Posts Tagged “mature age workers”

Federal budget 2015: Mean-spirited say older workers and migrant pensioners

National Seniors Australia chief executive Michael O'Neill says pensioners are bearing the brunt of the budget. — National Seniors Australia chief executive Michael O’Neill says pensioners are bearing the brunt of the budget. Alex Ellinghausen

Seniors groups have come out swinging against the 2015 federal budget arguing it unfairly targets older Australians, with measures that impact mature-aged workers and migrant pensioners among those in the firing line.

Consumer lobby group National Seniors criticised the budget for slashing $2.4 billion from pensions, cutting over $50 million from aged care, and tinkering with incentives designed to encourage employers to hire older workers.

“Older Australians are bearing the brunt of budget cuts, and they have every right to be disappointed,” National Seniors chief executive Michael O’Neill said.

Council of the Ageing (COTA) chief executive Ian Yates said older Australians will welcome confirmation that the government has dropped “unfair” changes to pension indexation and given them more choice and control in how they receive aged care at home, changes to employment incentives and cuts to dementia care would be less popular.

Mr Yates said he was particularly disappointed with the government’s changes to its flagship mature age employment scheme introduced last year.

Employers who hire an eligible worker aged over 55 years through the Restart Allowance scheme will now be rewarded with the full $10,000 subsidy after one year, rather than two.

CHURNING

“This could lead to some employers churning older employees on short contracts so employers benefit from the incentive but the workers become unemployed again. It is also disappointing that the incentives still only apply to older people who have been unemployed and on income support for six months. Earlier eligibility would make candidates more attractive to an employer,” Mr Yates said.

Advocates were also critical of a decision to combine the administration of the Restart Allowance scheme with other employment programs targeting younger workers.

“The budget claims a $120 million saving from this reorganisation but it is not clear where that saving will come from. We are worried it will mean a reduction in funding for Restart and argue that older workers need a dedicated program,” Mr O’Neill said.

Separately, a move to slash the amount of time per year retired migrants will be allowed to spend living outside Australia without having their aged pension rate cut has also drawn criticism for being unfair and potentially discriminatory.

OVERSEAS

As it stands, aged pension recipients who have lived in Australia for less than 35 years since the age of 16 can spend up to six months a year living overseas before losing part of their benefit. Under the new rules this threshold will be cut to just six weeks.

“It is a very mean-spirited approach that unfairly singles out Australians who were not born in this country,” Mr O’Neill said.

Aged pensioners who have lived in Australia for more than 35 years will retain the ability to live overseas for most of the year without losing their pension.

The new rules are forecast to save the budget $168.6 million per year from 2017.

“It seems like a very harsh cut for the people affected without a very clear rationale as to why it is being done,” Mr Yates said.

Source: AFR

Mature-age contribution worth billions while giving back

Rachel Kent, a former IT consultant, volunteers to help other seniors in Sydney.

The employment of Australians aged 45 and older is said to be worth $27.4 billion each year, through reduced human resources costs.

A new study shows that workers older than 45 help reduce turnover, bringing down recruitment and training expenses, and also serve as a valuable source of informal care while giving back to the community through volunteer work.

Research funded by the National Seniors Productive Ageing Centre puts the economic value of these contributions at $65.7bn per year, providing a “significant offset” to perceived sustainability issues posed by an ageing population.

The findings, to be released by National Seniors Australia, suggest that a worker aged 45 will remain with an employer 3.7 times longer than a younger worker.

The paper also shows the contribution of Australians aged 45 and older in providing informal care for the elderly or those with disabilities is $20.5bn, while the value of those caring for their grandkids is estimated at $1.5bn.

The involvement of mature-aged Australians in volunteer work is valued at $16.3bn per year, with data showing that 1.6 million people older than 45 volunteer in some capacity for an average of 6.09 hours per week.

Rachel Kent, a 69-year-old pensioner who lives in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, gives her time to help senior citizens develop their computer skills, use emails and navigate the internet.

