Antipoverty Centre

@antipovertycentre

The experts on poverty are the people who live it. Break the poverty machine #BTPM 🍞🌹🏡

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Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· 26d

joblink has received $2.2 million from the FORCED UNPAID LABOUR OF POOR PEOPLE in the past 2 years It's completely legal for this charity to rake in 10s of millions in public funds making poor people do harmful activities then turn around & give the profit to a festival put on by their board member

Excerpt from joblink plus financial statements showing the following revenue breakdown for FY25:
$20.3 million from Workforce Australia;
$1.2 million from Work for the Dole;
$17.3 million from Transition to Work;
$3.2 million from Disability Employment Services;
$940k from NDIS;
$390k from Parents NEXT;
$1.5 million from sales;
$480k from driving; and
$4.5 million from training

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· 26d

We're looking into it. What we do know from their most recent financial statements lodged with the charities commission is that they spend millions a year on "community donations and initiatives", so a couple of hundred thousand dollars would very much be within their budget.

Excerpt from JOBLINK plus financial statements. There was $50 million in revenue in the most recent financial year and $2.4 million was spent on "community donations and initiatives".

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· Jun 18

What Cheyanne found when she got her job agency records for 'mutual' obligations penalties: "It just doesn't make sense". We made a guide to help you get your records too: bit.ly/WelfareFOI

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· Jun 17

Matthew Chaplin following yesterday’s high court decision on unlawfully calculated Centrelink debts.

Initially, taking the matter to court was to do with my own personal situation, however through the process I have learned it’s not just about me anymore, it’s about all of the other Australians affected with unfair debts, especially those who aren't in a position to fight as far as I have for reasonable justice.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· Jun 16

Join us for this event tomorrow night, it's going to be awesome. Auslan interpretation and live captioning will be available. REGISTER: bit.ly/PFP-online

Rick Morton will join Cheyanne – who contributed to the Commonwealth Ombudsman’s investigation into the Targeted Compliance Framework and features in the documentary alongside Jesse – to discuss the background to the investigation, what welfare recipients need from policies that affect us and how both the media and government are failing to grapple with the unfair and unlawful use of penalties affecting millions of people. We will share information about:

how people subjected to compulsory activities can assert their rights in the current system;

what actions we are taking, and what other welfare recipients can do, to reveal more evidence of harmful and unlawful penalties; and

employment minister Amanda Rishworth’s recent (un)employment services announcement, what it means for welfare recipients, and the “consultation” process.

Time: 7pm AEST

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· Jun 2

Did you know the minimum wage increase is worth less for people on Centrelink payments who have a job? Tune in to ABC Canberra Drive at 5:40pm AEST to hear more from @kristin8x.antipovertycentre.org or listen back via the ABC website: www.abc.net.au/listen/live/...

When the minimum wage rises by $1 for someone working full time, they get an extra 70 cents an hour in their pocket after income tax.

When the minimum wage rises by $1 for someone on JobSeeker who only has 1 day of work a week, they get an extra 25 cents an hour in their pocket after Centrelink reduces their payment and income tax is taken out.

If you have paid work, you can only earn $75 a week before your Centrelink payment reduces. After that, your payment is cut by 50–60 cents for each dollar you earn plus any income tax you pay. This is called the effective marginal tax rate.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· Jun 2

No, we don't take the government seriously when they say they're taking their legal responsibilities seriously. @jeremypoxon.bsky.social has a bit to say. Ty @caitkelly.bsky.social for covering

Advocate says mutual obligations system shows ‘punishment is being prioritised over accountability and the law’

Earlier, we reported from Senate estimates that the Targeted Compliance Framework, the IT system that runs Australia’s controversial mutual obligations regime, will be offline until 2027.

The automated IT system was illegally cancelling people’s payments.

Welfare advocate at the Antipoverty Centre Jeremy Poxon has responded, saying it “was madness” to announce the return of the TCF and payment cancellations, when the department “can’t even answer basic questions about the legality of the scheme”:

At every turn, the Department has failed to demonstrate to stakeholders or the general public how the TCF can be brought into lawful operation.

In fact, the department doesn’t even know how many people have been impacted by unlawful TCF decisions, as evidenced by the latest budget papers listing compensation for TCF victims as “unquantifiable”. Speed-running cancellations back into operation once again shows that punishment is being prioritised over accountability and the law.

Despite the Ombudsman’s ongoing concerns about high numbers of incorrect payment suspensions, these punishments from job providers have continued. To date, the Department is yet to provide any evidence that they’re lawful.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 28

Kmart exploits disabled people on a "supported wage" that allows them to pay as little as $2.50 an hour. They certainly don't offer the "high quality jobs" the minister was promising yesterday. Kmart shouldn't be allowed anywhere near what they refer to as ~vulnerable~ people.

