Business, union and welfare representatives are calling on the federal government to prioritise full employment in any policy reforms stemming from the upcoming jobs and skills summit.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), Business Council of Australia (BCA) and Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) released a joint paper on Monday outlining a series of policy recommendations to ensure full employment.
Australia cannot afford to squander the historically low unemployment rate, currently sitting at 3.4 per cent, ACOSS acting chief executive Edwina MacDonald said.
"If we don't do the work now, we'll be leaving almost a million people on unemployment payments, and we'll be seeing more people in a year or two worrying about their jobs or joining the unemployment queues," she told reporters in Canberra.
"We have before us a historic opportunity to secure full employment, ensure that people who are looking for paid work or more paid hours can get it (and) ensure that real wages and incomes including JobSeeker are improving."
The welfare group has also backed an increase to the JobSeeker rate from $46 to $70 per day.
The government is considering how to expand services to support the long-term unemployed, Employment Minister Tony Burke said.
"Because there's fewer people in the system ... there should be an opportunity to wrap as many services around people as possible to be able to help them ... so I'm still very mindful of what we can do," he told ABC radio on Monday.
But high levels of debt facing the nation after the pandemic make it difficult to lift welfare payments.
"There will be things that we would want to do, that people would like us to do, that aren't going to be possible," Mr Burke said.
"It's a decision that gets made in the budget, but it's hard."
However, independent senator David Pocock says the government should reconsider JobSeeker rates, rather than prioritising tax cuts for the wealthy.
"We have to be looking after people who need that support to actually be able to get back into the workforce. It doesn't make sense to have Australians living in poverty," he told ABC radio.
Senator Pocock said the pandemic had shown when welfare rates are raised, poverty across the country reduced.
"There's no reason why we can't do that (now) particularly when we're busy talking about giving wealthier Australians $243 billion worth of tax cuts over the next decade."
But parliament will not review the tax cuts legislated under the Liberal-National government, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
"(Labor) made the decision that we would stand by that legislation rather than re-litigate it and we haven't changed our opinion," he told the National Press Club on Monday.
Ahead of the two-day skills summit this week, Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott said collaboration would be key to ensure barriers to employment in Australia are removed.
"We need to stand collectively together to make sure that every single Australian has the opportunities they want to take advantage of and that no one is left behind," she told reporters in Canberra.
The joint representatives released a plan to be discussed at the summit which includes ideas to contain inflation, improve productivity, grow wages and invest in skills and training.