Ms Kent is a former IT training consultant and says she is happy giving her time to help others, particularly older Australians and women who need to update skills upon re-entering the workforce.

“I would like to help older people because they can feel so isolated if they are not using a computer and today with tablets it’s really so much more simple,” she said.

“It was something I always had in mind in when I was working.

“I also like to help women who want to go back to work for whatever reason.”

Roy Stall, a 71-year-old former naval officer, also volunteers up to six days a month at the Maritime Museum in Fremantle and is still active in Asia as a specialist in maritime English.

“I think we make a contribution to the economy,” he said. “Our economic contribution is not often appreciated and certainly what we can contribute back to the community is not necessarily valued in the corridors of power.’’

Source: The Australian

Australian workers await jobs axe as insecurity soars

THE AUSTRALIAN
APRIL 25, 2015

Sarah Martin

Political Reporter

Canberra

Employees are increasingly expecting to be laid off.

The number of Australians expecting to be sacked in the next 12 months has hit a 10-year high as uncertainty about economic growth permeates the workforce.

Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data analysed by The Weekend Australian shows that a record 1.2 million Australians do not expect to be working with their current employer in a year’s time, an increase of almost 300,000 people in a decade.

Of those expecting to leave their job, 20 per cent say they fear being made redundant.

The job uncertainty revealed in the new figures — the highest level since 2004 — comes after the unemployment rate dropped to a three-month low of 6.1 per cent last month, and while the economy added almost 38,000 new jobs. The tentative signs of optimism come as the Reserve Bank warns of below-trend economic growth, weak business and consumer spending, and a continuing decline in the country’s terms of trade.

Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre director John Spoehr said the figures exposed a “classic patchwork economy”, with jobs growth strong in some sectors while others were in decline.

The demise of automotive manufacturing — which is linked to as many as 200,000 jobs — a slowing resources sector and public-service job cuts were fuelling the pessimism, Professor Spoehr said. “There is a high level of uncertainty prevailing at the moment,’’ he said.

“It is not clear where the next round of major projects will come from and there is a reluctance to compensate for this using public-sector investment. Many people are likely to be anticipating more difficult times ahead.”

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry director of employment Jenny Lambert said job insecurity highlighted the impact of business confidence on workers.

“Employees are caught up in that uncertainty, which is reflected in this quite significant increase,” she said.

She, too, cited the supply chains for manufacturing and mining, along with public-service jobs, as the sectors feeling most vulnerable. Since 2004, the number of people employed in manufacturing in Australia has fallen from 1.04 million to 911,000, and is forecast to drop to 893,000 by November 2018.

In mining, employment almost tripled from 100,000 in 2004 to 272,000 in 2013, before dropping to 229,000 last year.

While the number of people employed in public administration has grown from 598,000 in 2004 to 726,000 in November last year, about 30,000 jobs were shed in 2013-14.

Ms Lambert said the government needed to respond to the uncertainty being felt across the economy.

“They have got to again build business and economic confidence, they have got to try and paint a stronger picture about the fact that there is scope for growth in the economy,” she said.

Bill Mitchell, director of the University of Newcastle’s Centre of Full Employment and Equity, said the figures reflected a slowdown under way since 2012.

Source: TheAustralian••

Jobless rate is more than just a number

Date: April 23, 2015

Madonna King

Every unemployed person has a story, and they need the Premier’s help. Photo: Gabriele Charotte

Revelations that 41,000 people applied for 1250 jobs in one big federal government department shows a hint of the heartache unemployment is now causing in the wider community.

And it’s the issue that Annastacia Palaszczuk in Queensland and Tony Abbott in Canberra should be most worried about.

Their ability to turn it around should also be the yardstick by which we measure their success.

The state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate now sits at 6.6 per cent. In percentage terms, it might not sound much – but it equates to 164,000 Queenslanders.

That is 164,000 people in this state who are both unemployed and actively looking for work.

And here’s the rub. It does NOT include those who have given up looking for a job. Nor does it include those who have been able to nab one or two hours a week.

Indeed, that latter group is considered “employed”.

