The Work for the Dole program is a "sham", putting young job seekers in unsafe and potentially deadly situations, say unions, lawyers and the family of a teenager who was killed on a Queensland worksite two years ago.

They are calling on the Federal Government to scrap the program, also known as 'Jobactive', which has been in place in various iterations since 1996.

The Department of Jobs and Small Business said it taught jobseekers skills while helping them "increase confidence", "meet new people", and "make contacts who can be a referee" when applying for work.

But lawyers familiar with the program said it was "punitive" and "mind-numbing", and said it left job-seekers in risky situations without adequate insurance and other protections.

Melbourne solicitor David Beattie, who represented several jobseekers injured while on placement, said Work for the Dole was a sham and needed to be scrapped.

"I've never met anybody who said they've picked up any skills on it," he told The Signal.

"It's often just really mindless weeding or whatever, and it's very rare that you'll get any induction or any training.

"It's definitely not meaningful, and I think it's more about punishment than getting people into rehabilitation or them getting new skills."

'No-one knows what they're doing'

Two years ago today, 18-year-old jobseeker Josh Park-Fing was killed while on a Work for the Dole placement at a showground in Toowoomba, in southern Queensland.

Josh's father, Iain Park, said his son was just finding his feet as an adult when he took the placement, and said his son had raised safety concerns with him about his work placement the day he died.

"Our last conversation was about four hours before he passed that day," Mr Park said.

"He was stating that basically he'd hurt his back, and he had been trying to take the day off."

Mr Park said his son had also texted him to say, "working for the dole is shit".

Josh Park-Fing's texted his father about his concerns about safety on the day he died. ( Supplied )

He said Josh died after falling from the tray of a flat-backed trailer being pulled by a tractor which hit a bump, causing it to slip a gear and jolt.

Reflecting on the tragedy two years on, Mr Park said he was concerned other job-seekers were at similar risk.

He said his son's experience suggested people on Work for the Dole placements did not receive adequate training before being asked to work.

"I believe it should be scrapped for the simple fact no-one knows what they're doing with it," he said.

"At the end of the day, what happened, happened, and Josh isn't here to tell us what happened.

"But at the end of the day, it just shouldn't have happened the way it did."

Iain Park says his son's experience suggested people on Work for the Dole placements do not receive adequate training before being asked to work. ( Supplied )

The circumstances surrounding Josh's death remain the subject of a court proceeding involving his employer at the showground, his supervisor that day, and the job agency that had placed him there.

The findings of a separate investigation into the death that was ordered at the time by Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash have yet to be released.

Ms Cash's office did not respond to an ABC request for comment.

'No proper training, no supervision', union says

Most Work for the Dole jobseekers are aged in their 20s and 30s, and it is estimated there are thousands of participants on placements Australia-wide.

Work requirements differ according to circumstance, but many workers aged under 30 are required to work 25 hours a week for at least six months each year in order to receive their dole.

The Department of Jobs and Small Business lists possible Work for the Dole placement sites including retail businesses, gardening and maintenance companies, and warehouses.

It says on its website Jobactive providers will ensure participants in the program receive, "workplace inductions and training".

But unions claim any training given to Work for the Dole participants is perfunctory at best, and say their helplines are often flooded with calls from jobseekers complaining about lax safety standards at Work for the Dole worksites.

Jeremy Poxon of the Australian Unemployed Workers' Union in Melbourne said a third of calls to his union's helpline were about Work for the Dole worksite safety issues.

He said many more concerns went unreported because jobseekers worried they would lose their dole payment if they complained.

"It's a very unregulated program," Mr Poxon said.

"We hear that a lot of these workers aren't getting proper training, and that these sites aren't complying with standard workplace health and safety procedures."

The Federal Government has denied claims Work for the Dole placements are unsafe.

In 2016, a Government-funded report suggested 64 per cent of Work for the Dole worksites failed to meet "average" health and safety standards.

In a statement, the Department of Jobs and Small Business said the compliance scores referred to in the report "are not a safety standard".

"Rather, the scores were a comparative measure of compliance with program requirements, covering other matters such as documentation and administration," the department said.

Further, the department said the injury rate on Work for the Dole sites was only 0.85 per cent, compared to 4.3 per cent in other workplaces.

"The number of participants in Work for the Dole for this period was 94,372 [compared to 809 reported injuries]. This represents a reported injury of 0.85 per cent," the statement said.

The results of a 2017 report have not yet been released by the Department of Jobs and Small Business.

Speaking on the ABC's Insiders program last month, Labor's Employment Services spokesman Ed Husic said there were "serious questions" over the program's performance but did not commit to scrap it if Labor won office.

But Mr Husic has told The Signal the Opposition is "actively considering" alternatives to the Work for the Dole program.