Indexation amounts were released last week, and I’ll personally be getting $10.25 more a week in my DSP and rent assistance. See all the details in the tables here.
Pensions from March 20Rent assistance amounts from March 20
As always, they start accumulating from March 20, so no one sees the full increase pain into their account until at least April, and not til mid-April for some. Standard single JobSeeker is getting a $15.10 a fortnight “boost” (*voms*) as the gov and media love to call it. $7.55 a week isn’t exactly a powerup.
Jobseeker rates from March 20
Of course, the ACCC had been “asked” to keep an eye on fuel prices, but that’s just about all they’ll do – watch. I can do that too. Which is why when taking the recycling this morning we went to the lil servo and garage at Mirabooka for fuel. I handed them the $50 note Dad had given me and the 5c coin from my Gudetama coin purse and topped it up.
They say we might see an interest rate rise because of the extra inflation of fuel costs and the impact that will have on food and transport costs. I’m sure that in itself will put brakes on already stretched waged-households spending, but sure throw an interest rate hike on top. Gotta play the numbers.
Nearly paid off the power bill, then it’s rego for the Corolla next month. Our household spending is certainly not all that wild. but as long as Maxi has food and treats we’re going fine.
In the featured image for this post you will see Maxi looking pleased with himself because he got to tag along for a 2km drive to the end of the road with his head hanging out the window, past the cows in paddocks and the construction for the new twin servos off the M1, to get petrol before the prices jumped on Tuesday with the news about conflict continuing in the Middle East. Obviously, Maxi didn’t care about the oil prices, but I was pleased to say I got $50 of fuel into my tank at $1.65 before it went up 25c overnight at that particular station. The ABC was reporting that households could see an extra $14 a week needing to go to petrol over the coming months, which to some isn’t much, to some a lot, and to me who’s still making 3 80+km round trips a week to see mum in hospital (she’s moved to the rehab hospital which is AWESOME) it matters that I was able to work it so I put petrol in Tuesday instead of tomorrow when my pension goes in.
I got my first “weird hot cross buns” of the year yesterday at my bread collection – Carrot Cake Inspired ones from Aldi. I microwaved one for 15 seconds and it was awesome! Little bits of cream cheese icing inside and nice and soft and spiced.
Been perfecting my “getting a car park at the hospital” strats. Yesterday I let all the cars go off ahead of me and waited where I was since there was noone behind me needing to go. And I lucked out a Mum and her twin boys came out of the elevator and indicated they were going to their car just in front of me. Score! Sadly, I was charged the advertised parking price for pensioners of $6.80 for the day rather than the $5.60 they have been charging me. Swings and roundabouts I guess.
Mum’s been getting assessed and set up with physio, occupational therapy and speech pathology goals and activities to get her moving again. It’s exhausting for her but she’s hopefully going to make good gains. I’m still aiming to go in Monday, Wednesday and Fridays to see her and support however I can. Yesterday we got outside for a little walk around the grounds. It was super humid! No wonder there’s mould in so many of the local hospitals :/ Nothing is drying anywhere!
That said, I’m attempting to get the sheets and towels washed today, whether they dry or not is another story!
I’ve written plenty before about how different aspects of Australia’s public health care and social welfare systems have helped or hindered my mental health. Getting DSP was a huge factor in being able to stabilise my mental health. Not because of the extra money – My partner rate of DSP is $888.50 a fortnight before rent assistance (singles get $1,178.70), while jobseeker is $726.50/$793.60 without supplements, but because I get to know that I’ll have a steady amount coming in each fortnight, that I’ll be able to pick up work for extra money as it suits me without losing the payment, and I don’t have to jump through the hoops of Job “providers” anymore.
We have data here in Australia that suicides dropped when people were getting the COVID supplement (welfare at the poverty line) and there was less requirements to engage in useless mutual obligations. Internationally – Brazil gave poor people money and their suicide level dropped too.
We hear of the futility of giving people therapy when they don’t have stable housing, when they can’t afford their meds, when they’re harassed by external pressures.
I could only complete the DBT block I did because I didn’t have mutual obligations or a job, it WAS a full time job fore me, even though it was “only” two sessions a week. The amount of energy I had to put into that to make it work and then to carry out the work in my own life left little for other things.
Participants in the DES and CDP systems – being renamed to Inclusive Employment Australia and Remote Australia Employment Service (RAES) respectively will be getting a reprieve from mutual obligations until new year while those services change over to their new programs, logos and contracted providers. But JobSeekers in mainstream services will have to keep jumping through hoops, even though there’s more and more evidence of people being suspended from their payments illegally or incorrectly, and little desire for the government of the day to address it.