Nationally it’s a similar story, with 768,600 people unemployed and actively looking for work.

And if that’s not a genuine cause for alarm for our political leaders, they will never understand the lives of their voting masters.

Numbers can often hide the hardship that lurks behind them. A father who loses his job means his child is withdrawn from tennis lessons.

A mother who can’t find work can mean the family defaults on a mortgage.

A teenager, who spends months searching for a job, can give up and fall into an unemployment black hole, that is now not measured at all.

A university graduate who cannot find a job as a teacher might follow the same course, or choose another path. Either way, their learning is lost to those classes they would front in other circumstances.

Those stories are playing out each day in the community without making headlines, and that makes them easy stories to ignore.

But each job loss causes a ripple beyond one family, putting a strain on relationships, networks and charities.

And it makes a mockery of those calls for us all to work until old age steals our last breath.

How many companies are genuinely committed to employing someone over 50, despite a resume packed with experience? Hardly any.

How many of those workers laid off in recent years, after years or even decades of loyal service, have the confidence to apply for a job? Not as many as you might think.

What happens when the applicant, despite their best effort, gets their 16th knock back? Ask a welfare agency.

That’s the social impact behind our jobless rate, and it’s an impact that always builds silently, until it explodes as a voter revolt at the poll, or as a welfare crisis, which costs enormous amounts of taxpayer money.

Annastacia Palaszczuk marked job creation as her government’s number one priority ahead of the January election.

She avoided targets, like her predecessor, choosing to announce that a Cabinet subcommittee would be charged with leading a local jobs boost.

That could be an important first step, but we need to hear the “jobs, jobs, jobs” mantra that filled her campaign speeches before the election more now she’s in charge.

This time, it’s Annastacia Palaszczuk’s job that depends on it.

Source: The Brisbane Times

Age discrimination reported by 27% of older workers in Australia

Shalailah Medhor

Human Rights Commission report found ‘a third of people who had experienced age discrimination gave up looking for work as a result’

More than a quarter of employees aged 50 and over reported experiencing some form of age-based discrimination in the workplace, a new report by the Human Rights Commission has found.

A survey of 2,109 people shows that 27% of older workers said they were the victim of discrimination on at least one occasion in the last two years. That figure jumps to 41% of low-income earners, defined as those who make $35,000 or less a year.

A much higher ratio of single parents with dependent children (45%) reported age-based discrimination in the workplace than those whose children had left home and those without children.

The most common forms of discrimination include the limiting of employment, promotion or training, the perception that older workers were slow adaptors or have skills that were outdated, and being exposed to ageist jokes or taunts.

“The findings of the first national prevalence survey clearly indicate that age discrimination discourages older workers from remaining in, and re-entering the workforce,” the report said.

“It is particularly concerning that a third of people who had experienced age discrimination gave up looking for work as a result. Almost half began to think about retirement or accessing their superannuation fund.”

The report finds that few people choose to take action against the discrimination, while many leave a job as a result of it.

“Unfortunately there is no surprise [in the findings],” the head of National Seniors, Michael O’Neill, said. “This is confirmation of a problem that has been widely reported.”

O’Neill eschews extra regulation or the implementation of quotas for older workers, saying recognising the value of a diverse workplace through cultural change is more effective.

“These results are a call to action for government, employers and all those who make decisions about the hiring, training and promotion of staff,” the report said.

The federal government is pushing to increase the retirement age to 70 by 2035, and its recent intergenerational report highlighted the economic need for workers to remain in the workplace for longer.

Labor increased the pension age from 65 to 67 when it was in government, but opposes the plan to raise the age to 70.

The Human Rights Commission last week announced that it will hold an inquiry into the obstacles to work faced by older people and people with disability.

The commission will report back on the findings of the inquiry in July 2016.

Source: The Guardian

Senior workers ‘could add billions to economy’

Australia’s Human Rights Commission will lead an inquiry into age discrimination in the workforce as the Federal Government finds employment rates for older Australians ‘disturbingly low’.

