The Federal Government must urgently lift income support payments as today’s routine indexation falls far short of what people need to afford basic necessities, ACOSS said.
From today Youth Allowance for a single person living away from home is only going up by $6.95 a week. This lifts Youth Allowance and Austudy to just $338.60 per week, which is 36% of the minimum wage.
The Australian Council of Social Service is deeply saddened by the shocking attack at Bondi Beach on Sunday. Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with the victims, their families, the entire Jewish community and all affected.
Employment services are failing on all fronts and need comprehensive reform, ACOSS said today following the release of a further damning report by the Commonwealth Ombudsman on the Targeted Compliance Framework.
The government’s decision to not pursue a further round of energy bill rebates is the right call – but must be backed up with investment to reduce hardship for those most in need.
“People on lower incomes urgently need relief, but these rebates were a short term, poorly targeted policy that failed to meaningfully help those who needed it,” said ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie.
One year after the Australian Human Rights Commission launched the country’s first national roadmap to eliminate racism, 54 civil society organisations are calling on the Australian government to urgently fund and implement the National Anti-Racism Framework.
