The Jobseeker payment increase from April 2021.
It has been announced that the Jobseeker payment will increase by $50 per fortnight from April 2021.
Confirmation is to come.
This would make the fortnightly Jobseeker payments from April 2021, to become:
- $615.70 Single, no children. An 8.83% increase.
- $560.80 Partnered (each). A 9.78% increase.
That covers the increase from the previous (March 2020) rate of:
- $565.70 Single, no children, or
- $510.80 Partnered (each).
The temporary Coronavirus Supplement and the extended eligibility for JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance for job seekers ends on 31 March 2021.
A news report has published this:
Currently, an eligible single person with no children receives $565.70 JobSeeker payment, plus $150 coronavirus supplement. The Federal Government will raise the JobSeeker payment by $50 a fortnight. The new JobSeeker rate will therefore start from April 1 at $620.80 a fortnight.
By my calculation, that is a $55.10 increase.
The government have published this information:
Tuesday, 23 February 2021
The Morrison Government is enhancing our social security safety net by increasing support for unemployed Australians while strengthening their obligations to search for work.
From March the Coalition Government will progressively introduce a series of permanent measures to ensure that job seekers have the best opportunity to secure employment as our nation continues to recover from the economic challenges of COVID-19.
These include:
- permanently increasing the rate of working-age payments by $50 a fortnight from 1 April 2021, benefiting 1.95 million Australians;
- permanently increasing the income-free earnings to $150 per fortnight for JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (other) from 1 April 2021;
- temporarily extending the waiver of the Ordinary Waiting Period for certain payments for a further three months to 30 June 2021;
- temporarily extending the expanded eligibility criteria for JobSeeker Payment and Youth Allowance (other) for those required to self-isolate or care for others as a result of COVID-19 to 30 June 2021.
There will also be changes to the Mutual Obligation Scheme:
- job seekers will be required to search for a minimum of 15 jobs a month from early April, increasing to 20 jobs per month from 1 July;
- an employer reporting line will be established to refer Jobseekers who are not genuine about their job search or decline the offer of a job;
- some job seekers will be required to participate in work for the dole after six months;