The Australian government has commissioned a national inquiry into workplace age discrimination.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are around 5.5 million Australians aged 55 years and over, making up one quarter of the population. But seniors represent just 13 per cent of the workforce.

The Australian Human Rights Commission will lead the inquiry.

‘Employment rates for older Australians and people with a disability remain at disturbingly low levels and we know that is largely as a result of discrimination,’ Attorney-General George Brandis said as the launch in Sydney.

Age and Disability Commissioner, Susan Ryan, said there are many false perceptions about mature workers that are influencing companies hiring decisions.

‘They won’t adapt to change, they won’t learn new things, they won’t get on with the dynamic younger employees.. now, none of that is supported by evidence, but it is still believed by too many employers’ said Ms Ryan.

The Commissioner said senior workers could add billions to Australia’s economy, if there was a slight increase in the number of aged workers.

‘If we could increase the participation of Australians over 55 in the workforce by just five per cent, we would get a $48 billion a year annual impact.’ Ms Ryan said.

According to the Human Rights Commission, unemployement and under-employment of older Australians costs over $10 billion to the economy each year.

‘The Finishing Touch’, a Melbourne based moving and packing company, prides itself on being an age friendly employer and said it’s a win-win situation for companies.

‘We have over a dozen staff working for us currently who are aged 70 years plus. It’s a win-win situation you end up with a great employee whos able to make a really good contribution.’ said Steve Hitchings, the owner of The Finishing Touch.

The moving and packing company employs more than 250 workers – their average age is 56 years old.

Employee, Jan French is 59 years old and said she enjoys her work.

‘I like to keep busy and with this job there’s a lot of flexibility, clock in and out when we want, go for a holiday we can do other things.’ said Ms French.

The inquiry will consult with businesses and members of the community across Australia and could recommend changes to Commonwealth laws.

The inquiry will report to the Federal Government by July 2016.

Source: SBS News 16 April 2015

Employers overlook older workers

By Carmen Hall

Tuesday Apr 7, 2015

John Harper has been a plumber for 40 years and hopes to work up to or beyond retirement age

Employers are likely to overlook older job seekers, a new report reveals – but local recruitment agencies say although it is more difficult for those aged over 50 to find jobs they are harder workers.

A survey from the Auckland University of Technology and Equal Employment Opportunities Trust found there was a “tipping point,” typically at about 50-60 years of age, at which workers were seen as less attractive.

It also showed 45 per cent of organisations were facing a skills shortage, which was combated by people continuing to work past retirement age.

“You have to be open to the best person that comes through the door, whether they are male, female, old or young.”

However, negative stereotypes about older workers persisted among some employers, managers, young workers, clients and within society itself, despite it being unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of age in employment under the Human Rights Act 1993 and Employment Relations Act 2000, the survey found.

Human Resource Group company director Brett Looker said: “It is harder once you get over 50.

“It’s possibly a preconceived perception by the general public that candidates may not be as quick to pick up on business systems and processes if they are moving into a new role, in terms of the IT challenges. Another reason is they may not possibly fit with the existing team, which may be younger.”

However, he preferred to steer candidates through to clients in that age group because they often had a strong work ethic, and were reliable and honest.

“You don’t get the contrast of a Generation Y type group, which sometimes isn’t as strong, so there is lots of positives.”

There was a skills shortage in Tauranga in some areas, Mr Looker said, including engineering, housing, construction and senior management roles.

“I interviewed a guy recently who was a quantity surveyor in his late 60s but whether or not I have a role for him is difficult to know, for the very reasons we have talked about.”

1st Call Recruitment managing director Phill van Syp said he found older people “just get on with the job, they are more focused on what they need to do rather than – you know – what is in it for me?” “You would be an ignorant employer if you isolated your market,” Mr van Syp said.

“You have to be open to the best person that comes through the door, whether they are male, female, old or young.”

Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty Grey Power president Christina Humphreys said older people were discriminated against when applying for jobs.

“You don’t get the contrast of a Generation Y type group, which sometimes isn’t as strong, so there is lots of positives.”

