landlords, or otherwise massively increase the amount in the pockets of people on Centrelink, because it wouldn’t be going to landlords…
Alas.
It is much faster now. The wait times are down, but the actual claim process has also been streamlined. They’ve been instructed to wave more stuff through to keep the system moving and perform less checks on information that is likely to be correct anyway. For example, where you might have needed to provide bank statements previously to prove your updated account figures were accurate, now they just take your word that the information you’ve provided is correct.