Details about the Albanese government’s mooted changes to welfare payments remain scant but Guardian Australia has confirmed reports that the boost being considered would lift welfare payments for people over 55.
This would probably happen by a change to existing rules and would mean that people aged 60 and over, who have been on jobseeker for more than nine months, get an extra $50 a fortnight. That’s on top of the base rate of $693.10 a fortnight for a single person.
It is unclear whether only the longer-term unemployed over 55 would get the top-up payment or it would apply to all.
Welfare advocates have been highly critical of the proposed change. The Australian Council of Social Service estimated “two-thirds of people who are long-term unemployed would not benefit”. The Antipoverty Centre said “none of the essentials cost us less based on age”.
Who would get support and who would miss out?
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has “cautioned” there will be a range of measures for those on fixed incomes. The government has pointed to energy bill relief and not ruled out changes to commonwealth rent assistance. Guardian Australia has also reported the government is likely to raise the children’s eligibility age for the single parenting payment to 14 – meaning those parents will be able to remain on a higher payment for an extra six years.
Still, let’s look at the figures of who might be affected by the mooted change.
In March there were 925,165 people on unemployment benefits – jobseeker or youth allowance (other).
Of those, 236,280 on the jobseeker payment are aged 55 and over. That includes 195,085 between 55 and 64 and 41,195 who are 65 and over. There are no published figures on how many of those people have been unemployed longer than nine months.
Depending on how the change is structured, it’s likely that less than a quarter of those unemployment payments will get a higher rate through a change for over-55s – and that includes those already getting it who are over 60.
About three-quarters, or roughly 680,000 people, might remain on the current rate of jobseeker.
What do we know about people over 55 on jobseeker?
Chalmers has said the system already differentiates between age groups. He suggested the “expert advice” says the group “that’s most likely to be long-term unemployed are people over 55” which is “dominated by women”.
Department of Social Services data shows a very slim majority of those on unemployment benefits are male. But for those aged 55 and over, 55% are women.
The parliamentary budget office has reported that women aged 55 and over have been the largest growing cohort of people on jobseeker – a trend caused by consistent tightening of welfare eligibility by both sides of politics over two decades.
Older people on jobseeker are most likely to be classified as having a “partial capacity to work”, meaning they are unable to work full-time due to disability or illness.
For those aged 55 and over, about 137,545 people had a partial capacity to work at December 2022. That’s 57% of all those of that age on jobseeker.
It is often said that women over 55 are the fastest-growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness. That statistic relates to data from the 2016 census. In the 2021 census, homelessness was growing fastest among children, according to housing policy experts the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. The 2021 census found 19 out of every 10,000 women aged over 55 were experiencing homelessness. It said this compared with 70 out of every 10,000 women and girls aged 12-24.
What about those under 55?
Welfare advocates and social security experts have repeatedly called for an across-the-board increase to jobseeker. The government’s own advisory committee said a substantial increase to the base rate of the jobseeker payment should be the first priority.
University of New South Wales and Acoss research has found those on youth allowance payments (which are even lower than jobseeker) experience the deepest levels of poverty. On average, their incomes are $390 a week below the poverty line.
The 2021 census also found homelessness rates were highest among 19- to 24-year-olds, at a rate of 91 people for every 10,000. The same measure was 70 for those 25-34, and progressively fell for each older age bracket. For those 55-64, 36 were homeless for every 10,000 people in that age group.
Data provided to Senate estimates from 30 April 2021, though somewhat affected by the pandemic, suggests long-term unemployment among the 45-54 age group may be broadly similar to those 55 and over.
It shows 78% of those aged 45-54 on jobseeker in 2021 had been on the payment longer than one year, compared with 80% for those in the 55-64 age group.
Overall, 200,000 people under the age of 55 have partial capacity to work, though it is most common for the over-55s. These are individuals who may have a mental health condition, a disability, a chronic health condition or a condition such as cancer.
In the age bracket 45-54, 48% of those on jobseeker have “partial capacity”. Among those 25-34, the figure is still 30%.
The gendered aspect of the jobseeker payment also begins before the over-55s. Among those aged 45-54, 54% of payment recipients are women. The government may argue another mooted change – to expand the eligibility of the single parenting payment – might ameliorate this somewhat. But it won’t help female jobseekers in their early 50s who are not parents.
