December 27, 2014
Over this period, there were 1041 complaints a month compared with 712 each month of the previous year.
One in five of the unemployed people who complained raised inappropriate service and one in eight were troubled by unprofessional behaviour of the employment consultant.
Assistant Employment Minister Luke Hartsuyker said the government was changing the system to address quality concerns. “The government expects employment providers to deliver high-quality services to jobseekers and that jobseekers will also work cooperatively with their providers to meet their mutual obligation requirements, such as attending appointments and job interviews,” he told The Weekend Australian.
“Where a jobseeker has a complaint … there are processes to resolve the matter. This includes the Department of Employment speaking to both parties to clarify issues and, in a small number of cases, transferring a jobseeker to another provider if the relationship has totally broken down.
“The government’s employment services model requires all providers to commit to new quality standards to ensure jobseekers receive the right sort of help they need to find and keep a job.”
Maree O’Halloran, president of the National Welfare Rights Network, said new Senate estimates data showed that in the 12 months to June, 8550 jobseekers registered a complaint about their interaction with the employment services system.
“This is certainly a very low number when you take into account that point in time data suggests at June 2014 there were over 652,000 active jobseekers in the Job Services Australia caseload,” she said. “However, complaints about employment services are increasing. The data shows an upswing in the number of complaints about employment services by a third from July to October 2014. Over this period there were 1041 complaints per month compared to 712 each month of the previous year.”
The key areas of complaint, such as adequacy of services and inappropriate provider behaviour, mirror the concerns some jobseekers raise with Welfare Rights legal services across the country.
I also had problem because I have huge pain in my low back.my doctor give me a medical certificates for Centrelink and lady on front was very rude,she didn’t take and my problem is permanent.they transfer me to direct employment.this services call me every week and I told them im sick and my girl is on school holiday.lady on centreling front desk told me take her with you or your money will be stop.I’m on very strong medication.if I sit down I cant stand up.how can I look for job?????????????????????
In the last three months I have had three different consultants, all of whom have told me three different things. One told me that I was a full-time student and no longer considered unemployed and not to attend any further meetings at their office. So I applied for Austudy. My application had not been processed at this stage, but that course had started and I’m even doing work experience elsewhere…but I attended the next meeting as I still had a letter for it…and the next person told me that despite earning income and being enrolled in a full time course I am to do ‘intensive training’ – essentially meaning that I won’t be able to do the course (which the government funded!!) nor do any work that earns money. Obviously they don’t want to me work or do anything constructive. I’m also a single parent with full care too and…get this…this ‘business’ also owns the place they make people do ‘intensive training’, so they get money from the government and free slave labour if they keep you in the system. Why would they let me work then they can do that huh? These people need to be investigated by the government for business fraud. Plus they are run as ‘trust fund’ so they don’t pay tax. Dodgy as hell and they have never once found me a job to actually apply for…because they don’t even have an listed!!!