Screencap of the Kmart EBA showing that the supported wage rates they use pay people as little as 10 per cent of the minimum wage.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 28

"Unemployed people have heard all of these buzzwords before.... We've seen that the government can get rid of compulsory activities, like they did with the ParentsNext program, which was then redesigned with people who were unemployed." This is all we're asking for. Do what you already did again.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 28

"Our government has decided that they need 4% of people out of paid work at all times ... we could all ve the perfect candidate, but there will always be at least 600,000 people out of paid work." @kristin8x.antipovertycentre.org on why continuing compulsory activities won't change a thing.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 28

Thank you @amyremeikis.bsky.social for sharing this. People who live it are the ones who know.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 27

The government's (un)employment services advisory group has been established, and guess how many people are on it who have direct experience of the system? Somehow Kmart got a look-in though. Can't wait to see all those high quality jobs the minister is promising.

Simon Duggan (Chair), Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Robert Fitzgerald AM, Age Discrimination Commissioner, Debra Cerasa, Amplify Alliance, Dr Jodie Trembath, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, John Stainsby, Australian Council of Social Service, Tiarne Crowther, Australian Services Union, Dr Travers McLeod, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Dr Jenny Crosbie, Centre for Inclusive Employment, Tori McGregor, Community and Public Sector Union, Kate Allingham, Economic Justice Australia, Helen McCabe Future Women (FW), Megan Lilly, Jobs and Skills Australia, Tristram Gray, Kmart Group, Kathryn Mandla, National Employment Services Association, Kylie Penehoe, National Indigenous Employment and Training Alliance, Jessica Graham-Franklin, Paul Ramsay Foundation, Huy Truong, Thrive Refugee Enterprise, Prof Jeff Borland AO, University of Melbourne

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 26

Angus Taylor's attempts to draw a clear dividing line between "deserving" citizens and "undeserving" non-citizens will fail because no such line can be drawn. Thank you @byjackrevell.bsky.social for including this vital perspective and context. READ: www.sbs.com.au/news/article...

For Jinghua Qian, no amount of economic benefit migrants provide will ever be sufficient for politicians determined to divide the population by race.

The 39-year-old told SBS News they didn't much think about the loss of Chinese citizenship when they arrived in Australia as a child in 1996.

"I am Australian, that's just reality, it's not an aspiration," they said.

"At the same time, I know that in the eyes of Angus Taylor and his ilk, I'll always be a migrant no matter how long I've been here. I'll only ever be conditionally Australian.

"Because this is not really about citizenship — it's about race. There's nothing I can give up — not my nationality, not my language or culture — that will make me an Australian without caveat, without an asterisk."

They note that the renouncing of citizenship in exchange for security in Australia is not simply about identity but has many practical implications too.

"When my granddad died, I couldn't just book the first affordable flight to go to his funeral, I had to go to the visa office with a copy of his death certificate," they said.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 25

And the federal government spends more each year on handouts to these schools than it does on the JobSeeker payment.

Between FY25 and FY28 the federal government spending on private schools increases from 19.3 billion dollars to 21.5 billion dollars

Between FY25 and FY28 the federal government spending on the JobSeeker payment is between 16.3 billion dollars and 17 billion dollars per year

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 25

The prime minister earns $670,000 a year

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 22

what the fuck are the greens thinking with a slightly-less-pitiful tax cut + playing into the "deserving" vs "undeserving" narrative Labor is pushing. abandon this visionless individualist mindset and make the positive case for a broad tax base that supports public goods for all.

Screencap of article from the AFR: "The Greens argue that if the government ramps up the measures, it will have sufficient revenue to provide a more substantial tax cut than the $250-a-year Working Australians Tax Offset, and build support for what has been a friendless budget."

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 21

Boring. Violent. Exhausting. Here’s a highlight from our post-budget briefing, with Isabelle responding to Angus Taylor’s reply speech. If you missed the event you can watch the full recording on our YouTube channel (link in next post).

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 19

supply supply supply!! ✅ housing crisis solved

NEWS: Bondi residents strike pay dirt as combined site sells for $200 million.
A developer’s 25-year quest to assemble Bondi’s biggest development site has culminated in a record $200 million sale that promises 120 luxury apartments.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 19

Tonight! See quoted post for rego link.