“We are having a problem. We know people are not getting the jobs because they are older.”

She knew of people who had applied for over 20 jobs in a month and were depressed after continually making the shortlist but missing out. “They have got the qualifications and they all get to the 11th hour, and we know it’s because they are older.”

Bay of Plenty/Coromandel Master Plumbers Association president Craig McCord said the average age of a plumber was 55 and he employed eight people aged over 50.

However, most people had put down their toolbelt by the time they reached retirement age.

“The cut and thrust is, it’s too physical.”

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce interim chief executive Toni Palmer said age was not what defined an employee but more how they worked within an environment and what they brought to the workplace.

Employers did not necessarily see people over 50 as less employable, as they would look at those employees for the skills they had, she said.

“And as skills are becoming more difficult to get, then the age of the employee becomes less relevant, at either end of the age scale.”

Employees now moved more frequently to build a career and gain knowledge, she said.

No downing of tools for plumber

Tauranga plumber John Harper has no intention of retiring any time soon.

The 59-year-old said he would definitely work to 65 or possibly longer as his job was keeping him active.

“I am enjoying what I am doing and I don’t think that reaching 65 would change that much.”

His job could be physically demanding but he was up for the challenge.

“We are always moving around; sometimes you’ll be climbing or crawling on your knees and on your back or digging so you are quite mobile.”

But that was good for working up a sweat and getting the heart rate up, he said.

Employment

New Zealand recorded the second highest employment rate of people aged 55-64 among OECD countries in 2012 and 2013 and third highest of people aged 65-69 in 2012.

As at June 2014, 22 per cent of workers in New Zealand were aged 55 or over.

Government predicts this will rise to 25 per cent by 2020, with many likely to remain working beyond 65.

The proportion of the labour force aged 65 or over (currently 5 per cent) is expected to increase to 13 per cent by 2036.

– NZ Work Research Institute

– Bay of Plenty Times

Concern about workplace cover for older workforce

Date: April 6, 2015

Anna Patty

Workplace injuries are set to rise as a result of the expected increase in the number of people working past the age of 65, raising concern about cuts to workers’ compensation schemes around the country and pressure on welfare services, lawyers warn.

The Australian Lawyers Alliance said the federal government’s intergenerational report predicted the proportion of workers older than 65 will grow from 12.9 per cent to 17.3 per cent by 2051. The former Labor government raised the retirement age from 65 to 67 by 2023 and federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has said Generation X Australians might have to keep working until they are 70.

ALA national president Andrew Stone said cuts in benefits to injured workers through state-based workers’ compensation schemes around the country, particularly in NSW, could have long-term consequences for a rapidly ageing workforce.

“If the government expects people to work longer, where does it expect that these people will receive support if they are injured?” Mr Stone said.

“An ageing worker is more likely to suffer a non-serious workplace injury and fall into a lower category of coverage, potentially receiving less support or even being denied workers’ compensation medical and income benefits.

“This is particularly the case in heavy industries, where it will be physically difficult for people to work longer, as well as in less physically demanding workplaces.”

The increased risk meant a long-term vision was needed to support injured workers, Mr Stone said.

The introduction of a no-fault National Injury Insurance Scheme meant state-based workers compensation schemes were being reviewed, he said.

“Eligibility criteria for the [National Disability Insurance Scheme] and [National Injury Insurance Scheme] will likely mean that people injured at work would be unable to access these schemes for support to a significant degree.

“If these people are also denied access to workers’ compensation, it will mean that their only means of support could be under the Disability Support Pension, Centrelink or Medicare. This has already been seen in NSW.

“It is important that governments resist such pressures to raise thresholds, reduce caps and remove lump-sum commutations as a short-term fix.”

The intergenerational report suggested the proportion of taxpayers was declining as part of the ageing population, he said. By 2055, the number of people aged between 15 to 64 would be only 2.7 times greater than the number aged 65, compared to 4.5 times greater today.

“The choices that state and territory governments make now about how they fund the NIIS could have resounding impacts when considering a long-term vision for how we care for older Australians in decades to come.

