Fix JobSeeker: Stop Cutting Payments When People Try to Work
Fix JobSeeker: Stop Cutting Payments When People Try to Work
The issue
Australia’s welfare system punishes people for trying to work. Right now, JobSeeker cuts 50 cents from every dollar once someone earns just $150 a fortnight. That’s less than one short shift a week.
This rule creates a poverty trap. It discourages participation. It blocks people from taking extra hours. It makes it harder to pay rent, buy food, and stay connected to work.
And the evidence is clear: Income‑penalty systems don’t work.
They don’t increase employment. They don’t reduce long‑term welfare use. They don’t improve outcomes for jobseekers. Research from OECD countries shows that harsh income tapering and punitive compliance rules push people deeper into insecurity, not into stable work.
Most comparable welfare systems overseas have already moved away from these outdated models. They use higher income thresholds, smoother tapers, or unconditional base payments because the data shows these approaches support participation and reduce poverty.
Australia is falling behind.
This isn’t just about one threshold. It’s about a system built for a labour market that no longer exists. Work today is casual, outsourced, automated, and unpredictable. Hours rise and fall week to week. Entire industries are shifting to tech‑replacement and contracting models. More people are cycling in and out of short‑term work, gig work, and part‑time roles.
Services Australia needs to prepare for this reality. A modern safety net must recognise that structural joblessness is rising, not because people aren’t trying, but because the economy is changing. A pathway toward a Universal Basic Income is not radical — it is practical planning for a future where stable full‑time work is no longer guaranteed.
Scrapping the outdated $150 income limit is a simple, necessary first step. It would let people take extra shifts without fear. It would reduce poverty. It would align Australia with international best practice. And it would move us toward a system that supports participation instead of punishing it.
Let people work.
Scrap the $150 penalty.
Build a safety net that matches the real world — and the future we’re heading into.
14
The issue
Australia’s welfare system punishes people for trying to work. Right now, JobSeeker cuts 50 cents from every dollar once someone earns just $150 a fortnight. That’s less than one short shift a week.
This rule creates a poverty trap. It discourages participation. It blocks people from taking extra hours. It makes it harder to pay rent, buy food, and stay connected to work.
And the evidence is clear: Income‑penalty systems don’t work.
They don’t increase employment. They don’t reduce long‑term welfare use. They don’t improve outcomes for jobseekers. Research from OECD countries shows that harsh income tapering and punitive compliance rules push people deeper into insecurity, not into stable work.
Most comparable welfare systems overseas have already moved away from these outdated models. They use higher income thresholds, smoother tapers, or unconditional base payments because the data shows these approaches support participation and reduce poverty.
Australia is falling behind.
This isn’t just about one threshold. It’s about a system built for a labour market that no longer exists. Work today is casual, outsourced, automated, and unpredictable. Hours rise and fall week to week. Entire industries are shifting to tech‑replacement and contracting models. More people are cycling in and out of short‑term work, gig work, and part‑time roles.
Services Australia needs to prepare for this reality. A modern safety net must recognise that structural joblessness is rising, not because people aren’t trying, but because the economy is changing. A pathway toward a Universal Basic Income is not radical — it is practical planning for a future where stable full‑time work is no longer guaranteed.
Scrapping the outdated $150 income limit is a simple, necessary first step. It would let people take extra shifts without fear. It would reduce poverty. It would align Australia with international best practice. And it would move us toward a system that supports participation instead of punishing it.
Let people work.
Scrap the $150 penalty.
Build a safety net that matches the real world — and the future we’re heading into.
14
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Petition created on 23 November 2025