Calls are growing louder for Centrelink payments to be raised further amid an ongoing cost of living crunch for many Australians. Source: Yahoo News.
A new report from an independent government committee released by the Albanese Government on Friday has called for payments to be boosted as a top priority to improve economic inclusion in the country.
Social service groups have welcomed the renewed call issued by the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee (EIAC) ahead of next month’s federal budget.
The committee emphasised the need to “address the adequacy of income support payments” including JobSeeker, Youth Allowance, the Remote Area Allowance and others.
The Albanese Government said the report, the fourth version of which was released on Friday, “helps shape our thinking on how to best support vulnerable Australians”.
The EIAC again said the Government needs to increase the rate of working-age payments for vulnerable Australians and pointed to the state of the rental market to say previous increases to rent assistance in 2023 and 2024, although they “reduced the extent and depth of housing stress”, have since become inadequate.
“The situation has since deteriorated, and further increases are required,” it said.
The committee also called for the Government to “immediately stop all Centrelink payment penalties, including suspensions, reductions and cancellations related to compulsory activities”.
The committee was established in November 2022 to provide independent advice to the Australian Government on economic inclusion and tackling disadvantage before every federal budget.
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Centrelink payments need to be boosted, says government’s own report on economic inclusion (By Nick Whigham, Yahoo News)