“If states take the easy option and simply raise damage thresholds now to pay for no-fault catastrophic insurance, the damage will be extensive.”

A spokeswoman for WorkCover said the system was designed to be fair and affordable and to assist injured workers to return to work. She said WorkCover was looking at the demographic trends and workplace impacts of an ageing workforce.

People injured after they reach retirement age are currently entitled to weekly payments for 12 months after an injury that leaves unable to work.

Seriously injured workers with more than 30 per cent whole person permanent impairment receive medical treatment rehabilitation and support benefits related to their injury for life.

“The workers’ compensation scheme’s chief purpose is to support injured workers to return to work by encouraging employers to make alternative duties or changes in duties to help their recovery in the workplace. This approach is more important for older workers, as their place of employment is often their key social and community outlet,” the spokeswoman said.

Source: SMH

Linfox stands down unfit, middle-aged workers without pay

Date: April 4, 2015

Nick Toscano

Older warehouse workers are being stood down without pay at Linfox sites across Melbourne, fanning fears the transport giant is forcing out permanent staff in favour of “churn-and-burn” casuals.

John Russell has been laid off by his employer Linfox on returning to work after a back injury with 37 years on the job. Photo: Simon Schluter

John Russell looked over the letter from his boss again, staggered by the news.

The forklift driver had taken time off work with a shoulder injury but his doctor had cleared him as fit to return. He assumed his job of 37 years would be safe. He was wrong.

The letter from transport giant Linfox said the 65-year-old was now stood down without pay after an assessment by company doctors. It said he was deemed unable to perform “inherent requirements” of the job, specifically, using a hand-held scanning device.

Older workers like Mr Russell are being stood down from Linfox warehouses across Melbourne, according to their union, which has accused the company of phasing out permanent staff in favour of “churn-and-burn” casuals from labour-hire companies.

Organisers say up to 100 older or unfit workers have been targeted at a single distribution centre in Truganina over the past 12 months, under a “blanket policy” to wipe out those unable perform every aspect of warehouse work.

The figure is not disputed by Linfox, which said the stand-downs were the result of productivity-boosting initiatives introduced last July at the distribution centre that Linfox operates for Coles.

Mr Russell spent most of his working life employed by Linfox, Australia’s largest private logistics company. But he is now in limbo – jobless without being officially terminated, and unable to claim the pension.

“I felt terrible, actually,” he said.

“Linfox has hundreds of sites around Melbourne and there must be jobs out there with lighter duties if that’s what they want … but they are replacing the older people with younger casuals [who] they can work as hard as possible. It shows a lack of loyalty and disrespect.”

National Union of Workers organiser Matt Toner said the company had instituted a blanket policy of targeting workers it considered “liabilities”.

“Within a warehouse there are different jobs done by people who are a bit older and have been with the company a long time, like fork-work, lane-marshalling and clerical,” he said.

“But new management now says that unless you are doing everything here, we don’t want you here.”

Mr Toner said workers planned to step up industrial pressure on Linfox management to stop older staff being “thrown on the scrap heap”.

A Linfox spokeswoman said the new processes at Truganina were communicated to company employees and were not in violation of workplace law.

“To date, the Fair Work Commission has not indicated that Linfox is in breach of the relevant provisions arising from the national enterprise agreement or with respect to specific general protections arising from the Fair Work Act,” she said.

The company had also engaged an workplace expert to draw up “reasonable expectancies” for orders to be completed and ready for distribution, she said.

Industrial tension between the union and Linfox appear to escalating after the company recently filed a submission to a sweeping review of the Australian industrial relations system. Linfox alleges shift workers were harassed by union recruiters at the site in 2013 and has made fresh calls for restrictions on organisers entering workplaces.

The union strongly denies the claims, and said it was disappointed by the company’s decision to air allegations dating back two years. Linfox’s submission includes extracts of 10 written complaints by workers employed that year and said existing right-of-entry laws lacked balance.

