The welfare policies of the current and previous federal governments are to blame for high levels of long-term unemployment, the Australian Council of Social Service has said, as new data shows almost three-quarters of those on the dole have been on it for more than a year.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals long-term unemployment has risen by 10% in the past year and 69% of people on Newstart have been on the payment for more than 12 months.

Acoss CEO Cassandra Goldie said Australians should be alarmed by the figures.

“People who are unemployed long term often face additional barriers to getting a job, including lack of recent work experience, a mismatch of skills with jobs available and real challenges in sustaining hope in the face of repeated rejections of about 10 job applications a fortnight,” she said.

“On top of this, people on welfare face the nasty stigma generated by government and media rhetoric, which labels people as ‘leaners’, ‘dole cheats’ or ‘milking the taxpayer’ which does nothing to help support people nor to build confidence in employers to give people a chance.”

A lack of job opportunities was a major driver of the problem, she said, but changes to social security over the years had also had a “big negative impact”.

She cited changes to eligibility for the disability support pension (DSP) and the single parenting payment.

“Many people with disabilities or significant caring responsibilities are now struggling to get by on NewStart and still unable to find paid work,” she said. “They have joined the queue of people who are long-term unemployed, the only change for them being that they are poorer, by up to $170 a week.”

The Newstart rate is $501 a fortnight for single people. Of the 883,937 people on Newstart or youth allowance, 612,953 are long-term recipients.

The release of the data follows the publication of a report by Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia showing high unemployment is a significant problem in 23 out of the 37 most disadvantaged communities around the country.

Goldie said the rise in long-term unemployment is structural and there needs to be targeted investment in skills development and support in getting a job.



“We continue to call for the federal government to take this rise in long-term unemployment seriously,” she said. “The lack of job opportunities is the major barrier to getting into work, as is a persistent failure of workplaces to provide flexible work.”

It has also been revealed 25% of people on Newstart have some type of disability as many people are being pushed off the DSP.

Social services minister Scott Morrison took credit for a drop in DSP recipients earlier this month saying the government was implementing “integrity measures”.

“The disability support pension is there to help people who need it, not for those who want it because they don’t want to be on Newstart because that is a lesser payment,” he told 6PR radio.

“We’re trying to get people into work … when I meet disabled people all around the country they want to participate, they want to be involved. They want to be involved socially, they want to be involved economically and they are incredibly motivated workers. So I say to business people listening, give them a go.”