Taylor Stott
Job Seeker Application
Source : Australian Government Services
Government officials have announced an extension to JobSeeker payments which will see all recipients continuing to receive benefits until March next year. Payments however, will decrease by $300 a fortnight after September 2020.
Essential workers are now left pondering; has the new extended promise of large fortnightly payments for Australians all over the country created any immediacy in job seeking amid the COVID-19 crisis?
Key points
- The JobSeeker payments will fall from $1,100 a fortnight to $800 a fortnight in September of this year.
- The revised program will now allow recipients to earn $300 a fortnight before facing a reduction to their Government payment.
- The program will be reviewed again before December and the Prime Minister has stated that a coronavirus supplement is likely to continue into 2021.
Student and JobSeeker recipient Joseph Heien discusses how the Government benefits have discouraged him to actively seek work.
“JobSeeker has provided me with a sense of financial freedom. Since receiving JobSeeker benefits I have earned more money a fortnight than I ever did casually working and I know for a fact I am making more money than my friends who are essential workers by being a part of the scheme. I have zero intentions of getting off JobSeeker any time soon as it gives me the time to focus on my studies all while earning great money!
-Joseph Heien
People on JobSeeker are said to be required to apply for even more jobs in the coming months and failure to take a job means there is a risk to losing the payment.