Post budget briefing – The most important broken promises

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 15

Panel from First Dog’s cartoon. The caption says “The police have arrested the boards of Coles and Woolworths and tied them in a shipping container with no roof. Impoverished Australians are encouraged to climb a ladder up the side and throw rotting fruits and vegetables at them.”

Computer generated image of a man in a suit standing in a wheat field with the caption “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.”

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 15

Yes, there's a class war & it's not home hoarders who are losing. Not a single property investor will die because they receive a smaller discount on their taxes. NDIS cuts & poverty-level Centrelink payments kill people – of all ages and generations. From Crikey: www.crikey.com.au/2026/05/14/c...

Crikey reader Robert Moore writes: Once again Bernard Keane (although not alone among commentators) blames inequality on some strange war of generations. If the woes of young people have been caused by the greed of those older, then Keane is proposing there are no poor boomers, only fat cat boomers.

Commentators can’t bring themselves to use the word “class”. Economic inequality, rather than generational inequality, is our biggest problem. Many commentators ask, “Why should gen X have to wait for an inheritance to buy a house?” Many boomers have had to do just that.

It is billionaire boomers and younger fat cats who now horde wealth in their endeavours to squeeze the maximum blood out of the poorer stones. Let’s be brave and risk being labelled Marxists by the extreme right. Let’s call the malady for what it is — class warfare.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 13

There are workers 👍 Then there are workers 👎 There are more taxes that EVERYONE pays than just income tax, but the Albanese government doesn't care about THOSE workers.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 13

Thanks to @amyremeikis.bsky.social for sharing our statement about the Albanese government failing people on welfare yet again. This budget will be remembered as the cruellest act yet from the Albanese government. live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

Antipoverty Centre: Budget 2026 remembered as ‘the cruellest act of the Albanese government’
The Antipoverty Centre has responded to the budget – as you can imagine, they are bitterly disappointed on behalf of those they advocate for, who will lose NDIS support, as well as receiving no assistance through this latest inflationary period:

The 2026 federal budget will be remembered as the cruellest act of the Albanese government and will cause incalculable harm to disabled people, their carers and communities thanks to $36 billion in NDIS cuts that will harm those who are living in poverty the most.

At the same time, this government has offered nothing that will improve the lives of people who rely on Centrelink payments or others on a low income as we continue to drown in high and rapidly increasing living costs. As the RBA relentlessly pushes for higher unemployment and fewer job prospects, welfare recipients face continued punishment under the unlawfully operated welfare compliance regime

Kristin O’Connell, an Antipoverty Centre spokesperson who relies on the disability support pension and NDIS to live, said:

On $36 billion in NDIS cuts over four years

The Albanese government has never been afraid of policies that kill people who need support, and the unfathomable size of these NDIS cuts is the most egregious example yet.

This budget targets disabled people but does nothing to scrutinise the private organisations who cash in on our need for support. While many of us will have our lives upturned, outsourced “human services” contractors will consolidate power and continue to cash in.

On changes that will reduce tax breaks for property investors and $250 income tax offsets

Reducing inequality is always the right thing to do, but ensuring that people who are wealthy enough to own multiple homes pay fairer taxes is only partly addressing the issue when existing investors can continue to negatively gear their extra homes.

The government’s tax changes ignore millions of people who pay regressive taxes like GST but do not have enough income to benefit from the meagre tax offset, which isn’t even enough to make a meaningful difference to those who will be able to access it.

On missing public housing investment and $6000 payments to around 4000 community housing landlords

If the Albanese government was serious helping those of us bearing the brunt of the housing crisis it would build high quality public homes for everyone who needs one, but there is nothing in this budget to reverse the trend of public housing destruction.

$6000 handouts to community housing landlords who have discriminated against people on Youth Allowance will not create a single home, all it will do is shuffle people around who are on impossibly long waiting lists without reducing the number of people rough sleeping or facing homelessness.

Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan said:

On anticipated employment services “reform”:

$316 million has been announced to “improve” employment services, with $26.5 million set aside to prop up the collapsed National Customer Service Line where people are waiting for over four hours to get their payments reinstated and are stuck with abusive unemployment services as their complaints go unresolved.

Amanda Rishworth knows that millions of people over the years have had their payments unlawfully suspended or cancelled and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is doing everything in their power to cover up this serious issue.

On the Albanese government not abolishing income management as they promised:

It isn’t shocking that the government has thrown $202 million at controlling the income of poor people and breaking their ‘No One Left Behind’ and ‘Abolish Cashless Welfare’ election promises from 2022.

The most egregious is that $190m+ of this spend has not been published as it is going directly into the pockets of private companies to control the incomes of people across the continent.