Thanks @AmyRemeikis for being the only person in media to remember what the Deloitte report that used AI is about – that they couldn't provide the government with anything to say their system of welfare punishment is operating lawfully.
Cancellations of payments have been suspended but that doesn’t mean much when you still could find your bank account empty on payday due to error – whether it’s through incompetence, malice or system design. Not good for the mental health I’d say.
Getting to sign a new least for another 12 months on this house, even though it was a $40/week rent increase, lifted another weight that I didn’t know I was carrying. And even though the inspection this week came after the lease was sign, there was still that weight of hoping that we’d cleaned well enough, that the preexisting damage wouldn’t be blamed on us. That having another person living here but not on the lease wasn’t gonna be a strike on our record.
Albanese is bragging about the 2 million visits to the urgent care clinics. Which, as I always say, have their place. But don’t take the place of having access to a bulk-billing GP (lol there’s none here) who knows you and can provide continuity of care. ESPECIALLY for those who need it most. The GPs in this area charge $100 upfront ($80 with a concession card). I really doubt that many at all will be changing to all bulk billing come November First when the extra incentives come in. We’ll see though. My GP DID bulk me last visit, but that was probably because I was near tears about a few things including talking about how one of my meds is $95 a month and not on the PBS. Which I need to not feel guilty about – every time I post something about GPs not bulk billing people encourage me to ask to be bulk billed, but then there’s the flip side of GPs posting about how they hate to be asked, and my belief that the Medicare payments should be raised to a level where all practices are able to viably bulk bill all patients. Such a socialist.
So as we make the rapid run to Xmas, I’m relieved to have signed a lease through to November next year, am doing a couple days HSC exam supervision for the next month, and feel settled again after a few months that just kept throwing things at me.
What little things are you doing for yourself to stay sane, because we can’t rely on the government to do them?
Ahh, well, that was a little disappointing. I remember last election, when Labor got in my mental health nurse saying “you must be happy with that result” and I was extremely cautious in my response, feeling like I was expected to be happy, but very much wanting to wait and see how it panned out for me and the causes I care about.
It all started here.
Growing up, mum was in and out of hospital. Rheumatoid arthritis crippled her joints and she was on the invalid pension.
We lived in public housing. And having a safe, secure roof over our heads meant everything.
The night before this weekend’s election, Albo wheeled out his childhood and how that set him up for success, and boy were we cynical in response. I mean, Labor has not helped people like his mother at all. Public housing is barely a thing and dwindling slowly. Yes, there may be “social” housing builds but the rent is higher and the conditions less kind to tenants. DSP and other pensions have not gone up this term, despite Labor members claiming so. The only increase in them has been due to legislated inflation and much of that because inflation was so high when Labor came in.
The $20 a week that Jobseekers and Youth received is long gone and was less than the previous governments increase ($25/week) in real dollars.
Rent assistance for those 14% of welfare recipients who get it has gone up to a whole $100/week max with those two “real” increases this last three years. It still isn’t giving people access to private rentals in this country, with Anglicare’s latest snapshot showing someone like Albo’s mum (who would have been unlikely to get DSP for arthritis these days but would have benefitted from Labor reinstating single parent payment for kids up to 14) not being able to afford any private rentals in the greater Sydney area.
So, on Saturday night I had two reactions, one was disappointment and skepticism that Labor will do anything progressive with their second term and continue as they have the last three years – fiddling around the edges, saying they can’t be too bold, working with the LNP to pass watered down legislation like the NACC through the senate. The other part of me wants to be hopeful that the “just give them time” people actually were right and they will actually be bold this term because they have no opposition to fear losing to. (I really don’t believe this but I WANT to be proven wrong about this for so many reasons)
"If we were going to make changes, then why haven’t we?"
— 💜 phonakins 🍉 speak because your voice shakes (@phonakins) May 1, 2025
Our work here has barely begun. We saw the glimmers of hope that there was becoming enough glaring evidence before the election that the suspensions to payments and compulsory activities for JobSeekers and younger disability pension recipients were illegal as well as useless and expensive to administer for few positive and many negative impacts.
Something needs to give – payments needs to be raised above the poverty line. The country can “afford” it, it won’t impact your precious inflation in any significant way, and the benefits to the health and happiness of people should be enough to sway even the most miserly. It’s the right thing to do.
There ARE easy fixes, and the government has the evidence it needs to implement them. It just needs to want to do it and stop sacrificing the poor.
