Income support for unemployed people under 30 may be blocked beyond the six-month period the government announced

Unemployed young people could be denied income support for longer than the six months a year the government has flagged in the budget, with penalties applying if they miss job search interviews.

Guardian Australia understands the six-month period without any income support could be extended by a further two months if unemployed people under 30 miss appointments. If a certain number are missed then there is no way for the penalties to be waived, regardless of the person’s circumstances.

Under-30s will be denied Newstart or the Youth Allowance for six months of the year, in changes unveiled in the budget. Single parents and others will be exempt from the loss of income support, and people will be able to access income support if they take up a training or education course.

The social services minister, Kevin Andrews, confirmed people could go longer than six months without receiving any income support but did not name a specific timeframe.

The changes have been criticised by the community sector. The Jobs Australia chief executive, David Thompson, said extending the time that people would be without income support for beyond six months was making a bad situation worse.

He said job providers for unemployed people in stream one receive $11 they can spend on them which could be given to assist with public transport fares to and from job interviews.

“But people still will not have enough to pay for a roof over their head, to pay for food, they do not have the resources to participate in employment search,” he said.

“It is kind of Kafkaesque, what do they do? I don’t understand, as a community, what do we say? Tough? Don’t eat? Sleep on the streets?”

Thompson said “suitable training courses” was soon going to mean “any training course” and unemployed people in regional areas where courses are limited or do not start for a couple of months would be hit even harder.

“There’s going to be a proportion of these young people who are going to have no income support and no alternative,” he said.

Jobs Australia has estimated about 110,000 people a year will have to serve the six-month waiting period for Newstart or Youth Allowance when they apply for income support.

“At the moment, those training places aren’t there and it’s not clear who will provide them or how they will be paid for," a spokesman said. "If the individuals are meant to pay for it themselves through government loans, then that’s going to create further problems because for a lot of these people, it will be a long road back from rock bottom and they might not ever earn enough income to repay their student loans.

“It’s easy to see the government could end up wasting more money on useless training than it saves from the welfare cuts in the first place.”

A spokeswoman for Andrews said the changes to the social security system were to ensure it was sustainable but did not directly address questions from Guardian Australia about the penalties applied to people in the period of no income support.

“Welfare is a critical safety net for those who are unable to work. But for those who are able, working is the best thing they can do for their own wellbeing, and that of their families and children,” she said.

“The government wants to help people move into employment when they are able to do so. This is particularly important for young people, so they don’t become trapped in a lifetime of welfare dependency.”

She said the government recognised the more time people spent out of work the more it seriously hurt their future job prospects which was why it was important they received skills development and experience.

“The income support system should not make unemployment a viable, and in some cases more attractive, option for young people – these changes will give young people a stronger incentive to earn or learn,” she said.

“The best form of welfare, for most people, is a job, which not only brings financial rewards but also has a lot of psychological benefits as well.”