Ms Macklin said this new approach aimed to engage parents early to get them job ready.
“Currently, parents on income support don’t have any participation requirements until their child is six – which means that they can be out of the workforce for some time. “We want parents with young children to be undertaking study, training or improving their parenting skills to make sure when their child is old enough they are ready to get a good job and their children are ready to start school,” Ms Macklin said.
This builds on the Government’s new requirements for teenage parents that started in Hume on 1 January this year. Under this program, 90 teenage parents in Hume every year are now required to undertake compulsory activities to help them finish their education.
If jobless families and teenage parents do not meet their requirements, their income support payments can be suspended. Both these programs are part of the Government’s $118 million commitment over four years to provide more intensive support to help young and jobless parents living in 10 disadvantaged communities across Australia, including in Hume. Families in Hume will receive extra parenting and early childhood support with $1.38 million over three years for UnitingCare Broadmeadows, as well as extra childcare assistance, training and employment services.
These 10 communities have been selected because of the high rate of entrenched disadvantage, including unemployment, skills gap and long-term dependence on income support. Hume’s unemployment rate is 10 per cent, compared to 5.1 per cent nationally,17.7 per cent of people receive an income support payment, compared with 12.4 per cent nationally, and 64.8 per cent have been on income support for more than a year
The Member for Calwell, Maria Vamvakinou, said the extra support would help ensure families in Broadmeadows get the help they need to get a job.
“The Government recognises that some communities are missing out on the benefits of the growing economy,” Ms Vamvakinou said.
“We want all Australians to have the opportunity to share in our nation’s prosperity.”