6 weeks until the People Against Poverty Summit. Trying to get my rest on so I can get back into helping with preparations and be able to travel u there for in and a few other things we may plan for the week before or after. I worked Friday and Saturday supervising exams which rekt me and gave me a cold, and I’m trying to remind myself I made the right call to decline working the Sunday at the last minute even though the money would have been great it would have knocked me out for the week for sure. Pacing pacing, both physically and socially – it takes a lot out of me.
There was a pre-conference online session last week on running a street kitchen – given the despair some a feeling it’s worth a watch if you want some ideas for help to help people practically in your immediate community.
If you’re in a position to help us with the costs of getting people in poverty to the conference, consider donating here. Or if you’re able to host someone from out of town or want help to attend, check the linktree.
Been doing some reminiscing of sorts in preparations for the 5th anniversary or the COVID supplement and the long pause of “mutual” obligations. I was NOT in a good place back then, but I was getting the covid supplement after my hours got dramatically cut after disability respites and day programs closed down and we got cut to minimum contracted hours wherever they could place us in residential settings. I was then still getting it when I did eventually lose my job, and was looking at my bank statements shocked to see my total Newstart payment (single) including rent assistance was only $90 less than my (partner) DSP and rent assistance now – $970 vs $1061.60.
We’re getting the “boost” of, I’m told, 0.4% thanks to low inflation from March $20, which’ll take it to around $1065, give or take. Thanks Labor!
The best part of getting DSP was the removal of mutual obligations. It left me free to participate in therapy, do my little advocacy stuff, help family and friends, and just exist peacefully as possible. I’ve actually been doing a small amount of paid work in the past year, mostly online, but also exam supervision and before that election work. Stuff I can do when I have the energy and mental capacity and things that take my interest. I’ve had people approach me about applying for (social) media work with more hours, and I’m not up for that yet consistently but yeah, I’m starting to see more how that could work for me, and for them, and the knowledge that I might actually be a useful engine is nice. It’s also great to know that I do have the DSP to back me up, even if I am working, if I need to step back there’s that.
Being on DSP and my own timetable means I can also torture myself by watching Senate estimates, such as the session last week with DEWR Secretary Natalie James and Minister Murray Watt.
The government has not investigated the deaths of those who had their payments unlawfully cancelled, nor have they been instructed to do so either. It's time to end "mutual" obligations once and for all. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/96r1TMZH53
— Antipoverty Centre (@antipovertycent) March 2, 2025
Yesterday during senate estimates the government admitted they think their welfare compliance system may not be operating lawfully. Watch 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/ilgY3A3DAP
What I got from the session was that the department is not confident that people aren’t being suspended due to errors with their system. What they have done is stopped cancellations at this point, more due to the recent discovery that their guidelines say they’re not meant to cut off anyone who doesn’t have any money saved (which is basically everyone) – but that doesn’t mean they can’t just keep suspending people, which is effectively the same since you have no money if you’re not getting your welfare payment.
So the department doesn’t know if they’re cutting people off incorrectly (let alone illegally) and they seem to be happy to continue with enforcing mutual obligations. They’re happy with how it’s going, and seem more concerned about “provider viability” than whether people are being left without any money to feed and house themselves, about whether they’re putting people in danger of suicide or other misadventure.
And that’s just those ten. We know others who are still owed money from being cut off incorrectly or illegally who haven’t received repayment, so there’s likely more out there who aren’t doing so well.
It’s a mess. And that’s without even getting to the well known issues people have with their providers cutting them off because they weren’t marked present for a meeting, or demanding people complete phone meetings in a cyclone when mutual obligations have been stopped in preparation for a disaster.
(I’m also concerned for the staff who are presumably at home preparing themselves and being made to make unnecessary phone calls to people)
I haven’t heard if the pause has even gone through to people on the Workforce Australia app or by SMS, but wouldn’t be surprised if people are notified after the fact like during the rolling pause at the start of the year.
So yeah, a sorta apology (“I absolutely and unreservedly apologise on behalf of the department that we cannot have full confidence in this system delivering what it’s intended to deliver”) for a known error but keeping the system that is still possibly illegally cutting people off their tiny subsistence payments while you get it looked into isn’t going to cut it anymore. You can’t just say sorry for a known error that’s killed people, and have related errors still under investigations and needing to be paid back (let alone compensated) and still say you trust in the system and are happy to have it doing this because you aren’t turning your mind to it.
Suspend mutual obligations now, while you get your house in order. But why would you when nothing but promotions and excuses came from Robodebt.
And that’s before we actually talk about how much harm, rather than the expected help, is caused by “providers”.
(Preferably get rid of them altogether and create a voluntary, effective, public job-getting support service that people actually WANT to engage with)
But my updated GTA has downloaded and I’m gonna go cause some chaos.
