A requirement that jobseekers apply for 20 positions a month under the Jobactive scheme will be scrapped, as the Coalition moves to digitise the service.

Jobactive is the government’s employment program and is designed to link jobseekers up with employers via Jobactive providers.

The announcement from jobs minister Kelly O’Dwyer today comes just days after a survey of 4,000 Australians found 68 per cent of Jobactive users did not consider the service helpful, and 73 per cent had not met with a Jobactive provider in the last year.

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One respondent said you “basically have to beg them [Jobactive providers] to help you”.

Speaking today, O’Dwyer said the changes to Jobactive are the biggest reforms to Australia’s employment services in more than 20 years.

“The community rightly expects that people on welfare will do all they can to find work and mutual obligation requirements remain a central tenet of our approach,” O’Dwyer said.

“But not only will our changes make mutual obligation activities more effective and targeted, it will reduce unsuitable applications to small businesses, reducing their burden and removing red tape.”

Break down the changes

Jobseekers will be able to use a self-service digital platform to match themselves with appropriate vacancies and find training.

As for the providers, a new performance regime will ensure they’re meeting their obligations.

The program has previously been described as onerous, and the 20-application requirement a waste of time.

However, O’Dwyer said the savings from moving to an online service will be put towards making Jobactive more tailored, targeted and better at removing barriers to employment.

Jobseekers will still be able to use the in-person service if they desire.

The reforms will be trialled in Adelaide’s southern suburbs and the NSW mid-north coast from July.

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