Professor Bob Gregory eats complex economic theory for breakfast. But the eminent ANU economist was stumped a few years back when a person came to him with a real-world economic problem.

The woman had bought a house in a more affordable regional area. As happens, she had then started a relationship. She sold her house, managing to bank several thousand towards the couple's shared future. But it wasn't to be. The pair broke up and the woman found herself without the house and without an income.

Unemployed, she applied for Newstart, only to be told that with money in the bank, she was not eligible. If that same wealth had remained as equity in her house, she would have instantly qualified for Newstart, Gregory says.

His point is that eligibility rules around such emergency aid as Newstart, are actually very tight, despite the parsimony of the payments, and many people rendered jobless simply do not qualify. It is one reason why it is difficult to predict the budget impact of extra dole payments arising from the spate of job losses announced in recent months.