MISSION AUSTRALIA

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WELFARE REFORM AND YOUTH TRANSITIONS August 2003
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Participation Support for a More Equitable
Society

• Launched August 2000
• Endorsed by all political parties and
  commentators
• Youth Pathways
• Objectives
• Reduce incidence of jobless households
• Reduce proportion of working age population
  reliant on
• income support
• To build stronger communities that provide
  opportunities
• for social and economic participation

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Five Pillars

• Individualised Service Delivery
• Simple and Responsive Income Support Structure
• Incentives and Financial Assistance
• Mutual Obligations
• Social Partnerships Building Community Capacity
• 65 Recommendations

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Government Response

• Budget 2001 1.7 billion over 4 years

• Australians Working Together Act (2003)

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Pillar 1 Individualised Service Delivery

• Gateway (Centrelink)
• Streaming into specialised services
• Brokerage services for high need people
• Linking services, brokers and assessment

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AWT

• 800 personal advisers (Centrelink)
• Changes to Job Network (ESC3) customised
  assistance. Active participation model
• Increased places CWC / WFTD / JST
• P.S.P.
• No specific streams for youth
• Youth at Risk Strategy

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Pillar 2 Simple Responsive Income
Support Structure

• Complexity of current system
• Common base payment for all eligible
• individuals
• needs based additional payments (individual
  circumstances)
• participation supplement (costs of accessing
  jobs / training)

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AWT

• FACS Discussion Paper Building a Simpler Income
  Support System.
• Youth allowance
• 35,000 homeless youth
• Special needs accommodation / travel / access

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Pillar 3 Incentives Financial
Assistance

• Disincentives to economic participation income
  test taxation system cost of childcare, travel
• Participation Supplement
• Transition Bank
• Tax Credits

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AWT

• Working Credit (506 million over 4 yrs)
  incentive for part time casual work. Credit of
  unused income free areas
• 48 / fortnight up to a limit of 1,000.
• Language, literacy and numeracy supplements
• (20 million over 4 years 20.80 / fortnight
• Training credits 800 each mature aged
  indigenous job seekers)
• Issues for youth Casualisation of labour market
  
• Traineeships and apprenticeships
• New Apprenticeships (DEST)
• High unemployment levels (10 15-19yrs)

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Pillar 4 Mutual Obligations

• Obligation on government, business community

• Government obligation to maintain an adequate
  income support system
• Business Corporate social responsibility /
  sustainability
• Special needs mature aged workers, people with a
  disability, long term unemployed, indigenous
  people

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Response

• Active participation model for unemployed people
• PMs Community Business Partnership tax
  incentives for work place giving, averaging
  provisions for donations of property, private
  charitable funds (new form of trust), allowance
  of gifts of property
• PMs Community Business Partnerships Awards
• Sustainability / Corporate social responsibility

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Pillar 5 Social Partnerships Building
Community Capacity

• Community economic development
• Community business partnerships
• Social entrepreneurship
• Micro business
• Government Response
• Stronger Families Communities (294 projects)
• Rural Transaction Centres one stop shop access
  to
• Centrelink, banking and post office facilities
• NEIS

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• JPET (NSW, QLD, SA, WA)
• REEP (Vic)
• Links to Learning (NSW)
• Youth Futures (Vic)
• Triple Care Farm (NSW)
• Creative Youth Initiatives (NSW)
• 3 year research project on youth transitions
• Boys from the Bush (Qld)

MA Youth Initiatives
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Challenges

• Globalisation of labour markets
• Reduced jobs in IT, telecommunications, call
  centres, low skilled manufacturing
• Growth in financial, retail, hospitality and
• community services
• Casualisation of labour market
• Knowledge wave (internet)

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Changing Demographics

• Ageing population (sustainability of the income
  support system)
• Jobless households (650,000 children)
• Job rich and job poor communities
• Generation X Y

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Privatisation
Privatisation

• International trend
• Health, aged care, employment, education
• Social policy balancing efficiency and equity
• Philippines story

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Thank you.