This harmful and racist program was expanded and cemented in law by the Albanese government as they try and figure out how to spread it to every community across the country.

On no help for welfare recipients:

The Albanese government has again ignored the popular and necessary demand to increase the rate of social security payments. As inflation and unemployment continues to rise, at the same time housing and bills are hurting people on higher incomes, the poorest drowned long ago.

It is evident that there is nothing but contempt for no and low income people from the Albanese government, because if they truly believed in higher payments to support people they’d be out there doing the work to raise payments.

On increasing energy bills:

There was nothing in this budget to deal with the growing debt crisis in the energy market.

As energy bills and energy retailer profits continue to rise, the government is funding websites to tell people to “shop around”. This is a serious issue that needs immediate government intervention – they have to wipe the debts and do something to decrease energy prices for people struggling with the cost of living.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 12

There is also $684 million unspent funds meant to be used by providers to get people jobs... which begs the question, what the fuck is the point of these private welfare cops who don't do their job?

Currently, Employment Fund expenditure is expected to be less than the value of the available credits, creating an accumulating surplus of credits that present a contingent liability. As at 31 January 2026, there was $684.4 million in unspent Employment Fund Credits in the Workforce Australia Employment Fund notional bank (this includes Workforce Australia Online Employment Fund, Workforce Australia Services Employment Fund, Broome Employment Services Employment Fund and Yarrabah Employment Services Employment Fund).

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 12

The ongoing unlawful payment cancellation saga in the employment services system has it listed as "unquantifiable". They don't know how much it is going to cost them. 🧵

Since 2020, some decisions to cancel social security payments under the Targeted Compliance Framework (TCF) have been found to be invalid. Individuals affected by these decisions may have experienced financial or other forms of detriment. Affected individuals may be eligible for compensation through an application based process administered under the Scheme for Compensation for Detriment caused by Defective Administration (CDDA). The CDDA scheme would support individuals to receive compensation owing to defective administration of the TCF. The total fiscal impact of these payments is currently unquantifiable, as it will depend on the number of applications received and the outcome of individual assessments.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 12

They're also providing an adjusted rent assistance payment to line the pockets of corporate landlords aka "community housing" to incentivise them to shelter people under 21. 🧵

"The Government will provide $59.4 million over four years from 2026–27 to provide states and territories with funding for community housing providers to supplement rental income for social housing for over 4,000 eligible young people, aged 16‑24, who are in receipt of the Away from Home rate of Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY and who are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness."

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 12

It has also announced new funding for employment services "reforms" with $361m over 5 years, with $26.5m to fix the NCSL where you currently wait 4+ hours for someone to answer the phone.

"The Government will provide $316.1 million over five years from 2025–26 (and $36.7 million per year ongoing) to continue supporting Australians into employment and improve participant experience. Funding includes: • $285.6 million over five years from 2025–26 (and $35.9 million per year ongoing) for improvements to the employment services system and to support future reform • $26.5 million over three years from 2026–27 to increase resourcing for the National Customer Service Line to support job seekers and employers • $3.2 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $0.8 million per year ongoing) to extend the Carer Inclusive Workplace Initiative to assist employers to develop and adopt practices which support employees with caring responsibilities to enter and remain in the workforce
$0.8 million in 2026–27 to extend the National Disability Abuse and Neglect Hotline and the Complaints Resolution and Referral Service. The Department of Social Services and the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will partially meet the cost of this measure from within existing resources. The cost of this measure will be partially met from a reprioritisation of funding from the 2026–27 Budget measure titled Employment and Workplace Relations and Skills – reprioritisation. This measure extends the 2024–25 Budget measures titled Employment Services Reform and Disability Employment Services Reform and the 2024–25 MYEFO measure titled Carer Support.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 12

The Albanese government is funding and continuing the income control program and have hidden how much they're paying Indue to run the program through Services Australia. $202m for another five years to continue a program that in 2022 Labor said they'd abolish. 🧵

"The Government will provide $202.7 million over five years from 2025–26 (and $49.5 million per year ongoing) to maintain existing Income Management arrangements and reinvest funding for support services for participants while the Government determines future Income Management arrangements. This measure builds on the 2024–25 MYEFO measure titled Income Management – maintenance."

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· May 6

Oxford dictionary definition: income support. payment made by the state in particular circumstances to people who are on a low income.

Antipoverty Centre@antipovertycentre· Apr 29

Sure. But Tim Wilson is leading a class war on behalf of the rich. The current system doesn't work for the old or the young, it only works for the wealthy. Older people without assets go homeless and jobless, as young families without wealth struggle.