Source: Brisbane Times

Employment service providers paid to place jobseekers in roles lasting only a month

Tony Abbott says shorter roles offer a ‘stepping stone into secure long-term jobs’ but Labor says it is simply the revival of a failed Howard-era policy and will increase jobseeker churn

Corangamite MP Sarah Henderson with Eric Abetz, Tony Abbott and the assistant employment minister Luke Hartsuyker launching jobactive on Tuesday. Photograph: Karen Sweeny/AAP

Employment service providers will be offered cash incentives to place jobseekers in short-term positions as well as longer term ones under changes announced by the federal government on Tuesday.

The new “jobactive” system will offer service providers a payment for filling four week-long vacancies, as well vacancies lasting 12 or 26 weeks.

“In the past we have only paid on 12 and 26-week outcomes,” the prime minister,Tony Abbott, told reporters in Geelong.

“We know there are a lot of short-term jobs available, particularly in regional Australia, there are jobs that are seasonal and these are often the start of someone’s renewed connection with the labour market. That is why an important innovation in this new jobactive system is the four-week outcome payment.”

Abbott said short-term work was “the best possible stepping stone into secure long-term jobs”.

“The best preparation for work is work,” the prime minister said.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said the policy would “encourage service providers to churn vulnerable jobseekers through multiple short term job contracts in order to claim multiple payments”, ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said.

“The ACTU has consistently advocated for the government to introduce a 52 week payment to incentivise service providers to place jobseekers into long-term work. This would be a much better alternative to a four week payment.”

The initiative, which comes off the back of the Howard-era Job Network policy, has been panned by Labor.

“The government’s return to the failed Job Network model, with a new name, will not help unemployed Australians into work,” shadow employment minister Brendan O’Connor told Guardian Australia.

“We are not convinced the introduction of a new four week payment will do anything to support job seekers into decent work. Instead it will lead to increased jobseeker churn and job insecurity.”

O’Connor said that the Coalition must not take resources away from jobs training.

“Labor is deeply concerned that the new employment services model will in fact leave job seekers without the support they need,” he said.

Under the jobactive scheme, money for training will be provided only if jobseekers need it to secure a position that has already been advertised. Job agencies will have to risk their own money to provide individuals with training they think will be needed to gain employment more broadly.

David Thompson from the peak organisation representing non-profit employment services, Jobs Australia, welcomed the jobactive scheme, but warned that the training element “might be too restrictive”.

He said many long-term unemployed people needed training to reorient themselves to workplaces before applying for specific jobs, and that training could help jobseekers whose industries were suffering job losses.

“The labour market of today and the labour market of tomorrow are very different,” Thompson said.

The employment minister, Eric Abetz, said unemployed people who took on short-term contracts or undertook work for dole programs were healthier.

“All the data tells us that if you are gainfully employed, your mental, physical health, yourself esteem and social interaction are all enhanced and not only for you as an individual but everybody else in your household.

“That is why, for the long term unemployed, to be engaged in work for the dole, for example, is not only an important mechanism to say thank you to your community, but it is also of untold social good to the individual,” he said.

A total of 66 job agencies have been offered contracts to deliver on the jobactive scheme, from the 184 that put in tenders. Their contracts will last for five years rather than three, a move the government said will provide certainty for service providers.

The new scheme begins on July 1 and also includes targeted programs for Indigenous jobseekers based on the work undertaken by mining magnate Andrew Twiggy Forrest, who has conducted a review into Indigenous jobs and training.

“He has been a real apostle of getting away from this training for training’s sake notion and ensuring that people are being prepared, not for training but for work,” Abbott said of Forrest.

The government will implement job targets for Indigenous jobseekers for the first time under the new initiative. The targets will vary from region to region.

“The targets will ensure that employment service providers are finding jobs for Indigenous jobseekers at the same rate as for other job seekers in a region,” a spokesman for the Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, told Guardian Australia.

“Providers will also be held accountable for their performance in meeting these targets through the star ratings system. A poor performance will affect an organisation’s star ratings and this will have an impact on whether they are given any future business from the government.”